Oelfke R.H., Denton R.D., Miller M.R. LNG liquefaction process selection: alternative refrigerants to reduce footprint and cost

ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company. — 13 p.This paper describes recent work at ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company to identify novel refrigerants and processes for production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in large-scale floating and onshore LNG facilities. The goal of the research was to reduce the footprint and cost of baseload LNG plants through the use of non-flammable or reduced flammability refrigerants.
Process results are presented and discussed for two novel liquefaction cycles: a mixed refrigerant process and a cascade process. The performance aspects of each process are discussed, and tradeoffs in process complexity and equipment flexibility are considered.