METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COOLING A GASEOUS HYDROCARBON STREAM
First Claim
1. A method of cooling a gaseous hydrocarbon stream to produce a liquefied hydrocarbon stream, comprising:
- cooling the gaseous hydrocarbon stream in one or more heat exchangers using a first refrigerant from a first refrigerant circuit in which said first refrigerant is compressed in a first compressor driven by a first gas turbine having a first inlet air stream, said cooling providing a cooled hydrocarbon stream;
20 liquefying the cooled hydrocarbon stream using a second refrigerant, which second refrigerant is compressed in a second compressor driven by a second gas turbine having a second inlet air stream, and cooled at least by heat exchanging with said first refrigerant from the first refrigerant circuit, said liquefying providing a liquefied hydrocarbon stream;
providing a stream of a chilled coolant, comprising chilling a fluid;
dividing the cooling duty available in the chilled coolant over at least first and second parts in accordance with a common input parameter;
cooling one of both of said first and second inlet air streams with the chilled coolant, whereby the cooling duty available in the first part is used to cool the first inlet air stream, and the cooling duty available in the second part is used to cool the second inlet air stream,wherein said providing of the cooled hydrocarbon stream comprises producing a partially condensed hydrocarbon stream from the gaseous hydrocarbon stream and passing the partially condensed hydrocarbon stream through a gas/liquid phase separator and drawing a liquid bottom stream and a vaporous overhead stream from the gas/liquid phase separator, and wherein the fluid is actively chilled using refrigeration duty taken from the liquid bottom stream.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A gaseous hydrocarbon stream (10) is cooled to produce a liquefied hydrocarbon stream (20). The gaseous hydrocarbon stream (10) is cooled in one or more heat exchangers (140a) using a first refrigerant from a first refrigerant circuit (100) in which said first refrigerant is compressed in a first compressor (110) driven by a first gas turbine (120) having a first inlet air stream (125) and liquefied using a second refrigerant circuit (200) wherein a second refrigerant is compressed in a second compressor (210) driven by a second gas turbine (220) and having a second inlet air stream (225). The cooling duty available in a stream of a chilled coolant (320) is divided over at least first (340) and second (350) parts in accordance with a common input parameter, and one or both of said first and second inlet air streams (125, 225) are cooled with the chilled coolant (320), whereby the cooling duty available in the first part (340) is used to cool the first inlet air stream (125), and the cooling duty available in the second part (350) is used to cool the second inlet air stream (225).
18 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method of cooling a gaseous hydrocarbon stream to produce a liquefied hydrocarbon stream, comprising:
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cooling the gaseous hydrocarbon stream in one or more heat exchangers using a first refrigerant from a first refrigerant circuit in which said first refrigerant is compressed in a first compressor driven by a first gas turbine having a first inlet air stream, said cooling providing a cooled hydrocarbon stream; 20 liquefying the cooled hydrocarbon stream using a second refrigerant, which second refrigerant is compressed in a second compressor driven by a second gas turbine having a second inlet air stream, and cooled at least by heat exchanging with said first refrigerant from the first refrigerant circuit, said liquefying providing a liquefied hydrocarbon stream; providing a stream of a chilled coolant, comprising chilling a fluid; dividing the cooling duty available in the chilled coolant over at least first and second parts in accordance with a common input parameter; cooling one of both of said first and second inlet air streams with the chilled coolant, whereby the cooling duty available in the first part is used to cool the first inlet air stream, and the cooling duty available in the second part is used to cool the second inlet air stream, wherein said providing of the cooled hydrocarbon stream comprises producing a partially condensed hydrocarbon stream from the gaseous hydrocarbon stream and passing the partially condensed hydrocarbon stream through a gas/liquid phase separator and drawing a liquid bottom stream and a vaporous overhead stream from the gas/liquid phase separator, and wherein the fluid is actively chilled using refrigeration duty taken from the liquid bottom stream. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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5. (canceled)
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8. (canceled)
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13. An apparatus for cooling a gaseous hydrocarbon stream to produce a liquefied hydrocarbon stream, comprising:
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a first refrigerant circuit comprising a first refrigerant, a first compressor, a first gas turbine coupled to the first compressor to drive the first compressor, and a first inlet air stream to the first gas turbine;
the first compressor arranged to compress said first refrigerant;a second refrigerant circuit comprising a second refrigerant, a second compressor, a second gas turbine coupled to the second compressor to drive the second compressor, and a second inlet air stream to the second gas turbine;
the second compressor arranged to compress said second refrigerant;one or more first heat exchangers arranged to receive and cool the gaseous hydrocarbon stream and the second refrigerant, using said first refrigerant from said cooling providing a cooled hydrocarbon stream and a cooled second refrigerant stream; one or more second heat exchangers arranged to receive and liquefy the cooled hydrocarbon stream using the cooled second refrigerant stream, so as to provide a liquefied hydrocarbon stream; a stream of a chilled coolant composed of a chilled fluid; a divider to divide the chilled coolant over at least first and second parts in accordance with a common input parameter; a first inlet air cooling heat exchanger arranged in the first inlet air stream to cool the first inlet air stream with the first part of the chilled coolant; a second inlet air cooling heat exchanger arranged in the second inlet air stream to cool the second inlet air stream with the second part of the chilled coolant, a gas/liquid phase separator arranged to receive the hydrocarbon stream, connected to a vaporous overhead stream line and connected to a liquid bottom stream line; a bottom stream heat exchanger arranged in the liquid bottom stream line and arranged to add heat to at least part of the liquid bottom stream in the liquid bottom stream line, wherein the fluid is a heat source for adding the heat whereby the fluid is actively chilled using refrigeration duty taken from the liquid bottom stream. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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16. A method of producing a liquefied hydrocarbon stream, comprising:
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indirect heat exchanging a hydrocarbon stream in one or more heat exchangers against one or more refrigerants from one or more refrigerant circuits, at least one of which refrigerant circuits comprising a compressor driven by a gas turbine by which compressor the refrigerant of that refrigerant circuit is compressed; withdrawing a fraction from the hydrocarbon stream after it has been heat exchanged in at least one of the one or more heat exchangers, wherein said withdrawing comprises producing a partially condensed hydrocarbon stream from the gaseous hydrocarbon stream;
passing the partially condensed hydrocarbon stream through a gas/liquid phase separator; and
drawing a liquid bottom stream and a vaporous overhead stream from the gas/liquid phase separator, and wherein said fraction from the hydrocarbon stream comprises at least the liquid bottom stream withdrawn from the gas/liquid separator;providing a stream of a chilled coolant by indirect heat exchanging the chilled coolant against at least a part of the withdrawn fraction of the hydrocarbon stream that is not cycled in a refrigerant circuit; chilling an inlet air stream comprising heat exchanging with the chilled coolant to produce a chilled inlet air stream, and feeding the chilled inlet air stream to the gas turbine; wherein the produced liquefied hydrocarbon stream comprises at least part of the hydrocarbon stream that has not been withdrawn. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An apparatus for producing a liquefied hydrocarbon stream, comprising:
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one or more refrigerant circuits each comprising a refrigerant, at least one of which refrigerant circuits comprising a compressor driven by a gas turbine, for compressing the refrigerant of that refrigerant circuit; an inlet air stream to the gas turbine; one or more heat exchangers for indirectly heat exchanging a hydrocarbon stream against one or more refrigerants from the one or more refrigerant circuits, including said at least one; withdrawing means for withdrawing a fraction of the hydrocarbon stream downstream of at least one of the one or more heat exchangers and providing a remaining hydrocarbon stream from which the fraction has been withdrawn, wherein the withdrawing means comprises a gas/liquid separator having an overhead outlet for discharging a vaporous overhead stream and a bottom outlet for discharging a liquid bottom stream, whereby said fraction of the hydrocarbon stream comprises the liquid bottom stream and said remaining stream comprises the vaporous overhead stream; a chiller connected to the withdrawing means and arranged to receive at least part of the withdrawn fraction from the withdrawing means, and further arranged to indirectly heat exchange a coolant fluid against the at least part of the withdrawn fraction to produce a stream of a chilled coolant from the coolant fluid; an inlet air cooling heat exchanger arranged in the inlet air stream to cool the inlet air stream with the chilled coolant; a feed duct to feed the cooled inlet air stream from the inlet air cooling heat exchanger into the gas turbine; conduit means for conveying a liquefied hydrocarbon stream that comprises at least part of the remaining hydrocarbon stream.
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Specification