This project derives from the outcomes of previous ARC Linkage projects between Chevron and Profs May and Johns. Models developed and data produced5 in these two Linkage projects will be tested in purpose-built bench-scale operations of key LNG facilities (scrub column and main cryogenic heat exchanger). Bench-scale scrub columns, with both trays and packed internals, will be designed by the team. The PhD student will develop new models to accurately describe the observed mass transfer rates in the bench-scale scrub columns as a function of the fluid properties and flow regimes. A bench-scale cryogenic heat exchanger analogous to the spiral wound system will also be constructed. Optical-fibre distributed sensors will enable measurement of temperature, solids deposition, and heat-transfer as a function of position along the tubing in which the gas is liquefied. The experimental results will be used to test and validate a world-first dynamic model coupling multiphase thermo- and hydrodynamics to predict the risk and locations of solids formation within the cryogenic heat exchanger.
PVT Measurements & Modelling for LNG
