(19a) Exploring Options for Cryogenic NGL Recovery from Natural Gas with Emphasis on Process Optimization

Recent boom in natural gas production and utilization creates new opportunities for natural gas liquids (NGL) recovery. As demand for Ethane fluctuates with the price, the need for optimization is vital. The same is true about Propane and Butanes products (light petroleum gas or LPG).

There are several thermodynamic cycles for NGL production. Some are suitable for both ethane recovery and rejection, others only for ethane rejection and high propane recovery. The cycles vary in complexity, cost and efficiency. There is also a need for flexibility between ethane rejection and recovery, low cost solutions (capital investment and operating cost), and for retrofits.

The following paper provides an overview of NGL cycles with emphasis on differences in complexity, flexibility, process optimization and process screening by case studies. This will look at different NGL cycles with changing feeds to these processes.