N°10 autumn 2007

E P O RT
I A L R n
C
S P E eliquefactoiRoel
r m Ec
sy s t e

Reliquefaction that’s economical,

user-friendly and safe

The engineering design tools used

Successful liquefaction test

 EDITO This issue of the CRYOSTAR Magazine is entirely dedicated to the first EcoRel on-board
LNG re-liquefaction units produced by Cryostar.

You will learn about the technology involved, the tools, means and infrastructure which
were implemented, the testing of the units and the position of Cryostar in the LNG ship
market.

The project of delivering 14 such units within 24 months is one of the main challenges
Cryostar has ever faced. It is an example of the values we advocate in our company, namely
taking up challenges, being innovative, and being passionate about what we do. Our people,
in all departments, have worked intensively on this project with great enthusiasm. It was not
plain sailing, but overall we were very pleased with the achievements.

The production of the EcoRel units is also a step forward in Cryostar’s core competencies.
From a pure supplier of rotating machines, we have evolved into a supplier of process solu-
tions around natural gas liquefaction and distribution and clean energy applications. To
achieve this change we have hired process engineers, project managers, sales engineers, test
engineers, and service engineers. Now we employ more than 400 highly qualified people who
are all supportive of our strategy and our company objectives.

What will be Cryostar’s next challenge? It won’t be long before you’ll be reading about it in
one of our next issues!

Daniel MEYER
President

How it works ............. p 3

How we tested it ............. p 6
How we developed it ............. p 8
Cryostar and the LNG carrier market ............. p 10
Infrastructure needed ............. p 11
Events ............. p 11

2 Autumn 2007
 HOW IT WORKS

EcoRel, how it works

Thanks to its low power consumption, the Cryostar EcoRel Boil Off Gas (BOG)
re-liquefaction system has been selected to equip the largest ever built Q-Max series
LNG carriers (14 vessels on order already).
The concept of EcoRel is to be economical but also user-friendly and safe for the
environment.
It performs full re-liquefaction of the BOG. Cryostar has designed the process as well
as the machines. This guarantees the best possible match between the process and the
rotating equipment.

History of LNG carrier propulsion

Natural gas is transported over long distances One of the two new concepts was the Dual Fuel
in liquid form, at ambient atmospheric pressure, Diesel Electric (DFDE) system. It burns the BOG
near its boiling point (-163°C) in insulated tanks (at ~ 6 bar) in dual fuel diesel engines (gas or
onboard LNG carriers. Due to unavoidable heat diesel oil). These engines drive generators to
inleak during the voyage, a portion of the cargo produce electricity for the electric motors driv-
vaporizes, equivalent to about 3 % of the total ing the ship. Cryostar collaborated actively with
volume over 20 days. In order to maintain the shipbuilders in the development of the gas han-
tank pressure close to atmospheric pressure the dling system for these vessels and has supplied
vapor generated by this vaporization must be the compressors for all delivered DFDE LNG
removed from the tank. carriers.

Historically, so as not to waste it, the BOG was The other concept, subject of this article, com-
burned in boilers to produce steam for the ship’s pletely splits cargo handling from the propulsion
propulsion. Until very recently all LNG carriers of the vessel. It maintains the cargo pressure and
relied on steam turbines for their propulsion and inventory by re-liquefying the BOG generated
are the last vessels built with this type of pro- in the tanks and relies on cheaper heavy fuel oil
pulsion. However, in recent times, the evolution (HFO) for the ship’s propulsion using slow speed
of fuel costs, and the lack of crew with steam diesel engines.
propulsion experience, has promoted innovation
in the conservative LNG carrier world. Following an intensive 15-month testing process
by Exxon-Mobil, the Cryostar re-liquefaction
Two new propulsion systems are now being system EcoRel has been selected for the largest
implemented in addition to steam turbine ever built Q-Max series LNG carriers. The ca-
propulsion. Other propulsion systems, like gas pacity of these vessels, 265 000 m3, exceeds by
turbine or 250 bar gas injection, are still under far all that of all other LNG vessels ever built.
investigation.

Autumn 2007 3
 HOW IT WORKS

General considerations nitrogen in the boil off gas: up to 30% compared to

The installation of a re-liquefaction system onboard around 1% nitrogen in the LNG. (Almost no heavy
a vessel is subject to spatial and operational con- hydrocarbons are present in the BOG since their
straints that do not exist in on-shore plants. boiling point temperatures are much higher than the
LNG temperature).
On shore re-liquefaction systems operate most of
the time at constant load and almost continuously. Principle
On the vessel the volume of BOG varies quite a lot The EcoRel re-liquefaction system relies on the
(laden voyage versus ballast voyage, sea conditions, principle of a closed nitrogen reverse Brayton cycle
tank spraying, etc.) and operation is not continuous to produce the cold power needed to condense the
since no re-liquefaction takes place during the load- BOG. The amount of cold production is propor-
ing or unloading of the tanks. The re-liquefaction tional to the amount of boil off gas to be re-liquefied
process is thus stopped and restarted every 2 to 3 and is adapted by modifying the mass circulating in
weeks depending on the route of the vessel. the nitrogen loop. The condensation temperature is
To cope with these constraints Cryostar targeted a function of the boil off gas composition and of the
low power consumption but also a simple, sturdy selected pressure at which the condensation takes
and easy to operate system allowing the process to place.
be started quickly.
The cycle includes 3 warm compression stages with
Cryostar’s EcoRel concept is environmentally intercoolers and after-coolers and one cryogenic ex-
friendly. It performs full re-liquefaction of the BOG pansion turbine combined in a single machine called
whereas other systems perform partial re-liquefaction a “compander”, a machine developed by Cryostar
and have to enrich the vented gas with methane in in 1996.
order to get a correct combustion before releasing it
to the atmosphere. The cycle also includes a counter current heat
Additionally, with the full reliquefaction no nitrogen exchanger and the condensing part in which the
depletion takes place during the voyage so that nitro- cold power is exchanged with the BOG. Operating
gen does not need to be added in the re-gasification flexibility determined the choice of splitting the
terminal in order to maintain the gas heating value. condensing part into two elements: a de-superheater
and a condenser. This arrangement allows the BOG
In fact LNG is a mixture of gases, methane being loop to be started quickly, and process flexibility for
the main component. It also contains, in addition to different BOG compositions.
butane, propane and ethane, up to 1% of nitrogen,
depending on the loading terminal. The boiling The BOG side consists of a two-stage compressor
point of nitrogen, under ambient conditions is with inter-cooler, which relays the gas to the de-
-196°C, which is well below the -163°C temperature superheater and the condenser and then the return
in the tank. This explains the high concentration of of the sub-cooled condensate to the tank.
Data
The quantity BOG needing to be re-liquefied on a
N2 LOOP
BOG Q-Max vessel is ~ 7 T/h. It requires a compander
Desuperheater
power of ~ 5.2 MW assuming -100°C gas inlet tem-
N2 Counter
Current Exchanger
perature at the BOG compressor inlet.
BOG
Condenser N2 inter
& after coolers
Control
Cryostar provides the process controls as well as
the machine’s control logic for full integration in
the LNG carrier’s central Integrated Automation
N2 Compander
System IAS. The process and the associated control

4 Autumn 2007
 HOW IT WORKS

concept of the complete

system have been de- N2
Cold BOG
Warm BOG
veloped with the help BOG
Compressor Condensate

of static and dynamic

simulation tools and
BOG
have been validated by Intercooler N2 LOOP
BOG
nitrogen liquefaction Desuperheater

tests. The Cryostar deep N2 Counter

Current Exchanger
knowledge of the design BOG
Condenser
but also under off design N2 inter
& after coolers
BOG LOOP
conditions allows Cryo-
star to generate good
an accurate machines N2 Compander

models.

Machine
The two-stage BOG TANK 5 TANK 4 TANK 3 TANK 2 TANK 1

compressors are field-

proven. In fact, they are similar to the ones installed electrical blackout on a vessel than in on-shore plants
on DFDE vessels except that their discharge pressure require a flexible and simple system.
is lower for the re-liquefaction system. Cryostar has reached a very good compromise with
the EcoRel solution: quite low power consumption
The compander technology (3 warm compressor levels and a sturdy easy-to-operate system.
stages and one cryogenic turbine stage on a common This concept could of course also be used for small
single gearbox) has been proven since 1996 when on-shore projects. It can obviously be adapted de-
Cryostar first implemented this integrated machine pending on related operating constraints. For plants
concept in air separation plants. operating continuously additional features could also
The motor is driven by a 6MW variable frequency be implemented to reduce the operating costs.
drive in order to limit the inrush current. The ship,
with very limited power generating capacities, oper-
ates in an island mode. The start up, which has a big
energy consumption, is challenging each time.

Cryostar has developed and patented different con-

cepts for the re-liquefaction of boil off gases.

Low capital costs, as well as the lowest pos-

sible power consump-
tion (in order to keep
the operating costs as low as
possible), are of course a com-
mon generic target for
all re-liquefaction
systems; but op-
erational flexibility is also
essential on a vessel. The different
modes of operation, the different LNG and thus
BOG compositions and the higher likelihood of an

Autumn 2007 5
 HOW WE TESTED IT

How we tested EcoRel

Cryostar’s quality control rules mean that all manu- strate the mechanical integrity of the machine. The
factured turbines, compressors or pumps have to be recurrent testing power for all following units was be
tested before delivery. This also applies to the rotat- limited to 4 MW.
ing equipment for the “EcoRel”, (Economic ecologic
reliable boil-off gas Reliquefaction) system installed All companders are tested with a dedicated oil sys-
on LNG carriers. However the recurrent testing of a tem and inter-stage piping together with intercoolers
6MW Compander (three combined compressor stages and an after-cooler. Special piping and a special test
and one cryogenic expansion turbine on one common procedure have been developed in order to combine
gearbox) required special considerations. the performance and mechanical running tests,
performed within a closed loop filled with dry air.
In addition to testing the machines, Cryostar also The resulting test conditions are close to nominal
validated the reliquefaction process by liquefying operating conditions onboard the vessel for the three
nitrogen in a mockup installation. compression stages.
This test allows the verification of the aerodynamic
performance of all stages, the checking of the me-
One of the challenges that needed to be addressed to chanical integrity of the machine under load and
test the machinery was the electrical supply. A ship’s the confirmation that the anti surge system works
electrical frequency is 60 Hz whereas the European as well as assuring the good functioning of all the
grid frequency is 50 Hz. Cryostar had already the instruments, and associated systems (gas seals, lube
capability to drive motors up to 1.8 MW and 6000V oil, etc...).
at 60 Hz, but to drive the 6 MW 3300V compander
motor, Cryostar had to invest in a 7.2 MVA variable Such high load testing required high investment for
frequency drive. Due to local power grid limitations, the needed infrastructure and important resources
Cryostar also had to rent two 1 MW gensets for type for the recurrent complete unit assembly and instal-
testing of one unit at full power in order to demon- lation, and also has a high power consumption.

6 Autumn 2007
 HOW WE TESTED IT

Cryostar thinks that it was worth it, so

Simplified Process Flow Diagram N2
that once installed on site the delivered N2 liquefaction test
N2 to liquefy
Liquid N2
machines are just perfect.
To validate the reliquefaction concept, BOG
Desuperheater
N2 supply

10.E.03

Cryostar has built a full-scale mockup N2 Drum

20.V.01
installation able to liquefy nitrogen using N2
vaporizer

the equipment. The purpose of this test

was to demonstrate that the equipment BOG
Condenser
and associated control concept worked 10.E.01
N2 Counter
Current N2 inter
Exchanger & after coolers

according to expectations. Since boil-off 20.E.01 21 & 22.E.01~03

gas was not available, the system was LNG flash

drum
10.V.01

tested with nitrogen.

N2 Compander
LNG return pump 21 & 22.C.01
10.P.01

The nitrogen loop, which is the cooling LN2 supply

loop of the reliquefaction system, was

identical to the one installed on a vessel
The test was conducted in different steps in order
from a functional point of view. The piping layout
to validate the sequences (start/stop/ESD), to tune
was adapted to the mockup installation. For the boil-
the controllers and finally to confirm that the overall
off gas side, some modifications were made in order
concept was sound.
to represent the ship’s operation. The core part of the
system was kept similar to a ship’s process and full
After tuning the control loops, the installation
equipment was used, i.e.: condenser, de-superheater,
worked well, and we were able to liquefy the expected
flash drum, and pump.
flow of N2 with the expected power consumption.
The testing was performed in summer 2007 and
The liquefaction of nitrogen is more demanding than
successfully witnessed by ship builder’s and end user
the liquefaction of LNG boil-off gas. It requires a
representatives on August 16th.
lower temperature (as low as -183°C depending on
pressure). This leads to a very cold temperature close
Cryostar does not compromise in the testing of its
to that needed for liquid formation at the turbine
equipment even if it requires heavy investment –
outlet, as we have to liquefy N2 with gaseous N2.
product quality always comes first.

Autumn 2007 7
 HOW WE DEVELOPED IT

EcoRel, how we developed it

When Cryostar first obtained the order for the ‘design, procurement and construction of on-board re-liquefaction
plants’ the project team knew that it had to rely on first class tools in order to get the job done. This article
examines three examples of such engineering design tools, explains the context in which they were used and shows
how they contributed to the successful completion of the EcoRel project.

INDISS ™ with the measurements at the test bench and provided

For the EcoRel project Cryostar was responsible for a useful learning tool for the operation of the plant.
both rotating machinery performance and also for
the performance of an entire plant. In order to build CAESAR II
the on-board re-liquefaction plant it was necessary Another tool essential to the design of the EcoRel proj-
to master the process of the plant. For this purpose ect proved to be CAESAR II (by COADE Engineering
Cryostar used a high fidelity dynamic simulation plat- Software) a pipe stress analysis tool. The tool allowed
form provided by RSI Simcon (part of the IFP group) a quick generation of the 3D model of the related pip-
that was used in conjunction with the static process ing for the on-board re-liquefaction plant based on a
simulation tool HYSYS. The dynamic simulation tool piping list, isometrics and the P&ID. A comprehensive
called INDISS™ is designed in multi-layer component material database with allowable stresses helped the
architecture. The open environment allowed Cryo- user enter the piping material characteristics of the
star’s engineers to implement their own proprietary piping layout (ex: a variety of loads had to be applied
components of the on-board re-liquefaction plant. to the model). Factors such as weight (including the
Expanders, compressors, anti-surge protection and thermal insulation), pressure and temperature gradi-
load sharing heat-exchangers and N2 make-up systems ents and shipboard accelerations as specified by the
were all coded in the dynamic plant model. ship builders all had to be taken into account. Every
element of the design was entered with the detailed
The performance characteristics of the rotating ma- supplier information.
chinery components of the plant were cross-checked
and adjusted during the open loop performance test CAESAR II was then used to assess the loads on the
that was conducted at the Cryostar test facility. rotating machinery, the aluminium plate fin heat ex-
The comparison with the test results allowed changers and the shell and tube heat exchangers of the
an adjustment of the parameters of the plant on-board re-liquefaction plant. Displacements at each
model which were previously based on predic- flange were calculated to check the support dimensions
tions. During the full N2 loop test the plant and to verify potential interference with the piping. 3D
model showed excellent comparisons graphics enabled a quick and efficient review of the
results.

8 Autumn 2007
 HOW WE DEVELOPED IT

CFD
A third tool used for the EcoRel
project was a Computational Fluid
Dynamics code (CFD). The code
from NUMECA allows the flow
inside the rotating and station-
ary blade passage to be modelled
based on a finite volume numerical
method. For every calculation of a
given passage inside the machine
a structural mesh was gener-
ated with Autogrid™ and the 3D
Navier-Stokes equations were
computed with Fine/Turbo™ as-
suming smooth walls and adiabatic
expansion or compression. Closure
of the equations was given by the
Spalart-Allmaras turbulence mod-
el. For the EcoRel project different
flow features of the N2 compander
were computed and the results were
analysed using a 3D viewer.

A first CFD study concerned the static pressure field Stringent space constraints on-board ship resulted
inside the nozzle blades of the expander stage. This in having to optimise the aerodynamic performance
computation allowed an estimation of the torque of interconnecting piping with a small footprint.
on the nozzle blades and helped to verify that the CFD helped to position flow straighteners inside the
nozzle actuator was correctly sized for design and interconnecting piping in order to find the best com-
off-design duty. promise between the available space and the require-
ment of an undistorted flow field at the compressor
A second CFD study examined the flow in the inter- inlet.
connecting piping between the compressor stages.
Further CFD studies analysed the performance
impact of different compressor hub noses, different
compressor diffuser geometries and the impact on
efficiency of the tip clearance height. In addition
to the design flow case off-design cases (low flow,
high flow) were also studied. Finally the results were
compared with test bench measurements.

The design of EcoRel in the given lead-time of the

project would have been unthinkable without the
extensive use of state of the art computer tools.
Cryostar clearly gives itself the means to achieve its
goals.

Autumn 2007 9
 LNG

Cryostar and the LNG carrier market

Cryostar is the only supplier for the combined cryogenic machinery on board LNG carriers, selling the
compressors as an integrated package with the cargo handling heat exchangers. Cryostar’s unique know-how
in this sector results in ship builders consulting Cryostar regarding proper sizing, interfacing and utilisation of
the equipment.

