Natural Gas Liquefaction Process
First Claim
1. A process for liquefying a gas stream, said process comprising:
- (a) providing said gas stream at a pressure of from 600-1,000 psia (4137-6895 kPa) as a feed gas stream;
(b) providing a refrigerant at a pressure of less than 1,000 psia (6895 kPa);
(c) compressing said refrigerant to a pressure greater than or equal to 1500 to 5000 psia (10352 to 34474 kPa) to produce a compressed refrigerant;
(d) cooling said compressed refrigerant by indirect heat exchange with a cooling fluid;
(e) expanding the compressed refrigerant of (d) to cool said compressed refrigerant, to produce an expanded, cooled refrigerant at a pressure of from greater than or equal to 100 psia (689 kPa) to less than or equal to 1,000 psia (6895 kPa);
(f) passing said expanded, cooled refrigerant to a first heat exchange area;
(g) compressing the feed gas stream of (a) to a pressure of from greater than or equal to 1,200 psia (8,274 kPa) to less than or equal to 4,500 psia (31026 kPa) to produce a compressed feed gas stream;
(h) cooling said compressed feed gas stream by indirect heat exchange with an external cooling fluid; and
,(i) passing said compressed feed gas stream through the first heat exchange area to cool at least a part thereof by indirect heat exchange, to produce a compressed, further cooled feed gas stream.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The described invention relates to processes and systems for treating a gas stream, particularly one rich in methane for forming liquefied natural gas (LNG), said process including: (a) providing a gas stream; (b) providing a refrigerant; (c) compressing said refrigerant to provide a compressed refrigerant; (d) cooling said compressed refrigerant by indirect heat exchange with a cooling fluid; (e) expanding the refrigerant of (d) to cool said refrigerant, thereby producing an expanded, cooled refrigerant; (f) passing said expanded, cooled refrigerant to a first heat exchange area; (g) compressing the gas stream of (a) to a pressure of from greater than or equal to 1,000 psia to less than or equal to 4,500 psia; (h) cooling said compressed gas stream by indirect heat exchange with an external cooling fluid; and heat exchanging the compressed gas stream with the expanded, cooled refrigerant stream.
121 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A process for liquefying a gas stream, said process comprising:
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(a) providing said gas stream at a pressure of from 600-1,000 psia (4137-6895 kPa) as a feed gas stream; (b) providing a refrigerant at a pressure of less than 1,000 psia (6895 kPa); (c) compressing said refrigerant to a pressure greater than or equal to 1500 to 5000 psia (10352 to 34474 kPa) to produce a compressed refrigerant; (d) cooling said compressed refrigerant by indirect heat exchange with a cooling fluid; (e) expanding the compressed refrigerant of (d) to cool said compressed refrigerant, to produce an expanded, cooled refrigerant at a pressure of from greater than or equal to 100 psia (689 kPa) to less than or equal to 1,000 psia (6895 kPa); (f) passing said expanded, cooled refrigerant to a first heat exchange area; (g) compressing the feed gas stream of (a) to a pressure of from greater than or equal to 1,200 psia (8,274 kPa) to less than or equal to 4,500 psia (31026 kPa) to produce a compressed feed gas stream; (h) cooling said compressed feed gas stream by indirect heat exchange with an external cooling fluid; and
,(i) passing said compressed feed gas stream through the first heat exchange area to cool at least a part thereof by indirect heat exchange, to produce a compressed, further cooled feed gas stream. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system for treating a gaseous feed stream, comprising:
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(a) a gaseous feed stream; (b) a first refrigeration loop having a refrigerant stream, a first compression unit, and a first cooler configured to produce a compressed, cooled refrigerant stream; (c) a second compression unit configured to compress the gaseous feed stream to greater than 1,000 psia (6895 kPa) to form a compressed gaseous feed stream; (d) a second cooler configured to cool the compressed gaseous feed stream to form a compressed, cooled gaseous feed stream, wherein the second cooler utilizes an external cooling fluid; and (e) a first heat exchange area configured to further cool the compressed, cooled gaseous feed stream at least partially by indirect heat exchange with the compressed, cooled refrigerant stream to produce a sub-cooled, compressed, cooled gaseous feed stream. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification