Bp Chemicals Limited

Bp Exploration Operating Company Limited

Ineos Europe Limited

Michael Bernard Power

David Newton

Jean-Claude Chinh

Michel C Filippelli

Stephen Kevin Lee

Andrew David Bell

Carl B Argo

Bruno Grenouiller

David Edward Noble

David Charles King

Iain David Ross

Peter Willcox

Roger Neil Harper

David Andrew Fargie

Geoffrey Chapman

Continuous process for regasifying a feed stream having (i) a slurry phase comprising gas hydrate particles suspended in a produced liquid hydrocarbon and optionally free produced water and (ii) optionally a gaseous phase comprising free produced gaseous hydrocarbon thereby generating a regasified multiphase fluid and for separating the regasified multiphase fluid into its component fluids. The method includes (a) heating the feed stream to above the dissociation temperature of the gas hydrate thereby regasifying the feed stream by converting the gas hydrate particles into gaseous hydrocarbon and water, (b) separating a gaseous hydrocarbon phase from the regasified multiphase fluid thereby forming a gaseous hydrocarbon product stream and a liquid stream comprising a mixture of liquid hydrocarbon and water, (c) separating the liquid stream comprising a mixture of the liquid hydrocarbon and water into a liquid hydrocarbon phase and an aqueous phase; and (d) removing the liquid hydrocarbon phase as a liquid hydrocarbon product stream. The regasification production facility additionally has a concentrator vessel and the feed stream is passed to the concentrator vessel prior to being heated in step (a) to above the dissociation temperature of the gas hydrate particles wherein a gaseous phase comprising free gaseous hydrocarbon separates from the feed stream in the concentrator vessel and is removed from the concentrator as a gaseous hydrocarbon stream.

Process for regasifying a gas hydrate slurry

An improved process for the polymerization of olefin monomer selected from (a) ethylene, (b) propylene, (c) mixtures of ethylene and propylene and (d) mixtures of (a), (b) or (c) with one or more alpha-olefins in a fluidized bed gas phase reactor, said process comprising passing a gaseous mixture of said olefin monomers(s) through the fluidized bed under effective polymerization conditions to provide a polymer product containing unreacted monomer(s) and a gaseous effluent stream comprising unreacted monomer(s), removing the polymer product to a degassing vessel, recycling a first portion of the gaseous effluent stream to the fluidized bed and passing a second portion of the gaseous effluent stream to counter currently contact the polymer product in said degassing vessel to produce a polymer product having a reduced amount of unreacted monomer(s), characterized in that the improvements to the process comprise: (i) removing heavy hydrocarbons from the second portion of the effluent stream and returning said hydrocarbons to the first portion of the effluent stream for recycle to the fluidized bed, (ii) removing substantially all of the monomer(s) from the second portion of the effluent stream and returning said monomers(s) to the first portion of the effluent stream for recycle to the fluidized bed, and (iii) recycling the second effluent stream after passage through the degassing vessel to the gaseous effluent stream.

Degassing process

A process for the continuous gas fluidised bed polymerisation of olefins, especially ethylene, propylene, or mixtures of these with other alpha olefins, wherein the monomer containing recycle gas employed to fluidise the bed is passed through a separator. The separator is charged with and maintained at least partially filled with liquid. Entrained catalyst and/or polymer particles are separated from the recycle gas in the separator and these separated particles are maintained in a suspended state in the liquid in the separator. The recycle stream can be cooled to condense out at least some liquid hydrocarbon; the condensed liquid, which can be a monomer or an inert liquid, is separated from the recycle gas in the separator and is fed directly to the bed to produce cooling by latent heat of evaporation. The process reduces fouling of the separator.

