LNG Liquefaction plants Written by

John Lozinski
Published on October 19, 2016
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John Lozinski
FollowingUnfollowJohn Lozinski
E&I C&I Turbine & Commissioning Consultant Veteran LNG & Refinery
jlozinsk@yahoo.com 508-536-3109

Why do we liquefy gas? Simple liquid gas takes 600 times less space and makes it
much easier and less costly to transport. There are two classifications for LNG
liquefaction plants, baseload and peak shaving. There are three types of liquefaction
cycles: Mixed Refrigerants, Turbo expansion and cascade. LNG liquefaction is
basically the same as a modern refrigerator except the temperature requires is about
negative 161 degrees Celsius or minus 258 Fahrenheit. The temperature is reduced
by the Joule-Thomson effect. The temperature of the cleaned feed gas is reduced to
-161C the temperature at which methane liquefies. The liquefaction facility normally
has pretreatment and refrigerant recovery. A debutanizer is part of the fractionated
distillation that separates a fraction of the components compounds that have a
condensing point above that of the rest of the mixture in order to purify the final
product. Each condensate product is recovered as an exportable byproduct.
Condensate Stabilizers reduce the vapor pressure of Oil condensates for storage and
transportation. This system makes gas recovery from Liquids a simple and easy
process. Trucks and trains are common methods of transporting as the cost of
Delivering large quantities of gas by pipeline rises greatly with distance. I have
worked managing pipelines the last being the Keystone pipeline construction. Very
few people know that the Canadian part of Keystone was LNG pipeline we
converted. LNG is less costly than diesel and has much reduced CO2 emissions. The
key component of the LNG chain start with a gas field go to a liquefaction plant,
LNG carriers, receiving and regasification terminals and finally storage tanks.

Skid mounted mini LNG plants can be shipped anywhere in the world. This may be a
good start because it takes a relatively long time and huge investment to do the
feasibility Studies, pre-feed, FEED Cost Estimates, bids, FID and EPC. Feasibility
Study, Pre-FEED, FEED, Cost Estimate (including Bid), FID, and EPC allow a final
investment decision.

Cost is the big decision and to be able to decrease costs one has to plan operation of
the plant for 20 years as the cost per Mcf is kept low this way.

Decisions on how to move the LNG depend asset location relative to market.
Development of a field often hinges on the field being able to supply gas for over 20
years. Amortizing the cost of the LNG facility is an important part of the planning
and decision making. Costs can vary between $0.75 up to $2.00 per Mcf prices are
also easier to justify when air pollution compared to burning coal or fuel oils is added
into the equation. One factor that has greatly increased cost recently is the dramatic
increase in the cost of steel. There are a variety of solutions including Cryogenics and
fractionation, drying and Co2 removal. There is so much to talk about and a lot to
take into consideration at any level of processing. As each process plant is
specifically designed for goes-in-a-goes-out-a, no 2 are hardly ever the same design.
Pressures, temperatures, flow and gas compositions are designed for the customer
needs. Fractionation plants are the middle man, so to speak. Examples would be
dehydration, Co2 or H2S removal process.

Key features of an LNG facility

1. LNG Processing Units: Natural gas will enter from a train pipeline or truck where
Nitrogen, carbon dioxide, water, condensate, Hydrogen Sulfide, mercury and any
other impurities will be removed. Gas is then chilled to approximately -161 degrees
Celsius and turned into LNG. Condensates will be stored and transported to market.

2. Storage Tanks: LNG will be piped to storage tanks until it is loaded onto LNG
carriers. Boil-off Gas Compressors are required to maintain LNG Circulation to
avoid Thermal Layering hence Density divisions that can cause product roll-over
there is enough energy in such an action to destroy an LNG storage tank or capsize
an LNG Tanker.

3. Loading Lines: LNG loading lines will transfer LNG from the storage tanks to the
wharf and the LNG carrier. They will be insulated to conserve energy and to keep the
LNG in its liquid form. LNG is kept live and circulating in such lines.

4. Marine Terminal: A wharf will be needed to accommodate LNG carriers. Tugs will
maneuver alongside the LNG carrier, positioning it at a very low speed until the LNG
carrier is secured at the berth.
5. Yard: A rail yard or truck depot inside the facility will be connected into an
existing rail system or grounded fuel delivery pumps to the trucks, this will be used
to load condensate, a petroleum liquid that is one of the natural by-products of
turning natural gas into LNG. The condensate will be stored temporarily in tanks on
the site and then transported off-site.

6. Water Treatment Facility: The facility will draw water for use in process cooling,
and other purposes. Water will be treated and cleaned as needed prior to use. Water
will be reused in a closed loop system to reduce water loss. Much of the water used
by the cooling system will evaporate during use. Water that does not evaporate will
be treated, along with any other facility wastewater, in an on-site wastewater
treatment facility.

7. Flare Stacks: Two flare stacks will act as safety devices, a common feature in all
LNG facilities. (essentially, a pilot light) at the top of the stacks.