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WO2012177405A1 - Procédé de séparation d'azote et de méthane en deux étapes - Google Patents

Procédé de séparation d'azote et de méthane en deux étapes Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2012177405A1
WO2012177405A1 PCT/US2012/041284 US2012041284W WO2012177405A1 WO 2012177405 A1 WO2012177405 A1 WO 2012177405A1 US 2012041284 W US2012041284 W US 2012041284W WO 2012177405 A1 WO2012177405 A1 WO 2012177405A1
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Prior art keywords
stream
fractionating column
overhead
pressure
bottoms
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
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PCT/US2012/041284
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English (en)
Inventor
Rayburn C. Butts
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Butts Properties Ltd
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Butts Properties Ltd
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Priority to MX2013015371A priority Critical patent/MX2013015371A/es
Priority to CA2840072A priority patent/CA2840072A1/fr
Priority to PH1/2013/502647A priority patent/PH12013502647A1/en
Publication of WO2012177405A1 publication Critical patent/WO2012177405A1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J3/00—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification
    • F25J3/02—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification by rectification, i.e. by continuous interchange of heat and material between a vapour stream and a liquid stream
    • F25J3/0204—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification by rectification, i.e. by continuous interchange of heat and material between a vapour stream and a liquid stream characterised by the feed stream
    • F25J3/0209—Natural gas or substitute natural gas
    • F25J3/0214—Liquefied natural gas
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J3/00—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification
    • F25J3/02—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification by rectification, i.e. by continuous interchange of heat and material between a vapour stream and a liquid stream
    • F25J3/0204—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification by rectification, i.e. by continuous interchange of heat and material between a vapour stream and a liquid stream characterised by the feed stream
    • F25J3/0209—Natural gas or substitute natural gas
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J3/00—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification
    • F25J3/02—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification by rectification, i.e. by continuous interchange of heat and material between a vapour stream and a liquid stream
    • F25J3/0228—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification by rectification, i.e. by continuous interchange of heat and material between a vapour stream and a liquid stream characterised by the separated product stream
    • F25J3/0233—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification by rectification, i.e. by continuous interchange of heat and material between a vapour stream and a liquid stream characterised by the separated product stream separation of CnHm with 1 carbon atom or more
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J3/00—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification
    • F25J3/02—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification by rectification, i.e. by continuous interchange of heat and material between a vapour stream and a liquid stream
    • F25J3/0228—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification by rectification, i.e. by continuous interchange of heat and material between a vapour stream and a liquid stream characterised by the separated product stream
    • F25J3/0238—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification by rectification, i.e. by continuous interchange of heat and material between a vapour stream and a liquid stream characterised by the separated product stream separation of CnHm with 2 carbon atoms or more
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J3/00—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification
    • F25J3/02—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification by rectification, i.e. by continuous interchange of heat and material between a vapour stream and a liquid stream
    • F25J3/0228—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification by rectification, i.e. by continuous interchange of heat and material between a vapour stream and a liquid stream characterised by the separated product stream
    • F25J3/0257—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification by rectification, i.e. by continuous interchange of heat and material between a vapour stream and a liquid stream characterised by the separated product stream separation of nitrogen
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J2200/00—Processes or apparatus using separation by rectification
    • F25J2200/04—Processes or apparatus using separation by rectification in a dual pressure main column system
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J2200/00—Processes or apparatus using separation by rectification
    • F25J2200/08—Processes or apparatus using separation by rectification in a triple pressure main column system
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J2200/00—Processes or apparatus using separation by rectification
    • F25J2200/70—Refluxing the column with a condensed part of the feed stream, i.e. fractionator top is stripped or self-rectified
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J2200/00—Processes or apparatus using separation by rectification
    • F25J2200/74—Refluxing the column with at least a part of the partially condensed overhead gas
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J2230/00—Processes or apparatus involving steps for increasing the pressure of gaseous process streams
    • F25J2230/32—Compression of the product stream
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J2235/00—Processes or apparatus involving steps for increasing the pressure or for conveying of liquid process streams
    • F25J2235/60—Processes or apparatus involving steps for increasing the pressure or for conveying of liquid process streams the fluid being (a mixture of) hydrocarbons
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J2270/00—Refrigeration techniques used
    • F25J2270/02—Internal refrigeration with liquid vaporising loop

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a system and method for separating nitrogen from methane and other components from natural gas streams.
  • the invention also relates to a system and method for integrating natural gas liquids (NGL) extraction with nitrogen removal.
  • NNL natural gas liquids
  • the system and method of the invention are particularly suitable for use in recovering and processing feed streams typically in excess of 50 MMSCFD.
  • Nitrogen contamination is a frequently encountered problem in the production of natural gas from underground reservoirs.
