Energy 75 (2014) 349e359

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/energy

A novel conceptual design of parallel nitrogen expansion liquefaction

process for small-scale LNG (liquefied natural gas) plant in skid-mount
packages
Tianbiao He, Yonglin Ju*
Institute of Refrigeration and Cryogenics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The utilization of unconventional natural gas is still a great challenge for China due to its distribution
Received 18 April 2014 locations and small reserves. Thus, liquefying the unconventional natural gas by using small-scale LNG
Received in revised form plant in skid-mount packages is a good choice with great economic benefits. A novel conceptual design of
23 July 2014
parallel nitrogen expansion liquefaction process for small-scale plant in skid-mount packages has been
Accepted 25 July 2014
proposed. It first designs a process configuration. Then, thermodynamic analysis of the process is con-
Available online 19 August 2014
ducted. Next, an optimization model with genetic algorithm method is developed to optimize the pro-
cess. Finally, the flexibilities of the process are tested by two different feed gases. In conclusion, the
Keywords:
Nitrogen expansion
proposed parallel nitrogen expansion liquefaction process can be used in small-scale LNG plant in skid-
LNG (liquefied natural gas) mount packages with high exergy efficiency and great economic benefits.
Parallel configuration © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Optimization
Genetic algorithm

1. Introduction
With the recovery of global economy, the demand for energy
will increase at an average of 1.8% per year. Natural gas has been
favored as an environmental friendly fuel compared with other
fossil fuels. It is estimated that the consumption of natural gas in-
creases by 1.7% per year [1].
The world also calls for reducing the methane emission in oil
and gas fields [2], since the GWP (global warming potential) of
methane is 24 times greater than that of carbon dioxide. Although
the natural gas production in China cannot meet the requirement of
the natural gas consumption, there are approximately 3.5e3.7
million Nm3 associated gas released to the environment per day,
which is a form of natural gas produced with oil exploitation. The
associated gas without any utilization not only wastes the energy
but also has negative influence on the reduction of greenhouse
emissions. To ensure a cleaner future, China has taken actions to
use more natural gas [3]. The difficulties of utilizing the associated
gas are the distributed locations of oil wells, the low average pro-
duction per well and the unreliability of the associated gas
production.
* Corresponding author. Tel./fax: þ86 21 34206532.
E-mail addresses: yju@sjtu.edu.cn, ylju2000@163.com (Y. Ju).
It is well known that gas pipelines and LNG (liquefied natural
gas) are the two main methods to transport natural gas. It is more
economical to utilize the associated natural gas as the form of LNG
with small-scale LNG plant in skid-mount packages. Natural gas can
be liquefied when its temperature is cooled to
161  C at
101.325 kPa [4]. LNG is a clean, non-toxic, non-corrosive and
cryogenic liquid [5]. Cascade cycle, mixed refrigerant cycle and
expansion cycle are three main types of cycles in LNG liquefaction
process [6]. Mixed refrigerant cycle has been applied to base-load
LNG plant and peak-shaving LNG plant due to its low operation
cost [7e10].
Nitrogen expansion cycle is suited for small-scale LNG lique-
faction process [11]. The nitrogen expansion cycle liquefaction
process has been studied by several researchers for both large-
scale and small-scale LNG plant. Chang et al. [12] designed a
multi-stage Brayton-JT cycle for large-scale LNG plant based on
thermodynamic optimization theory and investigated the ther-
modynamic performance of the liquefaction cycle. The results
showed that the proposed multi-stage Brayton-JT cycle can reach a
greater liquefaction capacity than mixed refrigerant cycle with
propane precooling and cascade cycle. Gao et al. [13] proposed
nitrogen expansion liquefaction process with propane precooling
to liquefy coalbed methane. However, the authors only analyzed
the sensitivity of several parameters on the liquefaction process,
without systematic optimization of the process. Li and Ju [14]

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2014.07.084
0360-5442/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
350 T. He, Y. Ju / Energy 75 (2014) 349e359

designed a nitrogen expansion process for offshore associated
natural gas liquefaction. The configuration of nitrogen expanders is
cascade in Refs. [13,14], which could result in 50  C temperature
difference at the cold end of heat exchanger. The large temperature
difference at the hot or cold end of heat exchanger is unfavorable
to manufacture the heat exchanger and has negative effect on the
safety operation of the LNG plant. In addition, the large tempera-
ture difference can also reduce the efficiency of the process and
waste energy.
Entropy generation or exergy destruction entails lower energy
efficiency of the liquefaction process. In order to reduce entropy
generation in liquefaction process, it is crucial to reduce the tem-
perature difference in heat exchangers. Parallel configuration of
nitrogen expanders in liquefaction process can reduce the tem-
perature difference in heat exchangers. The results also indicate
that the parallel nitrogen expansion liquefaction process is more
exergy efficient than the conventional nitrogen expansion lique-
faction process with the cascade configuration of expanders.
However, based on the published literature, there is still a lack of
systematic studies on the parallel configuration of nitrogen
expander liquefaction process for small-scale LNG plant in skid-
mount packages. Since the LNG process is a highly non-linear sys-
tem with many local optimal solutions, a global optimization
method is needed to optimize the process. The optimization of
nitrogen expansion liquefaction process with global optimization
method has not been reported. In this paper, a nitrogen expansion
liquefaction process with parallel configuration of expanders for
small-scale plant in skid-mount packages is proposed and
designed. Genetic algorithm is selected as the optimization method
to achieve the minimum unit energy consumption. Three different
feed gases are chosen to test the flexibilities of the proposed
process.

Fig. 1. a The diagram of the parallel nitrogen expansion liquefaction process (PNEC); b TemperatureeEntropy diagram of parallel nitrogen expansion liquefaction process;
c TemperatureeEntropy diagram of natural gas.
 T. He, Y. Ju / Energy 75 (2014) 349e359 351

2. Process design 2083 Nm3/h. The components of the feed natural gas are listed in
Table 1. We assume that the impurities in natural gas have been
2.1. Process description removed before the natural gas enters the liquefaction process. The
temperature after the water cooler is set at 40  C. The pressure
The diagram of the parallel nitrogen expansion liquefaction drops in the water coolers and LNG heat exchangers are 10 kPa. The
process is illustrated in Fig. 1. The feed natural gas is firstly pres- LNG storage pressure is set at 200 kPa. PengeRobinson equation is
surized by compressors. High pressure of the natural gas is benefi- adopted to calculate the thermophysical parameters in the process.
cial for the heat transfer between the natural gas and nitrogen in
heat exchangers. After being pressurized and water cooled, the 3. Thermodynamic analysis
natural gas enters the first heat exchanger (HEX-1) to cool its tem-
perature to approximately
60  C and some components are 3.1. General methodology
condensed at the same time. Then it undergoes the first vapor-
eliquid separator (V-1) to separate heavy hydrocarbons. The vapor In this section, detailed thermodynamic analysis will be applied
from V-1 continues to be cooled in the second heat exchanger (HEX- to every unit operation. Several assumptions are made for the
2) to approximately
150  C. The pressure of the LNG (liquefied process analysis, as followings:
natural gas) is reduced to LNG storage pressure by a throttling valve
(VLV-1). LNG can be obtained from the bottom of the second  The process is steady state and steady flow with negligible po-
vaporeliquid separator (V-2). BOG (boiling off gas) from the top of tential and kinetic energy effects.
the V-2 returns back to HEX-2 and HEX-1 to recover its cold energy.  The exergy losses in vaporeliquid separators, mixers and split-
In the parallel nitrogen expansion cycle, nitrogen is compressed ters are ignored to simplify the process calculation.
by two stage compressors (C-1 and C-2) and then cooled in water  The mechanical power produced by expanders is 100% recov-
coolers (WC-1 and WC-2). After that, nitrogen is divided into two ered by boosters without any losses.
parts. One part (stream 16) is pressurized by booster (B-1) and  The adiabatic efficiency of boosters, compressors and expanders
cooled in water cooler (WC-3). The other part (stream 17) is pres- are 75%, 80% and 80%, respectively.
surized by booster (B-2) and cooled in water cooler (WC-4). The
two parts of nitrogen are pressurized to the same pressure with Exergy is the maximum theoretical work obtainable from an
different flow rates. Then the two parts of nitrogen are mixed in overall system consisting of a system and the environment as the
mixer (M-1). The pressurized nitrogen is cooled in HEX-1 and then system comes into equilibrium with the environment [15]. The
divided into two parts. The major part (stream 7) undergoes the exergy efficiency of any liquefaction system is defined as the ratio of
expander (E-1) to reduce its pressure and temperature. The minor minimum energy required by a reversible system to actual power
part (stream 3) passes though the heat exchanger (HEX-2) to lower supplied [16]. It can be expressed as:
its temperature. Then the cold nitrogen undergoes the expander (E-
2) and provides the cold energy for HEX-2. The stream 6 from HEX- W_ rev
2 mixes with the stream 8 in M-2. Then the nitrogen provides en- hex ¼ (1)
W_ act
ergy for HEX-2 and HEX-1 subsequently.
The proposed process is different from the conventional nitro- where
gen expansion liquefaction process. The configuration of the ex-
h   i
panders is parallel in this process while others are cascade. The
W_ rev ¼ n_ hLNG
h0
T0 sLNG
s0 (2)
LNG
parallel configuration of the expanders can reduce the temperature
difference at the cold end of HEX-1, which makes the heat    
exchanger much easier to manufacture and maintain. Moreover, W_ act ¼ W_ mþW_n cm2 C
3; C
4 cn2 C
1; C
2
the temperature differences in HEX-1 and HEX-2 are more uniform
from hot end to cold end in this process than the convention ni- (3)
trogen expansion process. As a result, the small temperature
gradient between the hot composite curve and cold composite where T0 is the ambient temperature at which heat is rejected,
curve brings about higher exergy efficiency. T0 ¼ 298.15 K.

