The invention relates to a gas scrubbing process and a corresponding plant for removal of acidic gas constituents from crude synthesis gas which make it possible by treatment of shifted and of unshifted crude synthesis gas in the gas scrubbing process and by combination of the thus-obtained partial product streams to produce a plurality of gas products having different compositions. In addition, the invention ensures that the flash gases obtained during decompression of the laden scrubbing medium are utilized materially and/or energetically in advantageous fashion.

The invention relates to a process for removal of unwanted, in particular acidic gas constituents, for example carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, from a crude synthesis gas by gas scrubbing with a scrubbing medium. According to the invention the flash gases obtained during the decompression of the laden scrubbing medium are supplied to a recompressor in order to recycle these to the crude synthesis gas and thus utilize them materially after the recompression. Alternatively or in addition the flash gases may also be supplied to a decompression turbine to recover refrigeration and mechanical work. If the recompressor and/or the decompression turbine are/is designed to have multiple stages, the flash gases obtained at different pressure levels are preferably supplied to a corresponding pressure level of the recompressor and/or of the decompression turbine.

A method of stripping carbon dioxide from a stream of natural gas to be used in the production of liquid natural gas (LNG) comprises the steps of: passing a stream of natural gas through a stripping column; injecting a stripping agent into the stripping column, the stripping agent stripping carbon dioxide from the stream of natural gas and exiting the stripping column as a liquid phase; passing the stripping agent exiting the stripping column through a regenerator column to generate a carbon dioxide gas stream and a recovered stripping agent stream; and cooling the recovered stripping agent stream using a cryogenic vapour generated in the production of LNG and injecting the cooled, recovered stripping agent stream into the stripping column as the stripping agent.

The invention includes a gas processing system for transforming a hydrocarbon-containing inflow gas into outflow gas products, where the system includes a gas delivery subsystem, a plasma reaction chamber, and a microwave subsystem, with the gas delivery subsystem in fluid communication with the plasma reaction chamber, so that the gas delivery subsystem directs the hydrocarbon-containing inflow gas into the plasma reaction chamber, and the microwave subsystem directs microwave energy into the plasma reaction chamber to energize the hydrocarbon-containing inflow gas, thereby forming a plasma in the plasma reaction chamber, which plasma effects the transformation of a hydrocarbon in the hydrocarbon-containing inflow gas into the outflow gas products, which comprise acetylene and hydrogen. The invention also includes methods for the use of this gas processing system.

The invention provides a scrubbing column for cleaning gas streams laden with absorbent residues, for example with methanol, and also with solid particles, for example with fuel dust. The gas scrubbing is effected by means of a random packing disposed in the lower region of the scrubbing column and the gas scrubbing of the gas stream laden solely with absorbent residues but not with solid particles by means of a structured packing disposed in the upper region of the scrubbing column. The use of the scrubbing column according to the invention in the integrated plant system between a gasification plant and a plant for gas scrubbing which is operated by the Rectisol process, for example, offers particular advantages with regard to its industrial employability owing to the possible connections described, which bring synergies for efficient operation of the integrated plant system.

A process for the absorption of a target gaseous component from a gas stream comprising the steps of: contacting the gas stream with an absorber comprising an liquid absorbent for absorbing the target gaseous component to produce a rich liquid absorbent stream and a non target gaseous component, said non target gaseous component including water vapour; treating the rich liquid absorbent stream in a desorber to thereby release the target gaseous component and a water vapour component into a desorber gas stream and produce a lean liquid absorbent stream; and forming a recovered water stream from the output of a water separator for separating the water vapour from the target gaseous component, said water separator forming part of the absorber and/or the desorber. The lean liquid absorbent stream exiting the desorber is treated with a forward osmosis (FO) membrane unit comprising a water permeable membrane, wherein the membrane unit transfers water from a salt water stream through the water permeable membrane to the lean liquid absorbent stream, thereby replenishing at least part of the water removed in the process.

The present invention is related to a method for determination of unit operations of a chemical plant for acid gas removal, the method carried out by a computer or a distributed computer system and the method comprising the steps of: providing (S1) a first set of parameters for the unit operations; providing (S2) a second set of parameters for the unit operations based on the provided first set of parameters and based on data retrieved from a database; determining (S3) a digital model of the chemical plant based on the first set of parameters and the second set of parameters, wherein the digital model comprises a system of equations defining the unit operations of the chemical plant; selecting (S4) starting points for an equation-based solution method of the system of equations, wherein the starting points are at least partially selected from the: —i) the first set of parameters; —ii) the second set of parameters; and —iii) the data retrieved from the database; determining (S5) resultant settings for the unit operations of the chemical plant using the equation-based solution method for the system of equations initialized by the selected starting points.

Disclosed is a process for regenerating a hybrid solvent used to remove contaminants from a fluid stream and to provide an improved yield of purified fluid. Said process comprises a purification unit (12) and at least one regeneration unit (40) wherein make-up water (72) is added to the regenerated lean hybrid solvent (55) prior to reuse in the first purification unit and no water is recycled into the regeneration unit.

Disclosed is a process for regenerating a hybrid solvent used to remove contaminants from a fluid stream and to provide an improved yield of purified fluid. Said process comprises at least one purification unit (12) and at least one regeneration unit (40) wherein condensed water 62 from the regeneration unit is recycled back into the purification unit and none of the condensed water is reintroduced into the regeneration unit.

A method for recovering CO.sub.2 in the Rectisol process. The method includes at least the following steps: performing reduced-pressure flash distillation treatment on the CO.sub.2-rich methanol liquid, and outputing the CO.sub.2 desorbed gas obtained after the reduced-pressure flash distillation treatment as a product gas; performing heat exchange flash distillation treatment on a first methanol treatment liquid obtained after the reduced-pressure flash distillation treatment, and outputing the CO.sub.2 desorbed gas obtained after the heat exchange flash distillation treatment as a product gas; performing vacuum flash distillation treatment on a second methanol treatment liquid obtained after the heat exchange flash distillation treatment, and outputing the CO.sub.2 desorbed gas obtained after the vacuum flash distillation treatment as a product gas. Reduced-pressure flash distillation treatment, heat exchange flash distillation treatment and vacuum flash distillation treatment are sequentially performed on the CO.sub.2-rich methanol liquid in this method.