  • the nitrogen may be naturally occurring or may have been injected into the reservoir as part of an enhanced recovery operation.
  • Transporting pipelines typically do not accept natural gas containing more than 4 mole percent inerts, such as nitrogen.
  • the natural gas feed stream is generally processed to remove such inerts for sale and transportation of the processed natural gas.
  • One method for removing nitrogen from natural gas is to process the nitrogen and methane containing stream through a nitrogen rejection unit or NRU.
  • the NRU may be comprised of two cryogenic fractionating columns, such as that described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,451 ,275 and 4,609,390. These two column systems have the advantage of achieving high nitrogen purity in the nitrogen vent stream, but require higher capital expenditures for additional plant equipment, including the second column, and may require higher operating expenditures for refrigeration horsepower and for compression horsepower for the resulting methane stream.
  • the NRU may also be comprised of a single fractionating column, such as that described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,141 ,544, 5,257,505, and 5,375,422.
  • These single column systems have the advantage of reduced capital expenditures on equipment, including elimination of the second column, and reduced operating expenditures because no external refrigeration equipment is necessary.
  • many prior NRU systems have limitations associated with processing NRU feed streams containing high concentrations of carbon dioxide. Nitrogen rejection processes involve cryogenic temperatures, which may result in carbon dioxide freezing in certain stages of the process causing blockage of process flow and process disruption. Carbon dioxide is typically removed by conventional methods from the NRU feed stream, to a maximum of approximately 35 parts per million (ppm) carbon dioxide, to avoid these issues.
  • the system and method disclosed herein facilitate the economically efficient removal of nitrogen from methane in a two step process.
  • the system and method are particularly suitable for NRU feed gas flow rates in excess of 50 MMSCFD and are capable of processing NRU feed gas flow rates of up to around 750 MMSCFD.
  • the system and method are also capable of processing NRU feed gas containing concentrations of carbon dioxide up to approximately 75 ppm for typical nitrogen levels between 20-50%
  • a system and method for processing an NRU feed gas stream containing primarily nitrogen and methane through two fractionating columns to produce a processed natural gas stream suitable for sale to a transporting pipeline.
  • the first stage column is designed to remove methane and heavier hydrocarbon components from nitrogen, while the second stage column is designed to remove nitrogen from the remaining methane.
  • the overhead stream from the first stage column feeds the second stage column.
  • the NRU feed gas and the first stage overhead stream are not cooled to traditional targeted temperatures of -200 to -245 degrees F.
  • the bottoms streams from the first and second fractionating columns are at varying pressures after further processing and are separately fed to a series of compressors to achieve a processed gas product stream of sufficient pressure for sale, typically at least 615 psia.
  • the higher temperatures in the feeds to the fractionating columns allows the bulk of the methane to be separated from the NRU feed stream while reducing the overall compression required for the process by up to 40% when compared to traditional NRU processes.
  • a system and method for NGL extraction integrated into the two column NRU process downstream from the first stage column.
  • the separation of NGL components is more difficult in streams containing more than 5% nitrogen because nitrogen has a stripping effect, absorbing ethane and heavier components.
  • the bulk methane and heavier components are removed from the nitrogen in the first column, allowing the bottoms stream containing less than 4% nitrogen, to be further processed for extraction of NGL.
  • references to separation of nitrogen and methane used herein refer to processing NRU feed gas to produce various multi-component product streams containing large amounts of the particular desired component, but not pure streams of any particular component.
  • One of those product streams is a nitrogen vent stream, which is primarily comprised of nitrogen but may have small amounts of other components, such as methane and ethane.
  • Another product stream is a processed gas stream, which is primarily comprised of methane but may have small of other components, such as nitrogen, ethane, and propane.
  • a third product stream is an NGL product stream, which is primarily comprised of ethane, propane, and butane but may contain amounts of other components, such as hexane and pentane.
  • FIG. 1 is a simplified process flow diagram illustrating principal processing stages of one embodiment of a system and method for separating nitrogen and methane;
  • FIG. 2 is a simplified process flow diagram illustrating principal processing stages of another embodiment of a system and method for separating nitrogen and methane including NGL extraction;
  • FIG. 3 is a more detailed process flow diagram illustrating the nitrogen-methane separation portion of the simplified process flow diagram of FIG. 1 ;
  • FIG. 4 is a more detailed process flow diagram illustrating the compression portion of the simplified process flow diagram of FIG. 1 ;
  • FIG.5 is a more detailed process flow diagram illustrating the nitrogen-methane separation portion of the simplified process flow diagram of FIG. 2;
  • FIG. 6 is a more detailed process flow diagram illustrating the NGL extraction portion of the simplified process flow diagram of FIG. 2;
  • FIG. 7 is a more detailed process flow diagram illustrating the compression portion of the simplified process flow diagram of FIG. 2.
