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Mustapha Chaker

Bechtel Corporation,
Houston, TX 77056 Application of Boil Off Gas
Cyrus B. Meher-Homji
Bechtel Corporation,
Houston, TX 77056
Compressors in Liquefied
Pradeep Pillai
Natural Gas Plants
Bechtel Corporation,
Houston, TX 77056 This paper discusses complexities and challenges of managing boil off gas (BOG) in
liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction plants. Most publications in the past have
Dipanjan Bhattacharya focused on regasification terminals and have not addressed the area of liquefaction
Bechtel Corporation, plants. The paper discusses the generation and management of BOG and the associated
Houston, TX 77056 networks and machinery to manage it. BOG options available for both Greenfield plants
and in debottlenecking situations are covered. The advantages and disadvantages of dif-
David Messersmith ferent options and compressor systems are covered and the concept of dynamic simula-
tion as an analysis tool is addressed. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4028576]
Bechtel Corporation,
Houston, TX 77056

1 Introduction Regardless of the LNG technology deployed, the LNG facility


needs to be designed in order to facilitate the handling of the
Natural gas currently supplies approximately 23% of the world
BOGs that are generated from various plant operational scenarios.
energy production. According to the BP energy outlook [1], LNG
A typical LNG liquefaction process is shown in Fig. 3. In this
represents a growing share of gas supply. Global LNG supply is
process, the vapor blowers shown (BOG compressors) return the
projected to grow 4.5% per year to 2030, more than double the
vapors to the liquefaction circuit.
growth rate of total global gas production (2.1% per year). LNG
BOG generation and its subsequent handling can have a signifi-
contributes 25% of global supply growth 20102030, compared to
cant impact on the overall efficiency and LNG production from
19% for 19902010.
the facility. This paper will discuss the constraints that may be
The reason of converting the LNG natural gas to liquid is to
imposed due to excessive or higher temperature BOG generation
ease transport to markets and storage since liquefied LNG is the
and design methods that may be considered to minimize the
most economical mean to transport the natural gas for long dis-
tance. The volume of LNG is around 1/600 the volume of natural
gas under gaseous state. The processes to liquefy LNG all involve
some refrigeration process that sequentially extracts heat from the
feed gas resulting in its liquefaction. The liquid LNG is stored in
large cryogenic tanks. A typical LNG facility is shown in Fig. 1. The
188,000 m3 storage tank can be seen. As heat leaks into the tank, the
LNG boils and has to be accommodated somehow to keep the tank
pressure under control. This is typically done in a BOG compressor
which transports the vapor to the liquefaction system or utilizes it in
some other form depending on the liquefaction process.
The facility shown in Fig. 1 [2] is a single train facility. Several
LNG plants are composed of multiple LNG trains and may have
several tanks. The size of LNG liquefaction facilities is gradually
rising as shown in Fig. 2 by Meher-Homji et al. [3]. Currently,
most trains under development fall into the 36 MTPA range. A
few megatrains of 8 MTPA have also been built. As the size of
the facility increases, and as multiple LNG trains are built within
a single site, the management of BOG becomes a significant chal-
lenge. The challenge includes managing the complex network of Fig. 1 Large liquefaction single train facility [2]
BOG, selecting of the BOG compressors to manage turndown and
operational complexities relating to the machinery.
BOG is generated in LNG plants as a result of flashing of the
LNG to near atmospheric pressure in the LNG tanks. Depending
on the LNG process technology used, the BOG may be either sent
back to the process or may be compressed and sent to the fuel gas
system. Common liquefaction processes include the Optimized
R
Cascade ProcessV, the C3MR process and the DMR process.

