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.

An exemplary embodiment of the present techniques provides a system for decreasing a temperature of a fluid. The system includes an axial flow expander for expanding gas flowed in a direction along an axis thereof. The axial flow expander includes: an outer casing made as a unified structure having an inlet port and an outlet port. An inner casing is fixed inside the outer casing. A rotor shaft is accommodated inside the inner casing, and is aligned with the axis. A number of bearings allow the rotor shaft to rotate around the axis. Moving blades protrude from the rotor shaft and are arranged inside the gas passage in an alternating fashion with a number of stator vanes. The inner casing, the rotor shaft, the bearings, the stator vanes, and the moving blades are integrally assembled, and inserted into the outer casing in the direction along the axis.

A combined plant for cryogenic separation and liquefaction of methane and carbon dioxide in a biogas stream, including a mixing means, a compressor, a first exchanger, a distillation column, a second exchanger, a separating means, an expanding means, and a separator vessel. Wherein, the mixing means is configured such that the recycle gas is the overhead vapour stream, and the first exchanger and the expanding means are combined.

A LNG liquefaction plant system includes concurrent power production, wherein the refrigeration content of the refrigerant or SMR is used to liquefy and sub-cool a natural gas stream in a cold box or cryogenic exchanger. For concurrent power production, the system uses waste heat from refrigerant compression to vaporize and superheat a waste heat working fluid that in turn drives a compressor for refrigerant compression. The refrigerant may be an external SMR or an internal LNG refrigerant working fluid expanded and compressed by a twin compander arrangement.

A system and method for producing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a natural gas stream. Each of a plurality of LNG trains liquefies a portion of the natural gas stream to generate a warm LNG stream in a first operating mode, and a cold LNG stream in a second operating mode. A sub-cooling unit is configured to, in the first operating mode, sub-cool the warm LNG stream to thereby generate a combined cold LNG stream. The warm LNG stream has a higher temperature than a temperature of the cold LNG stream and the combined cold LNG stream. The combined cold LNG stream has, in the first operating mode, a higher flow rate than a flow rate of the cold LNG stream in the second operating mode.

Method for the liquefaction of nitrogen using the recovery of cold energy deriving from the evaporation of liquefied natural gas comprising the steps of: sending a flow of nitrogen (100) to be liquefied to a precooler (101); sending a flow (107) of nitrogen gas exiting said precooler (101) to a heat exchanger (108) of the high pressure recirculation compressor; sending a flow (114) of nitrogen exiting said heat exchanger (108) to a high pressure recirculation compressor (115, 117); sending a flow (120) of nitrogen exiting said compressor (115, 117) to a liquefaction heat exchanger (121); sending to said liquefaction heat exchanger (121) a flow (123) of natural gas, countercurrent to the flow (120) exiting said compressor (115, 117); sending a flow (126, 150) of nitrogen exiting said liquefaction heat exchanger (121) to said heat exchanger (108) countercurrent to said flow (107) of nitrogen gas and to said flow (114) of nitrogen; sending a flow (151, 152) of nitrogen exiting said heat exchanger (108) to said precooler (101) countercurrent to said flow of nitrogen (100) to be liquefied; sending the flow (126, 130) of nitrogen exiting said liquefaction heat exchanger (121) to an expander (131); sending the flow of nitrogen exiting said expander (131) to a medium pressure separator (112) that delivers an exiting flow (132) of nitrogen.

A combined plant for cryogenic separation and liquefaction of methane and carbon dioxide in a biogas stream, including a mixing means, a compressor, a first exchanger, a distillation column, a second exchanger, a separating means, an expanding means, and a separator vessel. Wherein, the mixing means is configured such that the recycle gas is the overhead vapour stream, and the first exchanger and the expanding means are combined.

A system and a method for producing liquefied natural gas are provided. The system includes a refrigeration loop system for providing a cold stream of refrigerant, a supersonic chiller for receiving and chilling a first gaseous natural gas stream to produce a liquefied natural gas liquid and separating the liquefied natural gas liquid from the first gaseous natural gas stream to obtain a second gaseous natural gas stream, and a cold box for receiving the cold stream of refrigerant and the second gaseous natural gas stream and cooling the second gaseous natural gas stream to obtain a liquefied natural gas by heat exchanging between the second gaseous natural gas stream and the cold stream of refrigerant.

A method and system for liquefying a feed gas stream including natural gas. The feed gas stream is provided at a pressure less than 1,200 psia. A refrigerant stream having a pressure of at least 1,500 psia is cooled and then expanded in a first expander to an intermediate pressure. The first expander is mechanically coupled to a first coupled compressor to together form a first turboexpander-compressor. The refrigerant stream is expanded in a second expander, which is mechanically coupled to a second coupled compressor to together form a second turboexpander-compressor. The refrigerant stream cools the feed gas stream in one or more heat exchangers. Using the second coupled compressor and a first driven compressor, the refrigerant stream is compressed to a discharge pressure within 300 psia of the intermediate pressure. The refrigerant stream is compressed using the first coupled compressor and is further compressed to provide the refrigerant stream.

A method and system for liquefying a methane-rich high-pressure feed gas stream using a system having first and second heat exchanger zones and a compressed refrigerant stream. The compressed refrigerant stream is cooled and directed to the second heat exchanger zone to additionally cool it below ambient temperature. It is then expanded and passed through the first heat exchanger zone such that it has a temperature that is cooler, by at least 5 F., than the highest fluid temperature within the first heat exchanger zone. The feed gas stream is passed through the first heat exchanger zone to cool at least part of it by indirect heat exchange with the refrigerant stream, thereby forming a liquefied gas stream. At least a portion of the first warm refrigerant stream is directed to the second heat exchanger zone to cool the refrigerant stream, which is compressed.