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LNG Vaporizers
LNG Vaporizers
An Open Rack Vaporizer (ORV) is a heat exchanger that uses seawater as the source of heat.The preferred seawater temperature for ORV operation is above 5C. ORV units are generally constructed of aluminum alloy for mechanical strength suitable to operate at the cryogenic temperature. The material has high thermal conductivity which is effective for heat transfer equipment. The tubes are arranged in panels, connected through the LNG inlet and the regasified product outlet piping manifolds and hung from a rack (Figure 1). The panels are coated externally with zinc alloy, providing corrosion protection against seawater. Process Open rack vaporizers (ORV) use seawater as the thermal energy source in a direct heat system to vaporize the LNG. To control algae growth within the system, sodium hypochlorite (chlorine) is injected on the intake side of the system. The treated seawater is then pumped to the top of the water box and travels down along the outer surface of the tube heat exchanger panels, while LNG flows upward through these tubes and is vaporized.4 The cooled seawater collects in a basin under the open rack vaporizer and is discharged through the water outfall, while the vaporized natural gas is removed from the top header of the system. Because this technology relies on seawater as the primary heat source, it is only effective where seawater temperatures exceed approximately 63 degrees Fahrenheit.
Drawbacks Open rack vaporizer technology requires large volumes of water, which could adversely affect marine life. The cooled and treated seawater that is returned to the ocean could potentially affect marine life and water quality. Although the ORVs do not directly produce air pollution emissions, powering the seawater pumps For large regasification terminals where significant amounts of water are required, in-depth evaluation and assessment of the seawater system must be performed. the key issues and design parameter must be established early in the project, such as: Is the seawater quality suitable for operating an ORV system? Does the seawater containing significant amounts of heavy metal ions? These ions will attack the zinc aluminum alloy coating and will shorten its life. Does the seawater contain significant amount of sand and suspended solids? Excessive sediment will cause jamming of the water trough and the tube panel. Proper seawater intake filtration system must be designed to prevent silts, sands and sea life from reaching the seawater pumps and exchangers. The design must consider the environmental impacts of the seawater intake and outfall system, and minimize the destruction of marine life during the construction period and normal plant operation. Chlorination of the seawater is necessary to slow down marine growth. However, residual chlorine in the seawater effluent can impact the marine life and the usage must be minimized. Seawater discharge temperature must comply with local regulation. The temperature drop of seawater is typically limited to 5C in most locations. Location of the seawater intake and outfall must be studied to avoid cold seawater recirculation. If site is located in a cold climate region, supplementary heating may be necessary to maintain the outlet gas temperature. Boiloff gas from LNG storage tanks can be used as fuel to these heaters. Is a backup vaporization system provided? This may be necessary during partial shutdown of the seawater system or during peaking demand operation.
Is the regasification facility located close to a waste heat source, such as a power plant? Heat integration using waste heat can reduce regasification duty and would minimize the environmental impacts.
Advantages Since the thermal capacity of the water bath is high, it is possible to maintain a stable operation even for suddenstart-ups/shutdowns and rapid load fluctuations. SCV is very reliable and have very good safety records.
Leakage of gas can be quickly detected by hydrocarbon detectors which will result in a plant shutdown. There is no danger of explosion, due to the fact that the temperature of the water bath always stays below the ignition point of natural gas. SCVs are compact and do not require much plot area when compared to the other vaporizer options. Drawbacks The submerged combustion vaporizer system produces large quantities of air emissions from the flue gas. This can be reduced through exhaust gas control technology, but adds significant operating costs to the SCV system. The controls for the submerged combustion vaporizers are more complex when compared to the open rack vaporizers (ORV). During operation, SCVs consume anywhere from 1.5 to 2.0 percent of the LNG cargo to fuel the combustion burner, which is a significant operating cost.
ambient temperature, relative humidity, altitude, wind, solar radiation, and proximity to adjacent structures.
Advantages AAV technology is best suited for areas with warmer ambient temperatures Since the AAV technology typically burns natural gas only for supplemental heating during colder months, air emissions overall are relatively low compared to the other vaporization technologies. Overall thermal efficiency is still significantly higher and provides much higher overall fuel savings compared to indirect contact vaporizer technologies. Drawbacks Depending on geographical locations (such as areas with high dew points) cooling the ambient air can generate a fog bank. In cooler climates, a supplemental heat system would be necessary to maintain effective use during colder weather conditions. 2) Indirect Contact Ambient Air Technologies This LNG vaporizing via intermediate fluid utilizes Heat Transfer Fluid in a closed loop to transfer heat to vaporize LNG. Types of Intermittent Fluids Three types of Heat Transfer Fluids are typically utilized for LNG vaporization: Glycol-Water Hydrocarbon Based HTF (Propane, Butane or Mixed Refrigerant) Hot Water Although propane and refrigerant have low flash points that are ideal for heat transfer, the operational risks are much higher when handling these types of fluids, and these fluids are very costly. The water/glycol mixture has a high flash point, requiring a larger heat transfer area, which results in a larger system than the propane or refrigerant systems. However, the water/glycol fluid system is more cost effective and the associate operational risks are relatively low. Process An IFV typically uses a shell and tube heat exchanger, where LNG flows through the tubes with the intermediate heating medium circulating inside the shell and around the tubes. There are two stages to heating the LNG with an intermediate fluid vaporizer. First the liquefied natural gas is heated by an intermediate fluid in a heat exchanger, in which the LNG becomes a gas Then the vaporized natural gas is circulated through a second shell and tube heat exchanger, with seawater as the heating medium used to bring the gas to the temperature required to send it out through pipelines for use. An IFV system that uses the water/glycol mixture is considered a safer way to operate.
Higher humidity and higher air temperature enhances the overall performance of the system. The process produces significant amount of water due to the condensation of moisture from the air providing additional heat input to the system.