Liquefied Gas Expander And Integrated Joule-Thomson Valve
AssigneeEbara International Corporation
InventorJoel V. Madison
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cryogenic turbine expander system which consists essentially of a cryogenic liquid pressure vessel, and the vessel further accommodating a turbine expander, an internal bypass configuration, which are operable in parallel, a three-way valve to direct incoming high pressure liquefied gas flow to the turbine expander, or the internal bypass configuration, which further consists a Joule-Thomson valve, when the turbine expander is not operational.
Claims29
A turbine expander system for processing liquefied gas in a cryogenic environment, the turbine expander system comprising:
- a cryogenic liquid pressure vessel in which a turbine expander and an internal bypass configuration are disposed, supported and operable in parallel and maintained in the cryogenic environment therein, the cryogenic liquid pressure vessel further comprising an inlet and an outlet;
- and
- a three-way valve disposed inside the cryogenic liquid pressure vessel, the three-way valve further having one incoming end connected to the inlet, a first outgoing end connected to the turbine expander and a second outgoing end connected to the internal bypass configuration, the three-way valve configured to direct incoming liquefied gas flow to the internal bypass configuration or the expander.
An improved method of liquefied gas expansion, the method further comprising the steps of:
- A. Directing incoming flammable, high pressure liquefied gas flow through a pipe system;
- B. Selecting a cryogenic turbine expander system to process the incoming flammable liquefied gas flow, the cryogenic turbine expander system comprising a cryogenic liquid pressure vessel, the cryogenic turbine expander system further comprising a turbine expander, an internal bypass configuration, operable in parallel and disposed therein, a three-way valve directing said incoming flow to said turbine expander or internal bypass configuration;
- C. Directing outgoing low pressure liquefied gas flow out of said cryogenic turbine expander system.
A flat three-way valve in a flat design for use in a cryogenic liquefied gas expansion system, the three-way valve further comprising:
- one inlet portion and two outlet portions;
- three horizontal flat disc portions rotating at a common center and a plurality of through holes on each disc portion's rim, the middle flat disc portion driven by an external motor and rotated such that through holes of the three flat disc portions open and close passages between the inlet and the two outlet portions.
A method for reducing loss associated with cryogenic liquefied gas expanders for flammable liquefied gases wherein the liquefied gas expander is mounted inside an explosion-proof stainless steel pressure vessel alongside a liquefied flammable gas bypass system, the gas bypass system comprising a pipe and throttling valve also maintained at cryogenic liquids temperatures for safely handling the flow of flammable liquefied gases when the gas expander is not operational, the improvement comprising the steps of configuring the pipe and valve bypass system inside the stainless steel pressure vessel adjacent the liquefied gas expander such that the entire configuration is maintained at cryogenic liquids temperatures, and further providing a three-way valve adjacent the inlet of the stainless steel pressure vessel to direct the flow either through the expander or through the bypass system.
A turbine expander system for processing liquefied gas in a cryogenic environment operated at the optimal performance specification, the turbine expander system comprising:
- a cryogenic liquid pressure vessel in which a turbine expander and an internal bypass configuration are disposed, supported and operable in parallel and maintained in the cryogenic environment therein, the cryogenic liquid pressure vessel further comprising an inlet and an outlet;
- and
- a three-way valve disposed inside the cryogenic liquid pressure vessel, the three-way valve further having one incoming end connected to the inlet, a first outgoing end connected to the turbine expander and a second outgoing end connected to an internal bypass configuration, the three-way valve configured to direct incoming liquefied gas flow to the internal bypass configuration or the expander, the system configured to operate at a best efficiency point wherein the best efficiency point is determined based upon the actual operating input parameter.
A method for operating cryogenic liquefied gas expander systems for flammable liquefied gases according to an optimal performance specification wherein the liquefied gas expander is mounted inside an explosion-proof stainless steel pressure vessel alongside a liquefied flammable gas bypass system, the gas bypass system comprising a pipe and throttling valve also maintained at cryogenic liquids temperatures for safely handling the flow of flammable liquefied gases when the gas expander is not operational, the improvement comprising the steps of configuring the pipe and valve bypass system inside the stainless steel pressure vessel adjacent the liquefied gas expander such that the entire configuration is maintained at cryogenic liquids temperatures, further providing a three-way valve adjacent the inlet of the stainless steel pressure vessel to direct the flow either through the expander or through the bypass system, and operating the gas expander system at the best efficiency point as determined based upon the actual operating input parameter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.