US 6,172,124 B2Granted

Process for converting gas to liquids

AssigneeSybtroleum Corporation

InventorsJohn R. Wolflick, Gary L. Beer, Richard L. Payne

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A process for converting a hydrocarbon gas (e.g. natural gas) to syngas which, in turn, is converted into a liquid hydrocarbon product wherein a substantial amount of the heat generated in the process is recovered for use in generating steam needed in the process or for conversion into mechanical energy. Further, tail gas produced by the process is used to fuel the gas turbine which, in turn, is used power the compressors needed for compressing the air used in the process. By using tail gas to fuel the gas turbine, less of the compressed combustion-air is needed to cool the combustion gases in the turbine and, instead, can be used to provide a portion of the process-air required in the process; thereby possibly saving up to 20 to 30 percent of the horsepower otherwise needed to compress the required volume of process-air.

Claims4

Dependent claims

In a Fischer-Tropsch conversion process for converting a hydrocarbon gas to a liquid hydrocarbon wherein a gas turbine is used to drive a compressor unit which compresses air which, in turn, is mixed with said hydrocarbon gas and steam and is flowed through a first reactor with a first catalyst to produce a syngas which is flowed through a second reactor with a second catalyst to produce said liquid hydrocarbon and a tail gas;

said gas turbine having a compressor section, a combustor and a turbine section, the improvement comprising:
compressing air in said compressor section of said gas turbine;
supplying a first portion of said compressed air from said compressor section of said gas turbine to said combustor;
supplying said tail gas from said conversion process as a fuel to said combustor to mix with said first portion of said compressed air from combustion in said combustor thereby producing combustion gases in said combustor;
mixing a second portion of said compressed air from said compressor section of said gas turbine with said combustion gases from said combustor of said gas turbine to cool said combustion gases before said combustion gases are expanded through said turbine section of said gas turbine;
and
supplying the remaining portion of said compressed air from said compressor section of said gas turbine directly to said first reactor of said conversion process for use as process air in said conversion process.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 08/950,312Filed 14 Oct 1997 · continuation
Priority: 9 Jul 1996
Granted: 9 Jan 2001
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification11 codes

C10G 2/32
From carbon monoxide with hydrogen: with the use of catalysts
C01B 3/382
Using catalysts: processes with two or more reaction steps, of which at least one is catalytic, e.g. steam reforming and partial oxidation
C07C 1/0485
From carbon monoxide with hydrogen: set-up of reactors or accessories; Multi-step processes
C01B 2203/142
Details of the flowsheet: at least two reforming, decomposition or partial oxidation steps in series