PROCESS SCHEMES FOR LNG TRAIN
MOHAMMED SHARIQUE KHAN
23. 07. 2009
LIQUIFIED NATURAL GAS
• LNG is predominantly methane, CH4 converted to liquid for ease of
storage and transportation by cooling it to -260 0F or -160 0C.
• LNG takes up 1/600th the volume of natural gas in the gaseous form.
• LNG is an odorless, non-toxic and non-corrosive liquid if spilled would not
result in slick. Absent an ignition source LNG evaporates quickly and
disperse leaving no residue.
• No environmental cleanup needed for LNG spills on water or land
• LNG offers an energy density comparable to petrol and diesel fuels
simultaneously producing less pollution.
LNG TRADE
• LNG accounted for 7% of the world’s natural
gas demand.
• The global trade in LNG has increased at a rate of 7.4 % per year over the decade from 1995
to 2005 and expected to grow substantially.
• LNG demand is heavily concentrated in Northeast Asia– Japan, Korea and Taiwan at the same
time Pacific Basin supplies dominated world LNG trade.
• By the end of 2007 there were 15 LNG exporting countries and 17 LNG importing countries.
• LNG trade volumes increased form 140 MT in 2005 to 158 MT in 2006, 165 MT in 2007, 172
MT in 2008 and is forecasted to be increased to about 300 MT in 2012.
• The Biggest LNG exporters in 2007 were Qatar(28 MT), Malaysia (22MT) and Indonesia (20
MT) & importers include Japan(65MT), South Korea (34MT) and Spain (24MT).
• In year 2009 about 59 MTPA of new LNG supply form 6 new plants come to the market .
LNG TRANSPORTATION
• LNG is transported in especially designed
ships with double hulls protecting cargo and ship from leaks and damage.
• Ships are designed with insulated walls in which LNG is kept at its boiling
point by the process of Auto refrigeration.
LNG PROCESS
LNG PROCESS
• A typical LNG process the gas is first extracted and transported
to processing plant .
• Purified by removing condensates such as water, oil, mud, as
well as other gases like CO2 and H2S and some times mercury
by amine treatment.
• The gas is then cooled down in stages until it is liquefied. LNG
is finally stored in storage tanks and can be loaded and
shipped.
• Reducing volume makes LNG cost effective to transport over
long distances by LNG carriers.
LIQUEFACTION TECHNOLOGY
LNG TRAIN
SCHEMES FOR LNG TRAIN
• APCI Propane Pre cooled mixed
refrigerant process( MCRTM ).
• Phillips optimized cascade
process.
• Black & Veatch PRICO Process.
• Statoil / Linde mixed fluid cascade
process(MFCP).
• Axens liquefin process.
• AP-XTM Hybrid LNG Process.
APCI Propane Precooled mixed refrigerant process
APCI Propane Precooled mixed refrigerant process
• APCI accounts for about 81% of the world’s baseload LNG production capacity.
• Train capacities of 4.7 MTPA were built or are under construction.
• Two main refrigerant cycles are used in this process.
i) Propane Precooling cycle:
It uses propane at four different pressure level and cool process gas to -40 0C &
also partially liquefy the MR.
ii) Mixed refrigerant liquefaction and sub-cooling cycle :
It is used in main cryogenic exchanger(MCHE) & the partially liquefied refrigerant
is separated into vapour and liquid and sub-cool the process stream form -35 0C to
-160 0C.
Phillips Optimized Cascade Process
Phillips Optimized Cascade Process
• Three pure components used for refrigeration.
i) Propane pre-cooling
ii) Ethylene
iii) Methane
• Loss of one train does not cause plant shut down.
• Production carries on with reduces capacity.
• Easily shift from LNG recovery to LPG recovery to ethane recovery.
• Utilization of pure components minimized the risk of two phase flow.
• Many plant still being designed and built using the cascade process—
simple and reliable.
Axens LiquefinTM process
Axens LiquefinTM Process
Axens LiquefinTM Process
• Two mixed refrigerants are used which are made up of methane , ethane , propane,
butane, and nitrogen.
• It uses reduced number of main equipment items and uses plate-fin heat exchangers.
• Easy adjustment of pre-cooling temperature and can operate with significant variations
in feed gas composition and pressure.
• Process feedstock containing high concentration of mercaptans and benzene.
• Efficiency remains the same over a large spectrum of production rate from 3 MTPA to 8
MTPA
• Uses limited number of control loops.
• CO2 emission is lower than any other process.
Statoil/Linde mixed Fluid cascade process(MFCP)
• Three mixed refrigerants are used to
provide cooling and liquefaction duty.
• Pre-cooling is carried out in PFHE by
mixed refrigerant .
• Sub-cooling and liquefaction is
carried out in a spiral wound heat
exchanger by other two refrigerant.
• This process is selected for SnØhvit
LNG project (Ekofisk, Norway) it is a
single train of 4 Million TPY Plant.
Black & Veatch PRICO Process
• PRICO uses a single-mixed refrigerant loop
for natural gas liquefaction.
• It is a simplified refrigeration system
require minimum equipment and
simplified control.
• Flexible in feed gas composition receives
natural gas from multiple sources.
• It has lowest capital cost of all competing
technologies hence suitable for midsize
train.
TM
AP-X Hybrid LNG Process
TM
AP-X Hybrid LNG Process
• It is a hybrid of Propane Pre cooled APCI Process.
• Uses both Propane Pre-cooling and Nitrogen subcooling for LNG
Liquefaction.
• Train capacities up to 8 Mta are feasible.
• AP-XTM achieves high efficiencies and low production cost by using both
cycles to their best advantage.
• Retrofitting of APCI process change it to AP-XTM Hybrid Process.
Technology Selection
• Technology selection of LNG process and equipment will mainly based on
technical and economical considerations.
• Technical consideration includes process and equipment experience,
reliability , process efficiency ,site conditions and environmental impact.
• Economic issues include capital cost, operating cost and lifecycle costing.
• Technical risks associated with a process relate to the track record of the
process in operation.
• Other selection include deciding heating and cooling medium ,
compressors and drivers and equipments.
References
• http://www.adgas.com
• http://www.scribd.com
• http://www.freepatentsonline.cm
• www.lngindustrys.com
• www.toodoc.com
• www.lngfacts.org
• www.naturalgas.org
• www.adventuresinenergy.org
