(8g) Effects of the Mixed Refrigerant Composition on the Peformance of the Rankine Cycle Driven By LNG Cold Energy

Teaching Interests: Process Simulation

The power generation system empowered by the LNG cold energy, which evolves in a large amount during the vaporization process of the liquefied natural gas, was designed in favor of the Rankine cycle with a mixed refrigerant as the working fluid. In this study it is intended to identify the limits of the working fluid composition in respect of equipment safety in the Rankine cycle-type power generation system driven by the cold energy. The thermodynamic properties of the working fluid, which is a hydrocarbon mixture, were calculated with the Peng-Robinson equation. In the steady state simulation of the power generation system by using the commercial simulator Aspen HYSYS, the feed conditions of LNG from Test Bed Train No.1 along with some necessary assumptions were incorporated. The results indicated that deterioration of the mechanical performance of the equipment as well as its safety would be brought about if contents of C₂H₆ and C₃H₈ in the mixture become, respectively, too high or too low.