Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 34 (2016) 590e603

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Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jngse

Development and optimization of an integrated process configuration

for natural gas liquefaction (LNG) and natural gas liquids (NGL)
recovery with a nitrogen rejection unit (NRU)
Bahram Ghorbani a, *, Mohammad-Hossein Hamedi a, Majid Amidpour b
a
Mechanical Engineering Faculty, Energy Conversion Group, KNToosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
b
Mechanical Engineering Faculty, Energy System Group, KNToosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In this study a novel integrated process including recovery of natural gas liquids, natural gas liquefaction
Received 24 April 2016 and nitrogen rejection unit is investigated and analyzed. Natural gas is often associated with nitrogen
Received in revised form and hydrocarbon heavy compounds. Recovering such heavy liquids can be necessary. Nitrogen of the
12 July 2016
natural gas when its content is more than 4 percent (mole fraction) must be removed. Because operating
Accepted 14 July 2016
Available online 16 July 2016
temperature of the LNG, NGL and NRU processes are lower than
100  C there a good potential to
integrate these processes. Process integration declines the energy consumption and number of the
required equipment. The results show that the new integrated process has specific power of 0.359 (kWh/
Keywords:
Integration
kg-LNG) and recover NGL more than 90%. Sensitivity analysis shows that this process is capable of
Natural gas liquids eliminating nitrogen from the natural gas at a concentration of 4%e15%.
Natural gas liquefaction © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Nitrogen rejection
C3MR

1. Introduction select optimal synthesis of refrigeration systems to reduce both

Natural gas has often heavy ingredients as well as nitrogen.
According to negative influence of nitrogen on fuel heating value, it
is necessary to remove nitrogen with more than four percent
concentration from natural gas streams. Liquefied natural gas
plants are increasing in number because of the growing demand for
natural gas (Alabdulkarem et al., 2011). It is also broadly recognized
as a clean and economical energy source because of low carbon
intensity and relatively low price in comparison with other fossil
fuels (Wang et al., 2014). LNG facility using an intermediate pres-
sure distillation column for recovery of ethane and heavier com-
ponents from the processed natural gas stream in a way that surges
operational stability and reduces operating and capital costs
(Ransbarger, 2006). Moein et al. (2015) analyzed a typical single
mixed refrigerant (SMR) with low energy consumption to deter-
mine the optimum operating conditions. Nitrogen based single and
dual expander processes are analyzed for efficiency improvement
considering compression energy minimization as objective (Khan
et al., 2015). Kamalinejad et al. (2015) presented a novel model to
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: bah_ghorbani@yahoo.com (B. Ghorbani).
operating and capital costs of an LNG plant. A superstructure
optimization of an intricate refrigeration system is also developed
to optimize the key decision variables in refrigeration cycle
(Kamalinejad et al., Naeynian). Khan et al. (2016) investigated the
important developments in the evolution of dual mixed refrigerant
(DMR) process of natural gas (NG) liquefaction followed by its
optimization. Conceptual diagrams of pinch technology are shown
to visualize the stepwise optimization procedure of compressor's
shaft work (Kamalinejad et al., Naeynian). A superstructure opti-
mization is applied for the problem a separation system which
includes distillation column units, heat exchangers and heat inte-
gration (Lashkajani et al., 2016). Design of an LNG plant is described
to illustrate advantages in adopting this method. The proposed
cascade by this method reduces compressor shaft work of an LNG
cascade from 1255 kJ/kg to 1141.9 kJ/kg. Mortazavi et al. (2012)
investigated the potential of various options for improving lique-
faction cycle efficiency to improve LNG plant energy efficiency. The
need to reduce energy requirement and improve operational flex-
ibility of the NGL recovery process is a challenging problem. Getu
et al. (2015) present optimization of six selected process schemes
subject to various upstream feed conditions. An enhanced process
including a three stage propane precooling cycle and is modeled.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2016.07.037
1875-5100/© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
 B. Ghorbani et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 34 (2016) 590e603 591

Nomenclature Superscript
T Thermal component
E Specific flow exergy (kJ/kg mole) P Pressure component
Ex Exergy (kW)
m_ Mass flow rate (kg mole/s) Abbreviations
H Enthalpy (kJ/kg mole) APCI Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
P Pressure (kPa) C3-MR Propane precooling
T Temperature ( C) DMR Dual mixed refrigerant
W Work (kW) LNG Liquefied natural gas
S Entropy (kJ/kg mole. C) MR Mixed refrigerant
MFC Mixed fluid cascade
Greek letters NGL Natural gas liquids
h Efficiency NG Natural gas
S Sum NRU Nitrogen Rejection Unit

Subscripts Names used for blocks in plants

C Cold Ci Compressor
H Hot Exi Turbo expander
I Inlet Ti Tower
O Outlet HXi Multi stream heat exchanger
Id Ideal Di Flash drum
Ph Physical Vi Valve
Ch Chemical ACI Air cooler
T Total
A Air

