Improved Performance of NGL Fractionation with the Optimax (tm) Process

Gas plant operations to recover Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) are very sensitive to the composition of the residue or sales gas. When Ethane process are high the plants need to operate in an ethane recovery mode with little ethane lost to the residue gas which would be mostly methane. But in conditions where the ethane value is low, it is advantageous to reject the ethane with the methane and supply NGLs to fractionation that are heavier. This paper will describe how to configure a de-methanizer to achieve either of the two purposes without needing expensive revamps and preserving the flexibility to operate in either mode. The Proprietary Configuration is called the S & B Optimax process.