MAY 2004 www.pump-zone.

com PUMPS & SYSTEMS 32

A
pump is a pump,
right? Not exactly,
given all the variations on the
theme. Take, for example those
pumps primarily used for trans-
fer of liquefied natural gas (LNG)
and other liquefied gases. Theyre
really in a class unto themselves.
Over the years, various methods of
transferring LNG from ship to tank
storage for transfer later to a send-out
system, or transfer directly from ship
into a regasification or send-out sys-
tem have been studied, and some are
already in detailed design or under
construction. This article focuses on
the use of submerged, electric motor
pumps (SEMPs) for these types of
services.
Unique pumps for unique duty. . .
Multistage LNG send-out pump
after removal from test stand
Submerged Motor
LNG Pumps In Send-Out
System Service
Submerged Motor
LNG Pumps In Send-Out
System Service
Along with the rapid growth
of the global LNG market has
come an escalating demand for
additional LNG receiving termi-
nals and regasification systems
around the world. Such termi-
nals, whether on- or offshore,
contain gas send-out systems that
utilize SEMPs for LNG transfer
and pressurization. These pumps
typically feature an integral shaft
with the entire motor, bearings
and all other components com-
pletely flooded with LNG.
Safety
Submerged motor pump
technology was first applied in
LNG applications in the early
1960s. Since that time, SEMPS
have been used in almost all
LNG receiving terminals. The
main reason for their popularity
is their inherently safe design
compared to that of external
motor type pumps with dynamic
shaft seals.
The motor and hydraulic
sections of the SEMP are directly
coupled with a common shaft,
submerged in the liquid, with no
oxygen present. This means the
motor is not located in the atmo-
sphere in the hazardous area, and
no rotating seals are required.
The design almost completely
eliminates the possibility of leak-
age of flammable gas into the
atmosphere.
In addition to the safety
aspects, as no coupling is
required between the motor and
pump sections, there are no
alignment problems normally
associated with pumps that use
couplings. Furthermore, since
the complete assembly is sub-
merged in liquid that acts as
effective sound insulation, these
pumps operate very quietly.
Basic Design
In a traditional, land-based
LNG receiving terminal, the sys-
tem consists of a storage tank
that contains retractable (remov-
able) or in-tank type pumps, and
a send-out system, which con-
tains vessel-mounted type high-
pressure LNG pumps and vapor-
izers. This type of terminal also
includes a jetty where the LNG
carrier would dock and discharge
its LNG into the onshore storage
tanks.
The pumps used in the
onshore storage tanks are sub-
merged motor, retractable types,
as shown in Figure 1. For a typi-
cal receiving terminal, this type
pump, sometimes also referred to
as a primary pump, will have a
flow rate of approximately 200 to
over 400 m
3
/h. This pump would
normally only require one or two
impeller stages, as it only needs
to transfer the LNG out of the
tank and into the secondary sys-
tem.
For vaporizer-feed duty, a
relatively high pressure is
required due to the high-pressure
drop across the vaporizer. For
this application, a multistage ves-
sel-mounted type pump (see
Figure 2) that can produce pres-
sures up to approximately 140
kg/cm
2
is used.
For primary transfer pumps,
the motor voltage is normally
400 to 480 volts, three phase, but
also can be made at higher volt-
ages, depending on the site
power supply. The secondary
vaporizer-feed pumps are nor-
mally higher power, which
require from 4160 to 6600 volts.
Both types of pumps can be
manufactured for either 50 or 60
Hz power, depending on site
requirements.
The primary pump is
installed into the storage tank
through a discharge column
mounted inside the tank. At the
base of the column is a suction
valve that is opened by the pump
itself. As the pump is lowered
into the tank, the valve opens,
allowing the LNG to flow into
the inlet of the pump. The pump
has a seal located near its base,
which allows the discharge liquid
to be pumped out the top of the
pump and out the top of the dis-
charge column.
Since the primary pump is
installed in the storage tank,
which is already provided with a
vent system, no other venting
connection at the headplate or
column is required (although
venting of the column to equal-
ize pressure to the main tank area
is required prior to start-up). The
heat from the pump primarily is
transferred to the pumped fluid,
with only a small amount of heat
being transferred back to the liq-
uid in the storage tank.
The high-pressure secondary
pump is installed in its own self-
contained suction vessel, with
PUMPS & SYSTEMS www.pump-zone.com MAY 2004 33
By Steve Rush,
Cryodynamics Division,
Ebara International Corp.
Along with the
rapid growth
of the global
LNG market
has come an
escalating
demand for
additional LNG
receiving
terminals and
regasification
systems
around the
world.
standard flanged inlet and discharge
pipe connections. The vessel needs
to be vented and is provided with a
vent nozzle at the top of the head-
plate. Vessels can be made to the
ASME Section VIII code or to just
about any pressure vessel code, as
required.
