(92d) An Improved and Energy Efficient Natural Gas Liquids (Ngl) Removal Process

A new Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) separation process is under development that will provide energy and cost savings while providing greater flexibility in terms of the amount of ethane that is recovered or rejected. This allows the gas processor to tailor operations as the value of the NGL components change compared to the value of the natural gas. This will also help maintain a supply of feedstock material to the chemical industry in times of high value natural gas. This process integrates dehydration with NGL recovery in such a way that heat recovery is maximized, pressure losses are minimized, and some high-value equipment such as the compressor, turbo-expander and a separate dehydration unit are avoided.

The paper will present the economic advantages of the process based on a techno-economic evaluation of the process compared to the cryogenic turbo-expander process, laboratory and bench-scale results on component solubilities with various hydrocarbon lean oils, and details on the design of a pilot plant unit under construction.