2.2. Known parameters in process 3.2. Energy and exergy balance

The pressure of the feed natural gas PN1 is set at 500 kPa, the 3.2.1. Compressors
temperature tN1 32  C, and the standard volume flow rate There are two sets of compressors in the parallel nitrogen
expansion liquefaction process, namely two-stage natural gas
compressors and two-stage nitrogen compressors. The compres-
Table 1 sors will generate exergy losses due to friction and heat loss.
The components of the feed natural gas in molar
The energy and exergy balance of compressors are given as below:
fraction.
Energy balance:
Components Value
 .
CH4 0.8582 Wm ¼ n_ NG hm m
o;isentropic
hi hm
C2H6 0.0562    
C3H8 0.0347 ¼ n_ NG hmo
hi
m
cm2 C
3; C
4 (4)
i-C4H10 0.0072
n-C4H10 0.0135
i-C5H12 0.0035  .    
n-C5H12 0.0034 Wn ¼ n_ N2 hno;isentropic
hni hn ¼ n_ N2 hno
hni cn2 C
1;C
2
C6~C9 0.0026
N2 0.0207 (5)
352 T. He, Y. Ju / Energy 75 (2014) 349e359

Exergy balance:    
    DEE
2 ¼ EiE
2
EoE
2 ¼ 1
y n_ N2 eE
2
i
eE
2
o
WE
2
DEm ¼ Eim
Eom ¼ n_ NG em m
i
eo þ Wm cm2 C
3; C
4
(18)
(6)
    where x is the flow ratio in splitter 2 (S-2), and y is the flow ratio in
DEn ¼ Ein
Eon ¼ n_ N2 eni
eno þ Wn cn2 C
1; C
2 (7)
splitter 1 (S-1); hB
1
o means the outlet specific enthalpy of booster
B-1, hB
1
i
means the inlet specific enthalpy of booster B-1, eB
1 i
where:
means the inlet specific exergy of booster B-1, eB
1 o means the
ei
eo ¼ ðhi
T0 si Þ
ðho
T0 so Þ (8) outlet specific exergy of booster B-1.

where the subscripts i, o, NG (natural gas), N2, BOG, LPG (liquefied 3.2.3. Water coolers
petroleum gas), cold and hot stand for inlet, outlet, natural gas, Water cooler is a kind of condenser where cooling water is used
nitrogen, boiling off gas, liquid petroleum gas, cold stream and hot as coolant. Water cooler is used to cool natural gas and nitrogen
stream, respectively. The superscripts m, n, j and l stand for natural after compressors. The energy and exergy balance of water coolers
gas compressors (C-3, C-4), nitrogen compressors (C-1,C-2), natural are given as below:
gas water coolers (WC-5, WC-6), nitrogen water coolers (WC-1, Energy balance:
WC-2), respectively. The superscripts WC-3, WC-4, B-1, B-2, E-1,    
j j
E-2, HEX-1, HEX-2 specifically stand for the unit operations names Qj ¼ n_ NG ho
hi cj2 WC
5; WC
6 (19)
in the process. W means the power of compressor, expander and
booster, n_ NG means the molar flow rate of natural gas, n_ N2 means    
the molar flow rate of nitrogen, h means isentropic efficiency of Ql ¼ n_ N2 hlo
hli cl2 WC
1; WC
2 (20)
compressor, expander and booster, hm o means the outlet specific
enthalpy of the equipment m, hm i means the inlet specific enthalpy  
of equipment m, em means the inlet specific exergy of equipment m, Q3 ¼ xn_ N2 hWC
3
o
hWC
3
i (21)
i
em
o means the outlet specific exergy of equipment m.
   
Q4 ¼ 1
x n_ N2 hWC
4
o
hWC
4
i (22)
3.2.2. Boosters and expanders
The function of boosters is similar with compressors, while the
Exergy balance:
boosters are driven by expanders. The mechanical power produced
by expanders is recovered by boosters. The energy and exergy
   
j j j j
DEj ¼ Ei
Eo ¼ n_ NG ei
eo cj2 WC
5; WC
6 (23)
balance of boosters and expanders are given as followings:
Energy balance:
   
 .   DEl ¼ Eil
Eol ¼ n_ N2 eli
elo cl2 WC
1; WC
2 (24)
WB
1 ¼ xn_ N2 hB
1 B
1
o;isentropic
hi hB
1 ¼ xn_ N2 hB
1
o
hB
1
i

(9)  
DEWC
3 ¼ EiWC
3
EoWC
3 ¼ xn_ N2 eWC
3
i
eWC
3
o (25)
   .
WB
2 ¼ 1
x n_ N2 hB
2 B
2
o;isentropic
hi hB
2    
   
DEWC
4 ¼ EiWC
4
EoWC
4 ¼ 1
x n_ N2 eWC
4
eWC
4
¼ 1
x n_ N2 hB
2
o
hB
2
i (10) i o

(26)
   
WE
1 ¼ yn_ N2 hE
1 E
1
o;isentropic
hi hE
1 ¼ yn_ N2 hE
1
o
hE
1
i
j
where ho means the outlet specific enthalpy of water coolers, hi
j

