RETROFIT UNIT FOR UPGRADING NATURAL GAS REFRIGERATION PLANTS

摘要

A retrofitted unit to an existing simple refrigerated natural gas plant thatsubstantially increases the amounts of propane, butanes and natural gasoline, or ethane,propane, butanes and natural gasoline recovered from the natural gas in the existinggas treatment plant, wherein in one embodiment the existing natural gas treatmentplant includes a refrigerated feed cooler, a separator and a stabilizer and the retrofittedunit comprises an NGL absorber, a refrigerated lean solvent cooler and a lean solventregenerator; and wherein in a second embodiment the existing simple refrigerated gastreatment plant additionally includes an NGL fractionation train that separates therecovered NGL into saleable fractions and wherein the NGL fractionation trainincludes a debutanizer that produces all or part of the lean solvent utilized in theretrofitted unit which comprises an NGL absorber and a refrigerated solvent cooler.