neqsim-lng-liquefaction

LNG liquefaction with NeqSim

When to use this

Any task that turns a treated gas stream into LNG and needs a defensible power, specific energy, train count, storage volume or carbon intensity. Pair with neqsim-process-modeling for the upstream treatment train and neqsim-equipment-cost-estimation for the cost side.

The one thing that will bite you

A shipped mixed-refrigerant inventory is not a design. Liquefaction specific energy is a strong function of refrigerant composition and circulation ratio — those are the cycle design. A builder with a fixed default inventory will return whatever that inventory gives, which can be two to three times outside the published band for the cycle, with no warning.

Therefore: calibrating the refrigerant and passing the specific-energy benchmark is a mandatory gate, not a refinement. Never scale an uncalibrated train to plant size.

Reference bands (specific energy on the feed-to-LNG basis):

Cycle	kWh/kg LNG	Notes
Single mixed refrigerant (SMR)	0.19 – 0.43	Typical reference ~0.26
Dual mixed refrigerant (DMR)	0.25 – 0.35
Propane-precooled MR (C3MR)	0.27 – 0.35	Baseload workhorse
Cascade	0.30 – 0.38
Nitrogen expander	0.45 – 0.70	Small scale / FLNG, simplicity over efficiency

Source: Pereira et al., Energy Conversion and Management 272 (2022) 116364, and the open liquefaction literature. Always cite the band you validate against.

Core API

LNGProcessBuilder builder = new LNGProcessBuilder("SMR train");
builder.setFeedStream(treatedGas);
builder.setLngTemperature(-160.0);      // degC
builder.setLngPressure(1.08);           // bara

// Refrigerant is configurable — set it, do not accept the default
builder.setRefrigerantComposition(
    new String[] {"nitrogen", "methane", "ethane", "propane", "i-butane"},
    new double[] {0.08, 0.34, 0.34, 0.12, 0.12});
builder.setRefrigerantCirculationRatio(2.5);   // kmol refrigerant per kmol feed
builder.setRefrigerantSuctionPressure(4.0);    // bara
builder.setRefrigerantDischargePressure(45.0); // bara
builder.setRefrigerantCoolingTemperature(30.0);// degC after the aftercooler

ProcessSystem train = builder.buildSMR();
train.run();