(11) means the inlet specific enthalpy of water coolers, eji means the
j
inlet specific exergy of water coolers, eo means the outlet specific
    exergy of water coolers, n_ NG means the molar flow rate of natural
WE
2 ¼ 1
y n_ N2 hE
2 E
2
o;isentropic
hi hE
2 gas, n_ N2 means the molar flow rate of nitrogen, x is the flow ratio in
    splitter 2 (S-2).
¼ 1
y n_ N2 hE
2
o
hE
2
i (12)
3.2.4. LNG heat exchangers
WB
1 ¼ WE
1 (13) LNG heat exchangers can exchange the heat between the cold
streams and hot streams. In small scale LNG liquefaction process,
WB
2 ¼ WE
2 (14) multistream plant-fin heat exchangers are adopted as LNG heat
exchangers. The gap between the cold composite curve and hot
Exergy balance: composite curve generates exergy losses in LNG heat exchangers.
  The energy and exergy balance of LNG heat exchangers are given as
DEB
1 ¼ EiB
1
EoB
1 ¼ xn_ N2 eB
1
i
eB
1
o þ WB
1 (15)
followings:
Energy balance:
   
DEB
2 ¼ EiB
2
EoB
2 ¼ 1
x n_ N2 eB
2
eB
2 þ WB
2    
i o
QHEX
1 ¼ n_ NG hHEX
1 HEX
1
o;NG
hi;NG þ n_ N2 hHEX
1 HEX
1
o;hot
hi;hot
(16)    
  þn_ N2 hHEX
1 HEX
1
o;cold
hi;cold þ n_ BOG hHEX
1 HEX
1
o;BOG
hi;BOG
DEE
1 ¼ EiE
1
EoE
1 ¼ yn_ N2 eE
1
i
eE
1
o
WE
1 (17) (27)
 T. He, Y. Ju / Energy 75 (2014) 349e359 353

  
QHEX
2 ¼ n_ NG
n_ LPG hHEX
2 HEX
2
o;NG
hi;NG Exergy balance:
   
þ 1
y n_ N2 hHEX
2 HEX
2
o;hot
hi;hot DEM
2 ¼ EiM
2
EoM
2
     
þ 1
y n_ N2 hHEX
2 HEX
2 ¼ yn_ N2 eM
2 þ 1
y n_ N2 eM
2
n_ N2 eM
2 (35)
o;cold
hi;cold i;1 i;2 o
 
þn_ N2 hHEX
2
o;N2
hHEX
2
i;N2 where hM
1 means the first inlet specific enthalpy of M-1, hM
1
i;1 i;2
  (28) means the second inlet specific enthalpy of M-1, hM
1
o means the
þn_ BOG hHEX
2 HEX
2
o;BOG
hi;BOG outlet specific enthalpy of M-1.

Exergy balance: 3.2.6. Vaporeliquid separators

Flash calculation model is used in vaporeliquid separators. The
DEHEX
1 ¼ EiHEX
1
EoHEX
1 temperatures and pressures are assumed as the same in vapor
    phase and liquid phase. The exergy losses in vaporeliquid separa-
¼ n_ NG eHEX
1
i;NG
eHEX
1
o;NG þ n_ N2 eHEX
1
i;hot
eHEX
1
o;hot tors are ignored. The energy balance of mixers and splitters are
    given as followings:
þn_ N2 eHEX
1 HEX
1
þ n_ BOG eHEX
1 HEX
1 Energy balance:
i;cold
eo;cold i;BOG
eo;BOG

(29) n_ NG hV
1
i ¼ n_ vapor hV
1 _ V
1
o;vapor þ nliquid ho;liquid
 
   ¼ n_ NG
n_ LPG hHEX
2
i;NG þ n_ LPG hV
1
o;liquid (36)
DEHEX
2 ¼ EiHEX
2
EoHEX
2 ¼ n_ NG
n_ LPG eHEX
2
i;NG
eHEX
2
o;NG
     
þ 1
y n_ N2 eHEX
2
i;hot
eHEX
2
o;hot n_ NG
n_ LPG hV
2
i ¼ n_ vapor hV
2 _ V
2
o;vapor þ nliquid ho;liquid
   
þ 1
y n_ N2 eHEX
2 HEX
2 ¼ n_ BOG hHEX
2 _ V
2
i;BOG þ nLNG ho;LNG (37)
i;cold
eo;cold
 
þn_ N2 eHEX
2
i;N2
eHEX
2
o;N2
 
þn_ BOG eHEX
2 HEX
2
i;BOG
eo;BOG (30) 3.2.7. Throttling valve
The throttling valve is used to reduce the pressure of LNG to the
where hHEX
1
o;NG means the outlet natural gas specific enthalpy of storage pressure. Throttling process is nearly isenthalpic process
HEX-1, hHEX
1 means the inlet natural gas specific enthalpy of with no work interaction and negligible heat transfer with the
i;NG
surroundings [17]. The energy and exergy balance of throttling
HEX-1, eHEX
1
i;NG means the inlet natural gas specific exergy of HEX-1, valve are given as:
eHEX
1
o;NG means the outlet natural gas specific exergy of HEX-1. Energy balance:
   