Gas fluidized bed polymerization process for olefins

A continuous gas fluidized bed process for the polymerization of olefins, especially ethylene, propylene, or mixtures thereof with other alpha-olefins by cooling the recycle gas stream to condense some liquid (e.g., a comonomer), separating at least part of the liquid and spraying it under pressure through a nozzle (,) directly into the fluidized bed by pressurizing the liquid and feeding it to a spray nozzle (,) having a mechanical device (,) for atomizing the liquid, under conditions such that the spray is formed within a spray-forming zone (,) of the nozzle outlet. The spray-forming zone (,) is preferably shielded from the fluidized bed particles by a wall or walls which can be, for example, a tube or a plate. Also described is a nozzle having two or more series of outlets, each series being fed and controlled independently to enable improved turn-up/turn-down of the liquid supply to the bed.

Nozzle for atomizing a fluid in a fluidized bed

The invention relates to continuous gas fluidised bed polymerisation of olefins, especially ethylene, propylene, or mixtures of these with other alpha olefins, wherein the monomer-containing recycle gas employed to fluidise the bed is cooled to condense out at least some liquid hydrocarbon. The condensed liquid, which can be a monomer or an inert liquid, is separated from the recycle gas and is fed directly to the bed to produce cooling by latent heat of evaporation. The liquid feeding to the bed can be through gas-induced atomiser nozzles (FIG. 2), or through liquid-only nozzles. The process provides substantially improved productivity of gas fluidised bed polymerisation of olefins.

Polymerization process

The invention relates to continuous gas fluidized bed polymerization of olefins, especially ethylene, propylene, or mixtures of these with other alpha olefins, wherein the monomer-containing recycle gas employed to fluidize the bed is cooled to condense out at least some liquid hydrocarbon. The condensed liquid, which can be a monomer or an inert liquid, is separated from the recycle gas and is fed directly to the bed to produce cooling by latent heat of evaporation. The liquid feeding to the bed can be through gas-induced atomizer nozzles (FIG. 2), or through liquid-only nozzles. The process provides substantially improved productivity of gas fluidized bed polymerization of olefins.

The present invention relates to a process for continuously manufacturing ethylene (co-)polymer in a gaseous phase in a polymerization zone through which passes an essentially gaseous reaction mixture comprising the (co-)monomers(s). In addition the process comprises transferring a mixture (A) formed by the gaseous reaction mixture and the solid (co-)polymer in a depressurization zone, and separating the mixture (A) into a solid phase (B) and a gaseous phase (C) returned into the polymerization zone. The solid phase (B) is subjected to (1) at least one non-deactivating flushing with respect to the active catalytic residues, and subsequently (2) a deactivating flushing with a gaseous mixture of nitrogen, water and oxygen. The (co-)polymer thus obtained has very low contents of unreacted (co-)monomer(s) and volatile organic compounds, and exhibits a high whiteness index and a long thermal stability with time.

Process for polymerising olefin in gas phase

A fluidized bed polymerization reactor which is a generally cylindrical vessel having a longitudinal axis and a fluidization grid located in the vessel generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the vessel and defining a fluidized bed region above the fluidization grid. The reactor has an inlet for continuously introducing a gaseous stream of polymerizable monomers into the vessel below the fluidization grid at a gas velocity sufficient to maintain particles in the fluidized bed region in a suspended and fluidized condition; an outlet for removing polymer product from the fluidized bed region and an outlet for continuously removing an outlet stream of gaseous unreacted polymerizable monomer from the fluidized bed region. A cooling device cools at least a part of the outlet stream to a temperature at which liquid condenses out of the outlet stream, and a separating device separates at least a part of the cooled outlet stream into condensed liquid and a cooled gaseous stream. The separated cooled gaseous stream is returned to the inlet and an injection device injects at least a part of the condensed liquid into the fluidized bed region at a point where the gaseous stream of polymerizable monomers passing through the vessel has substantially reached the operating temperature of the polymerization reactor. The injection device includes at least one gas induced atomizing nozzle for injecting an atomized stream of the condensed liquid into the fluidized bed region in a direction generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the vessel.

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London, United Kingdom

Michael Bernard Power