Natural Gas Patents (Class 62/611)
  • Patent number: 11913717
    Abstract: A natural gas liquefying apparatus includes: a precooling unit, which is a treatment unit configured to precool natural gas; a liquefying unit, which is a treatment unit configured to liquefy the natural gas; a refrigerant cooling unit, which is a treatment unit configured to cool a liquefying refrigerant; a compression unit configured to compress vaporized refrigerants; and a pipe rack including air-cooled coolers arrayed and arranged on an upper surface. The treatment units and the compression unit are separately arranged in a first arrangement region and a second arrangement region arranged opposed to each other across a long side of the pipe rack. The pipe rack interposed between the first and second arrangement regions has a region in which no air-cooled cooler is arranged in order to arrange a plurality of pipes, through which refrigerants are allowed to flow, in a direction of a short side of the pipe rack.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: JGC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoshinori Yamada, Kaoru Sawayanagi, Tomoharu Inoue, Yuichi Yoshizawa, Masahito Seiwa, Ken Ichimura
  • Patent number: 11827317
    Abstract: A marine vessel and method for carbon capture and sequestration are described. The marine vessel includes a buoyant hull, a cryogenic storage tank within the hull, and a gaseous carbon dioxide loading manifold. The marine vessel also includes a carbon dioxide liquefaction system in fluid communication with the cryogenic storage tank downstream of the carbon dioxide liquefaction system and with the gaseous carbon dioxide loading manifold upstream of the carbon dioxide liquefaction system. Finally, the marine vessel includes a carbon dioxide supercritical system in fluid communication with the cryogenic storage tank. In operation, the marine vessel moves between multiple locations, where gaseous carbon dioxide is onboarded, liquified and stored. Thereafter, the marine vessel transports the liquified carbon dioxide to a location adjacent an offshore geological reservoir.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2023
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2023
    Assignee: StoreCo2 UK Limited
    Inventor: Keith William Hutchinson
  • Patent number: 11774173
    Abstract: A technology liquefies natural gas. The natural gas liquefaction method pre-cools treated natural gas by ethane evaporation, sub-cools liquefied gas using cooled nitrogen as a refrigerant, reduces liquefied gas pressure, separates non-liquefied gas and diverts liquefied natural gas. Before pre-cooling the natural gas is compressed, ethane is evaporated during the multi-stage pre-cooling of liquefied gas with simultaneous evaporation of ethane using cooled ethane as a refrigerant. Ethane generated by evaporation is compressed, condensed and used as a refrigerant during the cooling of liquefied gas and nitrogen, with nitrogen being compressed, cooled, expanded and fed to the natural gas sub-cooling stage. The natural gas liquefaction unit contains a natural gas liquefaction circuit, an ethane circuit and a nitrogen circuit. The natural gas liquefaction circuit includes a natural gas compressor, a cooler unit, ethane vaporizers, a closed-end subcooling heat exchanger, and a separator, connected in series.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2023
    Assignee: Publichnoe Aktsionernoe Obshchestvo “NOVATEK”
    Inventors: Rafail Minigulovich Minigulov, Sergei Vladimirovich Rudenko, Oleg Evgenievich Vasin, Dmitriy Nikolaevich Gritsishin, Evgeniy Igorevich Sobolev
  • Patent number: 11713423
    Abstract: The invention relates to various nonlimiting embodiments that include methods, apparatuses or systems for processing natural gas comprising a heavies removal column processing natural gas and light oil reflux. The overhead stream goes to heavies treated natural gas storage. The heavies removal column reboiler bottoms stream product is input to a debutanizer column. The debutanizer column overhead lights are input to a flash drum where the bottoms is pumped through a heat exchanger as a light oil reflux input to the heavies removal column, while the debutanizer reboiler bottoms product is stored as stabilized condensate. Alternatively, debutanizer column overhead lights are sent to heavies treated gas storage and the bottoms stream product goes to a depentanizer column, the overhead lights are pumped through a heat exchanger as a light oil reflux input to the heavies removal column, while the depentanizer reboiler bottoms product is stabilized condensate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2023
    Assignee: CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY
    Inventors: Paul R. Davies, Michael J. Calderon, Dale L. Embry, David W. Larkin, Qi Ma
  • Patent number: 11703276
    Abstract: A system and method for producing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a natural gas stream. Each of a plurality of LNG trains liquefies a portion of the natural gas stream to generate a warm LNG stream in a first operating mode, and a cold LNG stream in a second operating mode. A sub-cooling unit is configured to, in the first operating mode, sub-cool the warm LNG streams to thereby generate a combined cold LNG stream. The warm LNG streams have a higher temperature than a temperature of the cold LNG streams in the second operating mode and the combined cold LNG stream. The combined cold LNG stream has, in the first operating mode, a higher flow rate than the flow rate of the cold LNG streams in the second operating mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: ExxonMobil Technology and Engineering Company
    Inventors: Sorin T. Lupascu, Yow-Yeen Lee
  • Patent number: 11698169
    Abstract: A vessel for the transport of liquefied gas has a hull, a cargo storage tank arranged in the hull for storing liquefied gas and an engine to propel the ship. A compressor has a compressor inlet connected to a vapour space of the at least one cargo storage tank for receiving boil-off gas at a first pressure and a compressor outlet for supplying pressurized boil-off gas to the at least one engine at a second pressure exceeding the first pressure. A boil-off gas recovery system is provided for recovery of boil off gas. The boil-off gas recovery system has a cooling section with a cooling section inlet connected to the compressor outlet to recondense at least part of the pressurized boil-off gas and a boil-off gas storage tank having a boil-off gas storage tank inlet connected to the cooling section outlet for storing the recondensed pressurized boil-off gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2023
    Assignee: SHELL USA, INC.