Contributed by the Cycle Innovations Committee of ASME for publication in the


JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING FOR GAS TURBINES AND POWER. Manuscript received August
8, 2014; final manuscript received August 15, 2014; published online November 11,
2014. Editor: David Wisler. Fig. 2 Size of LNG liquefaction plants over time [3]

Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power APRIL 2015, Vol. 137 / 041702-1
C 2015 by ASME
Copyright V

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R
Fig. 3 Schematic of the ConocoPhillips Optimized Cascade ProcessV [2]

impacts on LNG production, plant efficiency and environmental considerations exist for shipment and also at receiving terminals.
emissions. LNG liquefaction processes, always results in the generation of
Integral to the efficiency of the LNG facility is the management BOG. This BOG produced is generally the result of staged flashes
and handling of BOG. This paper discusses the ways and means that are used to produce LNG at near atmospheric pressure in the
of increasing the capacity of the plant and/or reducing the opera- tanks as well as the BOG produced due to heat leak into the LNG
tional costs of the facility by improving the management of BOG. tank and associated piping during HOLD mode (nonship load-
Most publications in the past have focused on regasification termi- ing) of operation.
nals [311], and while this paper focuses on liquefaction, several In the ConocoPhillips Optimized Cascade Process, BOG
of the concepts would apply to regasification and multidirectional resulting primarily from rundown flash is generated and is
terminals. The paper also addresses the range of compression returned to the methane loop by the BOG compressor. However,
machinery available and the range of typical parameters found in during ship loading there is a significant incremental quantity of
industry. An overview of BOG management is provided in BOG generated due to vapor displacement at ship loading rates,
Ref. [9]. system heat leak (in loading lines, etc.) and flashing of the LNG
The LNG which is predominantly methane is stored in cryo- at ship cargo storage pressure. This BOG generated during ship
genic tanks at a temperature of 162  C with a pressure slightly loading is generally warmer than the BOG generated during
above the atmospheric pressure. The LNG tank is in a constant HOLD mode due to additional superheat from the ship blow-
boiling state. The total BOG flow is a combination of the entire ers, vapor return lines, etc. Consequently, during ship loading,
vapor generated from rundown flash, heat leak, barometric pres- the tanks are forced to operate at higher pressures as can be seen
sure changes, pump energy, and net hydraulic grade. If this vapor in the Fig. 5 below which shows ship BOG vapor versus tank
is not drawn off by the BOG compressor, the tank pressure will pressure.
increase to the point when venting will be required. In a multitrain LNG facility, depending on the different operat-
The BOG compressor is used to compress the evaporated gas and ing scenarios involving ship loading, and hold of the different
in the case of the process shown in Fig. 3, to return it to the methane trains, the tank pressure can vary significantly. An example with
compressor to blend with the feed gas and be liquefied again. six operating cases is shown in Fig. 5.
BOG from the ship vapor return header is normally mixed with
the BOG from the tanks and then compressed by BOG compres-
2 BOG Generation in LNG Liquefaction Plants sors which, depending on the LNG process, compress the BOG
The overall generation and transport of BOG is shown in Fig. 4 back to the process or compress it to be used as high pressure fuel
[9,12]. While the focus of this paper is on liquefaction, similar gas in the plant.

Fig. 4 Generation of BOG within the LNG chain [12]

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optimal design of the BOG compressor network and controls
optimal design of LNG plant components to effectively han-
dle BOG from various operating modes
altering process conditions to reduce generated BOG
adding BOG recondensers to handle peak loads (especially in
plant revamps)
Some of the above design methods could be employed as a con-
tinuum to improve LNG plant profitability.

4.1 Optimal Design of BOG Compressor Network and


Controls. The quantity and quality (flow and enthalpy) of the
BOG generated by a LNG train varies depending on plant operat-
ing conditions as well as facility operating modes, i.e., ship load-
ing mode and hold mode of operation.
The possible permutations, in the calculations of the extent of
BOG generated, get further complicated by the inclusion of BOG
from multiple LNG trains being handled by a common BOG
header and compression system.
Fig. 5 Envelope of varying conditions for different operating If the BOG compression system is overdesigned in terms of
scenarios
capacity of BOG handled, there could be a decrease in LNG pro-
duction due to higher return temperatures of compressed BOG on
account of BOG machines recycling or operating at a very low
3 Rate of BOG Generation efficiency point. This is particularly true of designs where the gen-
Depending on the ship loading rate, the ship pressure/temperature, erated BOG is returned to the process plant as secondary feed.
ship blower efficiency and line heat leak there could be various If the BOG compression system is under-designed in capacity
cases where the magnitude of BOG enthalpy and flow required to of BOG handled, there could be an increase in tank system pres-
be handled by the plant could overwhelm a well-designed LNG fa- sures leading to unnecessary atmospheric venting of natural gas
cility thereby causing a reduction in production efficiency and/or which reduces overall plant production efficiency and hurts LNG
flaring of the excess BOG generated. Even small reductions in economics.
LNG production efficiency and/or flaring of the excess BOG could The BOG to be handled during plant operating cases is calcu-
translate into a measurable loss in LNG production, when mone- lated as a sum of primarily the vapor generated as a result of heat
tized at the current price of LNG. Flaring will also be undesirable ingress, vapor displacement and flashing. The following four
from an environmental and permitting standpoint. The tradeoff equations indicate BOG dynamics:
between processing fresh feed gas and reprocessing BOG vapor (1) BOG flow (hold mode) heat ingress into the system (run-
needs to be managed by effective planning and design. down line from plant to tank tank) heat from LNG
According to Shin et al. [2] the following empirical equation transfer pump (from plant to tank) vapor displaced by
can be used to estimate the rate of BOG generation in an LNG LNG flowing into the tank LNG tank flash heat from
storage tank the loading line circulation
CR BS qL VL (2) BOG flow (ship loading mode) heat ingress into the sys-
F tem (rundown line from plant to tank tank ship loading
K1 K2 K3 line) LNG transfer pump (from plant to tank) heat LNG
loading pump (from tank to ship) heat vapor displaced by
where CR is the Rollover coefficient (1), BS is the boil off rate LNG flowing into the tank vapor displaced by LNG flow-
on specification (h1), qL is the LNG density (kg/m3), VL is the ing into ship LNG tank flash ship vapor flash
LNG volume (m3), K1 is the correction factor for the offset of the (3) BOG generation due to heat ingress to LNG from system or
tank from the LNG vapor, K2 is the correction factor for the LNG pump (kg/h) heat (kJ/h)/LNG latent heat (kJ/kg)
temperature, and K3 is the correction factor for the ambient (4) BOG flow due to vapor displacement (kg/h) volumetric
temperature. flow of LNG into tank (m3/h) X mass density (kg/m3)
This equation shows that the BOG generation is a function of
the LNG volume, the tank pressure and temperature. The BOG The distribution of percentage heat leak from different equip-
generated from large LNG tanks (e.g., 180,000 m3) is therefore ment for a particular case is shown in Fig. 6.
quite considerable. The BOG generated due to flashing in tank/ship is generally
Most LNG liquefaction plants are designed for multitrain facili- calculated using standard process simulation tools, at tank/ship
ties. The management of BOG is therefore of importance as some pressure conditions.
BOG compression equipment is often shared. With the advent of Additional heat provided to the generated BOG vapor due to
the US now exporting LNG, several import terminals that have piping heat gains, ship blower inefficiency etc increase the degree
existing BOG management capacity have to now accommodate of superheat in the BOG being handled by the BOG compression
liquefaction BOG as well. system.
Converting to a bidirectional plant poses significant challenges Once the BOG flows and enthalpies are known, hydraulic calcula-
including the use of existing tanks which need to be located opti- tions are required to be performed in order to develop pressure pro-
mally from the LNG plant in order to avoid the increase of BOG files, size lines as well as to develop operating points that are finally
generation due to the long distance between the tanks and LNG used in the specification and design of the BOG compressors.
plant. The BOG suction system is a very low pressure system gener-
ally operating at a pressure of 69 mbar to 138 mbar (12 psig).
Small changes in pressure can affect the BOG flash from the
4 Management of BOG tanks/ship which in turn affects the pressure drop/pressure profile
There are various methods to minimize the negative impacts of in the system. Hence it is important to develop/utilize a tool that
excessive BOG production, thereby increasing LNG production at would allow for an iterative calculation which is able to provide a
reduced plant energy consumption. These include: solution that is hydraulically and thermodynamically converged.

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low stage flash to be processed within the plant by the refrigera-
tion compressors. In order for the BOG to be processed in the
LNG plant, the BOG compressors need to develop enough pres-
sure to overcome the low stage flash pressure and the system
hydraulics. Reducing the low stage flash pressure decreases the
flashing in the tank, however, it increases the low stage flash
vapor generated within the flash vessel. Increasing the low stage
flash pressure has the opposite effect.
The manipulation of the low stage flash may be used to accom-
modate varying BOG operating modes within a single efficient
compressor design.

4.4 BOG Reliquefaction. As BOG is also generated during


the shipment of LNG, BOG from the management of shipboard
BOG is discussed here. One approach for BOG management that
has been applied to ships is a reliquefaction approach using com-
panders. Details of such a system developed by Cyrostar are pre-
Fig. 6 Heat contribution factors generating BOG sented briefly below [13]. This approach was focused on LNG
carriers where typically approximately 3% of the cargo vaporizes
BOG compressors selected for lower head/ high capacity may due to unavoidable heat ingress. With large carriers being
be speed controlled or guide vane controlled in order to possess the deployed such as the Q Max series (265,000 m3), this technology
flexibility in operating efficiently over a wide range of flows and becomes important. It is possible to apply similar technology for
head conditions. Compressors using guide vanes might employ onshore applications as well, especially when exceedingly long
inlet guide vanes (IGVs), discharge guide vanes (diffuser guide jetties are involved. The compander approach is shown in Fig. 7.
vanes) or a combination of both inlet and discharge guide vanes. The system operates on a closed N2 reverse Brayton cycle to
BOG compressor selection also plays an important role in the produce the cold power to condense the BOG. The condensation
system hydraulics and thermodynamics as the type of BOG com- temperature is a function of the BOG composition and the
pressor control impacts the discharge temperature and the turn selected condensing pressure. As shown in Fig. 7, there are three
down, head/flow characteristics. Hence, it is very important to warm compression stages with inter and after coolers and a cryo-
integrate BOG compressor curves within the total BOG system genic expander. The combination is called a compander.
calculation. Types of BOG compressors are discussed in Sec. 5.
A well designed BOG compressor system eliminates BOG flar- 5 BOG Compressor Designs
ing and increases overall LNG facility profitability.
There are several compressor designs that can be used for BOG
applications. Broadly these can be broken into the following
4.2 Optimal Design of LNG Plant Components. Depending categories:
on the LNG process technology used, the BOG may be either sent
back to the process or it may be compressed and sent to the fuel reciprocating compressors
gas system. In technologies where BOG is sent back to the pro- dry rotary screw compressors
cess, the BOG becomes part of the circulating refrigerant loop centrifugal compressors
which is finally condensed with the incoming feed gas. BOG overhung designs (variable IGV)

behaves as a secondary feed stream which uses part of the avail- between the bearing machines (variable IGVs)

able refrigeration power to recondense and form LNG. In most cases, fixed speed motors are used but it is possible to
Since there can be large variation in the BOG flow and enthalpy consider VFD applications as well.
between various operation modes it is important to design the pro- A typical reciprocating BOG compressor is shown in Fig. 8.
cess refrigerant loop system components to handle this BOG flow In the case of the centrifugal compressor designs, variable
in a hydraulically and thermodynamically efficient manner. Also, IGVs are typically used in order to provide turndown. To date,
it is valuable to cool the ship return vapor in a similar manner. several overhung machines have been used at LNG facilities.
Hydraulic and thermodynamic limitations could result in a sig- These machines are motor driven and have a large gearbox, with
nificant decrease in fresh feed processed, thereby lowering LNG the compressor operating on the pinion at high speed. Single or
production. There might be a need to design bigger refrigerant multistage designs can be used. Variable IGVs are invariably
exchangers to cool the additional BOG and minimize temperature used, and in some cases additional turndown can be obtained by
approach in order to limit the vapor volume to the refrigerant
compressors. These refrigerant exchangers will also need to be
hydraulically designed in order to limit the pressure drop from
additional BOG flow, thereby limiting vapor volume load to the
refrigeration compressors.
Refrigeration compressor design should consider the additional
BOG load and its impact on compressor speed/capacity. Heat inte-
gration, within the process plant, may be reconfigured to increase
the efficient use of refrigeration energy.
An optimal design of refrigeration plant components while inte-
grating various BOG operating modes, assist in increasing overall
LNG production.

4.3 Altering Process Conditions to Reduce Generated


BOG. Depending on the process technology, it is common for
LNG to be flashed in at different pressures in a series of flash ves-
sels before it is pumped to the LNG tanks as saturated liquid. In Fig. 7 EcoRel reliquefaction system developed by Cryostar
these cases, the BOG is generally mixed with the vapor from the [13]

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Fig. 10 Between the bearing BOG compressor with variable
IGV [14]

Fig. 8 Reciprocating BOG compressor

Fig. 11 Flows and pressure ratios (four cases) used for compar-
isons between compressor types, inlet temperature 5 2160  C

Fig. 9 Typical overhung BOG design

the use of diffuser guide vanes. A typical overhung machine is


shown in Fig. 9. These also have variable IGVs. Between the
bearings machines as shown in Fig. 10 are preferred by some end
users and can have several benefits.
For a typical BOG application, the head is relatively constant,
so flow control is best done by IGV movement as opposed by
throttling. IGV application is also more efficient than discharge
throttling (which wastes energy) or recycle control.
Integrally geared and turbo compressors are compact, and can
be packaged with all skid mounted equipment. This is particularly
beneficial when compared to reciprocating compressor especially Fig. 12 Discharge temperature comparison between integrally
in offshore installations where space, weight, and vibration are geared and between the bearing designs
very important. The installation of shop skid mounted integrally
geared and turbo compressors equipment is simple with no need To provide a feel for operating parameters of BOG compres-
to install pulsation bottles and interconnecting piping. sors, in terms of pressures, flow rates, and power, a number of
While integrally geared BOG compressor typically use floating scatter plots have been provided ahead. Figures 1416 show scat-
carbon ring seals, single shaft turbo compressor use dry gas seals ter plots for land based BOG applications. Figures 17 and 18
for shat sealing purpose. Both use variable IGV technology which cover carrier based BOG applications. In these plots, each dot rep-
can provide large turndown capability. resents a unique BOG compressor.
A comparison between an integrally geared design and between
the bearing design (for the same operating pressure ratio condi-
tions as shown in Fig. 11) are shown in Figs. 12 and 13. Figure 12 6 Use of Dynamic Simulation for BOG Systems
shows the discharge temperature differences and Fig. 13 shows The purpose of the application of dynamic simulation is to opti-
the associated coupling powers. mize compressor operation and selection. In an operational sense,

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Fig. 13 Power consumed comparison between integrally Fig. 16 Scatter plot showing BOG compressor parameters
geared and between the bearing designs showing rated power and pressure ratio (land based
applications)

Fig. 14 Scatter plot showing BOG compressor parameters


power and pressure ratio (land based applications)

Fig. 17 Scatter plot showing BOG compressor parameters


showing rated power and pressure ratio (carrier based
applications)

Fig. 15 Scatter plot showing BOG compressor parameters


showing inlet temperature and differential pressure (land based
applications)

the BOG system and LNG tanks are always in a transient state.
This means that the tank levels are always changing (increasing or
decreasing) depending on mode of operation (hold mode or ship
loading mode). This variation in tank level means a continuous
change in tank boil off. This effect is more pronounced during
ship loading operations when warmer vapor from the ship returns
back to the BOG system. Since the entire BOG system is a Fig. 18 Scatter plot showing BOG compressor parameters
dynamic operation and never really at a steady state, dynamic showing differential pressure and inlet temperature (carrier
simulation is a powerful and effective tool to analyze the system. based applications)

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Fig. 19 Simulation results of the tank pressure change for
numbers of compressors [4]

Fig. 20 ship vapor generation and tank pressure


Figure 19 shows simulation conducted by Shin et al. [4] depict-
ing the interaction between tank pressure and the number of BOG Tank pressures are different because of spatial and hydraulic
compressors deployed. differences. Dynamic simulation helps in understanding of tank
Dynamic simulation approaches provides more insight to the pressure profile which can help in system optimization and plan-
transient behavior and can take into account the BOG compressor ning of hydraulic modifications. It is possible that tank at the fur-
characteristics and turndown. A large number of scenarios can be thest location is close to venting. Typically, the solution is to
evaluated once a dynamic model is created. Besides being used in reduce feed or reduce ship loading rate. But dynamic simulation
grass roots design, dynamic modeling is also very useful when conducted during engineering can help optimize the system. Pip-
studying existing networked BOG systems which need to be ing modifications can be made to reduce the spread in pressure
debottlenecked so as to prevent high tank pressures/flaring while between tanks thereby preventing reduction in feed or ship load-
operating at higher throughputs and/or increased ship loading rate. ing rates. This also helps in setting the suction pressure of the
In case of an existing design, dynamic simulations may be used to BOG compressors.
validate adequacy of BOG system hydraulic layout for a certain The optimization of size, type, and number of BOG compres-
capacity as well as to validate the performance and operability of sors for a LNG plant was conducted using Aspen Dynamic simu-
BOG compressors. lator, based on the BOG generation, and the upper pressure limit
BOG generations due to ambient heat leak, heat leak from rotat- used in the storage tanks [15,16]. The results of the simulation are
ing equipment, cool down process, etc., are also taken into presented below.
account when building the dynamic simulation model. An example of the use of dynamic simulation as applied to an
The following are some of the advantages of using a dynamic integrated liquefaction/regasification facility is provided below.
network solver in place of steady state simulation in conjunction These facilities typically have multiple tanks and multiple BOG
with common hydraulic solvers: compressors operating in a network fashion. Figure 20 shows the

increase in the amount of tank vapor pressure as the ship BOG
Dynamic simulation software can generally perform both hy- vapor increases.
draulic and thermodynamic calculations. The general design approach of minimizing the tank pressure
The dynamic solver is better in solving problems pertaining and the BOG compressor may not always be possible for facilities
to flow networks. This is because the dynamic simulation that are being converted or modified. A sample schematic is
solver uses pressure-flow gradient calculations in the shown in Fig. 21.
algorithm. The tank pressure and liquid level profile derived by dynamic
Ambient heat leak via pipe lines can also be incorporated simulation is shown in Fig. 22. Tank levels during hold mode are
down to a detailed level in dynamic simulations; this shown in Fig. 23. During hold mode, it can be seen that tank lev-
approach results in estimating accurate physical properties; els go up rapidly. Simulation such as these allows the understand-
hence providing accurate pressure drop ing of flow choke points in the network. Small modifications can
Dynamic simulation accurately calculates property and den-
sity changes along the length of piping. This level of accu-
racy is particularly important for very low pressure BOG
network systems.
Dynamic simulations can also constantly adjust the LNG
tank operating pressure and resultant flash from the tank
based on the hydraulics in the system.
Dynamic simulation can help in optimizing BOG compres-
sors size by comparing the transients to the compressors flow
and pressure operating ranges.
Helps in calculating the ship loading times and understanding
the operational bottlenecks during ship loading.
Bigger compressors have lower CAPEX but with more
recycle when compared to small compressors with higher
CAPEX and lower recycle. By incorporating a dynamic sim-
ulation model to evaluate different scenarios, allow the opti-
mal selection of compressors.
In essence, the advantage of dynamic simulation is the capabil-
ity to simulate a thermodynamic, hydraulic, and operational
model in the same interface. This helps in integrating the design
in a faster and more efficient way. Fig. 21 Layout schematic

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multiple trains, the efficient management of BOG is an issue that
needs to be addressed during the FEED phase of the project. Mul-
tiple options should be evaluated including the use of different
types of BOG compressors taking into account their flow capacity,
pressure ratio, and turndown capability. The number of BOG
compressors is also important. When large BOG systems are
being designed, the use of dynamic simulation becomes an impor-
tant design tool that helps understand the dynamics of heat
ingress, BOG generation and the dynamic requirements of the sys-
tem. This is very important for multitrain LNG facilities.
During debottlenecking situations, BOG management becomes
important as BOG management can often constrain the operation.
In terms of BOG compressors, overhung machines with variable
IGVs are often used, but between the bearing designs with vari-
able IGVs are also attractive. In most cases BOG compressor
pressure ratio requirements are modest though there are some sit-
uations where the desired discharge pressure is high. The specific
Fig. 22 Tank pressure and liquid level simulation application must be considered in selecting the type of compressor
to be deployed.

Nomenclature
BOG boil off gas
FEED front end engineering design
IGV inlet guide vane
LNG liquefied natural gas
MTPA million metric tonnes annum

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[12] Faruque Hasan, M. M., Zheng, A. M., and Karimi, I. A., 2009, Minimizing
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in Fig. 24. The development of such dynamic simulations is help- [13] Cryostar, 2010, Special Report: Reliquefaction System EcoRel, The Cryostar
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[14] Dresser-Rand, 2004, Boil Off Gas Compressors, Dresser-Rand Corp.,
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