Process and installation for the production of refrigeration thru high-pressure gas

Claim 1

IN A PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF COLD BY THROTTLING AND WORK-PERFORMING EXPANSION OF A GAS, THE METHOD WHICH COMPRISES COOLING A GAS WHICH HAS BEEN COMPRESSED (1) TO ABOVE CRITICAL PRESSURE AT AMBIENT TEMPERATURE IN A FIRST COOLING STAGE (2), DIVIDING SAID COMPRESSED AND COOLED GAS (13) INTO A FIRST STREAM (16) AND A SECOND STREAM (17), COOLING SAID FIRST AND SAID SECOND STREAMS IN A SECOND COOLING STAGE (4,5) AND IN A FOLLOWING THIRD COOLING STAGE (6), THROTTLING SAID FIRST AND SAID SECOND STREAMS SEPARATELY (7,8) TO BELOW-CRITICAL PRESSURE THERBY LIQUEFYING THEM AT LEAST PARTIALLY, SEPARATING A GASEOUS PART FROM A LIQUID PART (9), WITHDRAWING THE GASEOUS PART (19), HEATING IT BY HEAT-EXCHANGE WITH THE FIRST AND THE SECOND STREAMS IN THE THIRD COOLING STAGE (6), HEATING IT FURTHER BY HEAT-EXCHANGE WITH THE SECOND STREAM IN THE SECOND COOLING STAGE (5), EXPANDING IT BY WORK-PERFORMING EXPANSION (3), HEATING SAID EXPANDED GAS BY HEAT-EXCHANGE WITH THE FIRST STREAM IN THE SECOND COOLING STAGE (4), AND THEN HEATING IT IN SAID FIRST COOLING STAGE (2) BY HEAT-EXCHANGE IN THE COMPRESSED GAS TO AMBIENT TEMPERATURE.