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Laboratory-scale liquefiers for natural gas: A design and assessment study |
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| Authors: | Nils von Preetzmann Philipp Eckmann Adriaan M H van der Veen Jianrong Li Markus Richter |
| Affiliation: | 1. Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Thermodynamics, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany;2. Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Thermodynamics, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Applied Thermodynamics, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany Contribution: Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Supervision, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing;3. VSL – Dutch Metrology Institute, Delft, The Netherlands;4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Applied Thermodynamics, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany |
| Abstract: | Exact knowledge of natural gas composition is essential in custody transfer to determine the energy content of the delivery. However, for liquefied natural gas (LNG), a reliable composition determination is difficult. Here, we describe the design of a laboratory-scale reference liquefier that enables the validation and calibration of optical spectroscopy sensors by providing them with a sample of metrologically traceable composition. Hence, it is crucial to avoid fractionation of the sample during liquefaction. This is realized by supercritical liquefaction of a reference gas mixture in conjunction with a special vapor–liquid-equilibrium (VLE) cell. As this is a demanding high-pressure application, low-pressure condensation as liquefaction method was also assessed. Through experimental investigations and VLE calculations, preservation of the composition of the produced liquid sample during condensation was studied. We conclude that under optimized conditions, validation, and calibration measurements of optical sensors can be performed on condensed liquids, which, however, needs further confirmation. |
| Keywords: | composition analysis liquefaction liquefied natural gas optical spectroscopy vapor–liquid-equilibrium |