Apart from the piping connec-
tions, both pump types require
power cables to be connected at
their junction boxes located on or
near the headplate.
Primary Pump:
Design Concerns
With a SEMP used for LNG, it
is always important to keep in mind
that LNG is normally handled close
to its boiling point. Even just a
small increase in temperature or a
drop in pressure can cause the LNG
to vaporize.
As previously noted, the prima-
ry pumps in the storage tank are
used simply to transfer the LNG to
the send-out system. Normally, two
or three primary pumps are used,
depending on total flow require-
ments and the need for backup or
redundancy. From a pump design
standpoint, there is no particular
spacing requirement between the
pump columns. Normally, the col-
umn spacing will be dictated by the
tank design and spacing of the pip-
ing, valves, etc, at the tank top.
Care should be taken in the
tank design for the location of the
inlet piping to the tank. If the inlet
pipe is placed too close to the pump
columns, the warmer liquid enter-
ing the tank can affect the NPSHR
of the pumps when filling the tanks
during lower-level operation.
Another requirement is the
need for column venting prior to
start-up. Most columns will have
discharge piping that can be vented
to the tank top to equalize pressure
between the tank and column; it is
crucial to ensure there are no low
spots that could trap liquid or
prevent proper venting. This
Figure 1. Diagram of submerged motor, retractable (removable) type pump
used in onshore storage tanks.
Figure 2. Multistage vessel-mounted pump design for vaporizer-feed duty.
PUMPS & SYSTEMS
becomes very important at low
liquid levels, where two meters
of LNG is equal to only
0.09 kg/cm
2
pressure. If the col-
umn pressure is too high, the
lower section of the column,
including the pump, can be com-
pletely void of liquid, which can
create problems during starting.
Secondary Pumps:
Design Concerns
The secondary pumps are
normally installed in a bank or
row, with the suction nozzles all
connected to a common suction
header. The discharge lines are
also normally connected to a
common line, but each pump
should have its own discharge
control valve, as well as a by-pass
or kick-back line to allow
proper starting and operation.
Discharge control is extremely
important to allow proper start-
up when operating several
pumps in parallel.
With a secondary pump, it
also is critical to recognize proper
venting. Since the secondary
pumps normally have much
higher motor power, it is particu-
larly important to take care of
any heated LNG or vapor. Vent
lines should always be rising as
they leave the pump vessel and
provide good venting back to a
low-pressure space. Many prob-
lems with secondary pumps over
the years have been attributed to
poor vent-system design.
In the secondary pump sys-
tem, a phase separator, or recon-
denser, is normally installed in
the suction area. This tank is typ-
ically used to allow the liquid to
settle long enough to allow any
vapor to be vented, and is also
used to introduce LNG from the
boil-off gas system to try and
recover as much of the LNG as
possible. The design of the sys-
tem in this area should also be
treated carefully to ensure that
the LNG temperature is still well
into the liquid phase as it enters
the pump suction.
Motors
With the recent interest in
offshore or remote send-out sys-
tems, an important topic is the
electrical supply used to start the
high-pressure send-out pumps.
Since the motors in these pumps
are typically from 1000 to as
much as 2300 kW, a large start-
ing system is required. A cryo-
genic motor is a unique design,
and the starting current required
is approximately 6
1
2 times the full
load current. It is difficult to
reduce this value because of the
amount of torque required for
starting a cryogenic motor.
To reduce the starting cur-
rent, soft starters, autotransform-
ers and variable frequency drives
can be used with SEMPsand
have been used very successfully
in many applications. However,
proper set-up of starting parame-
ters in any current reduction type
starting system is critical. To pre-
vent problems, consult your
pump manufacturer.
In some offshore or remote
locations, using the LNG carrier
as the primary system delivering
the LNG directly to the sec-
ondary pumps has been dis-
cussed. It appears as though the
biggest obstacle in this type sys-
tem is the venting and boil-off
from the send-out system during
operation. Using the boil-off gas
to feed local gas turbine genera-
tors for power, or pressurizing
the gas using compressors and
feeding into the downstream gas
system appear to be popular
alternatives.
Monitor & Protect
Both primary and secondary
SEMPs can have monitoring sys-
tems installed to trend vibration.
These systems typically consist of
a piezoelectric type accelerometer
PUMPS & SYSTEMS www.pump-zone.com MAY 2004 35
About EIC/Cryodynamics
Cryodynamics specializes
in the design, manufac-
ture and testing of sub-
merged, electric motor-
powered pumps and
power recovery turbine
generators. Used in a vari-
ety of land-based and
marine applications, Cryodynamics pumps are designed to handle liquefied
gasses with pumping temperatures ranging from ambient to cryogenic.
