A novel NGL (natural gas liquid) recovery process based on self-heat recuperation

• Innovative self-heat-recuperation technology that circulates latent and sensible heat.
• A CGCC (column grand composite curve) is used to assess the thermodynamic feasibility.
• The proposed sequence saves up 67.19% of the OP (operating cost).
• The proposed sequences can be used to retrofit a distillation column to save energy.

This study examined an innovative self-heat-recuperation technology that circulates latent and sensible heat in the thermal process and applied it to the NGL (natural gas liquid) recovery process. A CGCC (column grand composite curve) was used to assess the thermodynamic feasibility of implementing the heat pump system and self-heat-recuperation technology into a conventional distillation column. The proposed distillation based on self-heat recuperation reduced the energy consumption dramatically by compressing the effluent stream, whose temperature was increased to provide the minimum temperature difference for the heat exchanger, and circulating the stream heat in the process. According to a simulation of the proposed sequence, up to 73.43 and 83.48% of the condenser and reboiler energy, respectively, were saved compared to a conventional column. This study also proposes heat integration to improve the performance of self-heat recuperation. The results showed that the modified sequence saves up 64.35, 100.00 and 31.60% of the condenser energy requirements, reboiler energy requirements and OP (operating cost), respectively, compared to a classical heat pump system, and 90.24, 100.00, and 67.19%, respectively, compared to a conventional column. The use of these sequences to retrofit a distillation column to save energy was also considered.