LNG LIQUEFACTION:

PRINCIPLE &
PROCESSES
HARSH JANI-16BPE037
KISHAN JAMATIA-16BPE048
MANAV KOTHARI-16BPE049
MEET RAJYAGURU-16BPE102
What does Liquefaction of NG mean ?

●Liquefied natural gas (LNG), is natural gas that is super-cooled to – 162 degrees
Celsius.

At that temperature, natural gas transforms from a gaseous state into a liquid.
●

●When in liquid form, natural gas takes up to 600 times less space than in its gaseous
state, making it feasible and more economical for transport over long distances.

It is odorless, colorless, non-toxic and non-corrosive.

●

●This process of super-cooling of natural gas to -162 degree celsius is called as

LIQUEFACTION
Global LNG Liquefaction Capacity

● 369.4 MTPA Global nominal liquefaction capacity, March 2018.

● Capacity has reached 392.9 MTPA as of February 2019
● 42 countries were importing LNG and 20 countries were LNG exporters.
● Japan imported the largest volume of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the
world.
● Qatar exported the largest volume of LNG in the world.
● Global nominal liquefaction capacity from February 2019
1. Qatar, 77 MTPA 2. Australia, 75.4 MTPA 3. Malaysia, 30.5 MTPA
4.Algeria, 25.3 MTPA 5. US, 24.6 MTPA 6. Nigeria, 21.9 MTPA
7.Russia, 21.8 MTPA 8. Indonesia, 20.9 MTPA 9. Trinidad, 15.5MTPA
10.Egypt, 12.2 MTPA
 Processes for LIQUEFACTION of Natural Gas

There are several liquefaction processes available for large, baseload LNG plants.
●

 AP-C3MR – designed by Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (APCI)

 DMR-(Dual Mixed Refrigerant)

 AP-SMR (Single Mixed Refrigerant)

 AP-N LNG with a single pressure level for Floating LNG Etc..

●The majority of these trains use either APCI AP-C3MR for the liquefaction process. The other
processes, used in a small minority of some liquefaction plants include DMR (double-mixed
refrigerant) technology.
 AP-C3MR TECHNOLOGY
● Natural gas from the acid gas removal unit is
dried and pre-cooled to about -35 degree C
by propane.
● After precooling, it passes up through a tube
circuit in the main cryogenic heat exchanger
where it is liquefied and sub-cooled to
between -150 to -162 degree C by mixed
refrigerant (MR) flowing down on the shell-
side.
● To pre-cool the natural gas, propane is
compressed to a high enough pressure such
that it can be condensed by ambient air or
cooling water.
● Liquid propane is then let down in pressure
in a series of stages, further reducing its
FIGURE: AP-C3MR process for LNG cycle temperature and allowing it to provide
refrigeration to the natural gas.
 DMR TECHNOLOGY
● In the Dual MR cycle, the precooling propane
refrigerant is replaced with a high boiling
point Warm Mixed Refrigerant (WMR)
containing methane, ethane, propane and
butane.
● Figure shows an AP-DMR process which uses
two stages of WMR compression.
● The discharge from the first stage is partially
condensed and the liquid portion is pumped
around the second stage compression.
● The WMR is totally condensed after the
second stage compression, cooled in the
Precooler, and flashed to a single pressure
level to provide precooling refrigeration.

FIGURE: DMR process for LNG cycle

 AP-SMR Technology
● The Single MR cycle uses only one MR loop for
precooling, liquefaction, and subcooling.
● This provides the benefit of reduced
equipment count, but comes at the cost of
lower efficiency than C3MR and DMR. SMR
has been used for land-based LNG plants,
typically for capacities less than 1 MTPA
● The SMR process requires a taller and larger
liquefaction heat exchanger for a given LNG
production than the DMR cycle, as it must
handle all of the liquefaction duty including
precooling.
● A basic SMR process has a lower efficiency
than a C3MR or DMR cycle
FIGURE: AP-SMR Technology
Optimized Single Mixed Refrigerant process

● It is an innovative, simple, low cost, highly efficient, environmentally friendly,

robust and low risk technology that has the potential to benefit future LNG
projects.
● Plant capacities upto of 2 million tonnes per annum.
● The required plot space is less than that needed for traditional LNG plants.
Currently, three LNG projects are proposing to utilize OSMR® technology:

• Magnolia LNG Project, in Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA;

• Bear Head LNG Project, in Nova Scotia, Canada; and
• Gladstone LNG Project ‐ Fisherman’s Landing, in Gladstone, Queensland, Australia.
 AP-Nitrogen LNG with single pressure level
● Figure shows an Air Products AP-N™ LNG
process with a single pressure level and two
expander temperatures.
● The nitrogen is compressed and enters an
economizer in which it is cooled.
● Most of the nitrogen is withdrawn at an
intermediate point, expanded through a
turbo-expander to reduce the temperature,
and enters the liquefaction exchanger to
provide the majority of the refrigeration duty
to liquefy the natural gas.
● The remaining nitrogen is further cooled in
the economizer before being expanded to
provide refrigeration to the subcooling
FIGURE: AP-Nitrogen LNG with single pressure portion of the main exchanger.
level
Thank You !