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:
Jul. 16, 1996
Filed:
Oct. 21, 1994
Herbert E Reinhold, III, Annapolis, MD (US);
Joseph S D'Amico, Linthicum, MD (US);
Kent S Knaebel, Plain City, OH (US);
Nitrotec Corporation, New York, NY (US);
Abstract
A natural gas feed stream containing significant quantities of nitrogen can be increased to a content of greater than 95 percent by volume of natural gas, and preferably greater than about 98 percent, by passing the natural gas feed stream sequentially through at least four adsorbent beds which are cycled through six phases comprising an adsorption phase to adsorb natural gas, a recycle phase to remove feed gas from the voids in the adsorbent bed and nitrogen from the adsorbent by the passage of a depressurization gas therethrough to produce a recycle gas, a depressurization phase to reduce the adsorbent bed pressure to about ambient and to produce the depressurization gas, an evacuation phase where the pressure in the adsorbent is further reduced and an enriched natural gas product stream recovered, a pressurization phase where the pressure in the adsorbent bed is increased using nitrogen gas from a bed in an adsorption phase, and further pressurizing the adsorbent bed in a recycle feed pressurization phase by the flow of the recycle gas therein.