Liquefied Natural Gas

Barreiro Gómez, Juan Esteban

Exploración & Producción: Perú
Planta PERU LNG
Lotes 56 & 88
Ducto de Gas Seco PLNG
MIPAYA
GNL

Gas Gas Seco

Húmedo reinyección

Dist. Lima
y Callao Gen. Eléctrica, GNV, ind., Com. Res.

Dist. Ica
Ducto de Gas Seco

Diesel
Ducto de Líquidos Nafta
GLP
Planta Malvinas
Planta Pisco
Exploración & Producción: Perú

Actividad de Perforación Facilidades de Superficie Planta Malvinas

Planta Pisco Planta de licuefacción

 Perú LNG
Shareholders

Reference: perulng.com
 Perú LNG
Plant
P = 1784psig

3 turbo generators
28MW/ea

Pre-cooling -34ºC (C3)

Cooling and sub-cooling

-163ºC (C1, C2, C2=, C3,
N2)

Tanks (130km3/ea,
d= 78m, h= 55m)
4,5MTPA

Ship = 135-173km3/ea
Reference: perulng.com
 Perú LNG
Transportation

L =408km
d = 34in
H = 4901msnm

Reference: perulng.com
 LNG Fundamentals
Introduction

• Low greenhouse gas emissions

• High conversion efficiency in power generation
• For almost a century, natural gas has been transported safely, reliably, and economically via
pipelines
• Over the past decades it has become clear that significant quantities of new gas reserves are not
so conveniently located.
• The liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry has successfully brought many large remote gas fields to
the gas markets that are unreachable by pipeline (e.g., Japan, South Korea)

Reference: Handbook of Liquefied Natural Gas. Mokhatab, S. et al.

 LNG Fundamentals
Monetizing stranded gas
• Growing global energy demand, diminishing oil resources, higher oil prices, the no-flaring
regulations, and the benefits of lower greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of natural gas
• The urgency in the quest for commercially viable technologies for transporting stranded gas over
long distances
• 70% gas traded internationally is exported by pipeline; 30% by liquefied natural gas.

Reference: Handbook of Liquefied Natural Gas. Mokhatab, S. et al.

 LNG Fundamentals
Monetizing stranded gas

• When natural gas is cooled to approximately –162C or –259 F at atmospheric pressure, the
condensed liquid is LNG.
• The volume reduction is about 1/600th the volume of natural gas at the burner tip.
• The more condensed form of LNG allows transport using cargo ships or trucks.
• For longdistance transport, the gas pipeline option would require large diameter pipes and gas
recompression facilities to overcome the transmission pressure drop, which are very costly.

Reference: Handbook of Liquefied Natural Gas. Mokhatab, S. et al.

 LNG Fundamentals
LNG Characteristics
• LNG is predominately methane (about 87 mole % to 99 mole %),
• Its composition also includes other higher hydrocarbons, typically, the C2 to C4 and heavier
• Nitrogen and trace amounts of sulfur (less than 4 ppmv), and CO2 (50 ppmv)
• LNG is an odorless, colorless, and noncorrosive cryogenic liquid at normal atmospheric pressure.
• The combustion products from LNG contain almost no sulfur oxides and a low level of nitrogen oxides
• Natural gas release from LNG can cause asphyxiation due to lack of oxygen in an unventilated, confined area
• Ignited if mixed with the right concentrations of air.
• The density of LNG typically falls between 430 kg/m3and 470 kg/m3
• The flammability limits are 5% - 15% by volume in air

Reference: Handbook of Liquefied Natural Gas. Mokhatab, S. et al.

 LNG Fundamentals
Traditional LNG supply chain

Reference: Handbook of Liquefied Natural Gas. Mokhatab, S. et al.

