METHOD OF COOLING NATURAL GAS AFTER COMPRESSOR STATIONS Russian patent published in 2000 - IPC

FIELD: cooling natural gas. SUBSTANCE: natural gas is cooled in succession in recuperative heat exchanger and then is energy dividing device made in form of shell-and- tube heat exchanger having gas ducts for escape of cold and heated gas, supersonic passages with profiled nozzles and diffusers where gas flow is divided into two flows: one flow passes through supersonic passages accelerating to Mach number M=2 to 5 and then enters compressor station by means of final stage compressor; second flow (which is cooled) enters gas duct from intertube space of energy dividing apparatus. Ratio of total temperature at supersonic passage inlet to total temperature at supersonic passage outlet ranges from 0.85 to 1.2. EFFECT: reduced temperature in outlet collector as compared with other cooling methods. 1 dwg