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Optimal design of a novel NGL/LNG integrated scheme: economic and exergetic evaluation

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Abstract

A novel NGL/LNG integrated scheme based on C3MR refrigeration system is modeled by using Aspen plus® in this study. The mentioned scheme utilizes mixed refrigerant to provide some of the required cooling in the ethane recovery unit, in addition to producing LNG with the low power consumption. The optimal operating conditions for the proposed configuration are determined by considering the earned profit. For this, a surrogate model is formulated by exploring the design space based on the response surface methodology. The optimal conditions from the mathematical model are obtained using genetic algorithm. The results show that the products sales revenue increases by 88% in the proposed scheme, while 26.65% of this increased revenue is spent on the increased investment and operational costs. Most of these costs belong to the added compressors and cryogenic shell and tube heat exchangers. Moreover, ethane recovery is increased by 25% in the proposed scheme compared to the industrial plant, while the cost of steam consumption is reduced by 11.61%. The exergy analysis shows that the overall efficiency is 53.67% for the proposed configuration and 71.79% of the total exergy destruction occurs in the LNG unit. The compressors of this unit have the highest share in the exergy destruction.

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Abbreviations

AR:

Annualized revenue ($ year −1)

BM:

Bare-module cost ($)

C :

Cost ($)

EP:

Earned profit ($ year −1)

Ex:

Exergy (kW)

IAR:

Increased annualized revenue ($ year −1)

IEC:

Increased electricity cost ($ year −1)

ISC:

Increased steam cost ($ year −1)

MTA:

Minimum temperature approach (°C)

P :

Pressure (bar)

Q :

Heat transfer rate (kW)

SC:

Steam cost ($ year −1)

SPC:

Specific power energy consumption (kWh kg−1 LNG)

T :

Temperature (°C)

TIAC:

Total increased annualized cost ($ year −1)

TIBM:

Total increased bare-module investment ($)

TICI:

Total increased capital investment ($)

TIOC:

Total increased operating cost ($ year −1)

UA:

Overall heat transfer coefficient and area of heat exchanger

W :

Electrical power (kW)

x :

Actual manipulated variable

\(\bar{x}\) :

Coded manipulated variable

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

APEA:

Aspen process economic analyzer

BBD:

Box–Behnken design

C3MR:

Propane precooled mixed refrigerant

DMR:

Double mixed refrigerant

GA:

Genetic algorithm

Hx:

Heat exchanger

JT:

Joule–Thomson

KBO:

Knowledge-based optimization

LNG:

Liquefied natural gas

LP:

Low pressure

MFC:

Mixed fluid cascade

MR:

Mixed refrigerant

MS:

Mean square

MTPA:

Million tons per annum

NG:

Natural gas

NGL:

Natural gas liquid

NSGA-II:

Non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II

SMR:

Single mixed refrigerant

SQP:

Sequential quadratic programming

D:

Destruction

in:

Inlet

out:

Outlet

Q:

Heat rate

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, 9177948974, Iran

    Omid Sabbagh & Mohammad Ali Fanaei

  2. Faculty of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood, 3619995161, Iran

    Alireza Arjomand

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  1. Omid Sabbagh
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  2. Mohammad Ali Fanaei
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  3. Alireza Arjomand
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Correspondence to Mohammad Ali Fanaei or Alireza Arjomand.

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Appendix

Appendix

See Tables 9 and 10.

Table 9 BBD design matrix and the obtained results of the proposed scheme
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Table 10 ANOVA for the earning profit of the proposed scheme
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Sabbagh, O., Fanaei, M.A. & Arjomand, A. Optimal design of a novel NGL/LNG integrated scheme: economic and exergetic evaluation. J Therm Anal Calorim 145, 851–866 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-020-10126-x

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