The present invention relates to a method of cooling and separating a hydrocarbon stream: (a) passing an hydrocarbon feed stream (7) through a first cooling and separation stage to provide a methane enriched vapour overhead stream (110) and a methane depleted liquid stream (10); (b) passing the methane depleted liquid stream (10) to a fractionation column (200) to obtain a bottom condensate stream (210), a top stream enriched in C1-C2 (220) and a midstream enriched in C3-C4 (230), (c) cooling the upper part of the fractionation column (201) by a condenser (206), (d) obtaining a split stream (112) from the methane enriched vapour overhead stream (110) and obtaining a cooled split stream (112) by expansion-cooling the split stream (112), (e) providing cooling duty to the top of the fractionation column (201) using the cooled split stream (112).

A crude helium stream is recovered from a natural gas feed by distillation. Refrigeration from expanding a portion of the bottoms liquid is used to partially condense the helium-enriched overhead vapor and generate a crude helium vapor and a helium-containing liquid stream that is recycled to the distillation column to maximize helium recovery. The helium-depleted natural gas stream can be returned at pressure for utilization or transportation.

A cryogenic air separation unit that provides flexibility in the production of liquid products is disclosed. The present cryogenic air separation unit and associated operating methods involves the use of a dual nozzle arrangement for the main heat exchanger that allows a turbine air stream draw from the main heat exchanger at different temperatures to provide refrigeration to the cryogenic air separation unit which, in turn, enables different production modes for the various liquid products.

A proposed method for thermally assisted electric energy storage is intended for increase in round-trip efficiency through recovery of waste heat energy streams from the co-located power generation and industrial facilities, combustion of renewable or fossil fuels, or harnessing the renewable energy sources. In the charge operation mode, it is achieved by superheating and expansion of recirculating air stream in the liquid air energy storage with self-producing a part of power required for air liquefaction. In the discharge operation mode, it is attained through the repeated use of a stream of discharged air for production of an additional power in auxiliary discharge cycle.

A method includes receiving input corresponding to a proposed configuration of a liquefaction facility and identifying a plurality of components utilized to produce LNG and/or LIN at the facility. The method includes determining an alternative configuration that is different from the proposed configuration. Determining the alternative configuration may include identifying resources accessible to a proposed location for the liquefaction facility and whether at least one of the resources accessible to the proposed location corresponds to a resource generated by a component identified by the proposed configuration, and determining whether to omit at least one component of the plurality of components identified by the proposed configuration. The method includes omitting the at least one component from the alternative configuration, and generating a report based on the proposed configuration and the alternative configuration. The report includes information indicating a difference between the proposed configuration and the alternative configuration.

A method and apparatus for liquefying a feed gas stream comprising natural gas and carbon dioxide. A method includes compressing an input fluid stream to generate a first intermediary fluid stream; cooling the first intermediary fluid stream with a first heat exchanger to generate a second intermediary fluid stream, wherein a temperature of the second intermediary fluid stream is higher than a carbon dioxide-freezing temperature for the second intermediary fluid stream; expanding the second intermediary fluid stream to generate a third intermediary fluid stream, wherein the third intermediary fluid stream comprises solid carbon dioxide; separating the third intermediary fluid stream into a fourth intermediary fluid stream and an output fluid stream, wherein the output fluid stream comprises a liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquid; and utilizing the fourth intermediary fluid stream as a cooling fluid stream for the first heat exchanger.

A method to recover and process hydrocarbons from a gas flare system to produce natural gas liquids (NGL), cold compressed natural gas (CCNG), compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquid natural gas (LNG). The method process provides the energy required to recover and process the hydrocarbon gas stream through compression and expansion of the various streams.

The present invention relates to a method for production of H.sub.2 from natural gas, solid fossil fuels or biomass. The method comprises the following steps: reacting natural gas in a reformer or reacting solid fossil fuels or biomass in a gasifier to form syngas, reacting the syngas to form a shifted gas mixture, comprising H.sub.2 and CO.sub.2, in a water-gas-shift (WGS) section, separating the shifted gas mixture into a H.sub.2 gas and a H.sub.2 depleted tail gas mixture or retentate gas mixture in a H.sub.2 separation unit, separating the H.sub.2-depleted tail gas mixture or retentate gas mixture into a CO.sub.2 liquid and a CO.sub.2-depleted tail gas mixture in a CO.sub.2 capture and liquefaction unit, and recycling the CO.sub.2-depleted tail gas mixture from the CO.sub.2 capture and liquefaction unit without recompression to the WGS section and to the reformer or the gasifier. The CO.sub.2-depleted tail gas mixture is at a pressure in the range from 25 to 120 bar when recycled to the WGS section and to the reformer or the gasifier.

In a process for the combined production of a) a hydrogen-enriched gas and a carbon monoxide-enriched gas and/or b) a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide by cryogenic distillation and scrubbing, a still liquor is extracted from a scrubbing column and sent to a stripping column, a still liquor is extracted from the stripping column and sent to a separating column for carbon monoxide and methane and a cooling fluid is used at a pressure greater than that of the head of the separating column for cooling at least one fluid extracted at an intermediate level from the scrubbing column.

Condensable vapors such as carbon dioxide are separated from light gases in a process stream. The systems and methods employ a circulating fluidized particle bed cooled by an out-bed heat exchanger to desublimate the solid form of condensable vapors from the process stream. Gas and solids may be sorted in a separator, and the solids may then be subcooled in a heat exchanger. The condensable vapors may be condensed on the bed particles or in the heat exchanger while the light gases from the process stream, which are not condensed, form a separated light-gas stream.