Process for dehydrating and fractionating a low-pressure natural gas
US6767388B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 29, 2002 |
| Grant date | Jul 27, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 19, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF25J2270/04
- WIPO fieldChemical engineering
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
Process for dehydrating/fractionating a low-pressure wet natural gas containing “heavy” constituents and “light” constituents includes a stage a) in which at least a fraction of the wet gas at temperature T0 is contacted with an aqueous liquid phase L'1 containing methanol, the gas carrying along substantially all of the methanol contained in phase L'1. In a stage b), the gas from stage (a) is cooled to a temperature T1 lower than temperature T0, producing a gas phase G1 at equilibrium with a hydrocarbon-containing liquid phase L1 containing C3+ and an aqueous liquid phase L'1 containing methanol. In stage c), phase L'1 is sent to stage (a), and in stage d), said phase G1 is fractionated by distillation carried out by continuous thermal exchange with a cooling fluid, so as to extract the “light” constituents (gas phase G2) and the “heavy” constituents (condensed phase L2).
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.