Marathon Oil Company

Marathon Gtf Technology, Ltd.

Aker Kvaerner, Inc.

Stephen D York

John J Waycuilis

Raymond T Brickey

Muhammad Nazrul Islam

Gwo-Jang Abraham Liou

Greg A Lisewsky

A process for converting gaseous alkanes to olefins, higher molecular weight hydrocarbons or mixtures thereof wherein a gaseous feed containing alkanes may be thermally or catalytically reacted with a dry bromine vapor to form alkyl bromides and hydrogen bromide. Poly-brominated alkanes present in the alkyl bromides may be further reacted with methane over a suitable catalyst to form mono-brominated species. The mixture of alkyl bromides and hydrogen bromide may then be reacted over a suitable catalyst at a temperature sufficient to form olefins, higher molecular weight hydrocarbons or mixtures thereof and hydrogen bromide. Various methods and reactions are disclosed to remove the hydrogen bromide from the higher molecular weight hydrocarbons, to generate bromine from the hydrogen bromide for use in the process, to store and subsequently release bromine for use in the process, and to selectively form mono-brominated alkanes in the bromination step. One or more of the reactions of the processes of the present invention may be conducted in a microchannel reactor.

Processes for converting gaseous alkanes to liquid hydrocarbons using microchannel reactor

The present invention provides an apparatus for recovering organic compounds from plant waste water. A saturator () is coupled to a feed gas stream () and a heated makeup water stream () which includes recoverable organic compounds. The saturator provides a saturated feed gas stream () which includes feed gas, steam and recovered organic compounds. A pump () recycles saturator water () and the makeup water stream () is added to that recycle stream ().

Recovery of organic compounds using a saturator

A transport process for a wet gas employs a subsea heat exchanger having first and second flowpaths separated by a heat transfer surface. A cooler heat transfer medium is conveyed through the first flowpath in a liquid phase while a warmer hydrocarbon stream having a gaseous hydrocarbon phase and a liquid aqueous phase is conveyed through the second flowpath, which cools the hydrocarbon stream and heats the heat transfer medium. The heat transfer medium is converted by heating to a vapor phase, which is conveyed to a passive condenser associated with the subsea heat exchanger. The ambient temperature of the sea water submersing the condenser cools the heat transfer medium and restores it to the liquid phase for reuse in the heat exchanger. A portion of the hydrocarbon stream is converted by cooling to a plurality of solid gas hydrate particles while a solid particle medium entrained within the hydrocarbon stream prevents the build-up of gas hydrate particles in the second flowpath. The gas hydrate particles mix with the remaining liquid phase components of the hydrocarbon stream to form a gas hydrate slurry, which is withdrawn from the second flowpath and conveyed through a subsea transport pipeline.

Transport of a wet gas through a subsea pipeline

A process is provided for converting a multi-phase fluid stream having an initial gas phase and an initial liquid phase to a gas hydrate slurry. The initial liquid phase includes an initial water and the initial gas phase includes a hydrocarbon gas. An inert solid particle medium is entrained in the multi-phase fluid stream to form a fluidizable mixture which is conveyed through the interior of a heat transfer tube enclosed within a shell. A heat transfer medium resides within the shell, but is external to the heat transfer tube in fluid isolation from the fluidizable mixture. The wall of the heat transfer tube provides a heat transfer surface for heat exchange between the multi-phase fluid stream and the heat transfer medium, cooling the multi-phase fluid stream on contact to a temperature below the gas hydrate formation temperature and converting at least a portion of the hydrocarbon gas and initial water to a plurality of solid gas hydrate particles. The solid particle medium substantially prevents accumulation of the solid gas hydrate particles on the tube wall. The fluidizable mixture is separated from the solid particle medium to recover a gas hydrate slurry containing the plurality of solid gas hydrate particles and the remaining portion of the initial liquid phase.

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Missouri City, TX, United States of America

Stephen D York