Why use cold nitrogen vapour to pre-cool LNG unloading lines?

A Technical paper by Dilip Patel for knowledge sharing:

LNG import and vaporisation terminal with typical 5 MTPA sendout capacity was commissioned few
years ago. Commissioning of the plant was carried out and the first sendout was achieved in the
same month. There were two 30” diameter, 1.2km long unloading lines for transferring LNG from
ship to the full containment storage tanks. The design of lines included both vertical and horizontal
expansion loops to cater for contraction of pipes which would occur at the time of the first cooldown
process of the lines. As part of the commissioning process, the LNG unloading lines were pre-cooled
with gaseous nitrogen prior to the introduction of LNG into the terminal. This was a deviation from
standard terminal cooldown procedure where the entire cooldown of the unloading lines is achieved
via direct introduction of LNG vapour and spray into the lines, which are initially at ambient
temperature.

The decision to carry out the nitrogen pre-cooldown was made in order to allow the mechanical
integrity of the piping and supports to be assessed at cryogenic conditions whilst still maintaining an
inert atmosphere. Pipe movement is a phenomenon witnessed during the start-up of all cryogenic
plants, but if pipe movement is observed is different to that predicted by design engineers during
LNG introduction (i.e. to the point where piping or nearby equipment or steelwork could suffer), a
time-consuming and costly draining and purging exercise has to be carried out to allow remedial
work to be completed. Cooling down with nitrogen would allow any such undesirable pipe
movement to be observed and repaired without the need for first removing hydrocarbons from the
affected line section(s). The highest predicted axial movement was 197mm and that in lateral
direction was 176mm when cooling down from ambient to -1620C temperature. Furthermore,
cooling down with cold nitrogen vapour was a greener choice, since this avoided flaring of the LNG
vapour during the process.

Also as the cooldown was carried out using cold vapour rather than through direct introduction of
cryogenic liquid, the temperature differential between top and bottom of the lines could be easily
maintained within the pre-set limits, an achievement that is extremely difficult when introducing
LNG directly into lines at ambient temperature. This would significantly reduce the potential for
excessive bowing and buckling of the pipework.

Bringing the temperature of the unloading lines down to cryogenic temperatures prior to LNG
introduction was also considered to allow higher unloading rates from the first LNG carrier as again
large temperature differentials across the pipes could be more easily avoided compared to

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unloading directly into pipework at ambient temperature. This would therefore reduce the required
berth time of the first LNG carrier.

Clean build and rigorous testing paid off!

The project team emphasised from the outset clean build philosophy for installation of the pipe
work and equipment. Each section of the line was inspected for cleanliness prior to closing out.
Following close out and prior to pneumatic testing sections of lines which could not be inspected
visually, were inspected using state of the art video inspection equipment to ensure the lines were
clean. All of the cryogenic pipe work was pneumatically tested for structural integrity for ASME B
31.3 code compliance. The lines were further tested just prior to the start of the pre-cooldown with
helium nitrogen mixture and checked for leaks using mass spectrometry devices. This level of rigour
during construction and testing assured the project team a flaw less start for cooldown and wet gas
commissioning with LNG. The project engaged services of a specialist contractor to carry out
pneumatic, and nitrogen testing work.

How pre-cooldown was achieved with cold nitrogen vapour?

Following the project’s decision to pre-cool the unloading lines with nitrogen, a specialist contractor
was contracted to carry out the cooldown in conjunction with the project commissioning personnel.
A procedure was then developed detailing where the nitrogen would be injected into the lines and
where it would subsequently be vented from. The nitrogen was to be injected at 3 separate
locations, with the injection points being strategically selected in order to provide as uniform a
temperature profile as possible upon completion of the nitrogen cooldown. After passing through
the unloading lines, the cold nitrogen was then to be vented to the flare header via the LNG storage
tanks. This method had the additional benefit of providing a cooling effect on the tanks, helping to
reduce the time required to subsequently cool down the tanks with LNG.

The equipment required for the cooldown was designed and manufactured by the appointed
specialist testing contractor. This consisted of diesel-fired steam boilers, steam/nitrogen vaporisers,
temporary liquid nitrogen tanks and cryogenic hoses and fittings. Liquid nitrogen was piped to flow
from the temporary storage tanks into the steam/nitrogen vaporiser, thus providing a gaseous
nitrogen flow downstream of the vaporiser at approximately ambient temperature. This gaseous
nitrogen was then be cooled with liquid nitrogen, injected via a sparger downstream of the
vaporiser. The nitrogen flowrates through both the vaporiser and through the sparger was manually
controlled in order to maintain the desired flowrate and temperature of gaseous nitrogen into the
unloading lines. The liquid nitrogen supply was arranged to be sourced from a local cryogenic gas
plant, a total of 28 road tankers were required to complete the operation.

