Share

IIR document

Past versus state of the art – overcoming limitations of low fin tubes using high efficiency process boiling technology in mixed refrigerant pre-cooling trains.

Number: 84

Author(s) : RAMBURE N., RONGIER C., BUFFET A., SAAD L. R., GOURIOU J., DUARTE N., LANG T., HAJAL J. el

Summary

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) production continues to expand worldwide, with a global liquefaction capacity approaching 495 million tons per year in 2024. As LNG grows in strategic importance for the global energy transition, the industry faces increasing pressure to improve thermodynamic
efficiency, reduce costs, and minimize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Within this context, the C3/MRTM (Propane Pre-Cooling Mixed Refrigerant) liquefaction process, the most widely deployed LNG process globally, plays a critical role.
Traditional pre-cooling heat exchangers rely predominantly on Low-Fin tubes, a technology widely adopted over several decades. While robust and reliable, Low-Fin tubes impose important constraints on heat exchanger dimensions, propane inventory, installation complexity, and achievable temperature approaches. These limitations ultimately affect both CAPEX and OPEX, as well as the carbon footprint of LNG plants.
Recent advances in heat transfer research have enabled the development of dual enhanced nucleate boiling tube, known commercially as GEWA-PB. These tubes are jointly engineered by Technip Energies1 and Wieland Thermal Solutions2. With over 20 years of successful track record in LNG plants with more than 185 Mtpa of installed capacity. This technology is now considered the benchmark for high-efficiency boiling surfaces in LNG propane trains.
This article compares conventional Low-Fin tubes with GEWA-PB enhanced boiling technology, presents a case study of their implementation in a new 2x5 Mtpa LNG plant in the Middle East, and evaluates economic and environmental impacts. The objective is to demonstrate how enhanced boiling technology enables more compact, energy-efficient, and sustainable LNG facilities.

Available documents

Format PDF

Pages: 13 p.

Available

Free

Download

PDF of the presentation slides

Pages: 5 p.

Available

Free

Download

Details

  • Original title: Past versus state of the art – overcoming limitations of low fin tubes using high efficiency process boiling technology in mixed refrigerant pre-cooling trains.
  • Record ID : 30034697
  • Languages: English
  • Subject: Technology
  • Source: 21st International Conference & Exhibition on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG2026)
  • Publication date: 2026/02/05

Links


See other articles from the proceedings (48)
See the conference proceedings

Indexing