A refrigerator according to the present invention includes: a cooling part for cooling an object to be cooled through heat exchange with a refrigerant; an expander-integrated compressor including a compressor for compressing the refrigerant and an expander for expanding the refrigerant integrated therein; and a refrigerant circulation line configured to circulate the refrigerant through the compressor, the expander, and the cooling part. The compressor includes a low-stage compressor, a middle-stage compressor, and a high-stage compressor disposed in series in the refrigerant circulation line. The expander-integrated compressor includes: the middle-stage compressor; an expander for adiabatically expanding and cooling the refrigerant discharged from the high-stage compressor; a first motor having an output shaft connected to the middle-stage compressor and to the expander; at least one non-contact type bearing, disposed between the middle-stage compressor and the expander, for supporting the output shaft of the first motor without being in contact with the output shaft; and a casing for housing the middle-stage compressor, the expander, and the at least one non-contact type bearing.

The invention primarily concerns a facility for storing and cooling a liquefied gas, for example a liquefied natural gas, the facility comprising at least one tank configured to contain the liquefied gas, a closed cooling circuit configured to be supplied with liquefied gas in the liquid state coming from the tank, at least one injection member configured for reinjecting cooled liquefied gas into the tank, the facility being characterized in that it comprises at least one connection line configured to recover a cooled gas from at least one remote container that is separate and independent from the facility.

Disclosed is a device for liquefying a fluid, comprising a fluid circuit to be cooled, the device comprising a heat exchanger assembly in heat exchange with the fluid circuit to be cooled, at least one first cooling system in heat exchange with at least a portion of the heat exchanger assembly, the first cooling system being a refrigerator having a cycle for refrigerating a cycle gas mainly comprising helium, said refrigerator comprising in series in a cycle circuit: a mechanism for compressing the cycle gas, at least one member for cooling the cycle gas, a mechanism for expanding the cycle gas, and at least one member for reheating the expanded cycle gas, wherein the compression mechanism includes at least four compression stages in series composed of a centrifugal compressor assembly, the compression stages being mounted on shafts that are rotationally driven by a motor assembly, the expansion mechanism comprising at least three expansion stages in series composed of a set of centripetal turbines, the at least one member for cooling the cycle gas being configured to cool the cycle gas at the outlet of at least one of the turbines, and wherein at least one of the turbines is coupled to the same shaft as at least one compression stage so as to feed the mechanical work produced during the expansion to the compression stage.

The device (100) for pre-cooling a flow (101) of a target gas to a temperature of less than or equal to 90 K comprises: a group (105) of at least two heat exchangers (106, 107, 108, 136) for exchanging heat between the target gas flow, a flow (102) of a first cooling fluid and at least one flow among a flow of a second cooling fluid and a flow of a third cooling fluid, closed circulation circuit (110) for a flow of a second cooling fluid, said fluid comprising at least methane, said circuit comprising: at least one compression stage (111, 112), at least one liquid-gas separation stage (115, 116) and at least one expansion stage (120, 121, 122) and a circulation circuit (125) for a flow of the third cooling fluid through at least one of said heat exchangers.

Disclosed is a low-temperature refrigeration device comprising a working circuit that forms a loop and contains a working fluid the working circuit forming a cycle which includes, connected in series: a compression mechanism, a cooling mechanism, an expansion mechanism and a heating mechanism, the device further comprising a refrigeration heat exchanger for extracting heat from at least one member by exchanging heat with the working fluid flowing in the working circuit, the compression mechanism comprising two separate compressors, the mechanism for cooling the working fluid comprising two cooling heat exchangers which are arranged respectively at the outlet of the two compressors and ensure heat exchange between the working fluid and a cooling fluid, each cooling heat exchanger comprising a cooling fluid inlet and a cooling fluid outlet, characterized in that the cooling fluid outlet of one of the two cooling heat exchangers is connected to the cooling fluid inlet of the other cooling heat exchanger.

A system and method for the production and supply of a densified, liquid oxidant to a space vehicle launch facility with one or more launch platforms is provided. A low pressure gaseous oxygen stream is piped from a nearby air separation unit and is then liquefied and densified in a two-stage, integrated liquefaction/densification system. The first refrigeration stage is a nitrogen based reverse Brayton cycle refrigeration cycle, that liquefies the gaseous oxygen and subcools the resulting liquid oxygen to a temperature of about 81 Kelvin. The second refrigeration stage is a mixed refrigerant loop containing some combination of helium and/or neon refrigerants that densifies the liquid oxygen to a temperature of about 57 Kelvin. The integrated liquefaction and densification system may also be configured to densify liquid methane or other propellants used in space vehicle launches.

A system and method for the production and supply of a densified, liquid oxidant to a space vehicle launch facility is provided. A stream of liquid oxygen taken from a co-located, liquid producing air separation unit is densified in a two refrigeration stage, integrated densification system. The first refrigeration stage is a nitrogen based reverse Brayton cycle refrigeration cycle that provides refrigeration to the second refrigeration stage. The second refrigeration stage is a helium and/or neon comprising refrigerant loop that densifies the liquid oxygen to a temperature between about 70 Kelvin and 57 Kelvin. The integrated densification system may also be configured to densify liquid methane or other propellants used in space vehicle launches.

A system and method for the co-production of a densified, liquid oxidant and a densified liquid methane fuel to a space vehicle launch facility is provided. In one embodiment, a low pressure gaseous oxygen stream is piped from a nearby air separation unit to the space vehicle launch facility where it is then liquefied and densified in a two-stage, integrated liquefaction/densification system that also densifies a source of liquid methane. In an alternate embodiment, a liquid oxygen stream produced at an air separation unit is densified in a two-stage, integrated densification system configured to densify both the liquid oxygen as well a source of liquid methane at or near the air separation unit with the resulting densified liquid products transported via truck/trailer to a nearby space vehicle launch facility.

Method for hydrogen liquefaction comprising at least one precooling step, wherein a hydrogen feed flow is cooled by a first refrigerant, a cooling step, wherein the hydrogen feed flow is cooled by a second refrigerant, and a step of expanding the hydrogen feed flow. Each of the first and second refrigerants is successively subjected to at least one compression and to at least one expansion in order to cool it, and a liquid phase of the first refrigerant cools the second refrigerant between at least three stages of said compression so that the second refrigerant does not exceed a temperature of 150 K, optionally 113 K, during said compression of the second refrigerant.

The present invention relates to a method for liquefying hydrogen, the method comprises the steps of: cooling a feed gas stream comprising hydrogen with a pressure of at least 15 bar(a) to a temperature below the critical temperature of hydrogen in a first cooling step yielding a liquid product stream. According to the invention, the feed gas stream is cooled by a closed first cooling cycle with a high pressure first refrigerant stream comprising hydrogen, wherein the high pressure first refrigerant stream is separated into at least two partial streams, a first partial stream is expanded to low pressure, thereby producing cold to cool the precooled feed gas below the critical pressure of hydrogen, and compressed to a medium pressure, and wherein a second partial stream is expanded at least close to the medium pressure and guided into the medium pressure first partial stream.