A gas recovery system for a compressor, said gas recovery system being equipped with: a distillation column that brings a supply gas in a liquid state into contact with a mixed gas, thereby cooling and liquefying a process gas in the mixed gas, and heating and gasifying the liquid supply gas; a process gas recovery line that is connected to the lower part of the distillation column and recovers the liquid process gas discharged from the distillation column; and a supply gas recovery line that is connected to the upper part of the distillation column and recovers the gaseous supply gas discharged from the distillation column.

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.

Flowing a first buffer fluid and a second buffer fluid through a heat exchanger network thermally coupled to heat sources of a Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) fractionation plant, and transferring heat from the heat sources to the first buffer fluid and the second buffer fluid. Generating power via a first sub-system thermally coupled to the heat exchanger network and generating potable water from brackish water via a second sub-system thermally coupled to the heat exchanger network.

Systems herein separate an inlet gas stream containing methane, C2 components, C3 components and optionally heavier hydrocarbons into a volatile gas fraction containing methane and a less volatile hydrocarbon fraction containing C2+ components. The system may include piping, valving, and controls configured to flexibly allow the system to operate in a high ethane recovery mode, a high throughput mode, or in some embodiments, a high propane recovery mode.

One or more specific embodiments disclosed herein includes a method for separating hydrogen from an olefin hydrocarbon rich compressed effluent vapor stream, employing a integrated heat exchanger, multiple gas-liquid separators, external refrigeration systems, and a rectifier attached to a liquid product drum.

A system and method for producing an NGL product stream in either an ethane retention or rejection mode. Rejection modes include (a) two heat exchange stages between a feed stream and first separator bottoms stream and cooling a side stream withdrawn from a fractionation tower through heat exchange with both the fractionation tower and second separator overhead streams; or (b) warming the first separator bottoms stream and fractionation overhead stream through heat exchange with the side stream prior to heat exchange with the feed stream, to achieve 4-15% ethane recovery and 97%+ propane recovery. In ethane retention mode, a portion of the feed stream and portions of a first separator overhead and bottoms streams are separately cooled through heat exchange with other process streams, including the entireties of a recycled residue gas and fractionation column overhead streams, resulting in around 99% ethane and around 100% propane recovery.

The invention relates to a process for separating a component mixture (K) comprising hydrogen, methane, hydrocarbons having two carbon atoms and hydrocarbons having three or more carbon atoms, wherein in a deethanization at least a portion of the component mixture (K) is subjected to a first partial condensation by cooling from a first temperature level to a second temperature level at a first pressure level to obtain a first gas fraction (G1) and a first liquid fraction (C1), at least a portion of the first gas fraction (G1) is subjected to a second partial condensation by cooling from the second temperature level to a third temperature level at the first pressure level to obtain a second gas fraction (G4) and a second liquid fraction (C2), and at least a portion of the first liquid fraction (C1) and at least a portion of the second liquid fraction (C2) are subjected to a rectification to obtain a third gas fraction (G3) and a third liquid fraction (C3+). The first liquid fraction (C1) or its part subjected to the rectification and the second liquid fraction (C2) or its part subjected to the rectification are expanded to a second pressure level and the rectification is carried out at the second pressure level, the first pressure level being 25 to 35 bar and the second pressure level being 14 to 17 bar. An overhead gas formed during the rectification is cooled to −25 to −35° C. and partially condensed, wherein a condensed portion of the overhead gas is used partially or completely as a reflux in the rectification and an uncondensed portion of the overhead gas is provided partially or completely as the third gas fraction (G3). The present invention likewise provides a corresponding plant (100, 200).

A process for separating a component mixture comprising essentially hydrocarbons having two or two or more carbon atoms, methane and hydrogen using a distillation apparatus (10) is proposed. Fluid (a, c, e, g, i) from the component mixture is cooled stepwise to a first pressure level, with separation of first condensates (b, d, f, h, j) out of the fluid (a, c, e, g, i) in each case. Fluid (k) from the component mixture that remains in gaseous form thereafter is expanded to a second pressure level in an expander, giving a second condensate (I). Fluid from the first condensates (b, d, f, h, j) is expanded from the first pressure level to the second pressure level and fed together with the fluid from the second condensates into the distillation apparatus (10) which is being operated at the second pressure level. The present invention likewise provides a corresponding separation apparatus.

A natural gas liquids (NGL) plant, the NGL plant comprising an absorber configured to provide an absorber overhead and an absorber bottoms, a stripper configured to produce a stripper overhead and a stripper bottoms, wherein the stripper is positioned downstream from the absorber and fluidly connected therewith such that the absorber bottoms can be introduced into the stripper, and a multi-pass heat exchanger configured to provide at least one reflux stream to the absorber, wherein the absorber and stripper are configured, in an ethane rejection arrangement, to provide the stripper overhead to a top of the absorber, and wherein the absorber and stripper are configured, in an ethane recovery arrangement, to provide the stripper overhead to a bottom of the absorber.

Methods and systems for operating and NGL recovery process are provided. In an exemplary method, an absorber column upstream of a fractionator column is operated at a higher pressure than a pressure in the fractionator column. An NGL (C.sub.3 plus) stream is taken from the bottom of a fractionator column and then ethylene/ethane stream is taken from the top of the fractionator column. A differential pressure between the absorber column and the fraction are column is controlled based, at least in part, on a flow rate of the fractionator feed stream from the absorber column to the fractionator column.