Process innovation
Our patented Mixed Fluid Cascade (MFC
®) process, jointly developed with Statoil for base load LNG plants, is designed for highest efficiency and reliability in any environment and climate.
The MFC
® process features three independent refrigeration cycles. The intermediate liquefaction cycle and the coldest (sub-cooling) cycle always use mixed refrigerants, while the warmest (pre-cooling) cycle can vary its refrigerant depending on the ambient temperature. MFC
® stands for propane pre-cooling, with load balancing between the three refrigeration cycles so the shaft power of all three compressor trains is identical. This unique configuration enables the largest LNG capacities with a given set of main compressor drives.
In a moderate or cold climate, propane pre-cooling and perfect load balancing across the three refrigeration cycles is no longer feasible. Under these circumstances, the 'arctic' version of our MFC
® process – as implemented in Hammerfest, Norway – with three mixed refrigerant cycles is the preferred solution.