CHAPTER 9

LIQUID TRANSFER/VAPOR
RECOVERY
William A. Kennedy Jr.
Blackmer / A Dover Resource Company

Gas compressors are often used in the bulk transfer of liquefied gases from rail
cars or truck transports into a storage vessel. Liquefied gases are products that are
contained at a vapor/liquid equilibrium in closed systems above atmospheric pres-
sure. Typical examples are hydrocarbons (propane, butane, propylene, etc.), carbon
dioxide, refrigerant gases, chlorine, hydrogen chloride, and some solvents. Most of
these products must be kept free of contaminants like moisture, oil and non-
condensables such as air or nitrogen.
While the use of rail cars to transport compressed liquefied gases is a widespread
and safe practice, the process engineer is faced with several system design problems
because of the following:

1. The system NPSHA (Net Positive Suction Head Available) is less than required
by a liquid pump. Top mounted control valves with ‘‘dip tubes’’ are used on
these types of rail cars.
2. The liquid vapor pressure is above atmosphere at ambient temperatures.
3. The system must not be contaminated with moisture, oil, or air.

Unloading a rail car can be handled by a liquid pump, air padding (or other
non-condensable gas), gas compressor or a combination system using a liquid pump
and gas compressor. The problems and merits of each method are discussed below.

9.1 TRANSFER USING A LIQUID PUMP

Cavitation and loss of pump prime are common problems when using liquid pumps
to unload rail cars. Since liquefied gases are stored at their vapor/liquid equilibrium
point, any reduction in pressure (caused by fluid friction in the pump inlet line),

9.1
9.2 CHAPTER NINE

or increase in temperature (caused by heat gain in the pump inlet line), results in
vapor forming in the inlet piping and/or internal pump cavitation. Either condition
reduces the transfer rate and damages internal pump parts.
Another problem when using a liquid pump is the amount of product left in the
rail car when it appears to be empty since the dip tubes do not reach all of the
way to the bottom of the tank (see Fig. 9.1). In addition, there is product in vapor
form remaining in the rest of the rail car. For example, in a typical 11,000 gallon
tank car, with the dip tube 3 inches from the bottom, there would be about 115
gallons of liquid left below the dip tube. Usually there is even more liquid re-
maining because a liquid pump will lose its prime before the liquid level reaches
the bottom of the dip tubes. The amount of vaporized product left would depend
on the product being transported. A propane tank car on an 80⬚F day (vapor pres-
sure ⫽ 144 psia) would still contain 1465 pounds of propane (or 344 gallons when
liquefied) in the vapor space of an 11,000 gallon tank car after all of the liquid
had been removed.
The use of a liquid pump to unload a compressed liquefied gas from a rail car
with top mounted outlets presents the following problems:

1. Extreme difficulty in priming and maintaining the prime due to poor NPSH
conditions and likely cavitation problems
2. Low and unpredictable transfer rates due to cavitation in the inlet line and pump
3. Excess noise and internal pump damage due to cavitation
4. Failure to remove all the liquid from the tank car
5. Failure to remove any vapor from the tank car

9.2 AIR PADDING

Another unloading method that will overcome some of the liquid pump problems
is to use compressed air to ‘‘pad’’ the car. A dedicated system designed to supply
oil free air at a pressure greater than the maximum vapor pressure of the liquid in
the tank car is required. Usually the air must be dry (⫺40⬚F dew point is typical)
to prevent moisture contamination. Nitrogen is sometimes used in place of dry air.
While air padding solves the system NPSH problem by pushing the liquid out, it
leaves several problems unaddressed and creates others.