The results show that specific energy consumption decreases from
1028.94 kJ/kg at initial condition to 973.93 kJ/kg at sustainable
optimized condition (Sanavandi and Ziabasharhagh, 2016). Ther-
modynamic and economic optimization of the mid-scale mixed
refrigerant cycles including propane precooled mixed refrigerant
(C3MR) and dual mixed refrigerant (DMR) processes are carried out
(Wang et al., 2014). A single mixed refrigerant (SMR) with low
energy consumption is analyzed to determine the optimum oper-
ating conditions. Genetic Algorithm (GA) is also used to minimize
the total required work by optimizing eleven variables. Results of
the process simulation show that the total work is varied linearly by
the component compositions (Moein et al., 2015). A hybrid group
method of data handling (GMDH) along with linking between
Aspen HYSYS and MATLAB software, optimized with Genetic al-
gorithm (GA), is employed to obtain efficient polynomial correla-
tion to estimate optimal consumed power for two cascade cycles
(Shirmohammadi et al., 2015) A novel configuration of natural gas
liquids recovery process is presented and compared with nine
patented NGL recovery processes for offshore applications. The
results suggest that the proposed NGL configuration is the most
efficient in terms of heat integration and capital cost (Park et al.,
2015). The efficiency of using sequential quadratic programming
(SQP) for the optimization of a PRICO process for producing of LNG
is investigated (Wahl et al., 2013). Particle swarm paradigm is
employed to optimize SMR process while minimization of the
requirement energy for compressing is employed as an objective
function. Results show that the stochastic features of PSP are more
beneficial to avoid the local optima and find the more feasible so-
lution (Khan and Lee, 2013). Particle swarm optimization and non-
linear programming techniques are employed to optimize the pa-
rameters of mixed refrigerant cycles. It is concluded that the par-
ticle swarm optimization is superior to the NLP optimization
techniques in finding the values of optimizing variables (Ghorbani
et al., 2016, 2014). Ghorbani and his colleagues used genetic algo-
rithm and neural network modeling for optimization in the oil and
gas industry (Ghorbani et al., 2014, 2016). A systematic method
based on a combination of mathematical methods and thermody-
namic viewpoints is employed to acquire optimal design configu-
ration by non-linear programming techniques. Economical
optimization and sensitivity analysis are also carried out for the
refrigeration cycle (Amidpour et al., 2015). A hybrid group method
of data handling (GMDH) along with linking between Aspen HYSYS
and MATLAB software, optimized with Genetic algorithm (GA), is
employed to obtain efficient polynomial correlation to estimate
optimal consumed power for two cascade cycles (Shirmohammadi
et al., 2015). A novel integrated and optimization schemes for
natural gas liquids recovery process and liquefaction are presented.
The liquefaction of natural gas is done by the developed KSMR
liquefaction cycle whereas the separation of natural gas liquids is
achieved through energy efficient thermally coupled distillation
schemes (Khan et al., 2014). Hassanzadeh and his colleagues study
the importance of order separation systems such as the decrease or
increase of the required heat load and costs of their investment
(Lashkajani et al., 2013a, 2013b). Thermodynamic and economic
optimization of the mid-scale mixed refrigerant cycles including
propane precooled mixed refrigerant (C3MR) and dual mixed
refrigerant (DMR) processes are carried out (Wang et al., 2014;
Ghorbani et al., 2013a, 2013b). Mafi and colleagues formulated a
Non- Linear Programming model in order to achieve optimum
parameters of a cryogenic cycle using mathematical optimization
(Ghorbani et al., 2013a, 2013b; Mafi et al.). Identifying options for
improving the PRICO process and demonstrating the application of
exergy-based methods to the improvement of an LNG plant are also
carried out (Morosuk et al., 2015; Ghorbani et al., 2012). A lique-
faction cycle with a simple and compact structure which is suitable
for power-efficient, offshore, floating liquefied natural gas lique-
faction is proposed. The NGL recovery process hired energy-
efficient dividing wall columns for the integration of de-
propanization and de-butanization (Lee et al., 2012). A novel inte-
grated process configuration for NGL/LNG using two mixed
592 B. Ghorbani et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 34 (2016) 590e603
Fig. 1. Diagram of the new integrated process.
refrigerant cycles for supplying the required refrigeration for pro-
duction of both NGL and LNG is developed (Vatani et al., 2013).
Advanced exergoeconomic evaluation is employed to analyze sin-
gle mixed refrigerant natural gas liquefaction processes
(Mehrpooya and Ansarinasab, 2015). Three efficient novel pro-
cesses configurations for co-production of LNG and NGL are intro-
duced. Process outputs are tested with the feed condition of the
other similar cases. The results show that their performance are
Fig. 2. Schematic of new integrated process.
significantly better (Mehrpooya et al., 2014). Design of dynamic
model of mixed refrigerant LNG process for small-scale LNG plant
and the dynamic behaviors of this process are investigated. The
dynamic responses of LNG temperature and total compressor en-
ergy consumption are the criteria to investigate the influences of
disturbances on the process (He and Ju, 2016). Performance of the
Open Cycle Phillips Optimized Cascade Process by replacing of
JouleeThomson (JT) valves with expanders is investigated (Fahmy
et al., 2016). Currently available technologies including commer-
cially demonstrated nitrogen rejection unit technologies and the
future developments are reviewed (Kuo et al., 2012). Reduction in
product compression requirements is obtained by a system
including a stripping column and a nitrogen rejection unit wherein
a significant portion of the feed to the nitrogen rejection unit is
provided at an increased pressure (Pahade and Maloney, 1991). An
improved integrated system of liquefied natural gas with nitrogen
rejection unit is introduced. In this configuration a cascade refrig-
eration cycle is employed for a nitrogen rejection unit and some
part of separated nitrogen as a refrigerant is employed for removing
nitrogen from natural gas stream (Ransbarger and Ortego, 2008).
According to (Anselmini and Perrotin, 1975) a nitrogen stream is
compressed to a pressure of about 1.52 MPa and then condensed by
a heat exchanger using vaporizing LNG. Since all the gaseous ni-
trogen is not precooled against the warming natural gas prior to
compression, the amount of energy required for the nitrogen
compressor is high. NGL system using an improved nitrogen
rejection unit can eliminate nitrogen from a relatively warm nat-
ural gas stream (Hahn et al., 2007).
 B. Ghorbani et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 34 (2016) 590e603 593

