Method for extracting natural gas liquids from natural gas using an adsorbent media comprising a cross-linked macroporous polymer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10011796-B2
Application number	US-201414893306-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 5, 2014
Priority date	Aug 6, 2013
Publication date	Jul 3, 2018
Grant date	Jul 3, 2018

Abstract

A method is disclosed for the separation of ethane and heavier hydrocarbons or propane and heavier hydrocarbons from natural gas to provide a methane-rich natural gas stream and less volatile natural gas liquids (NGLs). This method provides for passing a natural gas feedstream though a regenerable adsorbent media which adsorbs the NGLs to provides the methane rich natural gas product. The regenerable adsorbent media of the present invention is a cross-linked macroporous polymeric adsorbent media.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A process for separating natural gas liquids from a natural gas feedstream comprising methane and one or more of ethane, propane, butane, pentane, or heavier hydrocarbons consisting of the steps of:
(a) providing an adsorbent bed consisting of a cross-linked macroporous polymeric adsorbent media, wherein said adsorbent media adsorbs ethane, propane, butane, pentane, heavier hydrocarbons and/or mixtures thereof;
(b) passing the natural gas feedstream through the cross-linked macroporous polymeric adsorbent bed to provide a methane rich natural gas stream and a loaded cross-linked macroporous polymeric adsorbent media;
(c) recovering, transporting, liquefying, or flaring the methane rich natural gas stream,
(d) regenerating the cross-linked loaded macroporous polymeric adsorbent media for reuse by desorbing the adsorbed ethane, propane, butane, pentane, heavier hydrocarbons, and/or mixtures thereof,
and
(e) recovering, transporting, liquefying, re-injecting, excluding, by-passing, or flaring the ethane, propane, butane, pentane, and heavier hydrocarbons individually and/or as mixtures, wherein the cross-linked macroporous polymeric adsorbent media is in the form of a particle, a bead, or a sphere.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the cross-linked macroporous polymeric adsorbent is a polymer of a monovinyl aromatic monomer crosslinked with a polyvinylidene aromatic compound.

3. The process in of claim 2 wherein the monovinyl aromatic monomer comprises from 92% to 99.25% by weight of said polymer, and said polyvinylidene aromatic compound comprises from 0.75% to 8% by weight of said polymer.

4. The process of claim 1 wherein the cross-linked macroporous polymeric adsorbent is a polymer of a member selected from the group consisting of styrene, vinylbenzene, vinyltoluene, ethylstyrene, and t-butylstyrene; and is crosslinked with a member selected from the group consisting of divinylbenzene, trivinylbenzene, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate.

5. The process of claim 1 wherein the cross-linked macroporous polymeric adsorbent is a polymer of a member selected from the group consisting of styrene, vinylbenzene, vinyltoluene, ethylstyrene, and t-butylstyrene; and is crosslinked with a member selected from the group consisting of divinylbenzene, trivinylbenzene, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate; and the macroporous resin has a total porosity of from 0.5 to 1.5 cc/g, a surface area of from 150 to 2100 m 2 /g as measured by nitrogen adsorption, and an average pore diameter of from 10 Angstroms to 100 Angstroms.

Assignees

• Dow Global Technologies Llc

Inventors

• Matteucci Scott T
• Goltz H Robert
• Badhwar Ajay N

Classifications

• B01D2257/7022

  Aliphatic hydrocarbons · CPC title

• B01D2253/31

  Pore size distribution · CPC title

• B01D53/02

  by adsorption, e.g. preparative gas chromatography {(solid sorbent compositions B01J20/00, preparation of inorganic compounds or elements C01)} · CPC title

• C10L2290/542

  Adsorption of impurities during preparation or upgrading of a fuel · CPC title

• B01J20/2808

  being less than 2 nm, i.e. micropores or nanopores · CPC title