US3581510A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Gas liquefaction by refrigeration with parallel expansion of the refrigerant
Assignee: Phillips Petroleum Co
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Filing: 1968-07-08
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Granted: 1971-06-01
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Expires: 1988-07-08
Abstract
Abstract A gaseous feed stream is cooled by a refrigerant which is expanded in parallel portions at different pressures. The lower pressure portion can be used in the same heat exchange zone as the higher pressure portion as well as in its own heat exchange zone. The lower pressure portion can be expanded first to the same pressure as the higher pressure portion and the vapor thus evolved combined with the vapor from the higher pressure portion for compression.
Inventors
- 👤 James H Hughes
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 14:22
CPC Classifications
F; F25; F25J; F25J5/00; F25J5/002; F25J1/00; F25J1/0002; F25J1/0022; F25J1/003; F25J1/0032; F25J1/004; F25J1/0047; F25J1/0052; F25J1/006; F25J1/008; F25J1/0082; F25J1/0085; F25J1/0087; F25J1/02; F25J1/0203; F25J1/0207; F25J1/0243; F25J1/0279; F25J1/0292; F25J2205/00; F25J2205/02; F25J2220/00; F25J2220/60; F25J2220/62
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
175 words
expanding a first portion of liquid ethylene to a first pressure, passing said first expanded portion of liquid ethylene into heat exchange relationship in a second heat exchange zone with said gas stream exiting said first heat exchange zone at about the locus of the second heat exchange zone where the temperature is about the same as that of the first expanded portion of liquid ethylene, expanding a second portion of liquid ethylene to a second pressure lower than that of said first portion, the expansion of the first and second portions of liquid ethylene being in parallel, passing a first portion of said second expanded portion of liquid ethylene into heat exchange reLationship with said gas stream which has been heat exchanged with first expanded portion of liquid ethylene at the cold end of said second heat exchange zone and then into heat exchange relationship with said gas stream in said second heat exchange zone, and passing the second portion of said second expanded portion of ethylene into heat exchange relationship with liquid methane;
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
372 words
The method of claim 1 which comprises compressing and condensing a plurality of different refrigerants consisting of a warmest refrigerant, an intermediate temperature refrigerant and a cold refrigerant; dividing each condensed refrigerant into a plurality of portions; expanding a first portion of the warmest refrigerant to a first pressure; heat exchanging said first expanded warmest refrigerant with the gas stream in a first heat exchange zone; expanding a second portion of said warmest refrigerant to a second pressure lower than that of said first portion; heat exchanging said second portion of said warmest refrigerant with the gas stream which has been heat exchanged with said first expanded warmest refrigerant portion in said first heat exchange zone and then with said gas stream in said first heat exchange zone, the expansion of the first and second portions of warmest refrigerant being in parallel; expanding a first portion of an intermediate temperature refrigerant to a first pressure; heat exchanging said first expanded intermediate temperature refrigerant with said gas stream exiting heat exchange with said warmest refrigerant in a second heat exchange zone; expanding a second portion of said intermediate refrigerant to a second pressure lower than that of the first portion; heat exchanging said second portion of intermediate temperature refrigerant with the gas stream which has been heat exchanged with said first expanded portion of intermediate temperature refrigerant in said second heat exchange zone and then with said gas stream in said second heat exchange zone, the expansion of the first and second portions of intermediate refrigerant being in parallel; expanding a first portion of the coldest refrigerant to a first pressure; heat exchanging said first expanded coldest refrigerant with said gas stream exiting heat exchange with said intermediate temperature refrigerant in a third heat exchange zone; expanding a second portion of said coldest refrigerant to a second pressure lower than that of the first portion; and heat exchanging said second portion of coldest refrigerant with said gas stream which has been heat exchanged with said first expanded portion of coldest refrigerant in said third heat exchange zone and then with said gas stream in said third heat exchange zone, the expansion of the first and second portions of coldest refrigerant being in parallel.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
145 words
expanding a first portion of liquid ethylene to a first pressure, passing said first expanded portion of liquid ethylene into heat exchange relationship in a second heat exchange zone with said gas stream exiting said first heat exchange zone, expanding a second portion of liquid ethylene to a second pressure lower than that of said first portion, the expansion of the first and second portions of liquid ethylene being in parallel, passing a first portion of said second expanded portion of liquid ethylene into heat exchange relationship with said gas stream which has been heat exchanged with first expanded portion of liquid ethylene in said second heat exchange zone and then into heat exchange relationship with said gas stream in said second heat exchange zone, and passing a second portion of said second expanded portion of liquid ethylene into heat exchange relationship with liquid methane;
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
133 words
expanding a first portion of liquid methane to a first pressure, passing said first expanded portion of liquid methane into heat exchange relationship in a third heat exchange zone with said gas stream exiting said second heat exchange zone, expanding a second portion of liquid methane to a second pressure lower than that of said first portion, the expansion of the first and second portions of liquid methane being in parallel, passing said second expanded portion of liquid methane into heat exchange relationship with said gas stream which has been heat exchanged with first expanded portion of liquid methane in said third heat exchange zone and then into heat exchange relationship with said gas stream in said third heat exchange zone; and recovering the cooled gas stream from said third heat exchange zone.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
7 words
The method of claim 1 which comprises:
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
151 words
expanding a first portion of liquid methane to a first pressure, passing said first expanded portion of liquid methane into heat exchange relationship in a third heat exchange zone with said gas stream exiting said second heat exchange zone at about the locus of the third heat exchange zone where the temperature is about the same as that of said first expanded portion of methane, expanding a second portion of liquid methane to a second pressure lower than that of said first portion, the expansion of the first and second portions of liquid methane being in parallel, passing said second expanded portion of liquid methane into heat exchange relationship with said gas stream which has been heat exchanged with first expanded portion of liquid methane at the cold end of said third heat exchange zone and then into heat exchange relationship with said gas stream in said third heat exchange zone.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
7 words
The method of claim 1 which comprises:
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 2 wherein the refrigerants are propane, ethylene and methane.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
184 words
The method of liquefying a gas stream which comprises the steps of: compressing and condensing a refrigerant; dividing condensed refrigerant into a plurality of portions; expanding a first portion of said refrigerant to a first pressure; heat exchanging said first portion with the gas stream; expanding a second portion of said refrigerant to said first pressure; removing from said second portion vapor formed by expanding said second portion to said first pressure; expanding said previously expanded second portion from which vapor formed by expanding to said first pressure has been removed to a second pressure lower than that of said first portion; heat exchanging that part of said second portion which is expanded to said second pressure with the gas stream effluent from the heat exchange zone of said first portion; combining vapor of said first portion with said vapor formed by expansion of said second portion to said first pressure and returning said combined vapor to a first stage of compression; and returning vapor from said second portion expanded to said second pressure to a lower stage of compression than said first stage.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1974-05-31 | 1974-11-30 | 1975-06-01 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1978-05-31 | 1978-11-30 | 1979-06-01 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1982-05-31 | 1982-11-30 | 1983-06-01 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |