Uop Lcc

Keith R Clark

Shain-Jer Doong

Leonid Bresler

Moez M Nagji

Christopher B McIlroy

Gordon T Cartwright

Robert F Raymond

Cedric R Freeman

Michael E Clark

Philip Richman

Ali Hatami

Cedric Freeman

A process for treating a gas stream, such as natural gas, comprising a process design that prevents the formation of undesired sulfur and sulfates from the reaction of oxygen and sulfur is disclosed. After water is removed from the gas stream, a portion of the dried gas stream is sent through a cooled adsorbent bed that has a first layer to remove sulfur compounds and then a layer to remove oxygen. There may be additional layers of adsorbent to remove other contaminants. The gas stream that is then heated to regenerate an adsorbent bed no longer contains sulfur and oxygen and undesirable reactions of sulfur and oxygen are avoided.

Oxygen and sulfur tolerant adsorbent system

One exemplary embodiment can be a process for purifying a natural gas by using first and second adsorbers. The process may include passing a feed including the natural gas through the first adsorber to obtain a purified natural gas product, regenerating the second adsorber in a heating stage, and regenerating the second adsorber in a cooling stage. The heating stage may include separating a portion of the feed comprised in a regeneration gas, passing the regeneration gas to a dryer for removing water, heating the regeneration gas with a heater after exiting the dryer, and passing the regeneration gas to the second adsorber to regenerate the second adsorber. The cooling stage may include expelling at initiation of cooling at least a part of a fluid present in the second adsorber to the dryer to desorb water from a molecular sieve in the dryer, and cooling the second adsorber by circulating the regeneration gas bypassing the heater.

Process for purifying natural gas and regenerating one or more adsorbers

The invention comprises a process of removing carbon dioxide from a natural gas feed stream comprising sending a natural gas feed stream comprising methane and carbon dioxide through an adsorbent bed to produce a carbon dioxide depleted methane rich product stream after removal of carbon dioxide. The adsorbent bed is regenerated and then the spent regeneration gas stream cooled to produce a cooled spent regeneration gas stream that is sent to a membrane element. A permeate stream passes through the membrane element and a residue stream passes by the membrane element without passing through said membrane element. Substantially all of the carbon dioxide and a minor portion of the methane comprises the permeate stream which is disposed of and a major portion of the methane and a minor portion of the carbon dioxide comprises the residue stream which is then recirculated to the regeneration gas stream.

Molecular sieve and membrane system to purify natural gas

This invention relates to a process for treating a feed gas stream containing CO.sub.2 and mercaptans by contacting the feed gas stream with a CO.sub.2 -selective adsorbent under conditions effective to produce a CO.sub.2 -depleted feed gas stream which is thereafter subjected to contact with an alkaline scrubbing solution under mercaptan absorption conditions effective to produce a mercaptan- and a CO.sub.2 -depleted product gas stream and a mercaptide-containing scrubbing solution. At least a portion of the product gas stream may be utilized to regenerate the CO.sub.2 -selective adsorbent and the mercaptide-containing scrubbing solution may be regenerated by contacting same with oxygen in the presence of an oxidation catalyst.

Process for the removal of carbon dioxide and mercaptans from a gas

In the purification of light hydrocarbons to remove carbonyl sulfide impurity by selective adsorption thereof on molecular sieve adsorbents, significant losses of the hydrocarbon are incurred by its coadsorption on the adsorbent with the COS impurity. Conventional desorption procedures produce a desorbate which is a non-commercial mixture of COS and hydrocarbon. The purge desorption method of the present invention utilizing a mixture of CO.sub.2 and a non-sorbable purge gas permits recovery of the coadsorbed hydrocarbon in a pure and commercially useful form.

Recovery of co-adsorbed hydrocarbons from molecular sieve adsorption

Organic feedstocks containing at least one impurity component which is more strongly adsorbed on molecular sieve adsorbents than the host feedstock are purified of the said impurity by passage in the liquid phase through a fixed bed of the adsorbent whereby the impurity is selectively adsorbed and the purified feedstock recovered in unusually high yield by a novel bed regeneration procedure involving the use of a portion of the purified feedstock in the vapor phase to countercurrently remove the liquid held in the bed void space, a relatively non-sorbable purge gas to sequentially displace the purified feedstock vapor from the bed followed by a displacement of the non-sorbable purge gas from the bed void space using another portion of the purified feedstock in the vapor phase, and finally cooling and refilling the bed in a direction cocurrent with the flow of feedstock into the bed during the adsorption purification stage with a portion of the purified feedstock in the liquid phase.

Growing community of inventors

Santa Fe, NM, United States of America

Keith R Clark