The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 01, 1994
Filed:
Oct. 07, 1993
George D Rhoades, LaGrange, IL (US);
Ronald C Weber, Brookfield, IL (US);
Gerald E Engdahl, Wheaton, IL (US);
Liquid Carbonic Corporation, Oak Brook, IL (US);
Abstract
The present invention is directed to a process for increasing the methane content of liquid natural gas to provide an essentially pure liquid methane product. In the process, a liquid natural gas feed stream is introduced into a first heat exchanger in indirect heat exchange with a purified methane vapor stream so as to liquify the purified methane vapor stream and to provide a purified liquid methane product. The heat exchange results in increasing the temperature of the liquid natural gas feed stream to a temperature just below the dew point of the liquid natural gas feed stream so as to partially vaporize the liquid natural gas feed stream to provide a mixture of a major amount of substantially pure methane vapor and a minor amount of liquid containing methane and higher hydrocarbons. The mixture of vapor and liquid from the first heat exchanger is transferred to a low pressure separator to provide a liquid bottom fraction and a purified methane top vapor fraction. At least a portion of the liquid bottom fraction and all of the top vapor fraction are transferred to a second heat exchanger in indirect heat exchange with the vapor fraction after the vapor fraction has been processed to change the temperature and pressure of the vapor fraction.