Thermodynamic and exergetic evaluation of CO2 liquefaction for ship transport

Abstract

CO2 liquefaction is significant to ensure CO2 transport safety and improve efficiency. Aiming at the temperature and pressure required for ship transport, this paper examines four liquefaction schemes including the compression refrigeration system, the Linde Hampson system, the precooled Linde Hampson system and the Claude system. The thermodynamic and exergetic ananlysis models are established primarily and total power consumption, liquefaction efficiency as well as exergy efficiency of the four systems are calculated and compared. The precooled Linde Hampson system shows the best performance with the three indicators of 391.74 kJ/kg, 97.97 % and 55.86 %, respectively. Additionally, exergy destruction among the system components are analyzed for Linde Hampson system and precooled Linde Hampson system. The maximum exergy destruction stem is from compressors. Another thing to note is that the proportion of the total exergy destruction with Joule-Thomson (J-T) valves are 19.38 % and 2.63 %, respectively. Furthermore, the replacement of the J-T valve by a liquid expander allowed for 9.35 % and 0.94 % electric power saving for the two systems, respectively. The pressure drop before and after the J-T valve directly determines the effect of this change. The research results could provide some vital reference for choosing proper CO2 liquefaction methods and reducing energy consumption during the process.