ABSTRACT Ethane recovery is a critical technology for enhancing the utilization efficiency and economic value of natural gas. Although the traditional partial recycle split vapor (RSV) process is widely employed due to its high ethane recovery (exceeding 96%) and good feed gas adaptability, it is hampered by high energy consumption and inefficient heat integration under specific operating conditions. To address these limitations, this article proposes a novel recycle high‐pressure absorber (RHPA) process. The RHPA process innovatively replaces the conventional demethanizer with a high‐pressure absorber and a low‐pressure demethanizer. In this configuration, the high‐pressure absorber ensures high recovery rates while reducing external compression power, whereas the low‐pressure demethanizer lowers the reboiler heat load, facilitating effective heat integration.
Tan et al. (Wed,) studied this question.