  • system 10 comprises processing equipment useful for separating nitrogen from methane according to one embodiment of the invention is depicted.
  • System 10 of the invention includes processing stages 12, 14, and 18 for processing NRU feed gas 11 to produce a nitrogen vent stream 16 and a processed gas stream 20.
  • Processing stage 12 includes a first stage fractionating column, the overhead stream from which serves as the feed for processing stage 14, which includes a second stage fractionating column.
  • the overhead stream from processing stage 14 is a nitrogen vent stream 16.
  • the bottoms streams from processing stages 12 and 14 feed a series of compressors in processing stage 18 to produce processed gas 20 of sufficient pressure and methane composition to be suitable for sale.
  • system 210 comprises processing equipment useful for separating nitrogen and methane, as well as extracting NGL, according to another embodiment of the invention is depicted.
  • System 210 of the invention includes processing stages 212, 214, and 218 for processing NRU feed gas 211 to produce a nitrogen vent stream 216 and a processed gas stream 220, similar to system 10.
  • Processing stage 212 includes a first stage fractionating column, the overhead stream from which serves as the feed for processing stage 214, which includes a second stage fractionating column.
  • the overhead stream from processing stage 214 is a nitrogen vent stream 216.
  • the bottoms streams from processing stages 212 and 214 feed a series of compressors in processing stage 218 to produce processed gas 220 of sufficient pressure and methane composition to be suitable for sale.
  • the bottoms stream from processing stage 212 also feeds processing stage 410, which includes an NGL fractionating column, the overhead stream from which serves as additional feed for processing stage 218.
  • the bottoms stream from processing stage 410 is the NGL product stream 412.
  • the source of NRU feed gas 11 or 211 is not critical to the system and method of the invention; however, natural gas drilling and processing sites with flow rates of 50 MMSCFD or greater are particularly suitable.
  • the NRU feed gas 11 or 21 1 used as the inlet gas stream for system 10 or 210 will typically contain a substantial amount of nitrogen and methane, as well as other hydrocarbons, such as ethane and propane, and may contain other components, such as water vapor and carbon dioxide.
  • System 10 is depicted in greater detail in FIGS. 3 and 4, with processing stages 12 and 14 depicted in FIG. 3 and processing stage 18 depicted in FIG. 4.
  • a 250 MMSCFD NRU feed stream 11 containing approximately 25% nitrogen and 70% methane at 115° F and 865 psia passes through heat exchanger 22 from which it emerges as stream 24, having been cooled to -132.5° F. This cooling is the result of heat exchange with other process streams, 60, 82, 102, 128, and 136.
  • Stream 24 passes through expansion valve 26 to produce stream 28 having cooled slightly and having a reduction in pressure of around 250 psia (to 615 psia) before entering as the feed stream for the first stage fractionating column 13.
  • Column 13 operates at approximately -122° F to -147° F and 615 psia, which is at a higher temperature and pressure than targeted values in traditional double-column NRU systems.
  • Stream 62 from the bottom of the first stage fractionating column 13 is desirably directed to virtual heat exchanger 64 that receives heat (designated by energy stream Q-10) from heat exchanger 22.
  • Stream 62 is at approximately -123° F and 617 psia and contains approximately 4.6% nitrogen and 85% methane.
  • Vapor stream 66 at approximately -117° F, is returned to the first stage fractionating column 13 as the ascending stripping vapor that strips nitrogen from the hydrocarbon flowing downward through the column.
  • the first stage fractionating column also receives heat (designated by energy stream Q-14) from heat exchanger 22.
  • the NRU feed stream 11 contains no carbon dioxide.
  • system 10 is capable of processing NRU feed streams containing up to 75 ppm carbon dioxide.
  • the physical separation characteristics of carbon dioxide are similar to an average of ethane and propane. With these parameters, the carbon dioxide would be separated in the first stage fractionating column 13 into the bottoms stream, along with methane, ethane, propane, and other hydrocarbons.
  • the bottoms stream 62 (and subsequent process streams) of the first stage fractionating column 13 does not feed the second stage fractionating column 15 so the carbon dioxide containing stream does not enter the cryogenic section of the process (processing stage 14). This eliminates freeze-out problems with prior systems and increases the carbon dioxide tolerance of system 10 according to the invention from approximately 35 ppm in prior systems to 75 ppm.
  • Overhead stream 30 then passes through heat exchanger 32 and exits as stream 34 at -215° F. This cooling is the result of heat exchange with other process streams 54, 80, 100, and 126.
  • Stream 34 passes through primary JT valve 36 and exits the valve as stream 38 having the same temperature as stream 34 but having a reduction in pressure of almost half.
