Gasconsult develops cheaper LNG liquefaction technology
Gasconsult has developed a variant on ZR-LNG liquefaction technology. The company filed a patent application for the scheme, named Integrated CO2 Removal (ICR), that removes the need for a carbon elimination unit in the feed gas pre-treatment train. Bill Howe, Gasconsult CEO, said the scheme would help substantially reduce plant capital and operating costs.
Gasconsult Ltd has announced that it has filed a patent application for a variant of its proprietary ZR-LNG liquefaction technology, which eliminates the need for a CO 2 removal unit as part of the feed gas pre-treatment train.

LNG liquefaction schemes typically incorporate an upstream amine scrubbing system to remove CO 2 to below 50 mol. ppm and prevent it solidifying in the main cryogenic heat exchanger. The size, weight and cost of the amine unit are all significant in the context of the overall liquefaction plant.

The feasibility of Gasconsult’s new scheme, named ICR (Integrated CO2 Removal) arises from the ZR-LNG process configuration and the particular temperature and CO2 concentration profiles within the cryogenic exchanger. This facilitates a simple CO2 removal step within the basic ZR-LNG configuration, eliminating the need for an amine unit.

The process is applicable to feed gases containing at least up to 5% CO2. The technology can also be combined with a bulk CO2 pre-removal process to accommodate higher CO2 feeds.

Bill Howe, CEO of Gasconsult, said: "In the current energy price environment the LNG industry needs lower cost solutions. The basic ZR-LNG scheme is low cost and low power demand and our new variants, IPL (Integrated Pressure Liquefaction), IHR (Integrated Heavies Removal) and now ICR all contribute to substantially reducing plant capital and operating costs, both onshore and for [floating LNG] FLNG".