Patent ID: 7607310

Claim:
A process of mixing natural gas with a hydrocarbon solvent to yield a liquid medium suited for storage and transport at greater storage densities than compressed natural gas at the same storage conditions, comprising: cooling natural gas and a solvent to temperatures in a range from below −40° F. to about −80° F., wherein the solvent is a liquid hydrocarbon, combining a flow stream of the natural gas having a molar flow rate with a flow stream of the liquid hydrocarbon solvent having a molar flow rate determined as a function of the molar flow rate of the flow stream of the natural gas causing a phase change of the combined flow streams of the natural gas and the liquid hydrocarbon solvent into a single phase liquid medium of natural gas absorbed in the hydrocarbon solvent, compressing the single phase liquid medium at pressures in a range of about 1200 psig to about 2150 psig, and storing the single phase liquid medium in a storage vessel, wherein the natural gas of the single phase liquid medium is stored at storage densities that exceed storage densities of compressed natural gas for the same pressure and temperatures.