 LNG Fundamentals
LNG Production Plant
Methane – 100% Mass

Methane – 50% Mass

Ethane – 50% Mass

L
L-V
V

Referencia: Hysys
 LNG Fundamentals
LNG Production Plant

Entalpía de la especia A a T
Entalpía de formación de la especie A a TR
Entalpía al calentar el sólido de TR a Tm
Calor de fusión a Tm
Entalpía al calentar el líquido de Tm a Tb
Calor de vaporización a Tb
Entalpía al calentar el gas de Tm a Tb

𝑻𝒎 𝑻𝒃 𝑻
𝑯𝑨 𝑻 = 𝑯𝟎𝑨 𝑻𝑹 + න 𝑪𝒑𝒔𝑨 𝒅𝑻 + ∆𝑯𝒎𝑨 𝑻𝒎 + න 𝑪𝒑𝒍𝑨 𝒅𝑻 + ∆𝑯𝒗𝑨 𝑻𝒃 + න 𝑪𝒑𝒗𝑨 𝒅𝑻
𝑻𝑹 𝑻𝒎 𝑻𝒃
 Molecular sieves To avoid mercury It is more energy efficient and cost
corrosión in the
technology to avoid effective to chill the sweet gas first,
LNG Fundamentals hydrate formation downstream cryogenic
removing the bulk of water before
exchanger.
LNG Production Plant passing to the molecular sieve units

Avoid CO2 freezing in the

main exchangers in the
liquefaction plant
Removal of the NGL
components would
eliminate the need
for a scrubber
column in the
liquefaction plant,
which typically is
used to remove
aromatics and heavy
hydrocarbons to
Reid Vapor Pressure avoid waxing in the
12psia main exchanger

Reference: Handbook of Liquefied Natural Gas. Mokhatab, S. et al.

 LNG Fundamentals
LNG Production Plant
• Liquefaction unit that chills and liquefies the gas in a refrigeration process
• Refrigeration cycle: A refrigerant by means of successive expansion and compression removes the heat
content of a gas stream, by rejecting to the ambient air or cooling water.
• Refrigerant may be part of the natural gas feed (open-cycle process) or a separate fluid continuously
recirculated through the liquefier (closed-cycle process)
• A nitrogen rejection unit is required if the nitrogen content is above the commercial specification of LNG,
typically at 1 mole %: i) avoid low liquefaction temperaturas, ii) to reduce the nitrogen content in the boil-
off such that it can be used as fuel gas, iii) to reduce the risk of rollover in the storage tanks in the terminals
when delivered to the customers
• Nitrogen removal by cryogenic separation process is the proven nitrogen removal process for LNG
production. The other alternatives such as pressure swing adsorption or membrane technology are not cost
competitive in meeting the very low nitrogen specification

Reference: Handbook of Liquefied Natural Gas. Mokhatab, S. et al.

 LNG Fundamentals
LNG Production Plant

hLA - hVB

Referencia: NG Processing. Bahaadori, et al.

 LNG Fundamentals
Wobbe index
• Heating value (or gas calorific value) and the gas component composition ranges
• Most combustion devices, such as gas turbines or burners, are designed specifically for a narrow range of gas
compositions (or Wobbe Index values) to limit NOx emissions.
• Wobbe Index is used in the gas turbine industry for fuel gas specification and gas turbine performance
guarantee
• The index is calculated by dividing the higher heating value of the gas by the square root of the gas density or
MW (molecular weight) relative to air.

Reference: Handbook of Liquefied Natural Gas. Mokhatab, S. et al.

 LNG Fundamentals
Wobbe index control
• The common approach to reduce the Btu value and Wobbe Index of a gas is by diluting the vaporized LNG
with nitrogen, up to the pipeline limit for inert content, usually 2 to 3%.
• Nitrogen is an effective medium for lowering the heating value of the pipeline gas.
• The addition of nitrogen also increases the molecular weight of the gas mixture that further lowers the
Wobbe Index value.

Reference: Handbook of Liquefied Natural Gas. Mokhatab, S. et al.

 LNG Fundamentals
LNG environmental aspects
• LNG production has recovered a low carbon fuel to displace the high carbon oil and coal, and contribute
significantly in reducing the environmental impacts.
• LNG plant construction and plant operation may produce pollutions and effluent, which can be an
environmental concern if not properly addressed in the project execution, plant design, and operation.
• LNG plants have vapor emissions from different sources (i.e., process vents and driver exhausts), liquid
effluents from sumps and drains and cooling medium return, and solid waste from spent molecular sieve and
mercury removal catalyst.
• Other major environmental contributions are construction impacts, emissions from sour gases, and stack
emissions from fired equipment.
• From an emissions viewpoint, an LNG plant is relatively clean when compared to refineries or petrochemical
plants.

