Systems and methods are provided for increasing the efficiency of liquefied natural gas production and heavy hydrocarbon distillation. Air within an LNG production facility can be utilized as a heat source to provide heat to HHC liquid for distillation in a HHC distillation system. The mechanism of heat transfer from the air can be natural convection. Heat provided by natural gas, or compressed natural gas, can be also used for HHC distillation. Various other liquids can further be used to transfer heat to HHC liquid for distillation.

A method for improved operation of a natural gas liquids stabilizer column, particularly a small-scale, is provided. The method can include the steps of: introducing a first feed stream comprising heavy hydrocarbons and natural gas to a stabilizer column to produce a top gas and a bottoms liquid, wherein the top gas has a higher concentration of natural gas as compared to the first feed stream, and the bottoms liquid has a higher concentration of heavy hydrocarbons as compared to the first feed stream; introducing a second feed stream into the stabilizer column, wherein the second feed stream has a higher concentration of natural gas as compared to the first feed stream, wherein the second feed stream is at a warmer temperature than the first feed stream when introduced into the stabilizer column, wherein the second feed stream is a gaseous stream; withdrawing the top gas from a top portion of the stabilizer column; withdrawing the bottoms liquid from a bottom portion of the stabilizer column; and sending at least a portion of the bottoms liquid to a liquid storage tank.

Provided is a method of constructing a natural gas liquefaction plant, which can shorten a construction time period by minimizing effect of a lead time for the refrigerant compressor thereon, the method including: transporting a refrigerant compression module body 175 to an installation area 85, wherein the refrigerant compression module body is provided with a frame 120 configured to allow refrigerant compressor 150 for compressing a refrigerant for cooling natural gas to be mounted therein; installing the refrigerant compression module body 175 to the installation area 85; and mounting the refrigerant compressor 150 into a mounting space 130 predefined in the frame 120 of the installed refrigerant compression module body.

Described herein are methods and systems for liquefying natural gas using an open-loop natural gas refrigeration cycle; coil wound heat exchanger units suitable for cooling one or more feed streams, such as for example one or more natural gas feed streams, via indirect heat exchange with a gaseous refrigerant; and methods and systems for removing heavy components from a natural gas prior to liquefying the natural gas using an open-loop natural gas refrigeration cycle.

A method for efficiently reducing the energy required to convert natural gas from a natural gas pressure letdown facility at high pressure and pipeline/wellhead temperature to liquid natural gas in close proximity to/collocation with a natural gas pressure letdown/regulation facility using Non-Freezing Vortex Tubes (U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,231) in arrangement with indirect contact heat exchangers. The Non-Freezing Vortex Tubes separate the inlet natural gas into hot flow and cold flow outlet natural gas flows. One portion of the natural gas flow from the high-pressure transmission line/gas wellhead is directed through the Non-Freezing Vortex Tube and the cold outlet flow of the natural gas is directed to the indirect contact heat exchanger(s) to act as the cooling medium. The liquid natural gas plant's required natural gas flow is directed at the existing pipeline/wellhead gas pressure through the heat exchanger and cooled. The already cooled natural gas flow is directed to a turbo expander and refrigeration cold box system where it is further chilled and converted into liquid natural gas at −162° C.

A dual-mode LNG liquefier arrangement that is configurable to operate in a first mode broadly characterized as a low pressure, liquid nitrogen add LNG liquefier without turbo-expansion or a second mode broadly characterized as a low pressure, liquid nitrogen add LNG liquefier with turbo-expansion.

Provided is a cooling device with which it is possible to cool a fluid to be cooled, even before maintenance work, if a fault such as a blockage or a breakage occurs in a part of a channel. The cooling device (1) is provided with four heat exchangers (1A-1D) and a plurality of heat exchanger connection parts (111-120), each of the heat exchanger connection parts allowing natural gas to flow therethrough. Each of the heat exchangers has: a drum (101, 102, 103, fourth drum 104), a refrigerant reservoir (T), a plurality of heat exchanger core parts (121, 122, 123, 124) immersed in liquid propane in the refrigerant reservoir (T), and a demister (106). A plurality of cooling channels allowing natural gas to flow therethrough are installed, independent of each other, from the first heat exchanger (1A) to the fourth heat exchanger (1D).

A method to recover olefins and C.sub.2.sup.+ fractions from refineries gas streams. The traditional recovery methods employed at refineries are absorption with solvents and cryogenic technology using compression and expansion aided by external refrigeration systems. In contrast to known methods, there is provided first a pre-cooling heat exchanger on a feed line feeding the gas stream to a in-line mixer, secondly by injecting and mixing a stream of LNG to condense the C.sub.2.sup.+ fractions upstream of the fractionator. The temperature of the gas stream entering the fractionator is monitored downstream of the in-line mixer. A LNG stream is temperature controlled to flow through the injection inlet and mix with the feed gas at a temperature which results in the condensation of the C.sub.2.sup.+ fractions before entering the fractionator. A LNG reflux stream is temperature controlled to maintain fractionator overhead temperature. The fractionator bottoms temperature is controlled by a circulating reboiler stream.

A method for handling the shutdown of a turbomachine string installed in a plant for the liquefaction of a gaseous product comprising at least two turbomachine strings comprises the steps of detecting the shutdown of a first turbomachine string; promptly increasing the driving torque on a shaft of a second turbomachine string when the shutdown is detected; maintaining the driving torque increase on the shaft of the second turbomachine string until a preset speed of the motor driver is reached or a predetermined period of time expires.

Herein pipeline pressure, temperature and NGL constituents are manipulated for the transportation and optional storage in a pipeline system of natural gas mixtures or rich mixtures for delivery of chilled Products for downstream applications. Pressure reduction from a last compression section delivers internally chilled Products for reduced capital and operating costs. A high lift compressor station before the pipeline terminus provides pressure differential for Joule-Thompson chilling of the pipeline contents. The chilling step can be retrofitted to existing pipeline systems, and the chilling steep can include a turbo expander or the like for recovery of pipeline pressure energy for power generation. For like throughout, with this higher pressure operation, the effects of enhanced NGL content results in a reduction in diameter of the pipeline by at least one standard size. Substantial overall reduction in energy consumption and associated CO2 emissions is thereby achieved through integrated pipeline/processing applications.