3.2.5. Mixers and splitters n_ NG
n_ LPG hVLV
1
i ¼ n_ NG
n_ LPG hVLV
1
o (38)
There are two mixers and splitters in this process. Mixers are
used to mix two parts of nitrogen into one stream, while splitters Exergy balance:
are used to divide the nitrogen stream into two different parts.   
The exergy losses in mixers and splitters are ignored. The energy DEVLV
1 ¼ EiVLV
1
EoVLV
1 ¼ n_ NG
n_ LPG eVLV
1
i
eVLV
1
o
balance of mixers and splitters are given as below:
(39)
Energy balance:

    4. Process optimization
xn_ N2 hM
1
i;1 þ 1
x n_ N2 hM
1
i;2 ¼ xn_ N2 hWC
3
o þ 1
x n_ N2 hWC
3
o

¼ n_ N2 hM
1 (31) 4.1. Framework of the process optimization

o

    The parallel nitrogen expansion liquefaction process was first

yn_ N2 hM
2
i;1 þ 1
y n_ N2 hM
2
i;2 ¼ yn_ N2 hE
1
o þ 1
y n_ N2 hHEX
2
o;cold simulated with a commercial simulator Aspen HYSYS. The pro-
posed process was connected with a GA (genetic algorithm) [18,19]
¼ n_ N2 hM
2
o (32)
code in Matlab by using HYSYS COM server.
  The framework of the process optimization with genetic algo-
n_ N2 hS
1
i ¼ yn_ N2 hS
1 _ S
1
o;1 þ 1
y nN2 ho;2
rithm is illustrated in Fig. 2. Genetic algorithm starts to work by
  producing an initialization population. Then Matlab interacts with
¼ yn_ N2 hE
1
i þ 1
y n_ N2 hHEX
2
i;hot (33) HYSYS and inputs the initialization population to change the vari-
ables values in HYSYS. If the process model in HYSYS cannot be
  convergent, the optimization will stop. Otherwise, HYSYS outputs
n_ N2 hS
2
i ¼ xn_ N2 hS
2 _ S
2
o;1 þ 1
x nN2 ho;2 some data to Matlab. During the optimization, there are several
  constraints to ensure that the process can work safely and stably.
¼ xn_ N2 hB
1
i þ 1
x n_ N2 hB
2
i (34) GA will judge whether the constraints are satisfied or not. If the
354 T. He, Y. Ju / Energy 75 (2014) 349e359

Fig. 2. The framework of the process optimization with genetic algorithm.

constraints are satisfied, GA will calculate the objective function.
Otherwise, penalty function will replace the objective function.
When the current generation is smaller than the maximum gen-
eration, GA will use several methods like selection, crossover,
reproduction and mutation to produce a new population which has
a better fitness to the objective function. The best population will be
found when the objective function reaches the maximum or min-
imum value. The tuning parameters of the genetic algorithm are
illustrated in Table 2.
4.2. Base case and variables bound
The key variables for the proposed parallel nitrogen liquefaction
process, which are needed to be optimized, are listed in Table 3. The
case which is optimized by the optimizer in HYSYS is selected as the
base case for GA optimization. The base case, lower bound and
upper bound are also presented in Table 3.
4.3. Objective function
The optimizations of the LNG process mainly focus on the
minimization of initial capital cost and operational cost. The com-
pressors energy consumptions are the major operation cost. Wang
et al. [20] and Hatcher et al. [21] also adopted the minimization of
compressors energy consumption as the objective function. In this
study, the minimization of unit energy consumption is selected as
the objective function. The unit energy consumption w (kWh/Nm3)
is the rate of total energy consumption in the process to the volume

Table 2 Table 3
The tuning parameters of genetic algorithm. The lower bound, upper bound and base case of key variables.

Tuning parameters Value Variable Lower bound Upper bound Base case

Population size 100 PN4 (kPa) 3200.00 4500.00 3459.21

Maximum numbers of generation 200 t2 ( C)
33.00
43.00
40.60
Probability of crossover 0.6 t4 ( C)
95.00
105.00
100.21
Probability of mutation 0.05 P5 (kPa) 900.00 1200.00 986.02
Number of crossover point 2 P14 (kPa) 2500.00 3300.00 2634.54
Selection method Tournament y 0.5000 0.8000 0.6534
Tournament size 4 nN2 (kmol/h) 800.00 950.00 916.04
 T. He, Y. Ju / Energy 75 (2014) 349e359 355

flow rate of the productions. The objective function is defined as the

function of several key variables, given as:

  W_ mþW _n    
Min f X ¼ w ¼ cm2 C
3; C
4 cn2 C
1; C
2 (40)
q_ LNG þ q_ LPG

5. Optimization results and analysis

where
  5.1. Optimization results
X ¼ PN4 ; t2 ; t4 ; P5 ; P14 ; y; n_ N2 (41)
The parallel nitrogen expansion liquefaction process is opti-
where X is the key variables vector. PN4, P5 and P14 represent the mized by varying the key variables between the lower bound and
pressure of stream N4, 5 and 14, respectively. t2 and t4 represent the upper bound with genetic algorithm. Meanwhile, it is forced to
temperature of stream 2 and 4. y is the flow ratio of S-1. n_ N2 rep- satisfy the constraints during the optimization. The optimization
resents the molar flow rate of nitrogen. results are illustrated in Table 4 and Table 5. The detailed param-
eters of all points in optimized process are presented in Table 6. The
optimized parallel nitrogen expansion liquefaction process has a
4.4. Constraints and penalty function nitrogen flow rate of 819.03 kmol/h, which is 10.59% less than that
of base case. It also can be found that the pressures of nitrogen and
There are several constraints which should be considered to natural gas in the optimized case are higher than that in base case.
ensure that the process can work safely and stably. Constraints The unit energy consumption saving of 4.69% is achieved compared
must be satisfied during the optimization: with the base case. The temperature-pressure diagram of opti-
mized case is shown in Fig. 3. In addition, the GA optimization
1) The minimum temperature approaches in HEX-1 and HEX-2 convergence curve is shown in Fig. 4. It is obvious that the objective
should be larger than 3  C. function value decreases quickly at the beginning. When the gen-
eration number is about 65, the best solution is found by GA.
The comparison between the optimized case and the existing
HEX
1
DTmin >3 (42) nitrogen expansion processes [14,22] is shown in Table 7. The
existing NEC (nitrogen expansion processes) are rebuilt in this
HEX
2 study to compare with the novel parallel nitrogen expansion pro-
DTmin >3 (43)
cess. The three processes use the same feed gas condition (shown in
Table 1). However, the configuration and other parameters of NEC
in Refs. [14] and [22] are obtained from the references. As shown in
2) The compressors used in small-scale LNG plants are in general
Table 7, the specific power consumption of PNEC is 16.6% and 6.2%
reciprocating compressors. The pressure ratio of the recipro-
lower than that of NEC in Refs. [14] and [22], respectively. The re-
cating compressors should be lower than 3.
sults mean that the optimized parallel nitrogen expansion process
has higher energy efficiency than NEC in Refs. [14] and [22].
Pom
rm ¼ <3 cm2ðC
3; C
4Þ (44) 5.2. Heat transfer in LNG heat exchangers
Pim
LNG heat exchangers are very important in natural gas lique-
n Pn faction process. Several literature have focused on the detailed
r ¼ on < 3 cn2ðC
1; C
2Þ (45)
Pi analyses and optimization on multistream heat exchangers in LNG
processes [23e26]. Heat transfer performance in LNG heat ex-
where r is the pressure ratio of the compressor. changers can influence the overall process performance. Thus, the
analysis of heat transfer is necessary. The composite curves and
3) The outlet pressure of E-2 should be higher than 101.325 kPa. temperature differences in HEX-1 and HEX-2 are illustrated in Fig. 5
4) The outlet pressures of B-1 and B-2 should be equal. and Fig. 6. In Fig. 5, the gap between cold composite curve and hot
composite curve in HEX-2 in GA optimized case is smaller than that
Penalty function is used when any of the constraints is not
satisfied. The penalty function can be defined as:
Table 4
      The optimization results of key variables.
p X ¼ f X þ f X  egðXÞ (46)
Variable Optimized case Base case
where PN4 (kPa) 4139.17 3459.21
t2 ( C)
34.02
40.60
( ) t4 ( C)
96.01
100.21
  3 3 r m r n 101:325 P18 þ P19
g X ¼ max  ;  ; ; ; ; P5 (kPa) 1120.78 986.02
DT HEX
1  DT HEX
2  3 3 P5 jP18
P19 j P14 (kPa) 3102.37 2634.54
min min
y 0.7101 0.6534
(47) nN2 (kmol/h) 819.03 916.04
356 T. He, Y. Ju / Energy 75 (2014) 349e359

Table 5
The objective function values and process performance.

Name Optimized case Base case

Unit energy consumption w (kWh/Nm3) 0.5163 0.5417

Minimum temperature approach in HEX-1 ( C) 3.165 3.120
Minimum temperature approach in HEX-2 ( C) 3.066 3.163
LMTD in HEX-1 ( C) 10.07 9.696
LMTD in HEX-2 ( C) 13.15 14.05
WC-1 (kW) 414.70 449.20
WC-2 (kW) 419.40 454.20
WC-3 (kW) 95.17 86.37
WC-4 (kW) 95.34 86.79
Duty in HEX-1 (kW) 653.05 769.14
Duty in HEX-2 (kW) 414.93 447.40

