This invention relates to a process for cooling or liquefying a fluid product (e.g., natural gas) in a heat exchanger, the process comprising: flowing a fluid refrigerant through a set of refrigerant microchannels in the heat exchanger; and flowing the product through a set of product microchannels in the heat exchanger, the product flowing through the product microchannels exchanging heat with the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant microchannels, the product exiting the set of product microchannels being cooler than the product entering the set of product microchannels. The process has a wide range of applications, including liquefying natural gas.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/219,990, filed Aug. 15, 2002, now U.S. Pat 6,622,519. This prior application is incorporated herein by reference.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is related to the following commonly-assigned applications filed on Aug. 15, 2002: "Integrated Combustion Reactors and Methods of Conducting Simultaneous Endothermic and Exothermic Reaction," (U.S. application Ser. No. 10/222,196); "Multi-Stream Microchannel Device," (U.S. application Ser. No. 10/222,604); and "Process for Conducting an Equilibrium Limited Chemical Reaction in a Single Stage Process Channel," (U.S. application Ser. No. 10/219,956). These applications are incorporated herein by reference.
Microchannel devices and method of use are disclosed wherein a reaction microchamber 52 is in thermal contact with a heat exchange channel 61. An equilibrium limited exothermic chemical process occurs in the reaction microchamber 52. Sufficient heat is transferred to the heat exchange channels to substantially lower the temperature in the reaction microchamber 52 down its length to substantially increase at least one performance parameter of the exothermic chemical process relative to isothermal operation. Optionally, an endothermic reaction occurs in the heat exchange channel 61 which is sustained by the exothermic chemical process occurring the exothermic reaction chamber. Both the reaction chamber 52 and the heat exchange channel 61 can be of micro dimension. Catalyst 75 can be provided in the microchamber 52 in sheet form such that reactants flow by the catalyst sheet. A microchannel reactor 100 can be formed by integrally bonding an alternating stack of thin recessed sheets wherein the recesses in the sheets define the flow paths.
