PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR SEPARATION OF HYDROCARBONS AND NITROGEN

摘要

There is provided a process for the separation of a gaseous feed comprising a mixture of nitrogen, hydrocarbons and at least 0.005 mol% carbon dioxide, the process comprising: (i) cooling and at least partially condensing the gaseous feed, and (ii) separating in one or more stages the cooled and at least partially condensed gaseous feed into a hydrocarbon rich product stream low in nitrogen and a nitrogen rich reject stream low in hydrocarbons, and wherein refrigeration is provided to one or more stages of the separation process by a heat pump system in which a heat pump refrigerant fluid is compressed and subsequently expanded at one or more pressure levels below the condensing pressure, and subsequently heated in heat exchange with the gaseous feed and/or one or more streams generated by the separation process to provide refrigeration thereto; and further wherein at least part of the heated refrigerant is recycled through the heat pump system. There is also provided an apparatus for the separation of a gaseous feed comprising a mixture of nitrogen, hydrocarbons and at least 0.005 mol% carbon dioxide.