Reference: Handbook of Liquefied Natural Gas. Mokhatab, S. et al.

 COOLING CURVE:
LNG Fundamentals
Natural gas liquefaction technology Precooling
• Liquefaction technologies are based on refrigeration cycles, which
take warm, pretreated feed gas and cools and condenses it to
cryogenic temperatures into a liquid product.
• The refrigerant may be part of the natural gas feed (open-cycle Liquefaction
process) or a separate fluid continuously recirculated through the zone
liquefier or heat exchanger (closed-cycle process)
• Work must be put into the refrigerant cycle(s) through a refrigerant
compressor(s), and heat must be rejected from the cycle(s) through
air or water coolers
• The most thermodynamically efficient liquefaction process is one Subcooling
with a refrigerant or a mixed refrigerant system that can duplicate the
shape of the natural gas cooling curve at operating pressure
• The smaller the temperature difference between the process gas and
refrigerant, the more heat exchange area is required for the duty.
• The classical cascade liquefaction process attempts to approximate
the cooling curve by use of a series of refrigerants (usually three) in
separate loops.
Reference: Handbook of Liquefied Natural Gas. Mokhatab, S. et al.
 LNG Fundamentals
Natural gas liquefaction technology

Cascade cycle:
• The classical cascade process reduces the irreversible heat exchange losses by utilizing several refrigeration cycles whose
refrigerants vaporize at different but constant temperatures.
• The cascade cycle has a comparatively low heat exchanger surface area requirement per unit of capacity

Mixed refrigerant cycles:

• Continuous cooling of a natural gas stream using a carefully selected blend of refrigerants (usually a mixture of light
hydrocarbons and nitrogen) that can mimic the cooling curve of natural gas from ambient to cryogenic temperatures, so
that energy usage and heat exchangers size can be optimized.
• the advantages of the mixed refrigerant process are better proximity to operational temperature of heat exchangers;
lower number of compressors and heat exchanger services; and its ability to adjust refrigerant compositions to
accommodate the changes in gas composition, feed gas throughput, and plant operating pressure.

Reference: Handbook of Liquefied Natural Gas. Mokhatab, S. et al.

 LNG Fundamentals
Natural gas liquefaction technology
Gas expander cycles:
• The expansion-based gas liquefaction processes utilize turbo-expanders to produce the refrigerant for liquefaction.
• The turbo-expander refrigeration cycle works by compressing and expanding a fluid to generate refrigeration.
• The process can be configured as single, dual, or multiple turbo-expander designs that can be driven by electric motors
or gas engines.
• The refrigerants remain in the gaseous state throughout the expansion cycles. Being a single component, there is no
need to adjust the composition, thus simplifying the process operation.

Reference: Handbook of Liquefied Natural Gas. Mokhatab, S. et al.

 LNG Fundamentals
Natural gas liquefaction technology

APCI propane precooled mixed refrigerant process:

• Composed of a multistage propane precooling system followed by liquefaction using a mixed refrigerant
system (made up of nitrogen, methane, ethane, and propane).
• The natural gas feed is initially cooled by a separate propane chiller package to an intermediate
temperature, approximately –35C
• The natural gas is then liquefied and subcooled in the main cryogenic heat exchanger (MCHE), composed of
a large number of smalldiameter spiral-wound tube bundles (i.e., spiral-wound or spool-wound heat
exchanger).
• The mixed refrigerant is partially condensed by the propane chiller before entering the heat exchanger.
• The separate liquid and vapor streams are then chilled further before being flashed across Joule-Thomson
valves, which provide the cooling for the final gas liquefaction.

Reference: Handbook of Liquefied Natural Gas. Mokhatab, S. et al.

 LNG Fundamentals
Natural gas liquefaction technology

Reference: Handbook of Liquefied Natural Gas. Mokhatab, S. et al.

Liquefied Natural Gas

Barreiro Gómez, Juan Esteban