  • the primary JT valve is capable of cooling by the well known Joule-Thomson effect, but in post-start up, steady state operation the valve provides less actual thermal cooling, but does provide the necessary pressure reduction for stream 38, which feeds the second stage fractionating column 15 at -215° F and 325 psia.
  • Stream 86 from the bottom of the second stage fractionating column 15 is directed to virtual reboiler 88 that receives heat (designated as energy stream Q-16) from heat exchanger 32.
  • Stream 86 is at approximately -169° F and 315 psia and contains approximately 5.4% nitrogen and 94% methane.
  • Vapor stream 90, at approximately -163° F, is returned to the second stage fractionating column 15.
  • the second stage fractionating column also receives heat from heat exchanger 32, designated by energy streams Q-18 and Q-20.
  • Overhead stream 40 containing approximately 98% nitrogen and 1.7% methane at -247° F, internally feeds a reflux condenser depicted by separator 42 and heat exchanger 118 and then exits the second stage fractionating column 15. Internal stream 40 passes through internal condenser 118 and then on to separation chamber 42. Liquid stream 44 exits the separation chamber 42 and to provide reflux to the second stage fractionating column 15. Vapor stream 46 exits condenser 42 containing approximately 99.2% nitrogen and 0.8% methane and passes through expansion valve 48 to drop the pressure and temperature of exiting stream 50 to approximately 30 psia and -306.5° F.
  • Stream 50 then passes through subcooler 52, exiting as stream 54 at approximately -187° F and 25 psia.
  • Stream 54 passes through heat exchanger 32 and exits as stream 56, warmed to -152° F.
  • Valve 58 controls stream 56, but exiting stream 60 is at substantially the same temperature and pressure as stream 56.
  • Valve 58 is strategically placed so as to provide another level of refrigeration and made available in the heat exchanger 22. This valve and the associated Joule-Thomson effect allows for further cooling of the process stream 24.
  • Stream 60 then passes through heat exchanger 22 and exits the system as nitrogen vent stream 16.
  • Vent stream 16 contains approximately 99.2% nitrogen, 0.8% methane and a trace amount of ethane at a temperature and pressure of approximately 105° F and 15 psia. Vent stream 16 may be recycled for supplying enhanced oil and gas recovery efforts.
  • stream 138 contains approximately 3% nitrogen, 84% methane, and 8% ethane.
  • Stream 138 is essentially the bottoms stream from the first stage fractionating column 13, after being further processed as described below.
  • Bottoms stream 62 enters virtual heat exchanger 64 to produce vapor stream 66 and liquid stream 68.
  • Liquid stream 68 is split in splitter 70 into streams 72 and 132. Under the parameters of the specific example and operating conditions described herein, splitter 70 is set so that 100% of stream 68 is directed to stream 132. However, under other operating conditions and parameters, some of the flow from stream 68 may be directed to stream 72.
  • Stream 132 is pumped by the first stage bottom pump 134 (powered by energy stream Q-12), with stream 136 exiting pump 134 at approximately 865 psia. Stream 136 then passes through heat exchanger 22 and exits as stream 138.
  • One primary benefit of this design configuration is that all vaporized product in stream 138 can be routed directly to sales gas pipeline without typical sales gas compression. The result is a dramatic reduction in the overall compression requirement as compared to other typical processes.
  • the remaining methane enriched streams 84, 104, and 130 are essentially the bottoms stream from the second stage fractionating column 15, after being further processed as described below.
  • Bottoms stream 86 enters reboiler 88 to produce vapor stream 90 and liquid stream 92.
  • Liquid stream 92 is split by splitter 94 into streams 96 (approximately 15% of the flow), 108 (approximately 26% of the flow), and 126 (approximately 59% of the flow).
  • Streams 92, 96, 108, and 126 are all at approximately -163° F and 315 psia.
  • Stream 96 is controlled by valve 98, with stream 100 exiting the valve at -200° F and 125 psia. Stream 100 then passes through heat exchanger 32 to stream 102, then through heat exchanger 22 to stream 104. Stream 104 is approximately 3% nitrogen and 96% methane at 105° F and 116 psia.
  • Stream 108 passes through subcooler 52, exiting as stream 110 at approximately -290° F and 310 psia.
  • Stream 110 passes through secondary JT valve 1 12, with stream 1 14 exiting the valve.
  • Stream 114 is approximately the same temperature as stream 110, but the pressure has been reduced to approximately 37 psia. Further pressure drop is achieved as stream 114 flows through a vertical (up) length of pipe, becoming stream 1 16 at 22 psia.
  • Stream 115 passes through heat exchanger 118, supplied with energy stream Q-22 from condenser 42, and exits as stream 120 warmed to -249" F.
