Method and installation for treating a storage site
AssigneeL'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude
InventorsMichel Bonneton, Bernard Marchal
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The tank (1) is purged by gaseous nitrogen resulting from the vaporization of liquid nitrogen which has undergone an indirect heat exchange (2) with the gas issuing from the tank. This enables the purged products to be recovered. Application in the deballasting of ships transporting liquified petroleum gas or natural gas.
Claims17
A method for treating a storage site, and in particular for purging and rendering inert a tank, comprising minimizing the loss of time and maximizing the recovery of a gaseous product, otherwise resulting from conventional purging, by expelling a said gaseous product contained in said site by injecting nitrogen therein, effecting an indirect heat exchange between the gas issuing from said site and liquid nitrogen so as to partly condense said gas, and injecting into said site gaseous nitrogen resulting from said vaporization of liquid nitrogen.
An installation comprising:
- means for treating a storage site, and in particular for purging and rendering inert a tank, sufficient to minimize the loss of time and to maximize the recovery of a gaseous product, otherwise resulting from conventional purging, including a phase separator;
- a storage vessel communicating with the phase separator;
- and an indirect heat exchanger comprising first passageways for connection on the upstream side of the heat exchanger to said site and connection on the downstream side of the heat exchanger to the separator, and second passageways connected on the upstream side of the heat exchanger to a source of liquid nitrogen and for connection on the downstream side of the heat exchanger to said site.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.