KARBALA UNIVERSITY

ENGINEERING COLLEGE
PETROLEUM DEPARTMENT

PRESENTATION
Stage 2
Date : 12/12/2018
Time : 10:30 am
 PRESENTATION ABOUT :
LIQUIFIED NATURAL GAS

Group (f)
The members :
• Murtada hasan
• Hawraa hussain
• Ruqaia muhammed
• Maryam tahseen
• Hiba majid
• Wathiq maki
Lec. Samah zaki
 Liquified natural gas

Presentation points or sections :

• Introduction and definition.
• Production stages.
• Questions and points.
• Exporting and consuming countries.
 Introduction
• Liquefied natural gas (LNG) : is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some
mixture of ethane C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and
safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume
of natural gas in the gaseous state (at standard conditions for temperature and
pressure). It is odorless, colorless, non-toxic and non-corrosive. Hazards include
flammability after vaporization into a gaseous state, freezing and asphyxia.
The liquefaction process involves removal of certain components, such as dust, acid
gases, helium, water, and heavy hydrocarbons, which could cause difficulty
downstream. The natural gas is then condensed into a liquid at close to atmospheric
pressure by cooling it to approximately −162 °C (−260 °F); maximum transport
pressure is set at around 25 kPa (4 psi).
 Converting the gas to (Lng) and some benefits:

• Natural gas is mainly converted to LNG for transport over the seas where laying pipelines
is not feasible technically and economically.[1] LNG achieves a higher reduction in volume
than compressed natural gas (CNG) so that the (volumetric) energy density of LNG is
2.4 times greater than that of CNG (at 250 bar) or 60 percent that of diesel fuel.[2] This
makes LNG cost efficient in marine transport over long distances. However, CNG carrier
ships can be used economically up to medium distances in marine transport.[3] Specially
designed cryogenic sea vessels (LNG carriers) or cryogenic road tankers are used for LNG
transport. LNG is principally used for transporting natural gas to markets, where it
is regasified and distributed as pipeline natural gas. It can be used in natural gas vehicles,
although it is more common to design vehicles to use CNG. LNG's relatively high cost of
production and the need to store it in expensive cryogenic tanks have hindered
widespread commercial use.
Production stages :

• The treatment
• The refrigeration
• Liquifecation
• Storage process
• transportation
 The treatment : stage 1
• The pretreatment process consists of four main stages. First, CO2 and H2S removal stage which is
constructed to assure that CO2 would not exceed 50 ppm in the natural gas feed. If the composition of
CO2 exceeded that limit it would freeze in the liquefaction process pipelines. This stage is directed more to
CO2 removal since the Bolivian natural gas contains no sulfur in it. There are two available methods to
remove CO2 from the natural gas. The first method is using sulfinol, which used to be one of the famous
methods for gas CO2 removal in most industrial applications but it started to vanish and few pretreatment
plants use sulfinol any more. The reason is that sulfinol does not work well with rich natural gas (rich with
heavy hydrocarbons) because it tends to attract or attach to heavy hydrocarbons and then it drags the
heavies to the sulfinol pump or circulation which leads to allowing the heavy hydrocarbons to vent into the
air. That usually leads to a decrease in the quality and heat content of the natural gas in the feed and
according to the new EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) rules heavy hydrocarbons can not be vented
to the atmosphere because it would lead to an increase in the air pollution level in the surroundings
significantly. So EPA regulations will be followed in Bolivia to serve ethics purposes. Another method to
remove CO2 is using DEA (Diethyl Amine) but since DEA alone can not remove CO2 to a ppm (particle per
million) level, it is activated by injecting a chemical called Piperzine which activates the DEA to MDEA
(Methyl Diethyl Amine). MDEA is also used for this pretreatment stage versus sulfinol because MDEA is
cheaper to install and it has less utility since it requires less rate of solvent circulation compared to sulfinol.
Therefore, this pretreatment stage is named the amine wash section.
 Treatment : stage 2

• The second stage is dehydration. Water is removed from the natural gas also to avoid freezing in the
pipeline of the liquefaction process. The natural gas feed should be completely dry, even from the smallest
traces of water molecules , before entering the heavy duty cooling section of the liquefaction process.
TEG (Triethylene Glycol) is the primary solvent used in gas processing industry to dehydrate gases. Dry
TEG contacts the moist natural gas and absorbs the water from it in a contactor tower. The tower
contains a structured packing bed to maximize the mixing between the gas and TEG and to increase the
contact time between the two substances. The TEG and water mixture is then sent to a TEG recycling
system where TEG is separated from water by filtering then heating. The recycled TEG is then sent back
to the contactor tower. Although TEG removes H2O significantly from the natural gas, small amount of
water traces still escape this process; so to insure that these traces do not accompany the natural gas
feed, molecular sieves are used to serve this purpose. In average, two sieves are needed for every train.
Despite all of this, in some processes H2O in a molecular level still escapes with the natural gas in the
feed. A third safety step is taken in the liquefaction process where molecules of water, which accompany
the natural gas in the feed, are condensed and flashed in the stage of natural gas pre-cooling. This step
will be explained in detail in the liquefaction section of this report.
 Treatment : stage 3

• The third stage is the Hg removal. Although the Bolivian natural gas has no Hg in it, this step is still
taken as a precaution since the natural gas feed might contain molecular amount of Hg which is enough
to cause corrosion in the expensive Aluminum LNG heat exchangers used in the liquefaction process. 10
ng/m3 (nano gram per m3 ) is enough to cause such a catastrophe. The process of Hg removal is also
inexpensive since the activated bed filter that is used in the Hg filtration is inexpensive and it is replaced
on an average of once every four years. So having
Refrigeration process :
• Ammonia Refrigeration Plant : The ammonia refrigeration is used to pre‐cool the dry
feed gas to approximately 18F (‐8°C) prior to entering the liquefaction plant. The
ammonia system is a one or two stage closed loop refrigeration cycle, utilizing two
parallel steam turbine driven compressors powered by steam from the waste heat
recovery plant (described later). The ammonia refrigeration improves the output and
efficiency of the SMR process. It also provides stable operation of the plant since it
dampens the impact of variations in ambient air temperatures, which would otherwise
more greatly affect plant operation and capacity. Optimizing the temperature of the
ammonia refrigerant tunes overall performance of the plant.
Liquefaction :
• Liquefaction Plant: The liquefaction plant cools and liquefies the feed gas from
approximately 18oF to minus 260oF (‐162oC). The OSMR® liquefaction plant, based on
an SMR process, comprises a simple vapor compression cycle using a mix of refrigerants
providing a close fit of cooling curves in the main plate fin heat exchanger (cold box).
The main liquefaction exchanger is a multi‐core brazed aluminium plate fin exchanger
using a minimal number of exchanger streams. Enhancement of main exchanger
performance results from the ammonia pre‐cooling refrigerant, which cools the mixed
refrigerant in the Ammonia/MR Pre‐Cooler. This allows cool low pressure mixed
refrigerant (LPMR) to exit the cold box. The cool LPMR feeding the MR compressor
improves its performance.
 Storage stage :
• Modern LNG storage tanks are typically full containment type, which has a prestressed concrete outer
wall and a high-nickel steel inner tank, with extremely efficient insulation between the walls. Large
tanks are low aspect ratio (height to width) and cylindrical in design with a domed steel or concrete roof.
Storage pressure in these tanks is very low, less than 10 kPa (1.45 psig). Sometimes more expensive
underground tanks are used for storage. Smaller quantities (say 700 m3 (190,000 US gallons) and
less), may be stored in horizontal or vertical, vacuum-jacketed, pressure vessels. These tanks may be at
pressures anywhere from less than 50 kPa to over 1,700 kPa (7 psig to 250 psig).
• LNG must be kept cold to remain a liquid, independent of pressure. Despite efficient insulation, there
will inevitably be some heat leakage into the LNG, resulting in vaporisation of the LNG. This boil-off gas
acts to keep the LNG cold. The boil-off gas is typically compressed and exported as natural gas, or it is
reliquefied and returned to storage.
Lng storages :
 Transportation stage :
• Transport and storage of liquefied natural gas (LNG) require special equipment that keeps the
temperature within the tank less than 164 °C and at a pressure of not more than 8 bar, with all
modes of transport. The storage containers used have a special design that allows the transport
(road, rail and water transport) of LNG and also serve as a temporary storage. Storage of large
quantities is carried out in large tanks with a capacity of 100 m 3 or more. Equipment storage tanks
include devices for control and maintenance of LNG in the prescribed conditions. It must be certified
by the regulations (national and international standards) governing this area. By using LNG, motor
traffic and agricultural machinery technology, can be translated into promising a safe,
environmentally friendly and cost effective form of fuel.
Transportation :
LNG production process:
 Questions and points :

• How the LNG will be stored ?

The LNG will be stored in specially designed full containment tanks. A full containment tank
consists of a metal inner tank and a concrete outer tank. Thermal insulation between the steel
inner tank and the concrete outer tank will limit the evaporation of LNG to about 0.07% of
the tank’s content per day.
• What is the environment impacts of LNG?
From the moment the LNG is regasified, the environmental impact is identical to that of natural
gas (e.g. fewer CO2 emissions on combustion in comparison with coal). The energy needed for
the regasification process can be produced by using some of the gas itself. If there is direct
environmental exposure, for example through leakage, LNG causes less damage than an oil
spill since it will immediately regasify.
 Questions and points :

• What is the differences between LNG and LPG?

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and LNG are often confused with each other. LPG
consists chiefly of propane (C3H8) and butane (C4H10), and is used mainly in
domestic and commercial applications (such as fuel for cars). LPG is liquefied by
holding it under high pressure. LNG, by contrast, is a liquid at atmospheric
pressure but at a very low temperature (approx. – 162°C). LPG's specific
gravity is also totally different from LNG's: components are lighter than air and
the gas does not disperse if it escapes. LNG (natural gas), by contrast, is
heavier than air and disperses and rarefies very quickly into a mixture that is no
longer flammable. The storage of LPG at pressure, unlike the storage of LNG at
low temperature, requires the use of very different equipment (other material
properties, thicknesses, insulation) and standards.
 Questions and points :
• Lng discription ?
LNG is a colorless, non-flammable liquid. It is not toxic or poisonous and
has no odor whatsoever. It is so cold that it cannot combust. To put it
more strongly, you could stub out a cigarette in it without causing a fire. If
it evaporates and turns back into a gas, is it like natural gas from a gas
cooker; it can only combust with the right air-gas ratio.
 Questions and points :

• What are the effects of LNG after leaking from a ship?

The ships in which LNG is transported have double hulls so that the risk of
leakage during a collision is minimal. Should this happen after all, and
LNG escapes into the water, then the cold liquid will immediately heat up
due to the ambient temperature and the warmer water and the resulting
gas cloud will rise and disperse. The LNG will not dissolve or mix with
water, but disappear as gas because it is lighter than air. A cloud will be
visible around the leakage; this is not a gas cloud, but condensing water
vapor due to the cold that is released from the LNG. The flammable
natural gas has already risen up out of this.
What happen when LNG leaks to water:
 Exporting and consuming countries:

LNG Large Exporters: LNG Large buyers:

Thank you for your attention