Through its affiliation with Ebara Corporation of Japan, one of the
largest pump companies in the world, Cryodynamics has developed a repu-
tation for quality and flexibility, incorporating its own liquefied gas pump
engineering know-how with Ebara's centrifugal pump expertise dating back
to 1912. The divisions large, modern headquarters and manufacturing plant
in Sparks, NV (adjacent to Reno in Northern Nevada on the California bor-
der), also is the site of one of the worlds largest and most sophisticated cryo-
genic liquefied gas pump test facilities.
Cryodynamics supports its products with specialist service engineers
based in the U.S., Japan and the U.K. It is Quality System Certified to ISO
9001: 2000 with a Current Continuous Registration.
For more information on Ebaras Cryodynamics Division, as well as
Ebaras Standard Pump Division or its Electric Motor Division, log onto:
www.ebaracryo.com. Or, circle Reader Service Number 523.
mounted to the outside of the
pump casingyes, submerged in
the LNG. This is a very difficult
type of installation, and the relia-
bility of these in-tank vibration
systems is not very good.
For vessel-mounted secondary
pumps, the accelerometer can be
mounted outside of the suction
vessel, on the headplate. While
not as sensitive as a casing
mount, it can be effective for
trend monitoring, and recently
has become the preferred method
for mounting.
One of the best ways to mon-
itor SEMPs is to simply use the
trending capabilities of the dis-
tributed control system (DCS). If
motor amperage, flow and pres-
sure are checked regularly and
trended against one another, the
performance of the pump can be
verified. Over time, any apparent
deterioration in performance is
normally an indication that the
unit is in need of overhaul.
For protection, the pumps
should be protected with at least
over- and under-current relays in
the electrical system out-of-spec-
ification, connected to the motor
power input. A loss in amperage
is an indication of loss of suction
pressure (cavitation), and an
increase in amperage is an indica-
tion of a mechanical problem or
a problem in the electrical wiring
into the motor. Furthermore, a
typical system will contain pro-
tection for low suction pressure
or low liquid level, and low or
out-of-specification flow and/or
pressure. Newer DCS systems
have excellent capabilities for cre-
ating acceptable operating para-
meters for SEMPs.
Reliability
The reliability of a send-out
system is extremely important.
Most systems have several pumps
operating at all times, with the
need for pumps operating 24
hours a day for long periods of
time.
With LNG systems, mainly
because of the fact that the LNG
is typically handled close to its
boiling point, there are several
factors, including system design,
that are very important to consid-
er when seeking to ensure a safe,
reliable system. In a review of
LNG pump failures over the
years, the predominant root caus-
es for failure have been as follows:
Cavitation due to poor sys-
tem design or improper
operation.
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MAY 2004 www.pump-zone.com PUMPS & SYSTEMS 36
Operation at flow rates away
from the rated or best effi-
ciency point for extended
periods of time.
Debris or contamination in
the liquid.
Since LNG systems are nor-
mally clean, the first two points
seem to be the main causes of
failure. To ensure reliable send-
out systems, the designers and
operators of these systems need
to be well trained and aware of
the important issues surrounding
design and operation.
Moreover, it is especially
important to consult with the
SEMP manufacturer during ini-
tial design or FEED stages, as
well as when writing specifica-
tions for equipment. As with any
application, proper system
design should result in a safe,
simple, reliable and reasonably
priced installation. P&S
References
1. D. Cullen, J. Madison, High
Pressure Technology, Hydro-
carbon Asia, July/August
2001.
2. G. Louis Weisser, Modern
Submersible Pumps for
Cryogenic Liquids, World
Pumps, January 1994.
3. D. Cullen, S. Rush, J. Madison,
Radial and Axial Diffusers for
Submerged Electric Motor-
Driven Pumps, World Pumps,
September 2000.
Steve Rush is the Vice
President of Sales and Service for
the Cryodynamics Division of
Ebara International Corp (EIC).
Headquartered in Sparks, NV, hes
worked with this division for more
than 23 years in the design, devel-
opment, testing, service and sales of
submerged motor cryogenic pumps
and liquid expanders. The author
of several papers and articles on
various subjects related to liquefied
gas pump equipment manufac-
tured by EIC/Cryodynamics, Rush
based this article on a presentation
he delivered for the 2004 AIChE
Spring National Meeting, Topical
Conference on Natural Gas Utili-
zation, in New Orleans, LA, April
27th. Contact him directly at:
srush@ebaraintl.com
PUMPS & SYSTEMS www.pump-zone.com MAY 2004 37
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