Refrigerant apparatus and process using multicomponent refrigerant

Patent · Tue Jan 13 04:00:00 EST 1976

OSTI ID:6023482

Coers, D H; Sudduth, J W

Chicago Bridge and Iron Co.'s new liquefaction process offers lower capital requirements and easier operation and control than conventional approaches. The process produces partial or total liquefaction of a low-boiling-point material such as natural gas by first compressing a multicomponent refrigerant consisting essentially of methane (35 to 55 mole %), ethane (10 to 30 mole %), propane (10 to 30 mole %), and butane (5 to 30 mole %), the sum of the methane and ethane contents of the refrigerant being not more than 70% and the sum of the propane and butane contents not more than 50%. The partially condensed high-pressure refrigerant stream is then fed to a separator vessel in which the refrigerant vapor phase is separated from the liquid phase and passed to a heat exchanger where it is cooled and condensed. The now cooled high-pressure stream is expanded to a low-pressure stream, further reducing its temperature, and is passed through the heat exchanger countercurrently to the flodenced at Pb-B levels ranging between 10 and 20 ..mu..g/100 ml blood so that the no-response level in children seems to be lower than 10 ..mu..g/100 ml of Pb-B.

• Assignee: Chicago Bridge and Iron Co.
• Patent Number(s): US 3932154
• OSTI ID: 6023482
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
030400* -- Natural Gas-- Products & By-Products
ALKANES
BUTANE
CAPITAL
COMPRESSION
ENERGY SOURCES
ETHANE
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
HEAT EXCHANGERS
HYDROCARBONS
LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS
NATURAL GAS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PRODUCTION
PROPANE
REFRIGERANTS
WORKING FLUIDS