INTEGRALLY-GEARED COMPRESSORS FOR PRECOOLING IN LNG APPLICATIONS
First Claim
1. A natural gas liquefaction system comprising:
- at least a pre-cooling loop, through which a first refrigerant is adapted to circulate, the pre-cooling loop comprising;
at least one compressor for pressurizing the first refrigerant;
at least one prime mover for driving said compressor;
at least one condenser for removing heat from the first refrigerant;
at least a first expansion element for expanding the first refrigerant;
at least a first heat exchanger for transferring heat from natural gas to the first refrigerant;
and at least a cooling loop, downstream of said pre-cooling loop, where through a second refrigerant circulates, the natural gas being adapted to be sequentially cooled in the pre-cooling loop and in the cooling loop;
wherein said compressor is an integrally-geared turbo-compressor comprising a plurality of compressor stages each one being provided with independent set of movable inlet guide vanes for autonomously regulating flows entering in the compressor stages.
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Abstract
A natural gas liquefaction system is disclosed, which comprises at least a pre-cooling loop, through which a first refrigerant is adapted to circulate. The pre-cooling loop comprises at least one compressor for pressurizing the first refrigerant; at least one prime mover for driving the compressor; at least one condenser for removing heat from the first refrigerant; at least a first expansion element for expanding the first refrigerant; at least a first heat exchanger for transferring heat from natural gas to the first refrigerant. The system further comprises at least a cooling loop, downstream of the pre-cooling loop, where through a second refrigerant circulates. The natural gas is adapted to be sequentially cooled in the pre-cooling loop and in the cooling loop. The compressor of the pre-cooling loop is an integrally-geared turbo-compressor comprising a plurality of compressor stages.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A natural gas liquefaction system comprising:
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at least a pre-cooling loop, through which a first refrigerant is adapted to circulate, the pre-cooling loop comprising; at least one compressor for pressurizing the first refrigerant; at least one prime mover for driving said compressor; at least one condenser for removing heat from the first refrigerant; at least a first expansion element for expanding the first refrigerant; at least a first heat exchanger for transferring heat from natural gas to the first refrigerant; and at least a cooling loop, downstream of said pre-cooling loop, where through a second refrigerant circulates, the natural gas being adapted to be sequentially cooled in the pre-cooling loop and in the cooling loop; wherein said compressor is an integrally-geared turbo-compressor comprising a plurality of compressor stages each one being provided with independent set of movable inlet guide vanes for autonomously regulating flows entering in the compressor stages. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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11. (canceled)
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18. A method of liquefying natural gas, comprising:
providing a pre-cooling loop comprising;
an integrally-geared turbo-compressor having a plurality of compressor stages each one being provided with movable inlet guide vanes, at least one condenser, at least one expansion element, and at least one heat exchanger;driving said integrally-geared turbo-compressor with a prime mover; circulating a first refrigerant through the integrally-geared turbo-compressor; condensing the first refrigerant delivered by the integrally-geared turbo-compressor in the condenser; dividing the first refrigerant in a plurality of partial flows; expanding the condensed first refrigerant in the expansion element; circulating the expanded refrigerant through the heat exchanger to remove heat from the natural gas, to pre-cool the natural gas; controlling independently movable inlet guide vanes to regulate the partial flows at the suction side of the compressor stages; providing at least one cooling loop; circulating a second refrigerant in said at least one cooling loop; remove heat from the pre-cooled natural gas by heat exchange against the second refrigerant. - View Dependent Claims (19, 21, 22)
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20. (canceled)
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23. (canceled)
Specification