An Inclusive Review on the Assessment of Different Techniques for Natural Gas Liquid Recovery

Abstract

AbstractA comprehensive review is presented on the natural gas liquid (NGL) recovery process with emphasis on process description, energy requirements, NGL production, operating cost, and propane recovery. The industry standard single‐stage (ISS), recycle split vapor (RSV), cold residue reflux (CRR), and gas subcooled process (GSP) technologies focus on the improvement in the rectifying section of the demethanizer column, while the enhanced NGL recovery process (IPSI) focuses on the stripping section of the column. The fluor process consists of an absorber, a scrub column, and heavy hydrocarbon (HHC) separator, which form the integrated process of liquification and NGL separation. For rich feed, the economic performance, payback, and total annualized cost (TAC) of the IPSI process were lower than the other processes. For lean feed, the results of the scrub column scheme demonstrate the finest economic performance.