Drying process for gases making use of glycol including the separation of gaseous effluents

• Main Authors: LANDREAU, BENOIT, AMANDE, JEAN-CLAUDE, DOERLER, NICOLE, ROJEY, ALEXANDRE
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 23.08.2000
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: ADDING MATERIALS TO FUELS OR FIRES TO REDUCE SMOKE ORUNDESIRABLE DEPOSITS OR TO FACILITATE SOOT REMOVAL; CHEMISTRY; CRACKING HYDROCARBON OILS; FIRELIGHTERS; FUELS; FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS; LUBRICANTS; METALLURGY; MINERAL WAXES; NATURAL GAS; PEAT; PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; PRODUCTION OF LIQUID HYDROCARBON MIXTURES, e.g. BY DESTRUCTIVEHYDROGENATION, OLIGOMERISATION, POLYMERISATION; RECOVERY OF HYDROCARBON OILS FROM OIL-SHALE, OIL-SAND, ORGASES; REFINING MIXTURES MAINLY CONSISTING OF HYDROCARBONS; REFORMING OF NAPHTHA; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BYSUBCLASSES C10G, C10K; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE

A process for dehydrating natural gas or refinery gas, contg. methane and other light alkanes, BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene), water and opt. CO2, N2 and/or H2S, using a liq. desiccant, comprises: (a) absorbing water and BTEX by contact with regenerated liq. desiccant (from step (c)) to produce a dry gas stream and a loaded liq. desiccant stream; (b) separating the loaded liq. desiccant into a vapour phase, mainly contg. methane, steam and part of the BTEX, and a liq. phase mainly contg. the desiccant loaded with water and BTEX; (c) regenerating the liq. desiccant in reboiling and distillation zones, in which the distillation zone produces a vapour phase, contg. steam and BTEX, and the regenerated liq. desiccant returning to step (a); (d) condensing the vapour phase from the distillation zone, and separating the three phases, i.e. a BTEX-contg. gas stream, a BTEX-contg. liq. hydrocarbon phase and a liq. aq. phase; and (e) treating at least the BTEX-contg. gas stream in a scrubbing zone by absorbing the BTEX in a withdrawn regenerated liq. desiccant fraction and passing the BTEX-loaded desiccant to a point in the regeneration zone of step (b), the gas stream leaving the scrubbing zone being free from BTEX.