Process and apparatus for the purification of natural gas and products
First Claim
1. A process for purification of a source gas in order to eliminate volatile mercaptan sulfur compounds, comprising cooling and drying a source gas, supplying the source gas to an absorption column under pressure, the absorption column receiving a reflux fluid and producing, as a head product, a purified gas with a mercaptan level of less than 30 parts per million, and a base product supplied to a fractionating column which separates the most volatile compounds of the source gas, free from mercaptans, from a gasoline fraction withdrawn from a base and containing mercaptans, the most volatile mercaptans being eliminated at the head of at least one distillation column producing a base end product consisting of liquid gasoline with a mixture of C5 hydrocarbons and heavier hydrocarbons that, after a sweetening process so as to no longer contain volatile mercaptans, are mixed with the most volatile compounds separated at a top of the fractionating column and recompressed from the source gas, to produce a mixture, cooling the mixture, and sending the mixture by reflux to the absorption column as the reflux fluid.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A process and apparatus for the purification of a gas, in particular natural gas, in order to eliminate mercaptans without the use of gas adsorption or cryogenic expansion processes. Natural gas, dried and cooled, is supplied to an absorption column under pressure, producing a head product of a purified gas, and a base product supplied to a fractionating column which separates the most volatile compounds, free from mercaptans, from a gasoline fraction of the natural gas. The mercaptans are eliminated at the head of at least one distillation column, producing a base end product consisting of a mixture of C5 hydrocarbons, heavier than and free from volatile mercaptans, partially mixed with the most volatile recompressed compounds of the natural gas. This mixture is cooled and sent by reflux to the absorption column.
-
Citations
14 Claims
- 1. A process for purification of a source gas in order to eliminate volatile mercaptan sulfur compounds, comprising cooling and drying a source gas, supplying the source gas to an absorption column under pressure, the absorption column receiving a reflux fluid and producing, as a head product, a purified gas with a mercaptan level of less than 30 parts per million, and a base product supplied to a fractionating column which separates the most volatile compounds of the source gas, free from mercaptans, from a gasoline fraction withdrawn from a base and containing mercaptans, the most volatile mercaptans being eliminated at the head of at least one distillation column producing a base end product consisting of liquid gasoline with a mixture of C5 hydrocarbons and heavier hydrocarbons that, after a sweetening process so as to no longer contain volatile mercaptans, are mixed with the most volatile compounds separated at a top of the fractionating column and recompressed from the source gas, to produce a mixture, cooling the mixture, and sending the mixture by reflux to the absorption column as the reflux fluid.
Specification