A method for supplementing condenser heat rejection in natural gas processing including passing unprocessed gas through a gas-to-chilling fluid heat exchanger, transferring cooled and condensed gas to a vapor liquid separator, sending the chilling fluid to a chilling fluid reservoir, directing the chilling fluid to a refrigeration sub-system, circulating refrigerant throughout the refrigeration sub-system, touting vapor refrigerant through a refrigeration compressor, sending the vapor refrigerant to a refrigeration condenser, routing the liquid refrigerant to an accumulator tank and through an expansion valve, muting the reduced-pressure liquid refrigerant to the evaporator, and passing at least a portion of the processed vapor to a processed vapor-to-refrigerant heat exchanger via an actuated valve controlled by a processor to remove heat from the liquid refrigerant before the liquid refrigerant is sent to the expansion valve. The refrigeration sub-system includes an evaporator that is configured to transfer heat from the chilling fluid to the refrigerant.

A system and method for integrated heavy hydrocarbon removal in a liquefaction system having a lean natural gas source. An economizer located between a main cryogenic heat exchanger and a reflux drum is provided to cool an overhead vapor stream against a partially condensed stream. In addition, pressure of the natural gas feed stream is maintained into a scrub column. A pressure drop is provided by a valve located between the economizer and the reflux drum on a partially condensed stream withdrawn from the cold end of the warm section of the main cryogenic heat exchanger.

The invention relates to an integrated process and apparatus for liquefaction of natural gas and recovery of natural gas liquids. In particular, the improved process and apparatus reduces the energy consumption of a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) unit by using a portion of the already cooled overhead vapor from a fractionation column from an NGL (natural gas liquefaction) unit to, depending upon composition, provide, for example, reflux for fractionation in the NGL unit and/or a cold feed for the LNG unit, or by cooling, within the NGL unit, a residue gas originating from a fractionation column of the NGL unit and using the resultant cooled residue gas to, depending upon composition, provide, for example, reflux/feed for fractionation in the NGL and/or a cold feed for the LNG unit, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the LNG unit and rendering the process more energy-efficient.

The present disclosure provides a method of dehydrating a feed stream processed in a distillation tower. The method may include (a) introducing a feed stream comprising a first contaminant stream into a distillation tower; (b) forming a solid from the feed stream in a controlled freeze zone section of the distillation tower; (c) feeding a second contaminant stream into the feed stream outside the distillation tower; and (d) removing water from the feed stream with a second contaminant stream by feeding the second contaminant stream.

A process for removing light components from an ethylene stream may include providing a dried ethylene stream containing ethylene, ethane, CO, CO.sub.2, H.sub.2, CH.sub.4, and C.sub.3+ hydrocarbons. The process may include sending the dried ethylene stream to a stripper to produce an overhead stream containing ethylene, CO, H.sub.2 and CH.sub.4, and a bottom stream containing ethylene, ethane, CO.sub.2, and C.sub.3+ hydrocarbons. The gaseous phase on top of the stripper may be condensed in a heat exchanger cooled by a refrigerant stream to get a first gaseous phase and a first liquid phase. The first gaseous phase may be condensed in a heat exchanger cooled by liquid ethane or liquid ethylene to get a second gaseous phase containing ethylene CO, H.sub.2 and CH.sub.4 and a second liquid phase. The first and second liquid phases may be the reflux of the stripper.

Integrated systems are provided for the production of higher hydrocarbon compositions, for example liquid hydrocarbon compositions, from methane using an oxidative coupling of methane system to convert methane to ethylene, followed by conversion of ethylene to selectable higher hydrocarbon products. Integrated systems and processes are provided that process methane through to these higher hydrocarbon products.

A method of designing, constructing, and operating a hydrocarbon gas treatment plant is disclosed. A target hydrocarbon production range for a hydrocarbon gas meeting a required product specification is established. A cryogenic distillation column is designed and constructed with a vapor capacity to meet the target hydrocarbon production range. A variable feed refrigeration system is incorporated to cool an inlet feed of the hydrocarbon gas. The variable feed refrigeration system is designed to handle the target hydrocarbon production range and a wide range of contaminant concentrations in the inlet feed. A variable bottoms heating system is incorporated to handle heating duties associated with the wide range of contaminant concentrations in the inlet feed. A variable bottoms pumping system is incorporated to handle liquid flows associated with the wide range of contaminant concentrations in the inlet feed.

This method envisions cooling the supply flow in a first heat exchanger, separation in a first separation flask in order to produce a light upper flow and a heavy lower flow and dividing the light upper flow into a supply fraction of a dynamic pressure reduction turbine and a supply fraction of a first distillation column. A cooled reflux flow is formed from an effluent from a dynamic pressure reduction turbine, the portion of the effluent being cooled and at least partially liquefied in a heat exchanger. The cooled reflux flow is introduced from the heat exchanger into the first distillation column.

Systems and methods are provided for recovering helium from a feed comprising helium, carbon dioxide, and at least one intermediate component having a volatility between those of helium and carbon dioxide. In particular, processes of the present invention comprise separating the carbon dioxide and the components of intermediate volatility from the helium at a temperature greater than −82.7° C. to form a helium-rich product stream, wherein the concentration of at least one of the intermediate components in the helium-rich product stream is lower than its concentration in the feed stream, and wherein at least part of the separation is effected by contacting a vapor with a liquid.

The present disclosure provides a method for separating a feed stream in a distillation tower. The method includes operating a controlled freeze zone section in a distillation tower that separates a feed stream at a temperature and pressure at which the feed stream forms a solid in the controlled freeze zone section, wherein the feed stream includes a first contaminant; maintaining a melt tray assembly in the controlled freeze zone section; introducing the feed stream to the controlled freeze zone section; and accumulating a liquid in the melt tray assembly until the liquid is at a predetermined liquid level in the controlled freeze zone section, by: feeding a second contaminant to the controlled freeze zone section; and adding the second contaminant to the melt tray assembly, wherein the liquid comprises the second contaminant.