Hydrocarbon Recovery Systems

Membrane hydrocarbon recovery system used in Vapor Sep. Vapor Sep is an innovative and patented membrane based process for separating and recovering hydrocarbons from light gases such as nitrogen, hydrogen or methane.The enabling technology is a reverse selective membrane that preferentially permeates the larger hydrocarbon vapors compared to the smaller light gases.

* Hydrocarbon Recovery System is used to recover valuable hydrocarbons and to purify the light gas for reuse within the process. Applications for Vapor Sep are found throughout the Refinery, Petrochemical, Fertilizers, Natural gas industries.
* Vapor Sep process combines membrane vapor separation with compression condensation. The feed gas is compressed and cooled, condensing a portion of the hydrocarbons.
* The liquid is recovered for reuse and the remaining gas, which still contains a significant amount of hydrocarbon is fed to the Vapor Sep membrane. The membrane separates the gas into two streams: a permeate stream containing most of the hydrocarbons and a residue stream which contains the purified light gas.
* The permeate is recycled to the inlet of the compressor while the residue stream is vented or reused. Some Vapor Sep systems are even simpler, consisting of only membranes.
* In conventional membranes, separation is accomplished primarily by differences in diffusion rates due to differences in molecular size. In contrast, the Vapor Sep membrane separates on the basis of solubility.