Coalescing Filter and Carbon Bed Hydrocarbon Removal for Feed Gas
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cryogenic natural gas liquid (NGL) recovery plants and LNG plants struggle to effectively remove heavy hydrocarbons from natural gas feeds, which can cause plugging and fouling of heat exchangers, leading to operational inefficiencies and high operational and capital costs due to the need for large adsorbers and frequent replacement of adsorbent material.
Innovation Solution
A process and apparatus utilizing a coalescing filter device to separate liquid heavy hydrocarbons followed by an adsorption system with smaller adsorbers, utilizing activated carbon, to treat natural gas feeds, reducing the size of adsorbers and extending the life of adsorbent material, thereby minimizing the frequency of replacements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If adsorbers with large beds of adsorbent material are used to remove heavy hydrocarbons, then removal effectiveness is improved, but device size and capital cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides heavy hydrocarbon removal into two stages: first, a coalescing filter removes liquid heavy hydrocarbons from the feed gas; second, a smaller adsorber with adsorbent material removes remaining vapor-phase heavy hydrocarbons. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function, reducing the overall adsorber size while maintaining removal effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The coalescing filter performs preliminary removal of liquid heavy hydrocarbons before the gas enters the adsorber. This preliminary action reduces the burden on the adsorber, allowing it to be smaller while still achieving the required removal effectiveness for vapor-phase heavy hydrocarbons.
2Reliability
If adsorbent material is used to remove heavy hydrocarbons, then removal effectiveness is improved, but operational cost increases due to frequent replacement
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the removal process into liquid phase (coalescing filter) and vapor phase (adsorber) components, the system reduces the amount of adsorbent material required. This extends the operational life of the adsorbent before replacement is needed, reducing shutdown time and operational costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The coalescing filter performs preliminary removal of liquid heavy hydrocarbons, preventing them from saturating the adsorbent material quickly. This extends the time between adsorbent replacements, reducing operational disruptions and costs.
3Productivity
If compressor lubrication oils are introduced to feed stream for transmission, then gas transmission is enabled, but heat exchanger plugging and fouling occurs during cooling
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts harmful lubrication oils from the feed gas stream using a coalescing filter designed to capture liquid droplets. This removal prevents the oils from accumulating and causing plugging or fouling in downstream heat exchangers during the cooling process.
Solution Approach 2:
The coalescing filter acts as an intermediary component between the feed gas source and the cooling/liquefaction system. It intercepts and removes liquid heavy hydrocarbons before they can enter and foul the heat exchanger, protecting the sensitive thermal processing equipment.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The process achieves reliable and consistent removal of heavy hydrocarbons, allowing for smaller adsorber sizes and less frequent replacements, reducing operational and capital costs while ensuring the treated feed gas is suitable for cryogenic processing without fouling.
Implementation Method 1
a coalescing filter device having at least one coalescing filter that has a plurality of coalescing filter elements to remove liquid heavy hydrocarbons from within the feed
Implementation Method 2
an adsorption system positioned downstream of the coalescing filter device to receive a coalescing filter device treated feed output flow output from the coalescing filter device
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and process for heavy hydrocarbon (e.g., oils that include ten or more carbons, C10+ hydrocarbons, etc.) removal from a natural gas feed (e.g., a feed comprised of methane and impurities such as water and heavy hydrocarbons) can include utilization of one or more coalescing filters to provide adsorption of atomized (e.g., liquid) heavy hydrocarbons that can be present within the feed prior to the feed being fed to one or more adsorbers for adsorption of heavy hydrocarbon vapor via activated carbon beds within those adsorbers. Embodiments can be provided so that the size of downstream activated carbon bed adsorbers can be significantly reduced while also allowing such beds to have a longer life before needing to be replaced.