Provided is a liquefied gas treatment system for a vessel, which includes a cargo tank storing liquefied natural gas (LNG), and an engine using the LNG as fuel. The liquefied gas treatment system includes: a compressor line configured to compress boil-off gas (BOG) generated in the cargo tank by a compressor and supply the compressed BOG to the engine as fuel; a high pressure pump line configured to compress the LNG stored in the cargo tank by a pump and supply the compressed LNG to the engine as fuel; and a heat exchanger configured to liquefy a part of BOG, which is compressed by the compressor, by exchanging heat with BOG that is discharged from the cargo tank and transferred to the compressor.

An apparatus for using nitrogen within a closed loop cryogenic system is described. A cryochamber is provided that has a first nitrogen flow line with an inlet for connection to a nitrogen source and an outlet. At least one cryogenic cooling loop is provided that has a nitrogen inlet and a nitrogen outlet. The nitrogen inlet and outlet are in fluid communication with the first nitrogen flow line. The nitrogen inlet is positioned upstream of the nitrogen outlet. A heat exchanger is provided on the at least one cryogenic cooling loops through which the nitrogen passes. The heat exchanger has a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet. A turbo expander is in fluid communication with the outlet of the first nitrogen flow line and the nitrogen source. The turbo expander re-cools the nitrogen that passes through the first flow line and the at least one cryogenic cooling loop.

A process for producing liquefied natural gas, in which natural gas feed having methane and higher hydrocarbons including benzene is cooled down to a first temperature level in a first cooling step using a first mixed coolant and then subjected to a countercurrent absorption using an absorption liquid to form a methane-enriched and benzene-depleted gas fraction, wherein a portion of the gas fraction is cooled down to a second temperature level in a second cooling step using a second mixed coolant and liquefied to give the liquefied natural gas. In the plant proposed, the first and second mixed coolants are low in propane or free of propane, and the absorption liquid is formed from a further portion of the gas fraction which is condensed above the countercurrent absorption and returned to the countercurrent absorption without pumping. The present invention likewise provides a corresponding plant.

This specification relates to operating industrial facilities, for example, crude oil refining facilities or other industrial facilities that include operating plants that process natural gas or recover natural gas liquids.

Provided are mixed refrigerant systems and methods and, more particularly, to a mixed refrigerant system and methods that provides greater efficiency and reduced power consumption via control of a liquid level in a cold vapor separator device.

A liquefaction system that is configured to use a single methane expander to provide primary refrigeration duty. The liquefaction system can include a first or main heat exchanger and a fluid circuit coupled with the heat exchanger, the fluid circuit configured to circulate a process stream derived from an incoming feedstock of natural gas. The fluid circuit can comprise a compression circuit, methane expander coupled with the compression circuit and the main heat exchanger, a sub-cooling unit coupled with the methane expander, the sub-cooling unit configured to form a liquid natural gas (LNG) product from the process stream, and a first throttling device interposed between the main heat exchanger and the sub-cooling unit. The first throttling device can be configured to expand the process stream to a process pressure that corresponds with the suction pressure internal to the compression circuit.

The present invention relates to a method of liquefying a hydrocarbon stream such as a natural gas stream, the method at least comprising the steps of: supplying a partly condensed hydrocarbon feed stream (10) to a first gas/liquid separator (2); separating the feed stream (10) in the first gas/liquid separator (2) into a gaseous stream (20) and a liquid stream (30); expanding the gaseous stream (20) thereby obtaining an expanded stream (40) and feeding it (40) into a second gas/liquid separator (3); feeding the liquid stream (30) into the second gas/liquid separator (3); removing from the bottom of the second gas/liquid separator a liquid stream (60) and feeding it into a fractionation column (5); removing from the top of the second gas/liquid separator (3) a gaseous stream (50) and passing it to a compressor (6) thereby obtaining a compressed stream (70); cooling the compressed stream (70) thereby obtaining a cooled compressed stream (80); heat exchanging the cooled compressed stream (80) against a stream being downstream of the first gas/liquid separator (2) and upstream of the fractionation column (5).

A process for co-producing a liquid oxygen and a liquefied hydrocarbon stream, including introducing a gaseous hydrocarbon stream and a gaseous nitrogen stream into a liquefier, thereby producing a liquefied hydrocarbon stream and a liquid nitrogen stream, liquefying a gaseous oxygen stream, wherein at least a portion of the required refrigeration is obtained from the liquid nitrogen stream. Wherein the liquefied hydrocarbon stream and the liquefied gaseous oxygen stream have mass flow rates. The liquid oxygen stream may be produced in an aft separation unit, wherein at least a portion of the required refrigeration is obtained from the liquid nitrogen stream.

Disclosed is a low-temperature refrigeration device comprising a working circuit that forms a loop and contains a working fluid, the device further comprising a cooling exchanger for extracting heat from at least one member by exchanging heat with the working fluid, the working circuit forming a cycle comprising, connected in series: a compression mechanism, a cooling mechanism, an expansion mechanism and a heating mechanism, wherein the mechanism for cooling the working fluid and the heating mechanism comprise a common heat exchanger in which the working fluid flows in opposite directions in two separate transit portions of the circuit according to whether it is cooled or heated, the device being designed to ensure equal mass flow rates in the two transit portions in the common heat exchanger, the device also comprising a bypass for bypassing one of the two transit portions, said bypass comprising a bypass valve which, in the open state, changes the mass flow rate in one of the two transit portions.

Systems and methods for improving the efficiency of open-cycle cascade-based liquified natural gas systems by utilizing one or more ejectors to reduce and/or eliminate compression stages. The systems and methods may thus, be used to improve the efficiency of new and preexisting open-cycle cascade-based liquified natural gas systems to reduce in the flow rate through each compressor, which reduces the energy consumption of the overall process.