  • Stream 120 flows through a vertical (down) length of pipe, becoming stream 122, although there is a negligible change in temperature and pressure between streams 120 and 122 in this example.
  • Stream 122 then passes through subcooler 52, exiting as stream 124 with a slight drop in temperature and pressure.
  • Stream 124 then passes through mixer 78 where it is combined with stream 76 to form stream 80.
  • Stream 72 from splitter 70 is controlled by valve 74, from which stream 76 exits. In this example, no flow is directed to streams 72 or 76, so stream 80 is the same composition as stream 124.
  • Stream 80 then passes through heat exchanger 32, with stream 82 warmed to -152° F exiting and passing through heat exchanger 22.
  • Stream 84 containing 3% nitrogen and 96% methane at 105° F and 17 psia, exits heat exchanger 22 from stream 82.
  • Stream 126 passes through heat exchanger 32, with stream 128 warmed slightly exiting and passing through heat exchanger 22.
  • Stream 130 containing 3% nitrogen and 96% methane at 95° F and 307 psia, exits heat exchanger 22 from stream 128.
  • Three of the four methane enriched streams, 84, 104, and 130, are each at different pressures, increasing from the low pressure stream 84 (at 17 psia) to the high pressure stream 130 (at 307 psia). These streams all feed into processing stage 18, where they pass through a series of compressors (described below) to achieve a processed gas stream of sufficient pressure for sale.
  • stream 84 is compressed by compressor 140 (supplied by energy stream Q-140) emerging as stream 142.
  • Stream 142 is at 285° F and 45 psia, but decreases in temperature (and slightly in pressure) after passing through combination heat exchanger/vessel 144 to emerge as stream 146 at 120° F and 40 psia.
  • Stream 146 is compressed by compressor 148 (supplied by energy stream Q- 148) emerging as stream 150 at 320° F and 115 psia.
  • Stream 104 is combined with stream 150, both having substantially equal pressures, and the combined stream passes through the next combination heat exchanger/vessel 152 to emerge as stream 154 at 120° F and 110 psia.
  • Stream 154 is then compressed by compressor 156 (supplied by energy stream Q-156) emerging as stream 158 at 314.5° F and 305 psia.
  • Stream 130 is combined with stream 158, both having substantially equal pressures, and the combined stream passes through the next combination heat exchanger/vessel 160 to emerge as stream 162 at 120° F and 300 psia.
  • Stream 162 is compressed by compressor 164 (supplied by energy stream Q-164) emerging as stream 166.
  • Stream 166 passes through the next vessel 168 to emerge as stream 170 at 120° F and 865 psia.
  • Stream 138 is then mixed with stream 170 in mixer 172, resulting in processed gas stream 20.
  • the processed gas stream 20 is at 1 1 1 ° F and 860 psia, containing 3% nitrogen and 90% methane, suitable for sale.
  • energy streams represented by Q-144, Q-152, Q-160, and Q-168 are created by commercially available heat exchange cooling equipment and may be used to supply energy to other components of the system 10 or other process systems.
  • the power requirements for successively compressing the streams, represented by Q-140, Q-148, Q-156, and Q-164 are substantially lower than the overall power requirements for traditional NRU systems.
  • System 210 is depicted in greater detail in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7, with processing stages 212 and 214 depicted in FIG. 5; processing stage 410 depicted in FIG. 6; and processing stage 218 depicted in FIG. 7. Many of the process steps depicted in FIGS. 5 and 7 are the same as those in FIGS. 3 and 4.
  • a 250 MMSCFD NRU feed stream 211 containing 25% nitrogen, 70% methane, 3% ethane, 25 ppm of carbon dioxide at 115° F and 865 psia passes through heat exchanger 222 from which it emerges as stream 224, having been cooled to -162.5 F.
  • Stream 224 passes through expansion valve 226 to produce stream 228 having substantially the same temperature but having a reduction in pressure of around 250 psia (to 615 psia) before entering as the feed stream for the first stage fractionating column 213.
  • Column 213 operates at approximately -126° F to -163° F and 615 psia, and causes the nitrogen gas to separate from the methane and flow upwardly through the tower as a vapor.
  • Stream 262 from the bottom of the first stage fractionating column 213 is desirably directed to virtual heat exchanger 264 that receives heat (designated by energy stream Q-210) from heat exchanger 222.
  • Stream 262 is at approximately -127° F and 617 psia and contains 5.6% nitrogen and 90% methane.
  • Vapor stream 266, at -119° F, is returned to the first stage fractionating column 213 as the ascending stripping vapor that strips nitrogen from the hydrocarbon flowing downward through the column.
  • the NRU feed stream 211 contains 25 ppm carbon dioxide.