    Inventors: Mark Andrew Hodgson, Stephen Andrew Brown
  • Patent number: 11656015
    Abstract: A refrigeration cycle apparatus is a refrigeration cycle apparatus having a refrigerant circuit having a compressor, a condenser, a supercooler, an expansion device, and an evaporator connected by a refrigerant pipe, and configured to circulate refrigerant containing refrigerant having a temperature gradient, wherein the supercooler sets a degree of supercooling of the refrigerant, which is a temperature difference between a temperature from the condenser to a refrigerant flow inlet of the supercooler and a temperature in a refrigerant flow outlet on a downstream side of the supercooler, to be larger than the temperature gradient generated at a time of refrigerant shortage of the refrigerant between the refrigerant flow inlet and the refrigerant flow outlet of the supercooler, the refrigeration cycle apparatus including a refrigerant amount determination unit configured to compare a determination threshold value set to a value larger than the temperature gradient of the refrigerant with the degree of supercoo
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroshi Sata, Tomotaka Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 11566840
    Abstract: A technology liquefies natural gas. The natural gas liquefaction method pre-cools treated natural gas by ethane evaporation, sub-cools liquefied gas using cooled nitrogen as a refrigerant, reduces liquefied gas pressure, separates non-liquefied gas and diverts liquefied natural gas. Before pre-cooling the natural gas is compressed, ethane is evaporated during the multi-stage pre-cooling of liquefied gas with simultaneous evaporation of ethane using cooled ethane as a refrigerant. Ethane generated by evaporation is compressed, condensed and used as a refrigerant during the cooling of liquefied gas and nitrogen, with nitrogen being compressed, cooled, expanded and fed to the natural gas sub-cooling stage. The natural gas liquefaction unit contains a natural gas liquefaction circuit, an ethane circuit and a nitrogen circuit. The natural gas liquefaction circuit includes a natural gas compressor, a cooler unit, ethane vaporizers, a closed-end subcooling heat exchanger, and a separator, connected in series.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: Publichnoe Aktsionernoe Obshchestvo “NOVATEK”
    Inventors: Rafail Minigulovich Minigulov, Sergei Vladimirovich Rudenko, Oleg Evgenievich Vasin, Dmitriy Nikolaevich Gritsishin, Evgeniy Igorevich Sobolev
  • Patent number: 11150015
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of controlling the production of a liquefied natural gas product stream (31) obtained by removing heat from natural gas by indirect heat exchange with an expanded heavy mixed refrigerant and an expanded light mixed refrigerant. The method comprises executing a control loop comprising maintaining the flow rate of the liquefied natural gas product stream (31) at a dependent set point and maintaining the flow rates of the heavy mixed refrigerant (60a) and the light mixed refrigerant (65) at operator manipulated set points (80, 81). The method further comprises executing an override control loop comprising: determining an override set point (95?) for the flow rate of the liquefied natural gas and computing an override set point (80?) for the flow rate of the heavy mixed refrigerant and an override set point (81?) to reduce residual available power of the electric motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: SHELL OIL COMPANY
    Inventors: Adriaan Spaander, Srinivas Nurani Ramachandran
  • Patent number: 11143453
    Abstract: A system and method for producing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a natural gas stream. Each of a plurality of LNG trains liquefies a portion of the natural gas stream to generate a warm LNG stream in a first operating mode, and a cold LNG stream in a second operating mode. A sub-cooling unit is configured to, in the first operating mode, sub-cool the warm LNG streams generated by each of the plurality of LNG trains to thereby generate a plurality of cold LNG streams. The warm LNG streams have a higher temperature than a temperature of the cold LNG streams in the second operating mode and the plurality of cold LNG streams. The combined flow rate of the plurality of cold LNG streams has, in the first operating mode, a higher flow rate than the combined flow rate of the cold LNG streams in the second operating mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
    Inventors: Sorin Lupascu, Yow-Yeen Lee
  • Patent number: 11083109
    Abstract: A heat exchange system includes a heat-absorbing substance such as Liquid Natural Gas (LNG), a heat dissipation apparatus, a water storage tank, a heating portion, and a cooling portion. The heating portion is coupled between the LNG and the water storage tank. The cooling portion is coupled between the heat dissipation apparatus and the water storage tank. The cooling portion transfers heat of the heat dissipation apparatus to water of the water storage tank to heat the heating portion, and the heating portion transfers heat of the water of the water storage tank to the LNG.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2021