Table 1 conjunction with liquefied natural gas process. The proposed in-
Properties of Feed and product streams and cooling system of new integrated tegrated process uses two cascade refrigeration systems and the
process.
required refrigeration for NGL recovery, natural gas liquefaction
Stream N2 CH4 C2H6 C3H8 CHþ
4 CO2 and nitrogen rejection is provided by these cycles. Using the shared
Feed gas 0.0545 0.8251 0.0579 0.0365 0.0240 0.002 multi streams heat exchangers decreases the number of process
LNG 0.012 0.9822 0.0054 0.0004 0 0 components significantly. The process outputs is compared with
NGL 0 0 0.4641 0.3149 0.2086 0.0123 the similar cases reported in the literature. Also exergy analysis
Nitrogen 0.9966 0.0034 0 0 0 0
method is used to evaluate the process performance.
116 0.0616 0.9324 0.0051 0.0004 0 0.0005
200 0 0 0 1 0 0
300 0.2566 0.3341 0.2390 0.1703 0 0 2. Conceptual process design
Side1 0 0 0.6407 0.2429 0.0912 0.0253
Side2 0 0 0.6457 0.1811 0.0948 0.0784
Side3 0.0001 0.1441 0.4408 0.1729 0.0996 0.1425 Nitrogen is one of impurities in outlet natural gas from the
115 0.0081 0.3370 0.1181 0.1939 0.3370 0.0030 underground reservoirs. Nitrogen may or may not naturally exist
127 0.0175 0.9773 0.0048 0.0004 0 0 within the reservoirs due to the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) or
108 0.0581 0.8623 0.0533 0.0244 0 0.0019
enhanced gas recovery (EGR) processes. Natural gas is often asso-
131 0.0643 0.9355 0.0002 0 0 0
ciated with nitrogen and heavy components. High purity can be
easily accessible in the separation of nitrogen from natural gas.
Nitrogen concentration in market sales usually is in the range of 2%.
Integrated nitrogen rejection unit for producing of LNG is The most conventional nitrogen rejection methods are: refrigera-
considered using dedicated reinjection circuit (Chen et al., 2015a). tion, membrane, soluble and insoluble absorbents and adsorption.
In addition, integrated nitrogen rejection process for the produc- Although these processes in a wide range in terms of gas flow rate
tion of LNG is carried out using intermediate feed gas separator and concentration of nitrogen can be used, each of them as flow
(Chen et al., 2015b). Integrated nitrogen removal in production of rate and concentrations are used in a certain range and should be
LNG is also investigated using refrigerated heat pump (Ott et al., economically justified. Nitrogen separation unit design is highly
2015). A system is used for eliminating the nitrogen and gener- depends on the nitrogen concentrations in natural gas. If the con-
ating a high pressure methane from natural gas. A process pro- centration is less than 20%, one column process with a heat pump
ducing NGL in conjunction with nitrogen rejection unit from cycle can be used. The disadvantage of this process is that a heat
natural gas is introduced (Butts, 2011). The results show the pump compressor will be required. New design can use the benefit
required refrigeration can be decreased by NGL recovery and ni- of two columns with a separator. One of the reliable way of heating
trogen rejections processes. value fuels improvement is eliminating or reducing ineffective
The main aim of this study is optimization and design of an substances. Various process configurations for production of LNG
integrated nitrogen rejection unit and natural gas liquids in have been introduced (Vatani et al., 2013, 2014a; Moein et al., 2015).

Table 2
Properties of new integrated process stream.

Stream T ( C) P (kPa) Molar flow rate (kg mole/h) Stream T ( C) P (kPa) Molar flow rate (kg mole/h)

Feed gas 37 6309 14,000 200 35 1430 25,000

101 4 6309 14,000 201 1.63 500 25,000
102
17 6309 14,000 204 1.63 500 5633
103
41 6309 14,000 206 14.34 500 5633
104
41 6309 996.9 207
25.4 200 13,144.8
106
41 6309 5201 209
25.4 200 7470
108
77.1 2600 7802 212
42.3 100 3516
109
41 6309 299.1 214
30.3 100 3194
111
45.6 2550 697.8 216
31.4 100 3516
112
92 6309 5201 217 7.8 250 3516
113
103.4 2500 5201 219 15.8 500 13,144.8
114
62 6309 299.1 220 12 500 25,000
115
64.5 2500 299.1 221 63.05 1430 25,000
116
99.87 2500 12,390 300 38 3800 370e00
117
114.4 1379 12,390 302
17 3800 37,000
118
119 1379 12,390 304
28 3800 23,799.7
119
164.3 1358 10,297.8 308
134 200 13,200
120
164.3 1358 9680 310
60.5 200 37,000
122
120 1358 632.4 311
169 3800 23,799.7
125 1 1358 632.4 312
184 200 23,799.7
126
170 1358 9680 313
144 200 23,799.7
127
118 1400 13,133.8 314 105 2200 37,000
128
118 1400 13,133.8 315 38 2200 37,000
129
118 1400 1369 316 102.5 4900 37,000
130
118 1400 170.2 Side1 13.98 2500 2700
131 75 1400 170.2 Side2
6.34 2500 2700
134
132 1367 1199 Side3
36.9 2500 2700
135
118 1400 11,764.4 Side1R 35 2500 2700
136
108 1400 11,764.4 Side2R 0 2500 2700
138
126 2500 11,764.4 Side3R
20 2500 2700
139
165 2500 11,764.4 NGL 25.8 2500 1610
140
164 1 11,764.4 LNG
164 1000 11,764.4
141
164 1 0 Nitrogen 20 1358 632.4
594 B. Ghorbani et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 34 (2016) 590e603

Table 3
Expander and compressors performance of new integrated process.

Unit Pressure ratio Polytropic efficiency Outlet temperature (  C) Electrical power consumption (kW)

C1 2.5 76.39 7.86 2444.67

C2 2.5 76.46 15.84 9046.92
C3 2.86 76.78 63.05 21,084.4
C4 1.786 76.95
72.87 3004.65
C5 11 79.62 104.7 72,148.14
C6 1.73 76.78 81.57 18,655.65
Ex1 0.4121 73.45
77.07 1671.1

Table 4 products. The required refrigeration in NGL recovery units is sup-

Towers performance in new integrated process. plied by an external propane refrigeration cycle. Both processes
Column De-ethanizer column NRU column NGL and LNG are energy-intensive and have a similar nature.
Number of stages 30 15
Integration of these processes is a way to reduce the energy. In the
Feed stage 9/14/18 4 hybrid NGL/LNG processes a de-ethanizer tower with several side
Side stream stages Inlet 19/27/30 5 streams is used. Integrated design eliminates the need for the hot
Outlet 18/26/29 utility. De-ethanizer top outlet is used as a low temperature stream
Top pressure [kPa] 2500 1358
to supply the required refrigeration for precooling the inlet feed to
Bottom pressure [kPa] 2500 1400
Hold up [m3] 0.0001 0.00883 the process. For designing an integrated NGL-LNG-NRU process,
Column diameter [m] 1.5 1.5 integrated cascade refrigeration system should be designed. Fig. 1
Column height [m] 15 8 illustrates block flow diagram of the proposed process. In this
Internal type Sieve Sieve
process two refrigeration cycles are used for supplying the required
Try efficiency [%] 86.52 86.92
Tray/Packed Volume [m3] 0.8836 0.8836
refrigeration. Natural gas enters at about 37  C and 63 bar and mole

Table 5
Performance of heat exchangers in new integrated process.

Parameter Unit

HX1 HX2 HX3 HX4 HX5

Log mean temperature difference (LMTD) [ C] 8.257 17.16 11.88 6.342 10.95
Heat duty [kW] 34,410 35,720 19,998 139,494 36,787
Minimum temperature approach [ C] 2.37 5.345 1.714 1.031 2
Number of sides 5 5 5 11 6

Table 6 percent of nitrogen in the feed gas is 5.45. The propane refrigera-
Performance of air coolers in new integrated process. tion cycle provides the required precooling in both NGL recovery
Parameter Unit and LNG units. Also mixed refrigerant cycle provides the required
AC1 AC2 AC3
refrigeration for both natural gas liquefaction and nitrogen rejec-
tion unit. This process has three products: LNG (liquid phase)
Total fan power (kW) 678.5 35.71 71.43
at
164  C and 1 bar, NGL (liquid phase) 26  C and 25 bar and
Air mass flow (kg 9500 500 1000
s) nitrogen
164  C and 14 bar. Two distillation columns are used for
Air outlet temperature ( C) 35.13 90.5 56.3
Working fluid duty (kW)
113083.32
35309.44
35556.5 hydrocarbon recovery and nitrogen rejection units respectively.
More detail description about the process is given in the next
section.
In this process the feed gas temperature should be decreased
to
160  C. Cascade system, mixed cascade, pre-cooling with pro-
2.1. Integration based on C3-MR process
pane, mixed refrigerant liquefaction and single refrigerant cycle are
some of these methods. Also type of the refrigerant used in the
2.1.1. NGL recovery unit
process is classified into two categories: pure and mixed re-
Process flow diagram is depicted in Fig. 2. Composition of the
frigerants. Each of the methods has its own advantages and dis-
feed gas is shown in Table 1. Inlet feed stream at 37  C and 63 bar
advantages, but generally mixed refrigerant process has higher
enters the multi-stream heat exchangers HX1 and HX2 and is
thermal efficiency in the multi stream heat exchangers. Nonethe-
cooled to 4  C and
17  C respectively. Next outlet stream, 103, is
less mixed refrigerant systems have operational problems and need
cooled up to
41  C. A part of the required cooling is provided by a
more accurate design. As discussed above, if mixed refrigerant is
three stage propane refrigeration cycle. The outlet gas from the NGL
properly designed thermodynamic efficiency has a higher value
recovery unit, 116, follows into the HX-4 heat exchanger through
and less equipment will be required. But reliability and operations
passing V-5 expansion valve. Next stream 118 enters T-200 column
of the process is more sensitive against the pure refrigerant
for nitrogen rejection. In this column nitrogen is removed and its
systems.
content in natural gas is reduced to the standard value. Properties
Heavy components, Cþ 2 , can cause the operating problems at the
of new integrated process streams are also tabulated in Table 2.
downstream treatment processes. Therefore, separation of the
Cold stream103 enters into the separator D5 and vapor phase is
ethane plus components is necessity and can produce useful
separated into two parts. The first part, containing 40 percent of the
 B. Ghorbani et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 34 (2016) 590e603 595

Table 7
Required consumed power for nitrogen separation in the presented patent in the world.

Equipment Compressor power (kW) Pump power (kW)

Cryogenic Patent 4415345 (Swallow, 1983) 50,639.86 e

Cryogenic Patent 4411677 (Pervier et al., 1983b) 61,435.71 e

Table 8
Equipment power consumption and specific power.

Component name Power (kW)

Compressors and Expanders C1 2444.67

C2 9046.92
C3 21,084.4
C4 3004.65
C5 72,148.14
C6 18,655.65
Ex1 1671.1
Air coolers AC1 678.5
AC2 35.71
AC3 71.43
Mass flows (kg/h) Feed 305,226.73
LNG 191,448.76
NGL 96,082.33
Nitrogen 17,695.32
Power consumption for Cryogenic Patent 4415345 50,639.86
Specific power (kWh/kg LNG) 0.359

Table 9
Comparison between new integrated process and the other processes.

Refrigeration Number of Number of Number of heat Ethane Nitrogen Specific power Comparison
system compressors towers exchangers recovery rejection (%) (kW-h/kg-LNG)
(%)

New design C3-MR 5 2 5 92 78e91 0.359 *

Mehrpooya et al. (2014) design MFC 4 1 4 92 * 0.364 *
DMR 3 1 4 92 * 0.375 *
C3-MR 4 1 5 92 * 0.391 *
Vatani et al. (2013) DMR 3 1 4 93 * 0.42 ~0.37
APCI (Brostow and Roberts, 2012; Brostow and C3-MR e 1 e e * e e
Roberts, 2006)
ConocoPhillips design (Ransbarger, 2006) cascade 4 1 9 e * e e
ConocoPhillips design (Qualls et al., 2006) cascade 3 2 9 e * e e
Ortloff (Cuellar et al., 2002; Martinez et al., 2014; e 5 2 and 1 5 42e95 * 0.28e0.43, 0.5 ~0.35
Wilkinson et al., 2007)
Fluor Technologies alternatives (Mak and pure-MR e 2e3 3 25e85 * e e
Graham, 2012; Mak and Graham, 2006)

The asterisk sign shows that cycles can be developed by the nitrogen rejection unit.

output stream, is specified in Fig. 2 as stream 106. Stream 112 enters
into the HX4 multi-stream heat exchanger and is cooled to
92  C
and turns to liquid. Stream 106 passes through a valve and its
pressure and the temperature decreases to about 25 bar
and
103.4  C. Then it enters top section of the de-ethanizer
column.
Stream 107, which is 60 percent of the flow exhausted from D5
separator, enters an expander and then placed into the upper part
of the de-ethanizer column. After expanding its temperature rea-
ches to
77  C in the expander.
The liquefied product, 104, also is divided into two parts after
leaving separator D5. Almost 30% of the total outlet follows to
exchanger HX4 and is cooled to a
62  C and after passing through
an expansion valve enters the middle of the column T-100. The
remaining stream passes through an expansion valve and its tem-
perature reaches to
45.56  C next enters bottom of the column.
Required heating for the tower is supplied using three side streams;
side1, side2 and side3 at approximately
13.98  C,
6.35  C,
36.91  C respectively. These streams leaves the
column and enter the multi-stream heat exchangers. Side1 enters
the HX1 heat exchanger and exits at 35  C. Side1R is called as
backflow and is marked on the PFD. Side2 and side3 follows into the
HX2 and HX3 respectively and leave the heat exchangers at 0  C
and
20  C. The outlet streams from the heat exchanger return to
the column. de-ethanizer top gas follows to HX4 through V-5
expansion valve and its temperature reaches to
119  C. Next
stream 118 is ready to enter the nitrogen rejection unit.
2.1.2. Nitrogen rejection unit
Stream 127, which contains methane and nitrogen with a
standard amount of about 1.2% from bottom of the column T-200 as
the liquid product enters HX-4 heat exchanger. Stream 128 follows
to D6 flash drum and the gas product of this separator returns to
the HX-4 heat exchanger. T-200 to outlet is divided into the two
parts. The first part (90%), stream 132, enters HX5 multi-stream
heat exchanger and its temperature decreases to
132  C and
turns to liquid. The cooled liquid then passes through an expansion
valve and its pressure and the temperature reaches to about
13.67 bar and
136  C. Next it follows to the top of the nitrogen
removal column as washing liquid. Stream 130, containing 10% of
596 B. Ghorbani et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 34 (2016) 590e603

Table 10
Thermodynamic data for the proposed process material streams.

Stream Physical exergy rate Chemical exergy rate Total exergy rate Stream Physical exergy rate Chemical exergy rate Total exergy rate
(kW) (kW) (kW) (kW) (kW) (kW)

Feed gas 37,575 6,750,765 6,788,340 200 36,536 15,022,157 15,058,693

101 37,696 6,750,765 6,788,461 201 34,193 15,022,157 15,056,350
102 38,282 6,750,765 6,789,047 204 8255 3,385,079 3,393,334
103 39,753 6,750,765 6,790,518 206 6275 3,385,079 3,391,354
104 2057 1,951,900 1,953,957 207 18,490 7,898,517 7,917,007
106 14,974 1,919,650 1,934,624 209 11,765 4,488,906 4,500,671
108 19,936 2,879,475 2,899,411 212 5451 2,112,426 2,117,877
109 617 585,570 586,187 214 185 1,919,443 1,919,628
111 1262 1,366,330 1,367,592 216 228 2,112,426 2,112,654
112 18,944 1,919,650 1,938,594 217 2130 2,112,426 2,114,556
113 18,414 1,919,650 1,938,064 219 13,844 7,898,517 7,912,361
114 698 585,570 586,268 220 26,502 15,022,157 15,048,659
115 627 585,570 586,197 221 42,748 15,022,157 15,064,905
116 32,403 2,711,669 2,744,072 300 88,467 10,320,783 10,409,250
117 28,659 2,712,193 2,740,852 302 92,830 10,320,783 10,413,613
118 37,772 2,712,193 2,749,965 304 62,542 4,907,075 4,969,617
119 29,101 8188 37,289 307 102,978 4,907,075 5,010,053
120 27,354 7697 35,051 308 40,702 5,418,668 5,459,370
122 1386 491 1877 310 22,452 10,320,783 10,343,235
125 1107 491 1598 311 127,057 4,907,075 5,034,132
126 47,551 7696 55,247 312 122,405 4,907,075 5,029,480
127 51,607 3,009,414 3,061,021 313 54,868 4,907,075 4,961,943
128 49,301 3,009,414 3,058,715 314 82,311 10,320,783 10,403,094
129 3204 297,600 300,804 315 76,272 10,320,783 10,397,055
130 398 36,991 37,390 316 90,960 10,320,783 10,411,743
131 343 36,991 37,334 Side1 4889 1,601,590 1,606,479
134 5010 260,608 265,618 Side2 5108 1,526,905 1,532,013
135 46,084 2,713,456 2,759,540 Side3 6129 1,398,714 1,404,843
136 26,415 2,713,456 2,739,871 Side1R 4817 1,601,590 1,606,407
138 48,104 2,713,456 2,761,560 Side2R 5150 1,526,905 1,532,055
139 57,882 2,713,456 2,771,338 Side3R 5621 1,398,713 1,404,334
140 57,436 2,713,456 2,770,892 NGL 2244 1,278,782 1,281,026
Nitrogen 1102 491 1593 LNG 57,436 2,713,457 2,770,893

gas output from D6, is also enters HX4 and is cooled to
75  C. Next
stream 131 is sent to T-200 column. The required heating in the
NRU column is also supplied by this stream. The gas top outlet from
the T-200, 119, is divided into two parts. The first part (stream 120),
including 90%, enters the multi-stream heat exchanger HX5 and is
cooled to
170  C. The liquefied stream is then enters the top of the
column and is used as washing liquid. Stream 121, containing10
percent of the exited nitrogen gas stream from the top of the tower,
enters the exchangers HX5, HX4, HX3, HX2 and HX1 respectively
and is heated to 20  C in order to provide a part of the required
cooling of the process.
2.1.3. LNG production section
After removing the ethane plus hydrocarbons and nitrogen from
the gas stream, it is sent to the liquefaction section. Stream136 is
compressed to 25 bar and enters HX4 heat exchanger. The stream
first is cooled to
126  C by passing through a cold exchanger HX4
and it is then super cooled by HX5 super-cooling heat exchanger to

Table 11
Definitions for exergy efficiencies of the process components.

Components and exergy efficiency expression Component identifier Exergy efficiency (%) Component identifier Exergy efficiency (%)

Heat exchanger HX1 90.9 HX4 90.4

 Pn   Pm  
ðm_ DeÞ ðm_ DeÞ HX2 91.3 HX5 69.7
hex ¼ 1
Pn1 _
Pm1 _
HX3 92.1
ðmDhÞ ðmDhÞ
1 h 1 c
Compressor, pump and expander C1 74.9 C5 79.9
P P
_ i

ðm:eÞ _ o
ðm:eÞ C2 74.9 C6 78.7
hex ¼ W
C3 77.4 Ex1 66.2
C4 62.3
Expansion valve V1 12.3 V6 47.5
ZT 0 V2 35.4 V7 57.1
eDT
eDT T
T0
hex ¼ eoDp
eiDp eDT ¼ dh; ePH ¼ eDT þ eDp V3 83.2 V8 55.8
o T
i
T V4 15.4 V9 26.6
V5 20.4 V10 14.4
Air cooler AC1 72.7 AC3 97.3
P
_ o þeao
ðm:eÞ AC2 98.6
hex ¼ P ðm:eÞ
_ þW i

Column T100 50.1 T200 49.8

P P
_ i

ðm:eÞ _
hex ¼ P ðm:eÞ P Pðm:eÞo P
_
_
ðm:eÞ
i o þT 0 ð
_ o

ðm:sÞ _ iÞ
ðm:sÞ
Cycle/process hex 61.62
hex ¼ 1
Total
Total irreversibility in cycle
consumed power in cycle
 B. Ghorbani et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 34 (2016) 590e603 597

Fig. 4. Composite curve of the heat exchangers (f and e) and Overall composite curve
of the process (f).

separator and gas stream containing a high percentage of nitrogen

is removed from the top of the separator and it is consumed in the
Fig. 3. Composite curve of the heat exchangers (aec). unit.

2.1.4. Cooling system

pressure of 25 bar and temperature of
165  C and eventually to Pre-cooling and liquefaction systems are carried out using
become the final product after passing the valve V10 and reduce the propane and mixed refrigerant cycles in order to meet the cooling
pressure to atmospheric pressure, it is entered into the phase requirements. Pre-cooling cycle works in three levels of pressures
separator D7. The final product called LNG stream is exited from the that will be described in the next sections. Mole fraction of the
598 B. Ghorbani et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 34 (2016) 590e603
Fig. 5. Breakdown of component exergy losses.
Fig. 6. Breakdown of expansion valves exergy losses.
Fig. 7. Breakdown of heat exchangers exergy losses.
Fig. 8. Breakdown of compressors and expander exergy loss.
refrigerant is presented in Table 1.
2.1.4.1. Precooling cycle. The cycle and its components are shown in
Fig. 2 by brown lines. In the first phase pure propane is at 1430 kPa
and
35  C. Refrigerant stream firstly by passing through the valve
V1 is converted to two phase. Separated gas outlet, 202, directly
returns into the compression section. Liquid outlet stream, 203, is
divided into two parts. A part of it, containing 30percent of the total
exited liquid stream, enters HX1 exchanger and the rest of the
stream (stream 205) after passing through the valve V2 in 200 kPa
enters phase separator D2. Correspondingly, gas outlet,222, is
returned to compression section and liquid refrigerant outlet from
bottom of the separator is divided into two parts, 209 and 211.
Stream 209, containing 68 percent of the liquid outlet, is employed
to supply the required refrigeration in mid-level pre-cooling sec-
tion in HX2 heat exchanger. Mid-level refrigerant at
25.42  C
leaves the heat exchanger and returns to the cycle. The remained
liquid outlet from D2 after passing through expansion valve V3
enters D3. Stream 213 is directly returned to the HX3 and leaves
this heat exchanger at
17.93  C. Heated refrigerant, 216, and outlet
vapor from D3, 215, enters C1compressor and is pressurized to
250 kPa. Streams, 217, 210 and 222 are mixed and enter C2
compressor. The outlet stream from C2 at 500 kPa, is mixed with
streams 206 and 202 follows to the C3 for final compression by
pressure of 1430 kPa bar.
2.1.4.2. Mixed refrigerant cycle. The mixed refrigerant consists of:
methane, ethane, propane and n-butane. In this case, composition
of the components is shown in Table 1. Refrigerant at 38  C and
38 bar after leaving air-cooled AC3 enters the pre-cooling unit.
Refrigerant temperature in three stages in the pre-cooling heat
exchanger is decreased to 4  C,
17  C and
28  C. Stream 303 after
leaving HX3, enters D4 phase separator. The outlet liquid, 305, and
vapor 304 enter the HX4, and both are cooled to
129  C. Stream
306 is passed from an expansion valve and its pressure is reached to
200 kPa. Stream 307 enters the HX5 and is cooled to
169  C. This
stream is named 311 and finally after passing through V-5 expan-
sion valve returns to the HX5 heat exchanger. Stream 312 enters
HX5 exchanger at 300 kPa. Next, the refrigerant leaves HX5
at
143.7  C. This stream has also sufficient temperature to supply a
part of the required cooling in HX4. 313 and 308 are mixed to
supply the needed cooling in HX4. Outlet stream, 310, in three
stages along with intermediate cooling is compressed up to 2200
and 3800 kPa bar by the compressors C5, C6. There is an air-cooler
between each stage of the compressors. In the end the refrigerant
with the pressure of 38 bar and temperature of 81.58  C enters the
last stage of cooling. In this level its temperature decreases to 35  C
by AC3 air cooler. This cycle is shown in Fig. 2 by the blue lines.
3. Equipment performance of new integrated process
Thermodynamic conditions such as temperature, pressure and
molar flow rate of each stream and also consumed power in com-
pressors, air coolers, and heat transfer rate in heat exchangers are
determined after process simulation. On this basis, the processes
can be analyzed from multiple directions and necessary optimiza-
tions can be performed. Results of the process simulation such as
equipment performance and information related to the process
performance in energy consumption are presented in the
following. Table 3 presents performance of the compressors and
expanders of the integrated process. C5 compressor consumes the
highest power among the other devices. It is because of its high
pressure ratio and mass flow rate compared to the other
compressors.
Specifications of the de-ethanizer and NRU columns is pre-
sented in Table 4. In these columns condenser and reboiler are
removed using thermal integration. Side 1, side 2, and side 3 of de-
ethanizer column provides the required heat duty. These streams
after pre-heating in heat exchangers return to the column.
 B. Ghorbani et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 34 (2016) 590e603 599

Fig. 9. P-H and T-S diagrams of the C3MR configuration.

Specific power Total specific power

0.41 0.46
Specific power (kWh/kg LNG)

0.4 0.45

(kWh/kg produced liquids)

0.44

Total specific power

0.39
0.43
0.38
0.42
0.37
0.41
0.36
0.4
0.35
0.39
0.34 0.38

0.33 0.37
0.74 0.76 0.78 0.8 0.82 0.84 0.86 0.88 0.9 0.92
Methane content
Fig. 10. Variation of specific power and total specific power with respect to methane content of the feed.

Operating pressure of the de-ethanizer is about 2500 kPa. Stream
131 in T-200 has the task of warming in the bottom of the column.
Operating pressure of NRU column is about 1358e1400 kPa.
Table 5 shows the specifications of the heat exchangers in the
process. Decreasing the temperature difference between the cold
and hot composite curves in the heat exchangers decreases the
power consumption of the refrigeration system due to reduction in
exergy losses. Number of the heat exchangers sides increases by
eliminating the reboiler and condenser in the columns. So by
eliminating the reboiler and condenser, capital cost of the columns
decreases, and accordingly heat exchangers size and complexity
increases.
HX4 is the most expensive one because of its minimum tem-
perature approach and the number of side streams, whereas HX2
because of low number of streams and high minimum temperature
approach has the lowest price. The required fan power in the air
coolers is calculated by the procedure described in (Mehrpooya
et al., 2010). According to Table 6, AC1 with 678 kW and AC2 with
36 kW have the highest and lowest consumed power respectively.
Consumed power for separation of nitrogen with stream 118 as
input stream is presented in Table 7. These results are obtained
using different patents based on stream 118 as input feed stream
(Anselmini and Perrotin, 1975; Pervier et al., 1983a).
Table 8 presents amount of consumed power of compressors
600 B. Ghorbani et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 34 (2016) 590e603

92.5 35.2
Ethane recovery

92 35

Ethane recovery (%)

91.5 34.8

Specific power (%)

91 34.6

90.5 34.4

90 34.2

89.5 34

89 33.8
-94 -84 -74 -64 -54
Temperature(°C)
Fig. 11. Effect of recycle temperature at constant flow rate (30% of gas outlet from D5).

Ethane recovery Specific power

94 38

Specific power(kW-h/kg-LNG)*100
37.5
93
Ethane recovery (%)

37
92
36.5

91 36

35.5
90
35
89
34.5

88 34
0.25 0.35 0.45 0.55 0.65 0.75
Recycle ratio
Fig. 12. Effect of recycle ratio on the gas outlet from D5 at constant temperature (
92  C).

and the way of calculation of consumed power in the new inte-
grated process.
Table 9 compares new integrated process with the other similar
cases. In this process the amount of consumed power is reduced
from 0.364 to 0.359 kWh in terms of one kilogram LNG.
4. Exergy analysis
Exergy is the maximum achievable useful work in a process that
brings the system into the reference state. By exergy analysis
method, second law efficiency and amount of lost work can be
calculated for a system. Exergy can be used for design and perfor-
mance evaluation of the chemical processes. (Sheikhi et al., 2014,
2015; Vatani et al., 2014b). Tables 10 and 11 presents the results
of exergy calculation for all streams in the process.
Table 11 shows that the exergetic efficiency of expansion valves
is lower in comparison with the other components. H-3 with effi-
ciency of 92.1% has the highest exergetic efficiency among the heat
exchangers, while H-5 with exergetic efficiency of 69.7% has the
lowest exegetic efficiency among heat exchangers. In addition, H-4
with 11,791.28 kW and H-1 with 1372,54 kW have the highest and
lowest amount of exergy destruction respectively. C5 with exer-
getic efficiency of 79.9% and C4 with exergetic efficiency of 62.3%
have the highest and lowest exergetic efficiency among the com-
pressors. So C5 with 15,022 kW has the highest exergy destruction
and C1 with 663 kW has the lowest exergy destruction among the
heat exchangers. V3 with exergetic efficiency of 83.2% and V1 with
exergetic efficiency of 12.2% have the highest and lowest exergetic
efficiency among the expansion valves, respectively. So V5 with
3744 kW has the highest exergy destruction and V7 with 71.72 kW
has the lowest exergy destruction among the expansion valves. AC2
with exergetic efficiency of 98.6% and AC1 with exergetic efficiency
of 72.7% have the highest and lowest exergetic efficiency among the
air coolers. So AC1 with 44,923 kW has the highest exergy
destruction and AC3 with 2353 kW has the lowest exergy
destruction among the air coolers.
 B. Ghorbani et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 34 (2016) 590e603 601

Nitrogen rejection Specific power

84 83% 38

Specific power(kW-h/kg-LNG)*100
82 80.9%
36.7% 37

Nitrogen rejection (%)

80 78.94%
36
78 36.1%35.9%

76 34.8% 35

74 74.83%
33.6% 34
72 33%
33
70 70.3%
68%
68 32
0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35
Recycle ratio
Fig. 13. Effect of recycle ratio on the gas outlet from D6 at constant temperature (
118  C).

Nitrogen rejection Specific power

84 36.2

Specific power (kW-h/kg-LNG)*100

83.5
36.15
83
Nitrogen rejection (%)

82.5 36.1
82
36.05
81.5
81 36
80.5
35.95
80
79.5 35.9
79
35.85
78.5
78 35.8
1355 1363 1371 1379 1387 1395 1403
operating pressure of NRU (kPa)
Fig. 14. Impact of operating pressure variations in the bottom of tower in terms of nitrogen rejection percent and Specific power percent.

5. Results and discussion
Overall composite curves of the process and composite curves of
the heat exchangers are shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 respectively.
Shape of the composite curves shows the quality of thermal design
in the process. Bases on Fig. 4 it can be concluded that the process
thermal design has been arranged optimally.
The exergetic efficiency and destruction are calculated for all the
equipment as well. These two values are appropriate criteria for
assessing the performance of the components. It can be seen that
the major part of the exergy losses happens in the air coolers by
analyzing results and comparing exergy losses for the different
equipment. The pie chart, presented in Fig. 5, illustrates that after
the air coolers, which are responsible for 37% of the total exergy
losses, there are heat exchangers causing 22% of the total exergy
losses. Next, the compressors and expanders, valves, and the
columns have noticeable exergy losses shares, i.e. 21%, 10.8% and
7.8% respectively.
Fig. 6 demonstrates the contribution of each expansion valve in
the total exergy losses. The pie chart shows that the most exergy
loss occurs in the valve 1 which is responsible for 25% of the total
exergy losses.
Fig. 7 demonstrates the contribution of each heat exchanger in
the total exergy losses. The pie chart shows that the most exergy
loss occurs in the heat exchangers HX4 and HX5 which are
responsible for more than 39% of the total exergy loss among the
heat exchangers.
Fig. 8 illustrates the contribution of the expander and com-
pressors in the total exergy loss. The pie chart shows that the most
exergy loss occurs in the expander which is responsible for more
than 52% of the total exergy loss among expander and compressors.
Compressor 6 is also responsible for 16% of the total exergy losses.
602 B. Ghorbani et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 34 (2016) 590e603

Specific power Total specific power

48%
36.30 48

Specific power (kW-h/kg-LNG)*100

46.5% 47

(kWh/kg produced liquids)*100

46%
36.10 45.1% 46
44.2% 45

Total specific power

36%
35.90 43.5% 44
35.8%
43
35.70 35.7%
42
40.5% 35.59%
41
35.50 40% 35.5%
39% 40
35.4%
35.30 35.22% 39
38
35.25%
35.19%
35.10 37
0.03 0.05 0.07 0.09 0.11 0.13 0.15
Nitrogen content
Fig. 15. Variation of specific power and Total specific power with respect to nitrogen content of the feed.

T-S and P-h plots for the cycle are drawn and presented in Fig. 9.
In these plots variation of entropy and enthalpy of mixed refrig-
erant with respect to pressure and temperature are depicted. De-
viation from ideal state has direct relationship with irreversibility
of the process. All of the actual refrigeration cycles have irrevers-
ibility. There are some reasons lead to generating irreversibility as
follows: fraction, heat transfer between two specific temperature in
evaporator, compressor and condenser, pressure drop in expansion
valve.
Fig. 10 shows variation of methane in the input feed stream with
respect to total specific power and specific power. It is expected that
by increasing in amount of input stream the amount of specific
power increases and the amount of total specific power decreases.
The amount of specific power for NGL production is investigated by
Mehrpooya and Ansarinasab (2015) The results of the simulation
can validate this issue.
Fig. 11 shows variation of stream 112 which supplies needed
cooling in the top of the de-ethanizer tower with respect to specific
power and ethane recovery. It is expected that by reducing the
temperature of stream 112 the amount of ethane recovery and
specific power increase.
Fig. 12 shows variation of flow rate in stream 112 which supplies
needed cooling in the top of the de-ethanizer tower with respect to
specific power and ethane recovery. This issue leads to surging in
ethane recovery. In addition by surging in compressors consumed
power for cooling by refrigeration cycle, the amount of specific
power increases.
Fig. 13 shows variation of flow rate stream 131 which supplies
needed heating in the bottom of the de-ethanizer tower with
respect to specific power and nitrogen rejection. The more heating
energy in the bottom of tower is generated by surging in flow rate
of stream 131. On the other hand the flow rate of stream 118 which
supplies the needed cooling in the top of the tower is reduced in
addition by surging in compressors consumed power for cooling by
refrigeration cycle, the amount of specific power increases.
Fig. 14 shows impact of operation pressure of NRU tower with
respect to specific power and nitrogen rejection. The more closer
the pressure of up and down of de-nitogenizer tower, the more
separation of nitrogen in stream 127. On the other hand, the flow
rate of LNG is reduced and specific power is increased by separation
of nitrogen.
Fig. 15 shows variation of nitrogen content in the input feed
stream with respect to total specific power and specific power. It is
expected that by increasing in amount of input feed the values of
specific power and total specific power increase too. This issue can
be related to reduction in volume of LNG production and surging in
consumed power of refrigeration cycles in order to separate ni-
trogen from natural gas.
6. Conclusion
An integrated structure of recycling natural gas liquids, natural
gas liquefaction, and nitrogen rejection with ethane recovery of 90%
and nitrogen removal between 78% and 91% is proposed. Simulta-
neous design and process integration leads to removing of reboilers
and condensers in de-ethanizer and nitrogen removal in this
configuration. The amount of specific power consumption is
decreased to 0.359 kW per one kilogram of LNG (about 2%
compared to the best existing integrated system). The integrated
process has reasonable overall efficiency which equals to 61.62%.
The most exergy destruction amount in the process is imposed to
the system by the air coolers equaling to 37.84%. The amount of
exergy destruction must be reduced in the some equipment like air
coolers, compressors and expanders as far as possible. Sensitivity
analysis shows that the integrated system has the maximum
overall efficiency for removing nitrogen from natural gas at a
concentration of 8% nitrogen. The operating pressure of the nitro-
gen removal column has the greatest influence on removing ni-
trogen from natural gas than the other parameters.
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