  • system 210 is capable of processing NRU feed streams containing up to 75 ppm carbon dioxide as previously discussed.
  • the carbon dioxide tolerance of system 210 according to the invention is increased from a maximum of around 35 ppm in prior systems to a maximum of around 75 ppm for typical nitrogen levels in the NRU feed stream.
  • Overhead stream 230 exits the first stage fractionating column 213 containing approximately 50% nitrogen and 49.6% methane at -164° F. It is not necessary to use a reflux stream in the first stage fractionating column 213 according to the invention. The operating parameters allow sufficient separation of nitrogen, methane, NGL components, and carbon dioxide without reflux; however, a reflux stream and related equipment could be used with the first stage column of system 210 if desired.
  • Overhead stream 230 then passes through heat exchanger 232 and exits as stream 234 at -225° F.
  • Stream 234 passes through primary JT valve 236 and exits the valve as stream 238 having substantially the same temperature as stream 234 but having a pressure reduction of almost half.
  • the primary JT valve is capable of cooling by the well known Joule-Thomson effect, but in post-start up, steady state operation the valve provides less actual thermal cooling, but does provide the necessary pressure reduction for stream 238, which feeds the second stage fractionating column 215 at - 225° F and 325 psia.
  • Stream 238 enters fractionating column 215 at an intermediate stage of the column.
  • Stream 286 from the bottom of the second stage fractionating column 215 is directed to virtual reboiler 288 that receives heat (designated as energy stream Q- 216) from heat exchanger 232.
  • Stream 286 is at -168° F and 315 psia and contains 5% nitrogen and 94% methane.
  • Vapor stream 290, at approximately -164° F, is returned to the second stage fractionating column 215.
  • the second stage fractionating column also receives heat from heat exchanger 232, designated by energy streams Q-218 and Q- 220.
  • Overhead stream 240 containing approximately 98% nitrogen and 1.7% methane at -247° F, internally feeds a reflux condenser depicted by separator 242 and heat exchanger 318 and then exits the second stage fractionating column 215. Internal stream 240 passes through internal condenser 318 and then on to separation chamber 242. Liquid stream 244 exits the separation chamber 242 and to provide reflux to the second stage fractionating column 215. Vapor stream 246 exits condenser 242 containing approximately 99.2% nitrogen and 0.8% methane and passes through valve 248 to drop the pressure and temperature of exiting stream 250 to approximately 30 psia and -306.5° F.
  • Stream 250 then passes through subcooler 252, exiting as stream 254 at -258° F and 25 psia.
  • Stream 254 passes through heat exchanger 232 and exits as stream 256, warmed to -172° F.
  • Stream 256 then passes through heat exchanger 222 and exits the system as nitrogen vent stream 216.
  • Vent stream 216 contains approximately 99% nitrogen, 0.8% methane and a trace amount of ethane at a temperature and pressure of approximately 105° F and 16 psia. Vent stream 216 may be recycled for supplying enhanced oil and gas recovery efforts.
  • stream 338 which contains approximately 3% nitrogen, 88% methane, and 5% ethane, and 4.3 ppm carbon dioxide.
  • Stream 338 is essentially the bottoms stream from the first stage fractionating column 213, after being further processed as described below.
  • Bottoms stream 262 enters virtual heat exchanger 264 to produce vapor stream 266 and liquid stream 268.
  • Liquid stream 268 is split in splitter 270 into streams 272 and 332. Under the parameters of the specific example and operating conditions described herein, splitter 270 is set so that 100% of stream 268 is directed to stream 332.
  • stream 272 Stream 332 at -119° F and 617 psia passes through expansion valve 334 exiting as stream 336 at -154° F and 315 psia. Stream 336 then passes through heat exchanger 222 and exits as stream 338.
  • the remaining methane enriched streams 284, 304, and 230 are essentially the bottoms stream from the second stage fractionating column 215, after being further processed as described below. Bottoms stream 286 enters reboiler 288 to produce vapor stream 290 and liquid stream 292.
  • Liquid stream 292 is split by splitter 294 into streams 296 (approximately 42% of the flow), 308 (approximately 37% of the flow), and 326 (approximately 21 % of the flow).
  • Streams 292, 296, 308, and 326 are all at -164° F and 315 psia.
  • Stream 296 passes through expansion valve 298, with stream 300 exiting the valve at -200° F and 125 psia.
  • Stream 300 then passes through heat exchanger 232 to stream 302, then through heat exchanger 222 to stream 304.
  • Stream 304 is approximately 3% nitrogen and 96% methane at 107.5° F and 116 psia.
  • Stream 308 passes through subcooler 252, exiting as stream 310 at approximately -285° F and 310 psia.
  • Stream 310 passes through secondary JT valve 312, with stream 314 exiting the valve.
