LIQUEFACTION PROCESS AND APPARATUS

摘要

Apparatus for liquefying natural gas, comprising a series of heat exchangers for cooling the natural gas in countercurrent heat exchange relationship with a refrigerant, compression means for compressing the refrigerant, expansion means for isentropically expanding at least two separate streams of the compressed refrigerant, said expanded streams of refrigerant communicating with a cool end of a respective one of the heat exchangers, and a precooling refrigeration system for precooling the natural gas to a temperature below 0 DEG C before it is fed to the series of heat exchangers, and for precooling the compressed refrigerant discharged from a warm end of the series of heat exchangers to a temperature below 0 DEG C before it is fed back into the series of heat exchanges or to the expansion means.