Introduction

The modern oil tanker used for transporting crude oil across the world needs to
be very safe as there is the potential for very large accidents. One activity that
has the potential for such an accident is the extraction of crude oil from the oil
tanker. The risk in this situation is that when the crude oil is removed the
remaining space in the tank will fill up with atmospheric air and any leftover oil.
If there was a small spark in this tank it would lead the large explosion with
devastating results. To help prevent an explosion an ‘inert’ gas (reduced oxygen
gas) is pumped in to fill the space left by the leaving crude oil.

The inert gas helps to decrease the chance of an explosion; however when the
oil tank is cleaned out with the use of sea water the inert gas becomes saturated
with water that can condense and result in corrosion. Therefore a system must
be designed to remove the moisture from the gas to help prevent corrosion.
Thermodynamic analysis must be carried out on any proposed conceptual design
solutions for this problem. With the use of these results it will be possible to
come to a decision on which solutions should be discarded or employed.

In this report three different conceptual designs are going to be proposed,

discussed and analysed. An indication of the preferred solution will be given
along with reasons for rejecting the other designs. The preferred solution should
be further analysed in greater depth to ensure it is a viable option. Furthermore
the solution must comply with all aspects of the design specification.
Design specification
There are a number of requirements that must be taken into account when
designing an inert gas dryer as well as the ability to work under a variety of
operation conditions. The important requirements and operating conditions are
discussed below.

The reliability of the inert gas dryer is the most important requirement of the
system. This is a result of the system having to endure long periods of inactivity
and maintain operational efficiency when ever it is required. Moreover during
these periods of inactivity the system will need to cope with a hostile marine
environment with the risk of powerful waves damaging the machinery. Oil
tankers travel across the globe experiencing a wide range of climates and
ambient temperatures. The two extremes that can be experienced are in Alaska
where temperatures can drop as low as (XXXX) and in the Persian Gulf where
temperatures can reach as high as (XXXXX). In addition the system should be
easy to operate by non-specialised engineering staff which should be achieved
with the highest possible degree of automation. The initial construction and
operation costs of the system are of secondary importance as these
requirements stated above are more important from a customer then cost.

The safety during the operation of this system is of the up most importance and
is a key focus during the design stage. To ensure safety during operation the
installation of emergency features is a must to help reduce the risk to people in
the systems vicinity. Ideally so form of monitoring system will be used to keep
track of pressures and temperatures in the dryer to make sure the do not reach
a critical state. The monitoring of these values will enable the use of warning
devices such as alarms and ….. These devises will indicate that something has
gone wrong and something must be done quickly.

The main aim of the inert gas dryer is to reduce the moisture level in the inert
gas to stop the water from condensing and resulting in corrosion of the
container. Corrosion in a metal can result in fatigue and even fracture which
could result atmospheric gas entering the container when oil is removed or an oil
spill, both of which have sever consequences. Therefore it is very important that
the inert gas dryer must ensure specific performance levels. Moreover the design
should ideally require no additional electric power and should not contain any
toxic materials. The design should also require as little maintenance as
possible……..

Something about different humidity’s?????

The inert gas that will be used in this system has a number of operating
conditions specifically properties at the inlet and outlet. The temperature of the
inert gas at the inlet must be 5K above the ambient temperature, at the outlet
the temperature must not exceed 50°C. A pressure of 0.1 bar gauge for both the
inlet and the outlet pressures, which may change in-between. The system as a
whole must be in positive pressure to avoid leaks. The system must also be
designed to deliver the inert gas at a flow rate of 10,000 m 3 /hr.
Humidity?