  • Stream 314 is approximately the same temperature as stream 310, but the pressure has been reduced to approximately 36 psia. Further pressure drop is achieved as stream 314 flows through a vertical (up) length of pipe, becoming stream 316 at 21 psia.
  • Stream 316 passes through condenser or heat exchanger 318, supplied with energy stream Q-222 from condenser 242, and exits as stream 320 warmed to -252° F.
  • Stream 320 flows through a vertical (down) length of pipe, becoming stream 322, although there is a negligible change in temperature and pressure between streams 320 and 322 in this example.
  • Stream 322 then passes through subcooler 252, exiting as stream 324 warmed to -200° F and with a slight drop pressure.
  • Stream 324 then passes through mixer 278 where it is combined with stream 276 to form stream 280.
  • Stream 272 from splitter 270 is controlled by valve 274, from which stream 276 exits. In this example, no flow is directed to streams 272 or 276, so stream 280 is the same composition as stream 324. However, under other operating conditions and parameters, some of the flow from stream 268 may be directed to stream 272 through slitter 270.
  • Stream 280 then passes through heat exchanger 232, with stream 282 warmed to -169° F exiting and passing through heat exchanger 222.
  • Stream 326 is mixed with stream 414 (from FIG. 6) in mixer 416 resulting in stream 328.
  • Stream 328 passes through heat exchanger 322, with stream 330 warmed to 109° F and at 307 psia exiting the heat exchanger.
  • Stream 330 contains 3% nitrogen and 94% methane.
  • Three of the four methane enriched streams, 284, 304, and 330, are each at different pressures, increasing from the low pressure stream 284 (at 16 psia) to the high pressure stream 330 (at 307 psia). These streams all feed into processing stage 218 (Fig 7), where they pass through a series of compressors (described below) to achieve a processed gas stream of sufficient pressure for sale.
  • NGL extraction processing stage 410 of system 210 is depicted.
  • Stream 338 containing 3% nitrogen, 88% methane, 5% ethane, and 1.9% propane at -115° F and 312 psia feeds NGL fractionating column 411.
  • This fractionating column 411 produces an overhead stream 414, containing 3.2% nitrogen and 94% methane, that is mixed with stream 326 (see FIG. 5) and a bottoms stream 418 primarily containing NGL, such as ethane and propane.
  • Fractionating column 411 is supplied with heat (designated as energy stream Q-214) from heat exchanger 222.
  • Bottoms stream 418 enters virtual reboiler 420 to produce vapor stream 422 and liquid stream 412.
  • the liquid stream 412 is the NGL product stream containing 42.5% ethane, 27% propane, 0.53% methane, 138 ppm carbon dioxide and a trace amount of nitrogen at 90° F and 314 psia.
  • Virtual reboiler is supplied with heat (designated as energy stream Q-212) from heat exchanger 222.
  • stream 284 is compressed by compressor 340 (supplied by energy stream Q-340) emerging as stream 342.
  • Stream 342 is at 299° F and 45 psia, but decreases in temperature (and slightly in pressure) after passing through combination heat exchanger/vessel 344 to emerge as stream 346 at 120° F and 40 psia.
  • Stream 346 is compressed by compressor 348 (supplied by energy stream Q- 348) emerging as stream 350 at 321 ° F and 1 15 psia.
  • Stream 304 is combined with stream 350, both having substantially equal pressures, and the combined stream passes through the next combination heat exchanger/vessel 352 to emerge as stream 354 at 120° F and 110 psia.
  • Stream 354 is then compressed by compressor 356 (supplied by energy stream Q-356) emerging as stream 358 at 315° F and 305 psia.
  • Stream 330 is combined with stream 358, both having substantially equal pressures, and the combined stream passes through the next combination heat exchanger/vessel 360 to emerge as stream 362 at 120° F and 300 psia.
  • Stream 362 is compressed by compressor 364 (supplied by energy stream Q-364) emerging as stream 366.
  • Stream 366 passes through the next vessel 368 to emerge as processed gas stream 220.
  • the processed gas stream 220 is at 120 0 F and 825 psia, containing 3% nitrogen and 94.5% methane, suitable for sale.
  • energy streams represented by Q-344, Q-352, Q-360, and Q-368 are created by commercially available heat exchange cooling equipment and may be used to supply energy to other components of the system 10 or other process systems.
  • the power requirements for successively compressing the streams, represented by Q-340, Q-348, Q-356, and Q-364 are substantially lower than the overall power requirements for traditional NRU systems.