in base case. Since the refrigeration in low temperature range is

more expansive than that in high temperature range, it can save
more energy when the gap between cold composite curve and hot
composite curve in low temperature range is reduced. Moreover, Fig. 3. Temperatureepressure diagram of optimized case.
the smaller gap will also make the heat transfer in LNG heat ex-
changers more efficient. From the view of Fig. 6, the maximum
What's more, the duties in HEX-1 and HEX-2 are 653.05 kW and
temperature difference in base case is 26.47  C, while 25.60  C in
414.93 kW in optimized case, compared with 769.14 kW and
optimized case. Furthermore, the average temperature difference in
447.40 kW in base case (see Table 4). The reduction of duties in
optimized case is also smaller than that in base case (see Fig. 6). As
HEX-1 and HEX-2 are 15.09% and 7.26%. It is also beneficial for
mentioned before, the temperature difference at the cold end of
energy saving in the process.
HEX-1 is too large for the heat exchanger manufacture and main-
tenance in conventional nitrogen expansion liquefaction process.
5.3. Exergy efficiency analysis
The temperature difference at the cold end of HEX-1 in the pro-
posed process is 25.60  C. It is an acceptable value for real
The minimum power required by a reversible system of parallel
engineering.
nitrogen expansion liquefaction process is 377.37 kW. After calcu-
lating with equations (1)e(3), the exergy efficiency of optimized
Table 6
case and base case are 0.3683 and 0.3505, respectively. It can be
Detail parameters of all points in optimized process. seen that the exergy efficiency of the whole process has increased
by 5.08%.
Node Temperature Pressure Mass flow Specific enthalpy Specific entropy
( C) (kPa) (kg/h) (kJ/kg) (kJ/(kg K))
The exergy losses of main equipment are shown in Fig. 7. The
total exergy losses in optimized case are smaller than that in base
N1 32.00 500.00 1812.21
3930.55 8.93
case. Water coolers contribute the most exergy losses in total
N2 119.58 1443.61 1812.21
3741.49 9.03
N3 40.00 1433.61 1812.21
3924.42 8.51 exergy losses since the heat transfer efficiency of water coolers are
N4 130.29 4139.17 1812.21
3735.02 8.61 very low. The exergy losses of LNG heat exchangers in optimized
N5 40.00 4129.17 1812.21
3956.41 7.99 case reduce by 18.99% compared with that in base case. The reason
N6
34.02 4119.17 1812.21
4181.43 7.16
is that the cold composite curve and hot composite curve in opti-
N7
34.02 4119.17 1534.32
4379.04 8.03
N8
150.00 4109.17 1534.32
5010.97 4.56
mized case are much closer than that in base case. However, the
N9
154.94 200.00 1534.32
5010.97 4.62 exergy losses of compressors in optimized case are larger than that
BOG
154.94 200.00 81.03
3463.03 7.71 in base case. It is because the pressure in optimized case is much
BOG1
59.63 190.00 81.03
3295.04 8.77 higher than the pressure in base case.
BOG2 36.84 180.00 81.03
3120.33 9.47
LNG
154.94 200.00 1453.28
5097.29 4.45
LPG
34.02 4119.17 277.88
3090.31 2.34
1 40.00 4700.32 22943.49 4.96 4.17
2
34.02 4690.32 22943.49
79.75 3.86
3
34.02 4690.32 6651.32
79.75 3.86
4
96.01 4680.32 6651.32
158.58 3.48
5
153.01 1120.78 6651.32
197.63 3.56
6
107.70 1110.78 6651.32
145.12 3.94
7
34.02 4690.32 16292.17
79.75 3.86
8
104.63 1110.78 16292.17
141.73 3.96
9
105.52 1110.78 22943.49
142.71 3.95
10
59.63 1100.78 22943.49
92.96 4.21
11 36.84 1090.78 22943.49 9.62 4.61
12 99.10 1844.22 22943.49 74.69 4.65
13 40.00 1834.22 22943.49 11.24 4.47
14 102.97 3102.37 22943.49 77.04 4.50
15 40.00 3092.37 22943.49 8.39 4.30
16 40.00 3092.37 18249.22 8.39 4.30
17 40.00 3092.37 4694.26 8.39 4.30
18 92.87 4710.35 18249.22 63.72 4.34
19 92.87 4710.35 4694.26 63.72 4.34
20 40.00 4700.35 18249.22 4.96 4.17
21 40.00 4700.35 4694.26 4.96 4.17
Fig. 4. The genetic algorithm optimization convergence curve.
 T. He, Y. Ju / Energy 75 (2014) 349e359 357

Table 7
Comparison between the optimized case and the existing nitrogen expansion
processes.

Case Optimized NEC in NEC in

PNEC Ref. [14] Ref. [22]

Flow rate of natural gas (Nm3/h) 2083 2083 2083

Total power consumption (kW) 1026.61 1197.03 1090.26
Heat rate of water-cooling (kW) 1067.98 1292.26 1174.79
Specific power consumption 0.5163 0.6020 0.5483
(kWh/Nm3)

6. Small-scale LNG plant in skid-mount packages

6.1. The layout of the small-scale LNG plant

As mentioned in the previous section, the process is designed

for small-scale LNG plant in skid-mount packages which is used to
liquefy associated natural gas in oil field and natural gas in remote
small gas field. Small-scale LNG plant in skid-mount packages is an
LNG plant combination with several equipment packages, where
the equipment packages can be moved with trucks separately.
Since the flow rate of natural gas in oil field and remote small gas
field is quite small, the liquefaction capacity of the small-scale LNG
plant in skid-mount packages is approximately 50,000 Nm3/d.
Meanwhile, the width and length of equipment package should not
be over 3 m and 12 m respectively for the maximum size of

Fig. 6. The temperature differences in HEX-1 and HEX-2: (a) GA optimized case; (b)
Base case.

