Liquid natural gas fractionation and regasification plant
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A LNG regasification plant comprising:
- a liquefied natural gas storage vessel having a receiving port that is configured to receive liquefied natural gas and further having separate liquid withdrawal and vapor withdrawal ports that are configured to allow separate withdrawal of a liquefied natural gas liquid and a liquefied natural gas vapor from the storage vessel;
a fractionator that is fluidly coupled to the storage vessel and configured to receive a fractionator feed, wherein the fractionator is configured to allow production of (a) an overhead product comprising C2 and lighter components and (b) a bottom product comprising C3 and heavier components;
a first conduit configured to combine the bottom product comprising C3 and heavier components with the liquefied natural gas vapor from the storage vessel to thereby form a two-phase mixture;
a heat exchanger configured to condense the two-phase mixture using refrigeration content of the natural gas liquid to thereby form the fractionator feed; and
an overhead condenser coupled to the fractionator and configured to allow refrigeration content of the liquefied natural gas liquid to condense the overhead product comprising C2 and lighter components; and
a second conduit configured to combine the condensed overhead product comprising C2 and lighter components with the liquefied natural gas liquid to so produce a sendout stream.
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Abstract
LNG vapor from an LNG storage vessel is absorbed using C3 and heavier components provided by a fractionator that receives a mixture of LNG vapors and the C3 and heavier components as fractionator feed. In such configurations, refrigeration content of the LNG liquid from the LNG storage vessel is advantageously used to condense the LNG vapor after separation. Where desired, a portion of the LNG liquid may also be used as fractionator feed to produce LPG as a bottom product.
32 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A LNG regasification plant comprising:
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a liquefied natural gas storage vessel having a receiving port that is configured to receive liquefied natural gas and further having separate liquid withdrawal and vapor withdrawal ports that are configured to allow separate withdrawal of a liquefied natural gas liquid and a liquefied natural gas vapor from the storage vessel; a fractionator that is fluidly coupled to the storage vessel and configured to receive a fractionator feed, wherein the fractionator is configured to allow production of (a) an overhead product comprising C2 and lighter components and (b) a bottom product comprising C3 and heavier components; a first conduit configured to combine the bottom product comprising C3 and heavier components with the liquefied natural gas vapor from the storage vessel to thereby form a two-phase mixture; a heat exchanger configured to condense the two-phase mixture using refrigeration content of the natural gas liquid to thereby form the fractionator feed; and an overhead condenser coupled to the fractionator and configured to allow refrigeration content of the liquefied natural gas liquid to condense the overhead product comprising C2 and lighter components; and a second conduit configured to combine the condensed overhead product comprising C2 and lighter components with the liquefied natural gas liquid to so produce a sendout stream. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of handling liquefied natural gas vapor in a LNG regasification plant, comprising:
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separately and concurrently withdrawing from a liquefied natural gas storage vessel a liquefied natural gas liquid and a liquefied natural gas vapor; mixing the liquefied natural gas vapor from the storage vessel with a fractionator bottom product comprising C3 and heavier components to thereby form a two-phase mixture, and condensing the two-phase mixture in a heat exchanger using refrigeration content of the natural gas liquid to so form a fractionator feed; feeding the fractionator feed into a fractionator to thereby form the fractionator bottom product comprising C3 and heavier components and a stream of C2 and lighter components; withdrawing the condensed stream of C2 and lighter components from the fractionator, then condensing in an overhead condenser the stream of C2 and lighter components using refrigeration content of the liquefied natural gas liquid; and combining the condensed stream of C2 and lighter components with the liquefied natural gas liquid to so produce a sendout stream. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification