The liquefaction of natural gas in a mixed refrigerant system demands a high use of energy, typically accounting for 30 percent of the total energy used to process natural gas. Mohd Shariq Khan, a student at Yeungnam University in Gyeongsan, South Korea, has optimized the single mixed refrigerant (SMR) natural gas liquefaction process, achieving an energy savings of 10 percent.
Khan used Honeywell UniSim Design software to optimize the process, and has won Honeywell’s annual Asia-Pacific student competition. Khan presented his winning design last week at the 2013 Honeywell Users Group (HUG) Asia-Pacific Symposium in Perth, Australia.
“For operators in the process manufacturing industry, small improvements in energy efficiency can lead to significant cost savings,” said Tony Cosgrove, vice president of sales, Honeywell Process Solutions. “Mohd’s project demonstrates the value of process optimization for industrial manufacturers and the importance of fresh thinking and innovation to solve business challenges. We’re pleased to recognize his outstanding work as part of this year’s annual APAC HUG conference.”
The most important factors affecting the SMR process’s performance are the refrigerant’s composition and flow rate, the suction and evaporation pressures, and the extent of refrigerant vaporization, according to a paper written for the Asia-Pacific Journal of Chemical Engineering. Adjusting one variable affects the other because of their highly nonlinear interactions, making the plant simulator instrumental in the optimization process.
Khan and his university lecturer Professor Moonyong Lee presented the project at this year’s APAC HUG. “This competition gives chemical manufacturing students the opportunity to apply the knowledge they have gained through their studies to solve real-world, critical business challenges in industrial manufacturing,” Lee said. “Combined with the opportunity to present the winning project to industry leaders across the region, it demonstrates the commitment of organizations like Honeywell to developing the next generation of process engineers.”
This year, a record 103 universities were eligible to enter on behalf of students. In addition to the Asia-Pacific, Honeywell also holds annual student competitions as part of the HUG conferences in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and the Americas regions.
