Today, LNG technologies are based on pure and mixed refrigerants cycles on the pre-cooling system, but the advantages and disadvantages of considering a mixed refrigerant or pure refrigerant cycle in the pre-cooling stage is not well understood. In this work an analysis of the compressors and the refrigerants in the pre-cooling system is carried out. The most relevant aspect of the evaluation is to establish some thermodynamical criteria for the selecting of the suitable refrigerant for the pre-cooling stage. For final decision-making process of the selection of the pre-cooling stage, a proper model is required which should take into account all aspects that could affect the capital and operation costs. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.