Patent ID: 8627681

Claim:
A process for recovery of natural gas liquids, comprising: fractionating a gas stream comprising nitrogen, methane, ethane, and propane and other C 3+ hydrocarbons into at least two fractions including a light fraction comprising nitrogen, methane, ethane, and propane, and a heavy fraction comprising propane and other C 3+ hydrocarbons in a fractionator; separating the light fraction into at least two fractions including a nitrogen-enriched fraction and a nitrogen-depleted fraction in a first separator; separating the nitrogen-depleted fraction into a propane-enriched fraction and a propane-depleted fraction in a second separator; feeding at least a portion of the propane-enriched fraction to the fractionator as a reflux; recycling at least a portion of the propane-depleted fraction to the first separator; and separating the nitrogen-enriched fraction in a nitrogen removal unit to produce a nitrogen-depleted natural gas stream and a nitrogen-enriched natural gas stream.