Fig. 5. The cold and hot composite curves in HEX-1 and HEX-2: (a) GA optimized case;
(b) Base case. Fig. 7. The exergy losses of main equipment in optimized case and base case.
358 T. He, Y. Ju / Energy 75 (2014) 349e359

Table 9
The heat transfer areas of LNG heat exchangers and other process performance.

Parameters Optimized G1 G2
case

Heat transfer area (m2) 1344.18 723.72 1304.33

Minimum temperature difference in HEX-1 ( C) 3.165 10.90 4.137
Minimum temperature difference in HEX-2 ( C) 3.066 3.066 3.083
Unit energy consumption w (kWh/Nm3) 0.5163 0.5781 0.5182

changed, while other parameters of the process keep at optimized

condition. The parallel nitrogen expansion cycle has the same pa-
rameters with the optimized case in Section 5. If the heat transfer
area of LNG heat exchangers can satisfy the need of the two
different feed gases, the process can be used to liquefy the two
different conditions beyond the design parameters.
The heat transfer areas of LNG heat exchangers and other pro-
Fig. 8. The layout of the small-scale LNG plant in skid-mount packages.
cess performance are shown in Table 9. It can be seen that the heat
transfer area in optimized case is 1344.18 m2 which is bigger than
that in G1 and G2. That means the previous designed heat ex-
highway transportation in China. Moreover, the height of the
changers can satisfy the heat transfer need of G1 and G2. The
equipment package should be lower than 4 m. The highest package
minimum temperature differences in HEX-1 and HEX-2 of G1 and
is the cold box package, which is combined with two LNG heat
G2 are also larger than 3  C. Although the minimum temperature
exchangers and two vaporeliquid separators. As a result, the cold
difference in HEX-1 of G1 is quite large, the unit energy con-
box package should be laid on the truck when it is transported.
sumption is 0.5781 kWh/Nm3, which is also acceptable. In addition,
The layout of a small-scale LNG plant in skid-mount packages is
the change of components of feed gas has small effect on the pro-
shown in Fig. 8. As shown in Fig. 8, there are ten packages in LNG
cess, while the change of components should be in a small range.
plant, namely nitrogen compressor package, natural gas
From the above analysis, the flexibility of the process is quite good
compressor package, nitrogen booster/expander package, nitrogen
for different feed gas conditions.
storage package, electric generator package, cold box package, LNG
storage package, water removing package, carbon dioxide
7. Conclusions
removing package and central control package. The total area of the
ten packages without considering safety spacing is about 555 m2.
In this paper, a parallel nitrogen expansion liquefaction process
Since the layout is not satisfied with the specified safety spacing in
for small-scale plant in skid-mount packages is proposed and
some standards, several firewalls have been set around the cold box
designed. The configuration of the expanders is parallel, which is
package, LNG storage package and natural gas compressor package
different from the convention nitrogen expansion liquefaction
to protect the equipment against fire and explosion.
process. Genetic algorithm is selected as the optimization method
to achieve the minimum unit energy consumption, taking account
6.2. The flexibility of the process of several key parameters. Detailed thermodynamic analyses of
different equipment are also developed and conducted. The GA
Since the flow rate of the associated gas in oil field is normally optimization results show that the unit energy consumption can be
unsteady, the flow rate of the associated gas may be smaller than reduced by approximately 4.69% compared with the base case. In
2083 Nm3/h. Moreover, the associated gas in one oil field may addition, the heat transfer in LNG heat exchangers and exergy ef-
exhaust in several years. The LNG plant should be moved to another ficiency of the process are investigated and discussed according to
oil field to produce LNG with the components of the associated gas the optimization results. Furthermore, the layout of the small-scale
having been changed. In this section, two different feed gases listed LNG plant in skid-mount packages is illustrated in this study.
in Table 8 are selected to test the flexibility of the process, one with Finally, the flexibility of the process is tested by two feed gas con-
smaller flow rate of feed gas, and the other with different compo- ditions, which are different from the designed feed gas condition.
nents. Only the flow rate and components of the feed gas are The results show a good flexibility of the process to liquefy different
feed gases. In conclusion, the parallel nitrogen expansion lique-
faction process can solve the big temperature difference problem in
Table 8
Two different feed gas conditions. conventional nitrogen expansion liquefaction process and the
proposed process can be used in small-scale LNG plant in skid-
Parameters G1 G2
mount packages with relatively high exergy efficiency.
Feed gas temperature 32  C 32  C
Feed gas flow rate 80 kmol/h 92.95 kmol/h
Acknowledgment
Feed gas pressure 500 kPa 500 kPa
Molar fraction components
CH4 0.8582 0.8926 The research is partly supported by SJTU-ENN LNG Engineering
C2H6 0.0562 0.0354 Center.
C3H8 0.0347 0.0133
i-C4H10 0.0072 0.0156
n-C4H10 0.0135 0.0078 Appendix
i-C5H12 0.0035 0.0045
n-C5H12 0.0034 0.0032 Nomenclature
C6~C9 0.0026 0.0047
N2 0.0207 0.0229
e specific exergy [kJ/kmol]
 T. He, Y. Ju / Energy 75 (2014) 349e359 359

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