Configurations And Methods For Offshore LNG Regasification And Heating Value Conditioning
First Claim
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1. A method of providing a natural gas product, comprising:
- providing vaporized supercritical LNG at a temperature of −
20°
F. to 20°
F. to an LNG processing unit;
expanding the vaporized LNG in the LNG processing unit and using refrigeration content of the expanded vaporized LNG to provide cooling to a first recompressor feed and a reflux condenser to thereby form a heated vaporized LNG stream;
splitting the heated vaporized LNG stream into a first and second portion;
condensing the first portion to form a reflux stream for a demethanizer, wherein the reflux stream has a temperature sufficient for recovery of at least C2 components, and turbo-expanding the second portion and feeding the expanded second portion to the demethanizer; and
producing a demethanizer overhead product.
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Abstract
Contemplated plant configurations and methods employ a vaporized and supercritical LNG stream at an intermediate temperature that is expanded, wherein refrigeration content of the expanded LNG is used to chill one or more recompressor feed streams and to condense a demethanizer reflux. One portion of the so warmed and expanded LNG is condensed and fed to the demethanizer as reflux, while the other portion is expanded and fed to the demethanizer as feed stream. Most preferably, the demethanizer overhead is combined with a portion of the vaporized and supercritical LNG stream to form a pipeline product.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of providing a natural gas product, comprising:
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providing vaporized supercritical LNG at a temperature of −
20°
F. to 20°
F. to an LNG processing unit;expanding the vaporized LNG in the LNG processing unit and using refrigeration content of the expanded vaporized LNG to provide cooling to a first recompressor feed and a reflux condenser to thereby form a heated vaporized LNG stream; splitting the heated vaporized LNG stream into a first and second portion; condensing the first portion to form a reflux stream for a demethanizer, wherein the reflux stream has a temperature sufficient for recovery of at least C2 components, and turbo-expanding the second portion and feeding the expanded second portion to the demethanizer; and producing a demethanizer overhead product. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A gas treatment plant comprising:
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an LNG vaporizer that is configured to provide vaporized supercritical LNG at a temperature of −
20°
F. to 20°
F.;an expander that is coupled to the vaporizer and configured to expand the vaporized LNG to thereby form a chilled expanded LNG stream; a first and second heat exchanger configured to provide cooling to a first recompressor feed and a reflux condenser, respectively, wherein the first and second heat exchangers are configured to use refrigeration content of the chilled expanded LNG stream and to thereby form a heated vaporized LNG stream; a third heat exchanger that is configured to condense a first portion of the heated vaporized LNG stream, and a demethanizer that is configured to receive the condensed first portion as a reflux and that is further configured to provide a demethanizer overhead product; and a turbo-expander that is configured to expand a second portion of the heated vaporized LNG stream to thereby form a demethanizer feed. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification