LPG-recovery processes for baseload LNG plants examined

Chen-Hwa Chiu Bechtel Corp. Houston With demand on the rise, LPG produced from a baseload LNG plant becomes more attractive as a revenue-earning product similar to LNG. Efficient use of gas expanders in baseload LNG plants for LPG production therefore becomes more important. Several process variations for LPG recover in baseload LNG plants are revie!ed here. Exerg anal sis "based on the Second La! of #hermod namics$ is applied to three cases to compare energ efficienc resulting from integration !ith the main li%uefaction process. Process-design considerations of various degrees of LPG extraction need to be investigated not onl for the ne! grassroots baseload LNG plants but also for the debottlenec&ing and revamping of existing baseload LNG plants. #he extraction and export of LPG product from a baseload LNG plant ma achieve a higher profitabilit through faster rates of return. #hese LPG products are often unusual because the are not extracted from gas associated !ith oil production. #he high on-stream availabilit of the baseload LNG plant also ensures a dependable source of LPG product.

Extraction in a baseload plant

'n baseload LNG plants, h drocarbon refrigerants are usuall recovered from the feed gas. Some baseload LNG plants need to import refrigerants if the feed gas is too lean or the process itself dictates. (or a lean feed gas, fractionation for the recover of the heavier components is difficult. Processdesign variations can assist heav components scrubbing and demethani)ation. (or a heavier feed gas, recover of LPG b distillation is necessar because the amount of LPG that can be rein*ected into the LNG stream is limited b the heating-value specifications of LNG. #his is an area that challenges the process designer to devise a favorable process scheme for achieving better energ efficienc . +nother design aspect associated !ith LPG recover is the need for aromatics removal to prevent free)ing in the li%uefaction e%uipment. +romatics such as ben)ene, toluene, and x lenes can pose free)ing problems in lo!-temperature processing e%uipment. #he can impose extra burdens on the LPG-recover process. 'n a baseload LNG plant, the feed gas goes through acid-gas removal, deh dration, and mercur removal before being precooled. +fter precooling, heav components removal for refrigerant

ma&e-up and aromatics removal is performed before the feed gas can be li%uefied. 'f the feed gas is lean or refrigerants are imported, there is no need for substantial LPG recover . 'n man baseload LNG plants, LPGs are recovered to provide refrigerant ma&e-up. Excess LPGs are rein*ected into the feed-gas stream to be li%uefied to the extent allo!ed b the LNG heatingvalue specification. Some baseload LNG plants also recover and export LPG. 'n these plants, the LPG-recover process ma become more elaborate and ma involve some parallel LPG plants, !ith utilities essentiall independent of the LNG facilities.

(ig. , -./,011 b tes2 illustrates a t pical LPG-recover process., 3 #he dried s!eet gas is first precooled before entering the scrub column !here distillation performs the first step of heav -components removal. #he overhead product of the scrub column is further cooled and li%uefied in the main heat exchanger "45E$ to provide the LNG product. #he bottoms product enters the fractionation train, !hich consists of de-ethani)er, depropani)er, and debutani)er. #he products of the fractionation train are fuel gas, ethane, propane, butanes, and condensates. LPG or condensate storage tan&s and unloading facilities are usuall provided. #he LPG export facilities at the +run LNG plant, the North West Shelf "NWS$ LNG plant, and the 6ada& LNG plant have been documented.7-8 'n ,008 at its 6urrup Peninsula LNG plant, the NWS Pro*ect commissioned additional facilities of LPG separation, storage, and loadout *ett to provide a nominal export capacit of 9//,/// metric tons: ear "tp $ of LPG. #he 6ada& LNG plant also exports LPG and is expanding its LPG facilities. #he +run LNG plant is an example !here ma*or volumes of LPG and condensate are exported.7-. 't is producing approximatel ,3/,/// b:d of stabili)ed condensate. #he average LPG production is about ,1,/// b:d propane and ,,,/// b:d butane. #he +run LNG plant has four condensate tan&s !ith a capacit of .7/,/// bbl and four LPG tan&s "three tan&s !ith a total capacit of .3.,/// bbl, and one tan& !ith 7./,/// bbl$. #here are one LPG berth for LPG loading, one SP4 "single point mooring$, and one 464 "multiple-buo mooring$ for condensate loading. #he condensates from the LPG fractionation trains are combined !ith the condensate from a front-end stabili)er and sent to the condensate tan&s.

+run LNG units are no! being operated in integration !ith the LPG units, thus ielding improved plant energ consumption and efficienc . #his reduces an operational problem such as the interruption of the LNG trains if one of the LPG units or LNG units trip. #he excess gas-turbine capacit in the LPG units can be used to increase the pressure and lo!er the temperature of residue gas entering the LNG li%uefaction units.

Extraction requirements
5eav li%uid removal is mainl dictated b the heating-value specifications of the LNG products. #he t pical heating-value specification for LNG product is around ,,/./-,,,0/ 6#;:std. cu ft higher heating value. +dditional benefits are that the LPG extraction also provides a %ualit control of LNG-product densit . #his is desirable to avoid stratification of LNG in storage and to prevent potential rollovers. +lthough the heav al&ane solubilities in LNG ma be of some concern, experimental data indicate that the solubilities are %uite high, relative to aromatics.9 'f the condensates are not removed in a front-end stabili)er, ho!ever, the need to be removed along !ith the heav al&anes that are removed before final li%uefaction. #he common refrigerant components are nitrogen, methane, ethane or eth lene, propane, and in some cases butane. #he refrigerant losses occur from the seals and flanges of the refrigerant compressor s stems, also from valves to flare and others, over a period of time and during upsets in process operation or short-term shutdo!ns. #o meet the refrigerant ma&e-up re%uirements, it is necessar to import or to recover the refrigerant components during plant operation. <ecovered propane and ethane need to be sufficient for the refrigerant ma&e-up re%uirements. #hese recoveries depend upon the proper design and operation of the scrub column and the fractionation train. ;suall the refrigerant ma&e-ups are recovered during normal operation and stored in refrigerant storage tan&s. 4ethane ma&e-up is not a problem, and nitrogen is derived from the in-plant nitrogen generator or nitrogen-storage s stem. +romatics have limited solubilities in LNG,9 much less than the heav al&anes. #he aromatics usuall found in feed-gas streams are ben)ene and toluene and to a lesser degree x lenes. Solubilities of these aromatics are in the parts-per-million range at LNG temperatures of approximatel 331/ to 3381= (. +romatics are usuall removed in the scrub column along !ith the heav components. Preventing free)e-up problems during precooling and li%uefaction re%uires removal of the heav

ends from the feed gas to less than a fe! ppm aromatics and less than /., mole > of the heptane plus fractions. (uel-gas re%uirements can limit design of the scrub column and the de-ethani)er. #he deethani)er ma !ithdra! ethane several tra s belo! the top tra , !hile gas from the column top is sent to fuel. Nitrogen re*ection after the 45E, if re%uired, !ill limit the amount of methane-rich fuel from the top of the de-ethani)er. #his is because most baseload LNG plants produce no fuel gas for sale. (uel production is therefore limited to !hat can be consumed in the plant itself. #he Woodside LNG plant in +ustralia is an exception. #hus, this !ill put a special re%uirement on the amount of methane and ethane that can be sent from the bottoms of the scrub column to the fractionation train.

Process-recovery parameters
#he most important process parameters in design for LPG recover are the operating pressure of the scrub column, the feed-gas composition, and the reflux temperature of the scrub column. #he li%uefaction pressure is critical to the energ efficienc of LNG li%uefaction.0 ,/ Li%uefaction efficienc improves !ith increasing pressure, up to around ,,/// psig. ?n the other hand, the recover of the heav h drocarbons b the scrub-column operation becomes more difficult !ith increasing pressure. #he separation pressure for the scrub column is an important design parameter. 'f this pressure is close to the mixture@s critical pressure, scrub-column operation can become difficult. 'f the pressure is higher than the mixture@s critical pressure, fractionation at the scrub column is impossible. #he mixture@s critical point is a strong function of the feed-gas composition. #herefore, no single arbitrar criterion is available for the selection of the scrub-column pressure. ;se of a heav al&ane rec cle, such as the A1 fraction, to the scrub-column overhead, ho!ever, can raise the critical pressure of the mixture and thus the operating pressure for the scrub column. #his problem !ill be discussed next. #he mixture@s critical pressure is a strong function of the heav component in the LNG feed stream. #his is because the locus of the mixture critical point is highl nonlinear and is not a simple molar average of the critical pressures of the constituent components. #he critical pressure is also a strong function of the methane concentration.

?n the other hand, the addition of the heav component to the mixture to be separated has a significant effect on the critical pressure. #his is illustrated in (ig. 3 -..,B3. b tes2 in !hich the addition of A1 !ill increase the critical pressure of the methane and propane mixture. #his principle has been practiced in baseload LNG plant operations b use of a A1 rec cle to assist the scrub-column operation. #his can increase LPG production and decrease the higher heating value of the LNG. + lo!er reflux temperature favors the scrubbing action. Lo!-level propane can provide refrigeration to around 379= (. Lo!er reflux temperatures of near 3,//= (. can be provided b mixed refrigerant, usuall re%uiring an additional bundle in the 45E. #he lo!er the reflux temperatures, ho!ever, the higher the reboiler temperatures !ill be. #he reboiler temperature !ill be limited b the mixture condition at the reboiler.

Extraction-process variations
Carious LPG-extraction processes are available. Since the fractionation train itself varies little, onl the scrub-column portion !ill be discussed. + scrub column !ith reflux and reboiler is a t pical, commonl used process. #he operation pressure is usuall limited b its proximit to the critical pressure of the mixture because the mixture cannot be separated into vapor and li%uid above and be ond the critical pressure. #he reboiler temperature can also become a limiting factor, ho!ever. 'f the reboiler temperature is close to or greater than ,3/= (., the column bottoms ma become flooded and separation is difficult. #his is !hen a A1 rec cle to the scrub column overhead is helpful. #he A1 rec cle helps the start-up operation and shortens the time of lining out the scrub column and the fractionation train. Depending on the degrees of LPG extraction desired, either a partial rec cle or a total rec cle of A1 recovered from the debutani)er can be performed. #here are also process variations in !hich onl propane refrigeration is sufficient for the reflux condensing and a t!o-bundle 45E can be used.

;se of a scrub column !ith a demethani)er is e%uivalent to separating the bottom section of the scrub column into a demethani)er, except that the demethani)er is running at a lo!er pressure that favors easier separation. #his scheme !ill also produce fuel gas from the top of the demethani)er. #he scheme ma not be suitable if there is a nitrogenremoval column, !hich also generates additional fuel gas. 'f this excess fuel is not posing a problem, then this arrangement ma offer more flexibilit in operation. 'nstead of letting do!n a high-pressure feed gas through a control valve, there are several processes that use the high feed-pressure potential to incorporate an expander and a booster compressor around the scrub column.

#his is to use an expander to let do!n the high-pressure feed gas, especiall !hen the pressure is greater than the critical pressure, before entering the scrub column. #he isentropic expansion through an expander can achieve a lo!er temperature than an isenthalpic expansion through a valve. #here are t!o ma*or process variationsE ?ne process version, Expander-,, re%uires a lo!er temperature mixed refrigerant in the reflux condensing step and re%uires an additional bundle in the 45E.,3+nother process version, Expander-3, uses onl a higher temperature propane refrigerant for reflux condensing and more heat integration through a feed intercooler.,7 #his has an advantage of using a t!o-bundle 45E. (urthermore, if the feed gas is greater than the critical pressure of the mixture, the expander outlet !ill provide enough cold li%uid to the scrub column, and a reflux condenser is not re%uired. #he overhead product from the scrub column is compressed b a booster compressor, !hich can be driven b the expander, thus providing a feed to the 45E to be li%uefied at a higher pressure than the pressure used in the scrub column. #his scheme has t!o advantages. (irst the pressure potential of the feed stream is converted to refrigeration via the expander, thus saving the refrigerant compressor horsepo!er. Second, the expander can provide the po!er re%uired for the booster compressor.

+ scrub column !ith double heat integration !as developed to heat-integrate the scrub column@s feed precooling and reflux condensing !ith 45E@s li%uefaction process.,1 Precooling of the feed gas to the scrub column is performed in the !arm bundle of the 45E. #he precooling temperature can be controlled b the b pass around the 45E. #he gross overhead is fed to the middle bundle to be condensed and subcooled. + portion of this subcooled li%uid is returned to the scrub column for reflux. #he rest is sent bac& to the cold bundle of the 45E to be further subcooled. #he advantage of this scheme is that the energ demands for precooling and condensing can be matched nicel !ith the mixed refrigerant cooling curve on the shell side of 45E, thus optimi)ing the match bet!een the demand and suppl of refrigeration. #he scheme of an expander plant follo!ed b li%uefaction !as developed for high acidgas content and high feed-gas pressure.,. Essentiall , an expander plant is used in the front end simultaneousl to remove most of the acid gas and lo!er the pressure to achieve the heav removal so that the feed-gas temperature can be dropped to around 3,3/= (.

#he A3 precooling is follo!ed b a three-component mixed refrigerant "nitrogen, methane, and ethane or eth lene$ li%uefaction process. #he process using a scrub column !ith < an:5olmes process !as proposed to remove A?3 along !ith A3-plus at the scrub column first follo!ed b the < an:5olmes process in the fractionation train.,, 't reduces the si)e of the deh dration units because of the

elimination of the front-end acid-gas-removal unit !hich !ould add moisture bac& to the feed gas. #his scheme !ould add a column to split A?3:A3 before the de-ethani)er. (or high A?3containing feed, ho!ever, the process scheme becomes more complicated.

Exer y analysis
Energ integration in process design is important. #he basic ardstic& for comparing the energ efficienc of different process schemes is the exerg anal sis based on the Second La! of #hermod namics., ,8 ,B #his is because the fractionation and heat integration are better anal )ed b exerg anal sis !ithout resorting to more time-consuming total plant simulations. "Editor@s noteE FExerg F is the maximum amount of !or& potential of a given s stem or form of energ in relation to the surrounding environment. +n Fexerg anal sisF is performed to pinpoint the losses of !or& potential in a s stem.$ #hree process schemes discussed previousl !ere anal )ed exergeticall . #he first scheme is the 6ase case "(ig. 7 -8,,./0 b tes2$ in !hich the commonl used scrubcolumn arrangement !ith A1 rec cle is used. #he second scheme, Expander-,, is sho!n in (ig. 1 -.B,103 b tes2, in !hich the expander and booster compressor are used !ith the reflux condensing performed !ith mixed refrigerant in a third bundle of the 45E.,3 #he third scheme, Expander-3, is sho!n in (ig. . -.9,.3/ b tes2, in !hich no reflux is needed and onl propane refrigeration is needed to cool the scrub-column overhead before it is li%uefied in a t!o-bundle 45E. ,7 #he exerg calculations !ere performed after computer simulations of the three process schemes. #he results are sho!n in #able ,. #he exerg losses calculated !ere normali)ed !ith respect to the amount of LNG produced, expressed as 6#;:lb-mole LNG. #he li%uefaction exerg losses !ere onl for the feed-gas stream accounted to the exit of the main heat exchanger. #he results sho!n in #able , indicate that Expander-, case is the most efficient and the 6ase case is the least efficient. 6oth the 6ase case and the Expander-, case, ho!ever, !ould re%uire a reflux condenser based on mixed-refrigerant cooling and a three-bundle 45E. #he Expander-3 case, re%uiring a simpler t!o-bundle 45E, is less efficient than the Expander-, case.

!c"nowled ment
#he author ac&no!ledges the valuable comments of (ran& <ichardson and (red Staible, both of the 6echtel Aorp., 5ouston.