This specification relates to operating industrial facilities, for example, crude oil refining facilities or other industrial facilities that include operating plants that process natural gas or recover natural gas liquids.

This specification relates to operating industrial facilities, for example, crude oil refining facilities or other industrial facilities that include operating plants that process natural gas or recover natural gas liquids.

The invention relates to a gas treatment method and system of a gas storage facility (2), in particular on board a ship, the method comprising the following stages: an extraction of a first gas (4a, 4b, 5a, 5b,) in the liquid state from a first tank (4) or first vessel (5; 500), a first subcooling of the first gas in the liquid state, and storage of the subcooled first gas in the liquid state in the lower part of the first tank (4) or of the first vessel (5; 500) or of a second tank or of a second vessel, so as to constitute a reserve layer of cold (4c, 5c, 500c) of the subcooled first gas in the liquid state at the bottom of the first or second tank (4) or of the first or second vessel (5; 500).

This specification relates to operating industrial facilities, for example, crude oil refining facilities or other industrial facilities that include operating plants that process natural gas or recover natural gas liquids.

A natural gas liquid recovery system includes a cold box and a refrigeration system. The refrigeration system includes a primary refrigerant loop in fluid communication with the cold box. The primary refrigerant loop includes a primary refrigerant including a first mixture of hydrocarbons. The refrigeration system includes a secondary refrigerant loop. The secondary refrigerant loop includes a secondary refrigerant including i-butane. The refrigeration system includes a first subcooler configured to transfer heat between the primary refrigerant of the primary refrigerant loop and the secondary refrigerant of the secondary refrigerant loop. The refrigeration system includes a second subcooler downstream of the first subcooler. The second subcooler is configured to transfer heat between the primary refrigerant and a vapor phase of the primary refrigerant. The cold box is configured to receive the primary refrigerant from the second subcooler.

The invention relates to a method and system of preparing a lean methane-containing gas stream (22), comprising: feeding a hydrocarbon feed stream (10) into a separator (100); withdrawing from the separator (100) a liquid bottom stream (12); passing the liquid bottom stream (12) to a stabilizer column (200); withdrawing from the stabilizer column (200) a stabilized condensate stream (13) enriched in pentane, withdrawing from the stabilizer column (200) a stabilizer overhead stream (14) enriched in ethane, propane and butane; splitting the stabilizer overhead stream (14) according to a split ratio into a main stream portion (15) and a slip stream portion (16), passing the slip stream portion (16) to a fractionation unit (300) to obtain an ethane enriched stream (17) and a bottom stream enriched in propane and butane (18).

A method and apparatus for cooling a hydrocarbon stream such as natural gas. An initial hydrocarbon stream is passed through a first separator to provide an initial overhead stream and a mixed hydrocarbon feed stream. The initial overhead stream is cooled to provide a cooled hydrocarbon stream such as LNG, and at least a C1 overhead stream and one or more C2, C3 and C4 overhead streams are separated from the mixed hydrocarbon feed stream. At least a fraction of at least one of the group comprising: the C2 overhead stream, the C3 overhead stream and the C4 overhead stream is cooled with the C1 overhead stream to provide a cooled stream, which is further cooled against at least a fraction of the cooled, preferably liquefied, hydrocarbon stream to provide an at least partly liquefied cooled stream.

A system and method for processing natural gas to produce liquefied natural gas is disclosed. The natural gas is cooled in one or more heat exchangers using a first refrigerant from a first refrigerant circuit in which the first refrigerant is compressed in a first compressor driven by a first gas turbine having a first inlet air stream. The natural gas is liquefied using a second refrigerant, the second refrigerant being compressed in a second compressor driven by a second gas turbine having a second inlet air stream. At least one of the inlet air streams is chilled from about the respective dry bulb temperature to a temperature below the respective wet bulb temperature. Water contained in at least one of the chilled first and second air streams is condensed and separated therefrom. At least a portion of the first refrigerant is condensed or sub-cooled using the separated water.

Contemplated plants for flexible ethane recovery and rejection by allowing to switch the top reflux to the demethanizer from residue gas to the deethanizer overhead product and by controlling the flow ratio of feed gas to two different feed gas exchangers. Moreover, the pressure of the demethanizer is adjusted relative to the deethanizer pressure for control of the ethane recovery and rejection.

A gaseous fraction leaving overhead from a fractionation column of a catalytic cracking unit (FCC) is fractionated using a unit for the conversion of ethylene into propylene, in order to upgrade the ethylene contained in the fuel gas.