Black & Veatch Patented Technology Provides Sustainable And Economic Benefits For LNG Industry
Overland Park, KS - Black & Veatch, a leading global engineering, consulting and construction company, announced today it has received a U.S. patent for a heat quench column that adds to the company's sustainable solution set by achieving lower carbon emissions for vaporizing liquefied natural gas (LNG) while maintaining low operating costs.
"Development of LNG infrastructure is important to bringing a stable and long-term natural gas supply to the United States and other parts of the world," said Dean Oskvig, President and CEO of Black & Veatch's global energy business. "However, environmental concerns have slowed development in some regions due to emissions generated from the revaporization process. Black & Veatch's innovative technology answers this complex challenge."
LNG occupies 1/600th of the volume of its vaporized gas equivalent, making LNG ideal for shipping and storing. However, revaporizing natural gas requires significant heat energy. Submerged combustion vaporization (SCV) is commonly used for revaporization because of its high thermal efficiency. For large-scale LNG import terminals, however, SCV technology produces higher amounts of emissions.
"Black & Veatch's heat quench exchanger boosts fired heater efficiency, making it cost-competitive with SCV technology while achieving lower emission levels," said Marty Rosetta, Lead Process Engineer in Black & Veatch's Gas, Oil & Chemicals business line and developer of the heat quench exchanger.
The Black & Veatch technology works by capturing and reusing excess heat energy from a fired heater or combustion turbine discharge during the regasification process to achieve efficiencies approaching 97 percent, depending on unit size and configuration.
"This technology demonstrates Black & Veatch's commitment to provide our clients and the communities they serve with a cost-effective solution for meeting today's environmental requirements," Oskvig added.
SOURCE: Black & Veatch