Patent ID: 8734618

Claim:
Apparatus for treating a gaseous hydrocarbon fraction to obtain a gaseous fraction and a liquid fraction which apparatus comprises a shell-and-tube heat exchanger, a distillation column and a conduit for guiding hydrocarbons from the heat exchanger to the distillation column, wherein the shell-and-tube heat exchanger comprises an inlet and an outlet for cooling fluid which inlet and outlet are in fluid communication with the tube side of the heat exchanger, and an inlet for the gaseous hydrocarbon fraction at the upper end of the heat exchanger which inlet is in fluid communication with the shell side of the heat exchanger, said inlet and outlet for the cooling fluid being located upstream of said inlet for the gaseous hydrocarbon fraction, the distillation column comprises an outlet for gas at the upper end of the distillation column and an outlet for liquid at the lower end of the distillation column, and the conduit for guiding hydrocarbons comprises an inlet for guiding hydrocarbons from the shell side of said heat exchanger and an outlet for guiding hydrocarbons to said distillation column.