1. There is still liquid left below the dip tube.

2. The vaporized liquid is still in the tank car.
3. If the air drying system fails, the resulting moisture contamination can result in
product quality or system corrosion problems.
4. The most serious problem may be the dilution of the vaporized liquid with air.
The presence of a non-condensable gas (air or nitrogen) will cause tank pres-
sures greater than the vapor pressure of a pure product. When the rail car is
 LIQUID TRANSFER / VAPOR RECOVERY 9.3

Relief
Valve
Angle
Valve

Excess
Flow
Valve

Dip
Tube

Pipe
Guide

FIGURE 9.1
9.4 CHAPTER NINE

later filled with liquid, this may cause relief valves to open unexpectedly re-
leasing product to the atmosphere.

9.3 TRANSFER USING A GAS COMPRESSOR

The best solution for unloading rail tank cars is the use of a gas compressor rather
than a liquid pump or air padding. Figure 9.2 shows a typical schematic of a liquid
transfer operation using a gas compressor. The vapor section of the receiving tank
is connected to the compressor suction while the vapor section of the rail tank car
is connected to the compressor discharge. A separate liquid line connects the liquid
sections of the two vessels. Liquid transfer begins as the compressor transfers vapor
from the receiving tank to the vapor section of the rail car. In a well designed
system, the pressure differential developed between the two vessels will be 30 psi
or less. The process is continued until the liquid level falls below the liquid dip
tube opening in the rail car. This phase of the operation requires that enough gas
be transferred to displace the volume of liquid leaving the rail car plus the amount
of gas condensing into liquid in the rail car. Since the increase in gas temperature
caused by the heat-of-compression helps keep the gas from condensing, the com-
pressor discharge line (leading to the rail car) should be insulated and the com-
pressor should be installed near the rail car, ensuring minimum heat is lost from
the compressor discharge gas. In order to get the remaining product out of the rail
car, the system is changed to a ‘‘vapor recovery’’ mode, which is possible with a
gas compressor but not with a liquid pump or air padding.
Figure 9.3 illustrates the vapor recovery mode. The ‘‘liquid’’ line is closed. The
vapor section of the rail car is connected to the compressor suction and the com-
pressor discharge is connected to the liquid section of the receiving vessel. The

FIGURE 9.2
 LIQUID TRANSFER / VAPOR RECOVERY 9.5

FIGURE 9.3

connection change can be accomplished easily with the use of a multi-port selection
valve in the piping to and from the compressor. During the early stages of vapor
recovery, the rail car pressure will decrease slightly, causing the liquid below the
dip tube in the rail car to vaporize. Once vaporized, it is transferred by the com-
pressor into the receiving tank. Bubbling the gas through the liquid phase in the
receiving tank ensures rapid condensation with little increase in receiver tank pres-
sure. In extreme conditions, a separate condenser may be required.
After all of the liquid in the rail car has vaporized, the pressure will begin to
decrease as more gas is removed. The degree of vapor recovery is usually depen-
dent on economics—the value of the gas, the power required to operate the com-
pressor and time available to hold the rail car. A rough rule of thumb is to reduce
the rail car pressure to 25% of the product vapor pressure.
The use of a gas compressor for unloading rail cars addresses all the problems
noted above when using liquid pumps or air padding. A well designed compressor
system will provide years of safe operation with limited down time. The increased
product recovery (the liquid below the dip tubes and the vapor in the rail car) will
actually reduce the number of rail cars required over a period of time. The NPSH
problems and related cavitation go away and there should be no product contam-
ination.
When designing gas compressor systems for liquid transfer/vapor recovery op-
erations, some unique system requirements must be considered. An often over-
looked, but important system feature is the rated liquid flow of the excess flow
valve on the rail car. The excess flow valves located in the dip tubes, shown in
Fig. 9.1, are designed to automatically close at a given flow rate to prevent spillage
due to a major line break. Once the allowable flow rates are determined, the size
of the compressor can be established. An oversize compressor will cause the excess
flow valves to close, stopping the unloading operation. Another critical decision
involves how low the rail car pressure is to be reduced. This determines whether
9.6 CHAPTER NINE

a single- or multi-stage compressor is required. Careful analysis of the compressor

