Liquefaction efficiency study of heterogeneous condensation of methane-ethane binary gas mixtures with different component contents

Natural gas is a mixture of hydrocarbons. During the liquefaction of natural gas, the mixed gas undergoes heterogeneous condensation on the surface of the heat exchanger. Currently, the heterogeneous condensation mechanism of mixed gases is not fully understood, and the influence of component conten...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Energy (Oxford) 2024-10, Vol.306, p.132564, Article 132564
Hauptverfasser: Du, Yifan, Liu, Le, Han, Hui, Liu, Liang, Cui, Jiachen, Li, Yuxing, Zhu, Jianlu, Liu, Miaoer
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:Volltext
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Natural gas is a mixture of hydrocarbons. During the liquefaction of natural gas, the mixed gas undergoes heterogeneous condensation on the surface of the heat exchanger. Currently, the heterogeneous condensation mechanism of mixed gases is not fully understood, and the influence of component content on the liquefaction efficiency is not clear. Therefore, the molecular dynamics simulation was employed to investigate the heterogeneous condensation process of methane-ethane binary mixed gas on a solid surface. The characteristics of condensation nucleation cluster growth was explored and the variations in temperature, density, heat flux, and liquefaction rate were analyzed. The impact of ethane on methane condensation was also discussed. The results indicate that increasing wettability enhances surface nucleation quantity and shortens nucleation time, resulting in a 3.6- times increase in heat flux. The addition of ethane gas in the system promotes condensation nucleation, which increases the liquefaction rate by 60 % when x = 20 % compared to the pure methane system. However, for methane gas, ethane only benefits the liquefaction of methane molecules in the initial nucleation stage. As the mixture in the system enters the cluster growth stage, component migration in the mixed gas leads to a lower liquefaction rate compared to pure methane gas. •Molecular dynamics simulation reveals methane-ethane condensation mechanisms.•Increasing surface wettability enhances nucleation and boosts heat flux by 3.6 times.•Ethane content of 20 % raises nucleation rate by 29.3 % compared to pure methane.•Ethane aids nucleation but lowers methane liquefaction rate during growth phase.
ISSN:0360-5442
DOI:10.1016/j.energy.2024.132564