Study on a novel liquefaction-distillation process for coalbed methane recovery using thermoacoustic cryocoolers

Xuebo Dong, Daming Sun, Keyi Shen, Hongyuan Yu and Qie Shen

Energy, 2025, vol. 325, issue C

Abstract: The utilization of coalbed methane (CBM) is significant for coal mine safety, greenhouse effect reduction, and clean energy supplement. A novel CBM liquefaction-distillation process for LNG production using a four-stage thermoacoustically-driven pulse tube cryocooler (TDPTC) is proposed and studied numerically. The optimizations are conducted using genetic algorithm under varying TDPTC arrangements and feed CBM conditions, with specific power consumption (SPC) as the objective function. The effects of position of stream heating reboiler (PSR) on process performance are analyzed. Sensitivity analysis is performed to explore the impacts of design parameters on process performance. It is found that SPC is significantly reduced by choosing an appropriate PSR and TDPTC arrangement. To ensure optimal process performance, pipework and control valves should be arranged in system to adjust to the best PSR and TDPTC arrangements corresponding to feed CBM conditions. Moreover, SPC decreases with rising methane content and pressure of feed CBM. Besides, compressor discharge pressure has the greatest impact on SPC, exhibiting an average variation rate of 0.159 kW h/(Nm3∙MPa). The highest exergy destruction occurs in either two-stage compressor with water coolers or J-T valve. With TDPTC's advantages of being heat-driven, highly reliable, compact, and eco-friendly, the proposed process holds great promise for small-scale and scattered CBM reserves.

Keywords: Coalbed methane; Liquefaction; Distillation; Thermoacoustic cryocooler; LNG (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:325:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225017827

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.136140

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