In order to allow monitoring of the pipeline temperatures during the cooldown, temporary wireless
transmitters were fitted to the existing temperature elements measuring skin temperature on both
the top and bottom of the unloading lines. Utilising an internet connection, the temperatures were
transmitted to the control room and transposed onto a diagram of the unloading lines on a large
screen, thus allowing an instant picture of the temperature profile throughout the lines to be
obtained. Any areas of concern (eg higher than expected temperature differentials across sections of
line) could then be easily identified and corrective action taken.

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Both the procedure and the equipment used in the nitrogen pre-cooldown were then subject to the
HAZID and HAZOP processes to ensure that all risks associated with the process were identified and
minimised. The primary issue addressed was the potential for direct introduction of liquid nitrogen
into the unloading lines, due to a failure in either the vaporiser or the sparger, thus resulting in a
breach of the minimum design temperature of the unloading lines. Low temperature ESD valves
were therefore included in the nitrogen injection lines to address this and provide confidence that
the integrity of the pipework would not be put at risk.

The date for commencing the nitrogen cooldown was then set at 2 days prior to the scheduled
arrival of the first LNG carrier in order to minimise any delay between achieving the target
temperature in the pipework (approximately -120°C) and beginning to unload LNG from the ship.
Agreements were subsequently put in place to ensure that liquid nitrogen deliveries would be made
to the site at regular intervals and a contingency supply was kept at the site in case of any disruption
to the delivery schedule.

After all equipment had been delivered to the site and connected into the unloading lines, a series of
pre-meetings were held among the contractor and owner’s commissioning personnel and the
owner’s operations personnel to establish responsibilities and agree a schedule. The plant was then
aligned as per the procedure and a thorough walk down completed the night before the
commencement to confirm that this was correct.

On the day the nitrogen cooldown commenced, the remaining valves were aligned (eg ESD valves,
tank valves to flare header) and confirmation given to the contractor that the cooldown could be
started. The boiler was fired, steam generated and a nitrogen flow into the unloading lines was
established. Initially only a single injection point was used with the remaining injection points
brought into service later on until all 3 injection points were in use. A combined flow rate of 22,000
M3/Hr @ -1600C was achieved at peak flow.

Pipe skin temperatures were continually monitored via the display screen in the control room and
were logged at regular intervals to ensure that the cooldown rate and the temperature difference
between top and bottom of the lines were maintained within the desired range. The flow rates of
cold nitrogen were adjusted as required to achieve the desired cooling rate. The equipment was
manned 24 hours a day to ensure that such adjustments could be made and to allow the equipment
to be immediately shut down if required.

Discussions on the progress of the cooldown took place regularly between the contractor and the
owner personnel to estimate the total amount of liquid nitrogen likely to be required and, if
necessary, alter deliveries accordingly.

The nitrogen pre-cooldown was declared complete after 50 hours when the unloading lines had
been cooled down to approximately -120°C and the LNG carrier was ready to begin the unloading
process. The total volume of liquid nitrogen required to achieve this cooling was around 700 tonnes,
slightly more than the original estimate of 600 tonnes.

Were the perceived benefits realised?

The nitrogen pre-cooldown was ultimately successful in reducing the temperature of the unloading
pipelines to approximately -120°C prior to the commencement of LNG unloading from the ship, so

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achieved the stated objectives. Fortunately no excessive pipe movements were observed and so the
transition from nitrogen cooldown to LNG unloading was straightforward and completed without
any significant delays. The fact that the lines were already at cryogenic temperatures made
unloading of LNG from the carrier a simpler and less time-consuming process than would have
otherwise been the case. It also allowed temperature differentials between the top and bottom of
the unloading lines to be minimised, reducing the level of bowing normally associated with the
introduction of cryogenic liquids into pipes.

The unloading lines at the terminal have three vertical contraction loops, which is unusual since such
loops could create gas traps during initial fill with LNG. The pre-cooling with cold nitrogen to -120°C
resulted in much lower volume of gas flashing during the initial fill of the lines with LNG, which also
helped in successful wet commissioning of the unloading lines without unmanageable vapour traps
in the vertical loops.

A side-benefit was that a temperature drop of approximately 10°C was observed in both tanks,
correlating to a time saving of between 2 and 3 hours on the tank cooldown.

Carrying out the nitrogen pre-cooldown at the LNG terminal avoided the risk of damage to the
unloading lines that is occasionally associated with the first LNG unloading and it was a relatively
straightforward and successful procedure. The decision as to whether this is the best way to proceed
on other cryogenic plants is dependent upon whether the reduced risk outweighs the time and cost
involved in the nitrogen pre-cooldown. Also, cooldown with cold nitrogen vapour is a greener
choice, if the liquid nitrogen is produced using renewable energy such as wind or solar.

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