    Assignee: HONGFUJIN PRECISION ELECTRONICS (TIANJIN) CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Tze-Chern Mao, Yen-Chun Fu, Chih-Hung Chang, Chao-Ke Wei, Li-Wen Chang, Ching-Tang Liu, Hung-Chou Chan
  • Patent number: 11047307
    Abstract: A gas turbine engine system includes a gas turbine engine and a fuel turbine system. The gas turbine engine includes a heat exchange system configured to transfer thermal energy from a first compressed air flow and an exhaust gas flow to a fuel to produce a gaseous fuel. The fuel turbine system includes a fuel turbine fluidly coupled to the heat exchange system and a combustor of the gas turbine engine, and a fuel pump fluidly coupled to the heat exchange system and configured to be driven by the fuel turbine. The fuel turbine is configured to extract energy from expansion of the gaseous fuel to produce the gaseous fuel at a lower pressure for delivery to the combustor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2021
    Assignee: Raytheon Technologies Corporation
    Inventor: Gary D. Roberge
  • Patent number: 11002481
    Abstract: A process for removing a foulant from a gas stream is disclosed. The gas stream, containing a foulant, is cooled across a first heat exchanger and a second heat exchanger, producing a solid foulant entrained in cryogenic liquid as a foulant slurry, and a foulant-depleted gas stream. The foulant-depleted gas stream is passed through a cryogenic turbine and a first separation vessel, producing a light gas stream and further solid foulant. The solid foulants are recovered by a combination of pressurization, melting, and distillation to produce a liquid foulant product. Heat is recovered from the various streams in the various heat exchangers and the melter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2021
    Assignee: Sustainable Energy Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Larry Baxter, Christopher Hoeger, Eric Mansfield
  • Patent number: 10808997
    Abstract: A method for controlling the refrigerant composition in a pre-cooled mixed refrigerant (PMR) cycle for LNG production includes obtaining a weather forecast temperature, measuring the concentration of each PMR component and measuring the ambient temperature. The method further includes calculating the optimum concentration of each PMR component for each of the measured and weather forecast temperatures and calculating the time period required to change appropriately each component concentration in transition from the ambient temperature to the weather forecast temperature; and comparing the measured and optimum concentration of each component in view of the calculated time period and direction of change in the component concentrations during the time period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2020
    Assignee: SAKHALIN ENERGY INVESTMENT COMPANY LTD.
    Inventor: Igor Evgenievich Simdyashkin
  • Patent number: 10598431
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of cooling and separating a hydrocarbon stream: (a) passing an hydrocarbon feed stream (7) through a first cooling and separation stage to provide a methane enriched vapour overhead stream (110) and a methane depleted liquid stream (10); (b) passing the methane depleted liquid stream (10) to a fractionation column (200) to obtain a bottom condensate stream (210), a top stream enriched in C1-C2 (220) and a midstream enriched in C3-C4 (230), (c) cooling the upper part of the fractionation column (201) by a condenser (206), (d) obtaining a split stream (112) from the methane enriched vapour overhead stream (110) and obtaining a cooled split stream (112?) by expansion-cooling the split stream (112), (e) providing cooling duty to the top of the fractionation column (201) using the cooled split stream (112?).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2020
    Assignee: SHELL OIL COMPANY
    Inventors: Johan Jan Barend Pek, Karel Antonius Kusters, Meta Jannetta Van Veghel
  • Patent number: 10215486
    Abstract: A liquefied gas production facility includes a plurality of liquefied gas producers which produce liquefied gas by removing an unnecessary substance and liquefying feed gas containing methane as a main component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: JGC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Keiji Akiyama, Yoshihisa Wakamatsu, Naoyuki Takezawa, Takahiro Kitabayashi, Masahito Seiwa, Yuzuru Kakutani, Takashi Hirata, Kei Kubota
  • Patent number: 10180282
    Abstract: A system and method for increasing the capacity and efficiency of natural gas liquefaction processes by debottlenecking the refrigerant compression system. A secondary compression circuit comprising at least one positive displacement compressor is provided in parallel fluid flow communication with at least a portion of a primary compression circuit comprising at least one dynamic compressor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2019
    Assignee: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph Gerard Wehrman, Gowri Krishnamurthy
  • Patent number: 10012433
    Abstract: The process for liquefying a gaseous stream received from a pipeline that is comprised predominantly of ethane and a relatively small amount of other components by using a mixed refrigerant loop incorporating heavy hydrocarbons, as well as a distillation column to remove constituents lighter than ethane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2018
