A heat exchanger system includes a core-in-shell heat exchanger and a liquid/gas separator. The liquid/gas separator is configured to receive a liquid/gas mixture and to separate the gas from the liquid. The liquid/gas separator is connected to the core-in-shell heat exchanger via a first line for transmitting gas from the liquid/gas separator to a first region in the core-in-shell heat exchanger and connected to the core-in-shell heat exchanger via a second line for transmitting liquid from the liquid/gas separator to a second region of the core-in-shell heat exchanger.

A method for efficiently reducing the energy required to convert natural gas from a natural gas pressure letdown facility at high pressure and pipeline/wellhead temperature to liquid natural gas in close proximity to/collocation with a natural gas pressure letdown/regulation facility using Non-Freezing Vortex Tubes (U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,231) in arrangement with indirect contact heat exchangers. The Non-Freezing Vortex Tubes separate the inlet natural gas into hot flow and cold flow outlet natural gas flows. One portion of the natural gas flow from the high-pressure transmission line/gas wellhead is directed through the Non-Freezing Vortex Tube and the cold outlet flow of the natural gas is directed to the indirect contact heat exchanger(s) to act as the cooling medium. The liquid natural gas plant's required natural gas flow is directed at the existing pipeline/wellhead gas pressure through the heat exchanger and cooled. The already cooled natural gas flow is directed to a turbo expander and refrigeration cold box system where it is further chilled and converted into liquid natural gas at −162° C.

A process and an apparatus are disclosed for the recovery of components from a hydrocarbon gas stream containing significant quantities of components more volatile than methane (hydrogen, nitrogen, etc.). The gas stream is partially condensed, then the remaining vapor is expanded to lower pressure and supplied to a fractionation tower at a mid-column feed position. The condensed liquid is cooled and divided into two portions. The first portion is expanded to tower pressure, heated by cooling the liquid, and supplied to the tower at a lower column feed position. The second portion is further cooled, expanded to tower pressure, and supplied to the tower at a top feed position. The tower overhead vapor is heated by cooling the second portion. The quantities and temperatures of the feeds to the tower maintain the overhead temperature of the tower whereby the major portion of the desired components is recovered.

A system and method for cooling a gas using a mixed refrigerant includes a compressor system and a heat exchange system, where the compressor system may include an interstage separation device or drum with no liquid outlet, a liquid outlet in fluid communication with a pump that pumps liquid forward to a high pressure separation device or a liquid outlet through which liquid flows to the heat exchanger to be subcooled. In the last situation, the subcooled liquid is expanded and combined with an expanded cold temperature stream, which is a cooled and expanded stream from the vapor side of a cold vapor separation device, and subcooled and expanded streams from liquid sides of the high pressure separation device and the cold vapor separation device, or combined with a stream formed from the subcooled streams from the liquid sides of the high pressure separation device and the cold vapor separation device after mixing and expansion, to form a primary refrigeration stream.

A process for recovering hydrogen from dehydrogenation reactor effluent is disclosed. A feed stream comprising hydrocarbons and hydrogen to a dehydrogenation reactor maintained at dehydrogenation conditions to provide a dehydrogenation reactor effluent. The dehydrogenation reactor effluent is passed to a cold box separation unit to provide a liquid hydrocarbon product stream and a recycle hydrogen stream. A return portion of the recycle hydrogen stream is passed to the reactor effluent compressor. The subject matter disclosed improved process and apparatus which enables the paraffin dehydrogenation reactor to run at reduced H.sub.2/HC ratio without requiring an investment in a resized compressor or resized turboexpanders or separators in the cold box.

A plant for energy storage, comprises: a basin (2) for a work fluid having a critical temperature (T.sub.c) lower than 0°; a tank (3) configured to store the work fluid in at least partly liquid or super-critical phase with a storage temperature (T.sub.s) close to the critical temperature (T.sub.c); an expander (4); a compressor (5); an operating/drive machine (6) operatively connected to the expander (4) and to the compressor (5); a thermal store (8) operatively interposed between the compressor (5) and the tank (3) and between the tank (3) and the expander (4). The plant (1) is configured for actuating a Cyclic Thermodynamic Transformation (TTC) with the work fluid, first in a storage configuration and then in a discharge configuration. The thermal store (8), in the storage configuration, is configured for absorbing sensible heat and subsequently latent heat from the work fluid and, in the discharge configuration, it is configured for transferring latent heat and subsequently sensible heat to the work fluid.

A process for recovering hydrogen from dehydrogenation reactor effluent is disclosed. A feed stream comprising hydrocarbons and hydrogen to a dehydrogenation reactor maintained at dehydrogenation conditions to provide a dehydrogenation reactor effluent. The dehydrogenation reactor effluent is passed to a cold box separation unit to provide a liquid hydrocarbon product stream and a recycle hydrogen stream. A return portion of the recycle hydrogen stream is passed to the reactor effluent compressor. The subject matter disclosed improved process and apparatus which enables the paraffin dehydrogenation reactor to run at reduced H.sub.2/HC ratio without requiring an investment in a resized compressor or resized turboexpanders or separators in the cold box.

A system and method for cooling a gas using a mixed refrigerant includes a compressor system and a heat exchange system, where the compressor system may include an interstage separation device or drum with no liquid outlet, a liquid outlet in fluid communication with a pump that pumps liquid forward to a high pressure separation device or a liquid outlet through which liquid flows to the heat exchanger to be subcooled. In the last situation, the subcooled liquid is expanded and combined with an expanded cold temperature stream, which is a cooled and expanded stream from the vapor side of a cold vapor separation device, and subcooled and expanded streams from liquid sides of the high pressure separation device and the cold vapor separation device, or combined with a stream formed from the subcooled streams from the liquid sides of the high pressure separation device and the cold vapor separation device after mixing and expansion, to form a primary refrigeration stream.

A system for processing an LNG feed, the system comprising: a bulk removal stage arranged to remove and release CO.sub.2 liquid from the inflow feed, said bulk removal stage including a first HGMT device, and; a polishing stage arranged to receive a lean CO.sub.2 feed from the first HGMT device, said polishing stage arranged to remove and release residual CO.sub.2, the polishing stage including a second HGMT device; wherein the polishing stage is arranged to release an outflow of CO.sub.2 stripped LNG.

The present invention corresponds to a gas cooling and condensing system using fluid energy and comprising a gas feed line, a first vortex tube connected to the gas feed line, a second vortex tube connected to the first vortex tube and a first heat exchanger connected to the second vortex tube and to the gas feed line. Said gas cooling and condensing system is a modular system, which may be replicated and connected in series or in parallel to another modular system to obtain a cooler or higher mass flow gas than that obtained with a single modular system.

Moreover, the system of the present invention is optionally connected to thermal recovery, pressure recovery, recirculation or venting elements for the utilization of the waste gas streams. Furthermore, the system of the present invention does not require additional energy to that obtained from the pressure of the feed line for obtaining liquefied gas. On the other hand, the system of the present invention taps the pressure drop required between the compressed gas transport and distribution activities.