METHOD OF COOLING HYDROCARBON GAS DURING PREPARATION FOR TRANSPORTATION Russian patent published in 2003 - IPC

FIELD: gas and oil industry; treatment of gas at field and at manufacturing plant; cooling hydrocarbon gas after booster compressor before subsequent drying and preparation for transportation. SUBSTANCE: proposed method consists in cooling the gas after booster compressors in unit consisting of several parallel working and standby air cooling apparatus; then gas is delivered to horizontal heat exchange tubes and accumulating chambers and then gas is delivered for drying; proposed method includes measurement of average inlet and outlet temperatures; in case gas outlet temperature drops below (T₂+t)^°C, one apparatus is removed from operation and is placed in reserve; as soon as temperature T of gas at air cooling apparatus outlet reaches the magnitude found from formula , where T is gas temperature at air cooling apparatus outlet, apparatus is placed in operation ; T₁ is gas temperature at air cooling apparatus inlet; T₂ is temperature of beginning of hydrate formation under thermobarometric conditions at apparatus outlet; t is temperature gradient ensuring hydrateless cooling of gas in air cooling apparatus under conditions of non-uniformity of heat transfer and flows of gas in separate apparatus, sections, heat exchange tubes; n is number of operating apparatus before switching-on the standby apparatus. EFFECT: enhanced efficiency.