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Abstract

L'invention concerne un système et un procédé d'élimination d'azote et de production d'un flux de produit de méthane haute pression à partir de flux d'alimentation de gaz naturel. L'invention concerne également un système de production de liquides de gaz naturel conjointement avec l'élimination d'azote des flux d'alimentation de gaz naturel. Les système et procédé selon l'invention sont particulièrement adaptés pour être utilisés avec des flux d'alimentation supérieurs à 50 MMSCFD et jusqu'à 750 MMSCFD, et contenant jusqu'à 75 ppm de dioxyde de carbone. Ces système et procédé permettent de réduire la puissance généralement nécessaire pour comprimer le flux de produit de méthane afin d'obtenir un flux haute pression adapté à la vente.
PCT/US2012/041284 2011-06-21 2012-06-07 Procédé de séparation d'azote et de méthane en deux étapes Ceased WO2012177405A1 (fr)

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MX2013015371A MX2013015371A (es) 2011-06-21 2012-06-07 Procedimiento de separacion de nitrogeno y metano en dos pasos.
CA2840072A CA2840072A1 (fr) 2011-06-21 2012-06-07 Procede de separation d'azote et de methane en deux etapes
PH1/2013/502647A PH12013502647A1 (en) 2011-06-21 2012-06-07 Two step nitrogen and methane separation process

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US13/164,843 US20120324943A1 (en) 2011-06-21 2011-06-21 Two Step Nitrogen and Methane Separation Process
US13/164,843 2011-06-21

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US9487458B2 (en) 2014-02-28 2016-11-08 Fluor Corporation Configurations and methods for nitrogen rejection, LNG and NGL production from high nitrogen feed gases
US10359230B2 (en) 2012-10-24 2019-07-23 Fluor Technologies Corporation Integration methods of gas processing plant and nitrogen rejection unit for high nitrogen feed gases
US10384160B2 (en) 2010-02-17 2019-08-20 Fluor Technologies Corporation Configurations and methods of high pressure acid gas removal in the production of ultra-low sulfur gas
EP4597013A1 (fr) 2024-01-30 2025-08-06 Linde GmbH Procédé de séparation de dioxyde de carbone du gaz naturel

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FR2965312B1 (fr) * 2010-09-23 2016-12-23 Air Liquide Procede de compression de plusieurs flux gazeux sur un unique compresseur
PE20151195A1 (es) * 2012-12-28 2015-09-03 Linde Process Plants Inc Proceso integrado para lgn (recuperacion de liquidos de gas natural) y gnl (licuefaccion de gas natural)
DE102013013883A1 (de) * 2013-08-20 2015-02-26 Linde Aktiengesellschaft Kombinierte Abtrennung von Schwer- und Leichtsiedern aus Erdgas
US9816752B2 (en) 2015-07-22 2017-11-14 Butts Properties, Ltd. System and method for separating wide variations in methane and nitrogen
CN105135820B (zh) * 2015-09-22 2017-10-24 中科瑞奥能源科技股份有限公司 利用含空气瓦斯制取lng的方法以及系统
US10520250B2 (en) 2017-02-15 2019-12-31 Butts Properties, Ltd. System and method for separating natural gas liquid and nitrogen from natural gas streams
US11650009B2 (en) * 2019-12-13 2023-05-16 Bcck Holding Company System and method for separating methane and nitrogen with reduced horsepower demands
US11378333B2 (en) * 2019-12-13 2022-07-05 Bcck Holding Company System and method for separating methane and nitrogen with reduced horsepower demands
US20240417639A1 (en) * 2023-06-19 2024-12-19 Air Products And Chemicals, Inc. Apparatus and Process for Removal of Heavy Hydrocarbons from a Feed Gas

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US10384160B2 (en) 2010-02-17 2019-08-20 Fluor Technologies Corporation Configurations and methods of high pressure acid gas removal in the production of ultra-low sulfur gas
US10359230B2 (en) 2012-10-24 2019-07-23 Fluor Technologies Corporation Integration methods of gas processing plant and nitrogen rejection unit for high nitrogen feed gases
US10641549B2 (en) 2012-10-24 2020-05-05 Fluor Technologies Corporation Integration methods of gas processing plant and nitrogen rejection unit for high nitrogen feed gases
US9487458B2 (en) 2014-02-28 2016-11-08 Fluor Corporation Configurations and methods for nitrogen rejection, LNG and NGL production from high nitrogen feed gases
US9920986B2 (en) 2014-02-28 2018-03-20 Fluor Technologies Corporation Configurations and methods for nitrogen rejection, LNG and NGL production from high nitrogen feed gases
EP4597013A1 (fr) 2024-01-30 2025-08-06 Linde GmbH Procédé de séparation de dioxyde de carbone du gaz naturel

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MX2013015371A (es) 2014-08-01
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US20120324943A1 (en) 2012-12-27
CA2840072A1 (fr) 2012-12-27

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