Patent ID: 9074814
Filing Date: 2015-07-07
Classification: C10G,F25J,Y02P

Abstract:
1. A process for the separation of a gas stream containing methane, C 2 components, C 3 components, and heavier hydrocarbon components into a volatile residue gas fraction and a relatively less volatile fraction containing a major portion of said C 3 components and heavier hydrocarbon components wherein (1) said gas stream is cooled in a first heat exchange means; (2) said cooled gas stream is expanded to a lower pressure whereby the cooled gas stream is further cooled; (3) said expanded cooled gas stream is supplied as a bottom feed to an absorbing means housed in a single equipment item processing assembly; (4) a first distillation liquid stream is collected from a lower region of said absorbing means and supplied as a top feed to a mass transfer means housed in said processing assembly; (5) a first distillation vapor stream is collected from an upper region of said mass transfer means and cooled sufficiently to condense at least a part of said first distillation vapor stream in a second heat exchange means; (6) said at least partially condensed first distillation vapor stream is supplied to a separating means and is separated therein, thereby forming a condensed stream and a residual vapor stream containing any uncondensed vapor remaining after said first distillation vapor stream is cooled; (7) at least a portion of said condensed stream is supplied as a top feed to said absorbing means; (8) a second distillation vapor stream is collected from an upper region of said absorbing means and heated in said second heat exchange means, thereby to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (5); (9) said heated second distillation vapor stream is combined with any said residual vapor stream to form a combined vapor stream; (10) said combined vapor stream is heated in said first heat exchange means, thereby to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (1), and thereafter discharging said heated combined vapor stream as said volatile residue gas fraction; (11) a second distillation liquid stream is collected from a lower region of said mass transfer means and heated in a heat and mass transfer means housed in said processing assembly, thereby to simultaneously strip the more volatile components from said second distillation liquid stream, and thereafter discharging said heated and stripped second distillation liquid stream from said processing assembly as said relatively less volatile fraction; and (12) the quantities and temperatures of said feed streams to said absorbing means are effective to maintain the temperature of said upper region of said absorbing means at a temperature whereby the major portions of the components in said relatively less volatile fraction are recovered.