Patent ID: 6158240
Filing Date: 2000-12-12
Classification: F25J

Abstract:
A process for cooling a normally gaseous stream comprising the steps of:(a) flowing said normally gaseous stream and a refrigerant stream through one or more brazed aluminum plate fin heat exchange sections wherein said streams are in indirect heat exchange with and flow countercurrent to one or more refrigeration streams wherein said one or more refrigeration streams are formed by(i) removing a sidestream from the refrigerant stream or portion thereof produced from one of said plate fin heat exchange sections;(ii) reducing the pressure of the sidestream thereby generating a refrigeration stream; and(iii) flowing said refrigeration stream to the heat exchange section from which said refrigerant stream of (i) was produced whereupon said refrigeration stream becomes one of said refrigeration stream of (a);(b) separately flowing the refrigerant stream from the last heat exchange section of (a) through a brazed aluminum plate fin heat exchange section wherein said stream is in indirect heat exchange with and flows countercurrent to a vapor refrigerant stream;(c) reducing the pressure of the refrigerant stream from the heat exchange section of step (b);(d) employing said stream of step (c) as a cooling agent on the kettle-side of a core-in-kettle heat exchanger thereby producing a vapor refrigerant stream;(e) warming the vapor refrigerant stream of (d) by flowing through at least the plate fin heat exchange section of (b);(f) compressing the refrigeration streams of step (a) and the warmed vapor refrigerant stream of step (e);(g) cooling the compressed stream of step (f) thereby producing the refrigerant stream of step (a); and(h) flowing the normally gaseous stream from step (a) through the core side of the core-in-kettle heat exchanger thereby producing a liquid-bearing stream.