A solution for all types of ship propulsion systems.

Until only a few years ago, machineries on LNG tankers were based on single steam turbine technology where
the required steam was produced by two dual-fuel boilers, which use both boil-off gas and heavy fuel oil.

As environmental issues are becoming more and more important, ship builders and owners have started to look
for alternative propulsion systems to move away from the less efficient steam turbine technology.

Consequently, and to anticipate the technological evolution, Cryostar has developed a combination of solutions
applicable to any of the propulsion systems chosen for the future.

Irrespective of the selected ship drive system (conventional steam turbine, dual fuel engine, diesel electric drive
system, gas turbine or diesel engine with liquefaction plant), Cryostar has the right combination of products for
assuring reliable ship operation.

Cryostar is the only supplier for the combined cryogenic machinery for the cargo handling systems on LNG
carriers with:
1. Boil-off Gas Compressors – used to keep the LNG tanks on board ship at the right temperature and pres-
sure.
2. Gas heaters and vaporizers – used to warm up the boil-off gas which is then used to power the ship.
3. the re-liquefaction concept, EcoRel, combining a cooling plant and various components used in air separation
and nitrogen liquefying plants (see main article).

Over the last few years, Cryostar has developed strong commercial and technical relationships with all major
ship builders in China, Korea and Japan, but also in Europe. Orders were received from almost all major ship
builders in the world, namely Daewoo, Samsung, Hyundai, Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Kawasaki, Universal, Hudong-
Zhonghua, Chantiers de l’Atlantique (now Aker), Fincantieri and IZAR.

A large installed base and order book

As of today out of 237 ships in operation, there are Cryostar compressors and Cryostar heat exchangers on 196
ships. In addition, Cryostar has machines on order to equip 53 under construction. To which we need to add the
14 Ecorel re-liquefaction units for the Q-max
ships presently on order.

As shown above, Cryostar has developed itself

a strong position since the mid 70s. From being
originally a supplier of machinery for industrial
gas applications, the company has transformed
into a more diversified organisation supplying
other markets. Today, the LNG ship market is
Cryostar’s main business segment!

10 Autumn 2007
 INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED

Infrastructure needed
for EcoRel production
Lots of additional resources were needed to support the challenge of de-
signing, producing, assembling, testing, and shipping the EcoRel units.

First, a new 1200 m2 assembly hall was completed in February 2006

(see Spring 2006 edition) equipped with two 50-tonne cranes and eight
one-tonne jib cranes. The total investment for this additional production
structure was € 2.5 million.

Adjacent to this new workshop, a fully equipped new test facility was
completed in Spring 2007. It is dedicated to the re-liquefaction units as
well as large hydrocarbon turbines. The main characteristics of this test
building are:
● 650 m2 total test surface
● One 50-tonne bridge crane
● Two one-tonne jib cranes
● Two surface plates for machine testing
● 8 MW power supply
● Compressed air supply of 20,000 m3/h at 10 bar
● Cooling water circuit 550 m3/h with 6 MW cooling tower
● 6 MW variable frequency drive

The total investment was € 3.5 million

The test facility also includes a compressor room, an electric room, a
computerized test commando room and a small conference room – in
total some additional 300 m2.

Events
November 13-16, 2007 March 14-16, 2008
Cryogen-Expo 2007, All-Russian Exhibition F U E L L I NG PA K I S TA N 20 08 ( I nter -
Center, hall No 70 “Moskva”, Moscow, Russia. n at ion a l E x h ibit ion on C NG , L P G &
A lter n at ive S ou rc e s of E nerg y) , For t re ss
November 27-29, 2007 St ad iu m L a hore , L a hore , Pa k ist a n.
ANGVA 2007 (the Biennial Conference and Ex-
February, 2008
hibition of the Asia-Pacific Natural Gas Vehicles
Association), BITEC, Bangkok, Thailand. AIIGMA (All India Industrial Gases Manufac-
More info : www.angvaevents.com turers’ Association), New Delhi, India

February 20-22, 2008 March 10-13, 2008

Clean Heavy Duty Vehicle Conference, Hilton San 23rd GASTECH, Bangkok International Trade
Diego Resort, San Diego, California. & Exhibition Centre, Bangkok, India.
More info : www.cleanheavyduty.org More info : www.gastech.co.uk

Autumn 2007 11
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Contact: [email protected]

www.cryostar.com