operating temperature is required. Normally, every effort is made to keep the op-
erating temperature of a compressor low, which increases the life of the machine,
so water cooling is common in the compressor industry. However, except in ex-
treme cases, an air cooled compressor is best used in a liquid transfer operation
because it is desirable to keep the gas temperature up to help reduce condensation
of gas in the rail car during the liquid transfer mode.
The compressor manufacturer can supply performance data to help determine
the time required for liquid transfer, time needed to reduce rail car pressure to
various levels, power requirements and operating temperatures. These are rather
complex calculations since the compressor is not operating at steady state condi-
tions, and compressor performance varies with product, ambient temperature, tank
sizes, piping losses, location of the compressor, etc.

9.4 COMBINATION COMPRESSOR/PUMP SYSTEMS

While the use of a compressor solves many problems with unloading rail cars of
compressed liquefied gases, there are some limitations that must be observed. High
pressure differentials will decrease the transfer rate. This is usually caused by poor
piping design; great separation of rail car from the storage tank; elevation difference
of two tanks; or metering liquid flow with a high pressure drop meter, i.e., positive
displacement type meter.
If any of these conditions exist, a combination compressor/liquid pump system
may be the best solution (see Fig. 9.4). This is the same as Fig. 9.2, except a liquid
pump has been inserted in the liquid line. The NPSH problems caused by the poor
pump suction conditions (dip tube and long suction line) are solved by using the
gas compressor to increase the rail car pressure with gas from the receiving vessel.
With improved suction conditions, the liquid pump can now provide the high dif-
ferential pressure required by the system. Once the liquid level drops below the
dip tube, the liquid pump is turned off. Removal of the remaining liquid and vapor
recovery take place as shown in Fig. 9.3.

9.5 COMPRESSORS FOR LIQUID TRANSFER/VAPOR

RECOVERY

While there are many variables, typical rail car liquid transfer/vapor recovery com-
pressors (Fig. 9.5) will be rather small (up to 60 CFM piston displacement), air
cooled and single stage. Larger compressors may be used for multiple rail car
unloading. The following design features are common:

1. Cylinder working pressure greater than the maximum expected product vapor
pressure plus design system differential pressure
 LIQUID TRANSFER / VAPOR RECOVERY 9.7

FIGURE 9.4

2. Atmospheric vented crankcase design with a filtered pressure oil system to lu-
bricate the main bearings and connecting rods
3. Crosshead/piston rod construction allowing for separation of the crankcase from
gas compression area

FIGURE 9.5
9.8 CHAPTER NINE

4. Non-lubricated gas compression construction for oil-free transfer of gas

5. Piston rod seals to control gas leakage and prevent crankcase oil from entering
the cylinder area. While a single seal per rod may be used, the preferred con-
struction is two seals per rod with a closed distance piece allowing for venting,
purging or padding between seals. For certain gases (chlorine, vinyl chloride,
hydrogen chloride, etc.), a third seal per rod and a second distance piece is
recommended.
6. High temperature switches, high/low pressure switches, high liquid level
switches in liquid traps, etc., help prevent unexpected equipment problems.

Since the gas is being handled at, or very near, its vapor-liquid equilibrium point,
there is always concern with condensation in the piping or in the compressor cyl-
inder. To help protect against liquid entering the compressor (which may result in
severe damage), several system designs must be considered:

1. A liquid trap should be located as near the compressor inlet as possible. The
trap must be sized to accommodate any anticipated condensation that could
occur in the inlet piping. Liquid level alarms, shut-off devices (mechanical or
electrical), mist pads and/or sight gages may be part of the system. Figure 9.6

FIGURE 9.6
 LIQUID TRANSFER / VAPOR RECOVERY 9.9

shows a typical package including a liquid trap, 4-way valve, strainer and drive
system.
2. Piping should be designed to prevent condensate from draining into the com-
pressor during shutdown.
3. Operating procedures must be established to drain any condensate prior to start
up.