Plant and method for liquefying a flow of gas, having a cooling circuit that includes at least one exchanger (5) for cooling the gas, and at least one expansion turbine (6) which is mounted on a rotary axle which is supported by at least one bearing (7) of the gas-static type, the cooling circuit (2) also including a pressurized gas injection conduit that is configured to supply pressurized gas to the bearing (7) in order to provide support to the rotary axle, the plant (1) further includes a recovery conduit (9) that is configured to recycle at least a portion of the gas which has been used to support the rotary axle of the bearing (7) with a view to liquefying the gas.

The present invention relates to a gas storage apparatus and method, and more specifically to liquid air energy storage and its use to facilitate both Demand Side Reduction (DSR) and the use of reduced-cost electricity by industrial compressed-air users. A related electricity generating apparatus and method is also disclosed. The apparatus and method use a first sensible heat coolth store and second latent heat coolth store to first reduce the gas in temperature and then to change it into a liquid phase. Coolth top up devices are also disclosed.

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.

Cryogenic energy storage systems, and particularly methods for capturing cold energy and re-using that captured cold energy, are disclosed. The systems allow cold thermal energy from the power recovery process of a cryogenic energy storage system to be captured effectively, to be stored, and to be effectively utilised. The captured cold energy could be reused in any co-located process, for example to enhance the efficiency of production of the cryogen, to enhance the efficiency of production of liquid natural gas, and/or to provide refrigeration. The systems are such that the cold energy can be stored at very low pressures, cold energy can be recovered from various components of the system, and/or cold energy can be stored in more than one thermal store.

The present invention relates to a refrigerant composition. According to the invention it is envisioned that the composition comprises comprising an inert gas selected from nitrogen, argon, neon and a mixture thereof, and a mixture of at least two C.sub.1-C.sub.5 hydrocarbons. The present invention further relates to the use of the refrigerant composition in a method for liquefying a gaseous substance, particularly hydrogen or helium.

The present invention relates to a refrigerant composition comprising neon and hydrogen. The present invention further relates to the use of the refrigerant composition in liquefying gaseous substances such as hydrogen or helium.

Liquefier includes first compression section which is driven by a superconducting motor and which compresses a substance in a gaseous state. Cooling circuit includes: second compression section which is driven by the motor when first compression section is being driven by the motor and which compresses a refrigerant; first heat exchange section which cools the refrigerant by causing heat exchange between a substance in a tank and the compressed refrigerant; second expansion section which brings the refrigerant down to or below a critical temperature of a superconducting material by expanding the cooled refrigerant; and second heat exchange section which imparts cold heat of the refrigerant to the substance by causing heat exchange between the substance in the tank and the refrigerant after cooling a superconducting magnet, and supplies the refrigerant brought down to or below the critical temperature by second expansion section to the motor and cools the superconducting magnet.

A system and method for cryogenic purification of a hydrogen, nitrogen, methane and argon containing feed stream to produce a methane free, hydrogen and nitrogen containing synthesis gas and a methane rich fuel gas, as well as to recover an argon product stream, excess hydrogen, and excess nitrogen is provided. The disclosed system and method are particularly useful as an integrated cryogenic purifier in an ammonia synthesis process in an ammonia plant. The excess nitrogen is a nitrogen stream substantially free of methane and hydrogen that can be used in other parts of the plant, recovered as a gaseous nitrogen product and/or liquefied to produce a liquid nitrogen product.

Disclosed is a device for liquefying a fluid, comprising a circuit for fluid to be cooled, the device comprising a set of one or more heat exchangers exchanging heat with the circuit of fluid to be cooled, at least one first cooling system exchanging heat with at least some of the set of one or more heat exchangers, the first cooling system being a refrigerator with refrigeration cycle of a cycle gas mostly comprising helium, the refrigerator comprising, arranged in series in a cycle circuit: a cycle gas compression mechanism at least one cycle gas cooling member, a mechanism for expansion of the cycle gas and at least one expanded cycle gas heating member, wherein the compression mechanism comprises at least four compression stages in series, consisting of a set of one or more centrifuge-type compressors, the compression stages being mounted on shafts rotated by a set of one or more motors, the expansion mechanism comprising at least three expansion stages in series, consisting of a set of centripetal turbines, the at least one cycle gas cooling member 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 supply the compression stage with the mechanical work produced during the expansion.

A device for recovering variable low-temperature gas includes a low temperature stabilizing system, a compression system, an expansion refrigeration system, and a heat exchange system, which are connected to each other by pipelines, where the low temperature stabilizing system is composed of a liquid storage unit, a liquid delivery unit, a liquid jet gasification mixing unit, and a control unit, for regulating the temperature of low-temperature gas; a liquid outlet channel of the liquid storage unit is connected to a liquid inlet channel of the liquid delivery unit, a liquid outlet channel of the liquid delivery unit is connected to a liquid inlet channel of the liquid jet gasification mixing unit, and the compression system is composed of a raw material compressor and a circulating compressor; and a gas outlet channel of the raw material compressor is connected to a gas inlet channel of the circulating compressor.