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Assessment of the performance of a natural gas liquefaction cycle using natural refrigerants

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Abstract

This study proposed a new cascade liquefaction cycle that uses CO2–C2H6–N2 and CO2–N2, analyzed its performance and exergy using HYSYS which is the liquefaction process simulator, and checked its applicability. The analysis results showed that the CO2–C2H6–N2 liquefaction cycle was more efficient and the CO2–N2 liquefaction cycle was better in terms of exergy loss. Furthermore, the liquefaction cycle that uses the CO2–N2 refrigerant showed lower thermal efficiency and higher compressor work than the conventional liquefaction cycle that uses C3H8–C2H4–C1H4. Thus, the proposed CO2–C2H6–N2 cycle is expected to have reasonably high thermal efficiency and potential for a high liquefaction capacity.

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Abbreviations

C1:

Methane (–)

C2:

Ethane (–)

C3:

Propane (–)

C4:

Butane (–)

C3H8 :

Propane (–)

C2H4 :

Ethylene (–)

C2H6 :

Ethane (–)

C1H4 :

Methane (–)

CO2 :

Carbon dioxide (–)

COP:

Coefficient of performance (–)

ex:

Exergy rate of refrigerant (MW)

G:

Mass flow rate (kg/s)

h:

Enthalpy (kJ/kg)

LNG:

Liquefied natural gas (–)

MR:

Mixture refrigerant (–)

NG:

Natural gas (–)

P:

Pressure (kPa)

Qe :

Refrigeration capacity (MW)

s:

Entropy (kJ/kgK)

T:

Temperature (°C)

V:

Volume (m3)

Wc :

Compressor work (MW)

x:

Vapor quality (–)

Δ:

Difference (−)

Eva:

Evaporator

Comp:

Compressor

i:

Inlet

O:

Dead-state

o:

Outlet

m:

Middle

H:

High

L:

Low

n:

Number at given state point

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National R&D project of the “Development of Energy utilization technology with Deep Ocean Water” supported by the Korean Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs. We thank Jin-Woo Kwag who helps to submit this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineering, Pukyong National University, San 100, Yongdang-dong, Nam-gu, Pusan, 608-739, South Korea

    Jung-In Yoon, Kwang-Hwan Choi & Chang-Hyo Son

  2. Deep Ocean Water Application Research Center, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, 245-7 Oho-ri, Jukwang-myeon, Goseong-gun, 219-822, Gangwon-do, South Korea

    Ho-Sang Lee & Hyeon-Ju Kim

Authors
  1. Jung-In Yoon
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  2. Kwang-Hwan Choi
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  3. Ho-Sang Lee
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  4. Hyeon-Ju Kim
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  5. Chang-Hyo Son
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Correspondence to Chang-Hyo Son.

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Yoon, JI., Choi, KH., Lee, HS. et al. Assessment of the performance of a natural gas liquefaction cycle using natural refrigerants. Heat Mass Transfer 51, 95–105 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-014-1399-9

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