| abstract |
A method is described for liquefying natural gas (50) together with the production of a liquid stream containing a predominant amount of hydrocarbons heavier than methane (41). In this method, the liquefied natural gas stream (31) is partially cooled, expanded to an intermediate pressure (14, 15) and fed to the distillation column (19). The product (41) from the bottom of the distillation column preferably contains the majority of any hydrocarbons heavier than methane, otherwise the purity of the liquefied natural gas (50) is reduced. The residual gas stream (37) from the distillation column (19) is compressed (16) to a higher intermediate pressure, cooled under pressure (60) to condense it, and then expanded (61) to a lower pressure in order to form a liquefied stream. natural gas. |