Hydrocarbon gas processing

An apparatus for the separation of a gas stream containing methane, C2 components, C3 components, and heavier hydrocarbon components into a volatile residue gas fraction and a relatively less volatile fraction containing a major portion of said C2 components, C3 components, and heavier hydrocarbon components or said C3 components and heavier hydrocarbon components comprising

• (1) first dividing means to divide said gas stream into first and second portions;
• (2) heat exchange means connected to said first dividing means to receive said first portion and cool said first portion;
• (3) heat and mass transfer means housed in a single equipment item processing assembly and connected to said first dividing means to receive said second portion and cool said second portion;
• (4) first combining means connected to said heal exchange means and said heat and mass transfer means to receive said cooled first portion and said cooled second portion and form a cooled gas stream;
• (5) second dividing means connected to said first combining means to receive said cooled gas stream and divide said cooled gas stream into first and second streams;
• (6) said heat exchange means being further connected to said second dividing means to receive said first stream and cool said first stream sufficiently to substantially condense said first stream;
• (7) first expansion means connected to said heat exchange means to receive said substantially condensed first stream and expand said substantially condensed first stream to lower pressure;
• (8) first and second absorbing means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said first expansion means to receive said expanded cooled first stream as a feed thereto between said first and second absorbing means, said first absorbing means being located above said second absorbing means;
• (9) second expansion means connected to said second dividing means to receive said second stream and expand said second stream to said lower pressure, said second expansion means being further connected to said second absorbing means to supply said expanded second stream as a bottom feed thereto;
• (10) liquid collecting means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said second absorbing means to receive a distillation liquid stream from a lower region of said second absorbing means;
• (11) said heat and mass transfer means being further connected to said liquid collecting means to receive said distillation liquid stream and heat said distillation liquid stream, thereby to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (3) while simultaneously stripping the more volatile components from said distillation liquid stream, and thereafter discharging said heated and stripped distillation liquid stream from said processing assembly as said relatively less volatile fraction;
• (12) first vapor collecting means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said heat and mass transfer means to receive a first distillation vapor stream from an upper region of said heat and mass transfer means;
• (13) said heat exchange means being further connected to said first vapor collecting means to receive said first distillation vapor stream and cool said first distillation vapor stream sufficiently to condense at least a part of said first distillation vapor means;
• (14) separating means connected to said heat exchange means to receive said at least partially condensed first distillation vapor stream and separate said at least partially condensed first distillation vapor stream into a condensed stream and a residual vapor stream containing any uncondensed vapor remaining after said first distillation vapor stream is cooled;
• (15) said first absorbing means being further connected to said separating means to receive at least a portion of said condensed stream as a top feed thereto;
• (16) second vapor collecting means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said first absorbing means to receive a second distillation vapor stream from an upper region of said first absorbing means;
• (17) said heat exchange means being further connected to said second vapor collecting means to receive said second distillation vapor stream and heat said second distillation vapor stream, thereby to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (13);
• (18) second combining means connected to said heat exchange means and said separating means to receive said heated second distillation vapor stream and any said residual vapor stream and form a combined vapor stream;
• (19) said heat exchange means being further connected to said second combining means to receive said combined vapor stream and heat said combined vapor stream, thereby to supply at least a portion of the cooling of steps (2) and (6), and thereafter discharging said heated combined vapor stream as said volatile residue gas fraction;
• and
• (20) control means adapted to regulate the quantities and temperatures of said feed streams to said first and second absorbing means to maintain the temperature of said upper region of said first absorbing means at a temperature whereby the major portions of the components in said relatively less volatile fraction are recovered.