Investigation on thermal-hydraulic performance of supercritical liquefied natural gas in the printed circuit heat exchanger

Abstract

The natural gas liquefaction industry plays a vital role in today's world economy and energy sector. This process converts natural gas into liquefied natural gas (LNG), significantly reducing its volume and making storage and transportation more economical and efficient. Supercritical liquefied natural gas (SLNG) technology and printed circuit board heat exchangers (PCHE) play a key role in modern industrial applications, especially in the energy and high-tech sectors. The importance of these technologies is not only reflected in their contribution to improved efficiency and performance, but also in their positive impact on environmental protection and sustainable development.

In this paper, a 3D model of a Z-channel and a through-channel LNG liquefier is developed to explore the variation of experimental conditions by varying the inlet temperature and mass flow rate of SLNG in order to further investigate the heat transfer efficiency and thermo-hydraulic performance of PCHE.