    Assignee: L'AIR LIQUIDE SOCIETE ANONYME POUR L'ETUDE ET L'EXPLOITATION DES PROCEDES GEORGES CLAUDE
    Inventors: Michael A. Turney, Yasser Jebbari
  • Patent number: 9989304
    Abstract: This invention relates to a system and method for liquefying natural gas. In another aspect, the invention concerns an improved liquefied natural gas facility employing a closed loop methane refrigeration cycle. In another aspect, the invention concerns the utilization of lean boil-off gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY
    Inventors: Megan V. Evans, Attilio J. Praderio, Lisa M. Strassle
  • Patent number: 9879904
    Abstract: A variable speed liquid LNG expander (X1) and a variable speed two-phase LNG expander (X2) in line, downstream from X1. The rotational speed of both expanders can be controlled and changed independent from each other. The speed of expander X1 and expander X2 is determined in such way that the amount of liquid LNG downstream from the PHS compared to the feed gas supply is maximized and the amount of vapor and boil-off downstream of X2 is minimized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: EBARA International Corporation
    Inventor: Hans E. Kimmel
  • Patent number: 9709325
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method of retrofitting a full-scale LNG plant to enhance the LNG production capacity of the LNG plant and a method for operating such a retrofit plant. A small scale LNG plant having a capacity less than 2 MTPA can be integrated with a main LNG plant having a capacity of at least 4 MTPA such that end flash gas and boil off gas from the main LNG plant can be liquefied by the small scale LNG plant as incremental LNG. It has been found that the production capacity of the integrated system can be improved by increasing the temperature of the gas stream exiting the main cryogenic heat exchanger of the main LNG plant between 5° C. and 30° C. as compared with the design temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Assignee: CHEVRON U.S.A. INC.
    Inventors: Daniel Chinn, Stanley Hsing-Wei Huang, Yaofan Yi
  • Patent number: 9709170
    Abstract: A machine tool including a sealing structure in a rotation unit includes a gas supply amount control unit configured to control so that an air sealing gas supply amount in the case of a deceleration state of the rotation unit determined by a rotation state determination unit becomes larger than an air sealing gas supply amount in the case of a non-deceleration state determined by the rotation state determination unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Masahiro Murota
  • Patent number: 9436497
    Abstract: A linked multiple independent control system can include two or more independent controllers configured to cooperatively control operating points of a system. In one particular embodiment, the linked multiple independent control system can control operating temperatures of a computing device. In one embodiment, the independent controllers can operate in parallel to develop control effort signals that are used by the computing device to affect operating parameters of one or more components included in the computing device. In another embodiment, independent controllers can have independent temperature thresholds that can affect control effort signals only from the related controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2016
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Keith Cox, Kit-Man Wan, Michael F. Culbert
  • Patent number: 9400106
    Abstract: A CO2 recovery system 10A has a CO2 recovery unit 11, a compression unit 12, and a condensed-water supply line 65A that supplies condensed water 64 to an absorbent regenerator 14. The CO2 recovery unit 11 includes a CO2 absorber 13 and the absorbent regenerator 14. The compression unit 12 has a first compressor 61-1 to an nth compressor 61-n that compress CO2 gas 56 emitted from the absorbent regenerator 14, a first separator 63-1 to an nth separator 63-n that reduce moisture in the CO2 gas 56, and a first heat exchanger 66-1 that performs heat exchange between the CO2 gas 56 emitted from the first compressor 61-1 and the condensed water 64 emitted from the first separator 63-1.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2016
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventor: Masaki Iijima
  • Patent number: 9291388
    Abstract: A system and method for air separation using a supplemental refrigeration cycle is provided. A portion of the refrigeration required by the air separation plant to produce a liquid product stream is supplied via a supplemental refrigeration circuit configured to direct a cooled refrigerant produced by the turboexpander through the main heat exchanger of the air separation plant. The refrigeration capacity is controlled by removing or adding a portion of the refrigerant in the supplemental refrigeration circuit to adjust the inlet pressure while maintaining a substantially constant volumetric flow rate and substantially constant pressure ratio across the compressor. Removing the refrigerant from the supplemental refrigeration circuit decreases the refrigeration imparted by the supplemental refrigeration circuit and thus decreases the production of the liquid product stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2016
    Assignee: PRAXAIR TECHNOLOGY, INC.
    Inventors: Jeremiah J. Rauch, Andrew M. Warta, Hao Wu, David R. Parsnick, Sophia J. Dowd
  • Patent number: 9284178
    Abstract: A method and system(s) are disclosed for integrating a new fuel into an operating transportation system in a continuous, seamless manner, such as diesel fuel being gradually replaced by compressed natural gas (“CNG”) in long haul trucks. Integration can be implemented using two enabling technologies. The first is an engine system capable of operating seamlessly on two or more fuels without regard to the ignition characteristics of the fuels. The second is a communications and computing system for implementing a fueling strategy that optimizes fuel consumption, guides the selection of fuel based upon location, cost and emissions and allows the transition from one fuel to another to appear substantially seamless to the truck driver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Assignee: RHT Railhaul Technologies
    Inventors: Frank Wegner Donnelly, David William Dewis, John D. Watson
  • Publication number: 20150143842
    Abstract: A method to recover olefins and C2+ fractions from refineries gas streams. The traditional recovery methods employed at refineries are absorption with solvents and cryogenic technology using compression and expansion aided by external refrigeration systems. In contrast to known methods, there is provided first a pre-cooling heat exchanger on a feed line feeding the gas stream to a in-line mixer, secondly by injecting and mixing a stream of LNG to condense the C2+ fractions upstream of the fractionator. The temperature of the gas stream entering the fractionator is monitored downstream of the in-line mixer. A LNG stream is temperature controlled to flow through the injection inlet and mix with the feed gas at a temperature which results in the condensation of the C2+ fractions before entering the fractionator. A LNG reflux stream is temperature controlled to maintain fractionator overhead temperature. The fractionator bottoms temperature is controlled by a circulating reboiler stream.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 10, 2013
    Publication date: May 28, 2015
    Inventors: Jose Lourenco, MacKenzie Millar
  • Patent number: 9021832
    Abstract: A process and an apparatus are disclosed for recovering ethane, ethylene, and heavier hydrocarbon components from a hydrocarbon gas stream. The stream is cooled, expanded to lower pressure, and supplied to a first fractionation tower at a mid-column feed position. A distillation liquid stream is withdrawn from the first fractionation tower below the feed position of the expanded stream, heated, and directed into a second fractionation tower that produces an overhead vapor stream and a bottom liquid stream. The overhead vapor stream is cooled to condense it, with a portion of the condensed stream directed to the second fractionation tower as its top feed and the remainder directed to the first fractionation tower at a lower column feed position. The bottom liquid stream from the second fractionation tower is cooled and directed to the first fractionation tower as its top feed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2015
    Assignee: Ortloff Engineers, Ltd.
    Inventors: Michael C. Pierce, John D. Wilkinson, Hank M. Hudson
  • Patent number: 9003828
    Abstract: A process and system for liquefying a hydrocarbon gas is provided. The hydrocarbon feed gas is pre-treated to remove sour species and water therefrom. The pre-treated feed gas is then passed to a refrigeration zone where it is cooled and expanded to produce a hydrocarbon liquid. A closed loop single mixed refrigerant provides most of the refrigeration to the refrigeration zone together with an auxiliary refrigeration system. The auxiliary refrigeration system and closed loop single mixed refrigerant are coupled in such a manner that waste heat generated by a gas turbine drive of the compressor in the closed loop single mixed refrigerant drives the auxiliary refrigeration system and the auxiliary refrigeration system cools the inlet air of the gas turbine. In this way, substantial improvements are made in the production capacity of the system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2015
    Assignee: LNG Technology Pty Ltd
    Inventor: Paul Bridgwood
  • Publication number: 20150096326
    Abstract: A method for liquefying a hydrocarbon-rich fraction, in particular natural gas, by indirect heat exchange with the refrigerant blend of a refrigerant blend circuit is described, wherein the refrigerant blend is compressed, separated into a liquid phase which is rich in higher-boiling components (HMR) of the refrigerant blend and a gas phase which is rich in lower-boiling components (LMR) of the refrigerant blend, and said phases are mixed before the indirect heat exchange.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 7, 2014
    Publication date: April 9, 2015
    Applicant: LINDE AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Heinz BAUER, Jurgen WITTE, Martin GWINNER
  • Patent number: 8991208
    Abstract: A variable speed liquid LNG expander (X1) and a variable speed two-phase LNG expander (X2) in line, downstream from X1. The rotational speed of both expanders can be controlled and changed independent from each other. The speed of expander X1 and expander X2 is determined in such way that the amount of liquid LNG downstream from the PHS compared to the feed gas supply is maximized and the amount of vapor and boil-off downstream of X2 is minimized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: Ebara International Corporation
    Inventor: Hans E. Kimmel
  • Publication number: 20150082828
    Abstract: Disclosed is a natural gas fractional distillation apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 8, 2012
    Publication date: March 26, 2015
    Inventor: Ho Byung Yoon
  • Publication number: 20150075216
    Abstract: A floating LNG plant including a first and a second converted LNG carrier each provided with a hull and at least one LNG storage tank wherein the floating LNG plant further includes: a connection structure for connecting the hull of the first and the second converted LNG carrier in order to obtain a twin-hull vessel; process equipment for LNG processing on the floating LNG plant; and a mooring system for mooring the floating LNG plant to the seabed, wherein the at least first and second converted LNG carrier each include an LNG carrier, originally provided with a plurality of LNG tanks, wherein at least one LNG tank has been deactivated and/or removed from at least one LNG carrier to create space on the floating LNG plant for installing the process equipment for LNG processing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 19, 2013
    Publication date: March 19, 2015
    Applicant: SBM SCHIEDAM B.V.
    Inventors: Willem Cornelis Van Wijngaarden, Theodorus Johannes Bernardus Brinkel
  • Publication number: 20150080619
    Abstract: The invention concerns a method for producing 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene comprising: a fluoridation reaction of a halopropane and/or halopropene into 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene by means of hydrogen fluoride; the recovery of a gas stream resulting from the reaction; the cooling and partial condensation of the gas stream resulting from the reaction into a partially condensed stream; the separation of the partially condensed stream into a gas fraction and a liquid fraction; the compression of the gas fraction into a compressed gas fraction; the compression of the liquid fraction into a compressed liquid fraction; the distillation of the compressed gas fraction and compressed liquid fraction in order to provide a stream of 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene, a stream of hydrochloric acid, and a stream of unreacted hydrogen fluoride. The invention also concerns an installation suitable for implementing said method.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 11, 2013
    Publication date: March 19, 2015
    Inventors: Dominique Deur-Bert, Bertrand Collier, Laurent Wendlinger
  • Patent number: 8973398
    Abstract: A method for vaporizing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) stream and recovering heavier hydrocarbons from the LNG utilizing a heat transfer fluid is disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2015
    Assignee: Kellogg Brown & Root LLC
    Inventor: David A. Coyle
  • Patent number: 8956428
    Abstract: A process for treating offshore natural gas includes processing the natural gas on an off-shore processing facility by, (i) liquefying and fractionating the natural gas to generate a liquefied natural gas stream and a higher hydrocarbon stream, (ii) vaporizing at least a portion of the higher hydrocarbon stream, (iii) passing the vaporized higher hydrocarbon stream and steam over a steam reforming catalyst to generate a reformed gas mixture comprising methane, steam, carbon oxides and hydrogen, (iv) passing the reformed gas mixture over a methanation catalyst to generate a methane rich gas, and (v) combining the methane-rich gas with the natural gas prior to the liquefaction step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2015
    Assignee: Johnson Matthey PLC
    Inventors: Peter John Herbert Carnell, Ginny Yuen Che Ng
  • Publication number: 20150033792
    Abstract: A system and method for producing liquid natural gas (LNG) from a natural gas stream is presented. The system includes a moisture removal device and compressor for removing moisture from and compressing the natural gas stream. The low moisture compressed natural gas stream is cooled in a heat exchanger to discharge a cooled compressed discharge stream. A multi-phase turbo expander provides for further cooling and expansion of the cooled compressed discharge stream, generating an expanded exhaust stream comprising a mixture of a vapor comprised substantially of CH4 and a LNG/ice/solid CO2 slurry. The expanded exhaust stream is separated to generate a vapor stream comprised substantially of CH4 and a liquid natural gas/ice/solid CO2 slurry stream. Further separation of the liquid natural gas/ice/solid CO2 slurry stream generates a liquid natural gas output stream and an output stream comprised substantially of ice/solid CO2.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2013
    Publication date: February 5, 2015
    Applicant: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Vitali Victor Lissianski, Douglas Carl Hofer, Roger Allen Shisler
  • Publication number: 20150033793
    Abstract: A process and system for production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from natural gas. The natural gas is first partially purified by removal of water and other contaminants, followed by partial chilling to freeze some contaminants and to allow for production of a purge stream to remove other contaminants. These contaminants may be removed from the stream. The process has advantages of low cost and improved removal of contaminants.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 23, 2014
    Publication date: February 5, 2015
    Inventor: John L. Griffiths
  • Publication number: 20150020542
    Abstract: Underwater gas pressurization units and liquefaction systems, as well as pressurization and liquefaction methods and gas field development methods are provided. Gas is compressed hydraulically by seawater introduced into vessels and separated from the gas by a water immiscible liquid layer. Tall, possibly vertical helical vessels are used to reach a high compression ratio that lowers the liquefaction temperature. Cooling units are used to liquefy the compressed gas, possibly by a coolant which is itself pressurized by a similar mechanism. The coolant may be selected to be liquefied under surrounding seawater temperatures. The seawater which is used to pressurize the gas may be used after evacuation from the vessels to pressurize intrastratal gas in the production stages and broaden the gas field development.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 1, 2013
    Publication date: January 22, 2015
    Applicant: S.G.B.D. TECHNOLOGIES LTD.
    Inventor: Alexander BRODT
  • Publication number: 20150020541
    Abstract: Underwater gas pressurization units and liquefaction systems, as well as pressurization and liquefaction methods are provided. Gas is compressed hydraulically by a rising pressurization liquid that is separated from the gas by a water immiscible liquid layer on top of an aqueous salt solution. Tall vessels are used to reach a high compression ratio that lowers the liquefaction temperature. The pressurizing liquid is delivered gravitationally, after gasification, transport to smaller water depths and condensation. Cooling units are used to liquefy the compressed gas. A cascade of compression and cooling units may be used with sequentially higher liquefaction temperatures, which allow eventual cooling by sea water. The pressurizing liquid, dimensions of the vessels, the delivery unit, the coolants and the implementation of the cooling units are selected according to the sea location, to enable natural gas liquefaction in proximity to the gas source.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2013
    Publication date: January 22, 2015
    Applicant: S.G.B.D. TECHNOLOGIES LTD.
    Inventor: Alexander BRODT
  • Publication number: 20150013378
    Abstract: A system and a method for liquefying natural gas using single mixed refrigerant as refrigeration medium are provided. The system comprises a two-stage mixed refrigerant compressor (1), coolers (21, 22), gas-liquid separators (31, 32), throttling devices (51, 52), a plate-fin heat exchanger group (8) and a LNG storage tank (9). The method of the present invention reduces the power consumption for gas compression by compressing and separating the mixed refrigerant stage by stage. The heat exchange curves of cold fluid and hot fluid in the total heat exchange process match with each other better by the aid of using multiple-stage heat exchange, which can reduce the flow of the mixed refrigerant. Further, the system of the present invention has a good adaptability to load-variable operation of the apparatus, and thus can effectively avoid abnormal liquid-flooding at the bottom of the cold box.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 13, 2012
    Publication date: January 15, 2015
    Applicant: XINDI ENERGY ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Zhenyong He, Guiqi Wang, Limei Liu
  • Patent number: 8931306
    Abstract: A wet hydrocarbon stream having at least methane and water, provided at a temperature equal to a first temperature, is cooled thereby lowering the temperature to a second temperature. In a water removal device a wet disposal stream having water is withdrawn from the wet hydrocarbon stream, at the second temperature. An effluent stream having the wet hydrocarbon stream from which the wet disposal stream has been removed, is discharged from the water removal device and passed to a further heat exchanger. A refrigerant stream is also passed to the further heat exchanger, and both the effluent stream and the refrigerant stream are cooled in the further heat exchanger by indirect heat exchanging against an evaporating refrigerant fraction. The effluent stream is heated by indirectly heat exchanging against the wet hydrocarbon stream. The cooling of the wet hydrocarbon stream includes this indirectly heat exchanging.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2015
    Assignee: Shell Oil Company
    Inventors: Cornelis Buijs, Francois Chantant
  • Publication number: 20150000334
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for liquefying natural gas vapour is provided. Firstly, liquid natural gas is sub-cooled at a first heat exchanger using a liquid coolant such as liquid nitrogen. The sub-cooled liquid natural gas is then used to condense the natural gas vapour at a second heat exchanger.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 12, 2013
    Publication date: January 1, 2015
    Inventor: David Edwards
  • Publication number: 20140352353
    Abstract: Pipeline natural gas is dried to remove water and carbon dioxide and liquefied. This gas and nitrogen are fed into a first heat exchanger for cooling against colder flash and expanded gases. High pressure nitrogen gas is expanded producing refrigeration to liquefy the natural gas passing through further heat exchangers and throttled via a control valve where the resulting liquid natural gas (LNG) exits into a separator. A portion of the LNG is fed to a nitrogen liquefaction unit with a major portion of LNG stored as product. The LNG portion is vaporized and heated to ambient against a pressurized liquefied nitrogen stream, a portion of which is stored as product. The remaining portion of the liquid nitrogen is optionally sent to an air separation unit (ASU) as “liquid assist” producing liquid and gaseous oxygen, liquid argon and gaseous nitrogen merchant gases. A portion of the natural gas stream selectively regenerates one of two dryers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 30, 2014
    Publication date: December 4, 2014
    Inventor: Robert S. Wissolik
  • Patent number: 8899074
    Abstract: A method of natural gas liquefaction may include cooling a gaseous NG process stream to form a liquid NG process stream. The method may further include directing the first tail gas stream out of a plant at a first pressure and directing a second tail gas stream out of the plant at a second pressure. An additional method of natural gas liquefaction may include separating CO2 from a liquid NG process stream and processing the CO2 to provide a CO2 product stream. Another method of natural gas liquefaction may include combining a marginal gaseous NG process stream with a secondary substantially pure NG stream to provide an improved gaseous NG process stream. Additionally, a NG liquefaction plant may include a first tail gas outlet, and at least a second tail gas outlet, the at least a second tail gas outlet separate from the first tail gas outlet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Assignee: Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC
    Inventors: Bruce M. Wilding, Terry D. Turner
  • Publication number: 20140318177
    Abstract: A method for integrating a liquefied natural gas liquefier system with production of liquefied natural gas from a methane-containing gas stream. The liquefied natural gas is produced by feeding a methane-containing gas stream through a heat exchanger to a distillation column and liquefying the natural gas while capturing the gaseous nitrogen. The liquefied natural gas is captured and the nitrogen gas is recovered, fed through the heat exchanger to recover cold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 10, 2014
    Publication date: October 30, 2014
    Inventors: Rustam H. Sethna, Richard Potthoff, Guillaume Pages
  • Publication number: 20140311183
    Abstract: At least part of a fluid is compressed in a compressor driven by an electric motor. The compressor has variable inlet guide vanes of which an angle can be adjusted. The electric motor is powered using a power supply network, and a signal representative of a condition of the power supply network is monitored. From the signal, it is automatically determined whether additional load shedding is needed, by comparing the signal to a predetermined criterion. The variable inlet guide vanes angle is automatically adjusted when the criterion is satisfied and additional load shedding is needed. This automatically reduces the loading of the compressor. The compressor and the method of operating it may be employed as part of a system for producing a liquefied hydrocarbon stream and/or in the course of producing a liquefied hydrocarbon stream, in which case the compressor can be a refrigerant compressor and the fluid a refrigerant fluid.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 13, 2012
    Publication date: October 23, 2014
    Inventor: Michiel Gijsbert Van Aken
  • Publication number: 20140305160
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention provide a process for liquefaction of a natural gas. The process includes cooling the natural gas with a first refrigerant provided by a first cooling system and cooling the natural gas with a second refrigerant provided by a second cooling system. The second cooling system is a single phase cooling system. The first and second cooling systems operate independently from each other. The second refrigerant is cooled with the first refrigerant so that the cooling capacity of the second refrigerant and the second cooling system is increased.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 6, 2012
    Publication date: October 16, 2014
    Applicant: KEPPEL OFFSHORE & MARINE TECHNOLOGY CENTRE PTE LTD
    Inventors: Wen Sin Chong, Xiaoxia Sheng, Ravindu Atapattu, Kok Seng Foo
  • Publication number: 20140283548
    Abstract: A system and a method for liquefying natural gas using single mixed refrigerant as refrigeration medium are provided. The system comprises a two-stage mixed refrigerant compressor (1) driven by a motor, two coolers (21, 22), a liquid pump (4), three gas-liquid separators (31, 32, and 6), two throttling devices (51, 52), a plate-fin heat exchanger group (7) and a LNG storage tank (8). The method comprises the following steps: the mixed refrigerant is compressed step by step by using the two-stage mixed refrigerant compressor (1), separated step by step, and gas-phase and liquid phase mixed refrigerant streams obtained from the separation flow into different passages of the heat exchanger group (7) respectively for throttling and heat exchanging. Heat exchange curves of cold fluid and hot fluid in the whole heat exchange process match with each other better by using two-stage heat exchange, thereby flow of the mixed refrigerant is reduced effectively.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 13, 2012
    Publication date: September 25, 2014
    Applicant: XINDI ENERGY ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Zhenyong He, Long Yu, Sheng Zhang, Jianqing Fu, Xiaozhe Zhang
  • Publication number: 20140260417
    Abstract: Systems and methods for removing heavy hydrocarbons are provided. Methods for liquefying a natural gas stream include: (a) cooling at least a portion of the natural gas stream in an upstream refrigeration cycle of a liquefaction process to produce a cooled natural gas stream; (b) separating via a first distillation column the cooled natural gas stream into a first top fraction and a first bottom fraction, wherein the first fraction does not freeze in a subsequent downstream step of the liquefaction process; (c) separating via a second distillation column the first bottom fraction into a second top fraction and a second bottom fraction, wherein the second top fraction at least a portion of a reflux stream; (d) optionally separating via a third distillation column the second bottom fraction into a third top fraction and a third bottom fraction, wherein the third top fraction forms a portion of the reflux stream; and (e) introducing the reflux stream into the first distillation column.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 7, 2014
    Publication date: September 18, 2014
    Applicant: CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY
    Inventors: Karl Lee HERZOG, Qi MA, Will T. JAMES, Attilio J. PRADERIO, Jackie CHAN, Wesley Roy QUALLS