STORAGE AND LOGISTICS
Analysis of pressure increase
during filling of pressurized
LPG storage systems
Use this method to determine when a vapor handling system is needed
S. MATHUR, Bechtel India Pvt Ltd., Gurgaon, Haryana, India
and R. NANDA, Technip USA Inc., Houston, Texas
iquefied petroleum gases (LPGs) are generally stored in soidal tanks. Storage systems are located at the producing facilities
L pressurized storage systems for small- to mid-range storage
appiications. Conventionally, the LPG and other similar
pressurized liquids are filled from the boctom nozzle of the
pressuri7xd storage vessel. During the tilling process, as the
such as refinery and gas processing plants as well as at consumer
facilities like bottling plants and bulk import facilities. Product
is stored typically at ambient temperature and corresponding
saturation pressure. To prevent pressure increase while receiving
storage volume increases, the displaced vapors are compressed the liquid, the displaced vapors from storage are either returned to
and the pressure increases. In case of a low feed rate to the stor- the plant or balanced witb the vapor space of otber storage systems
age system, there is sufficient time for vapor to condense and tbat are under transfer or evacuation mode.
the thermal equilibrium is establisbed resulting in a marginal Bottom filling (Fig. I) is provided in several pressurized stor-
and inconsequential pressure increase. However, when the inlet age designs hy combining the inlet and the pumpout functions
flowrate is bigh, typically from ship unloading or large-capacity through one nozzle in the bottom. This design avoids splashing
production units, the pressure increase in storage can be signifi- incoming liquid, thereby minimizing static charge buildup on the
cant. During the early design phase, the analysis of pressure rise liquid.' Several LPG storage systems bave been built worldwide
in tbe pressurized storage system is recommended to evaluate based on tbis concept.
ihc requirement for a vapor handling system to ensure that the
full storage capacity is utilized. Issues w i t h high flowrate. When storage is being filled with
Generally, for large-scale LPG storage, cryogenic tanks with LPG from the bottom, tbe following processes take place:
vapor handling systems are utilized. In sucb systems, the pressure • Compression of vapors in the storage and increase in vapor
increase problem is not encountered since tbe displaced vapors are temperature
removed and condensed. In pressurized storage tbe uncertainties • Condensation of vapor on the liquid surface and release of
of pressure rise during bigh inflow rate require derailed evaluation tbe latent heat of condensation
to determine tbe requirement for a vapor • Heat transfer from the warm liquid on
bandling system. the top to the liquid below
rbi5 article attempts to identify and • Heat exchange with the surroundings
model the pressure increase pbenometia through the storage walls.
in the pressurized storage system. It also When tbefillingis at a slow rate the con-
discusses the method co predict the maxi- ditions can be close to equilibrium. How-
mum possible How through the bottom ever, tbis is not tbe case when thefillingrate
filling system. Tbis will enable the design- is high. Tbe problem of pressure increase can
ers to evaluate the requirement for a vapor be severe if an LPG storage facility that is
handling system. Tbe rain-filling system is initially built on a single-nozzle concept and
identified as one oF che possible methods installed for receiving the refinery produced
tbat can prevent pressure increase in the LPG is later utilized to receive imported
storage system without use of expensive LPG in bulk quantities from sbips. The
compression and reliquefaction systems. pressure buildup in storage can restrict che
Some design aspects of tbe rain-filling sys- filling rate due to increased backpressure
tem are also discussed. CO tbe ship's pumps. This can also limit the
total quantity of LPG chat can be stored in
Introduction. Pressurized storage systems FIG. 1 ^ Bottom filling is provided in tbe system due to its pressure rising close co
art' provided for storing hydrocarbons In ' several pressurized storage the maximum allowable working pressure
[ designs. limit. If che filling is stopped, the system
hulk quantities in spheres, bullets and ellip-
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING JUNE 2008 129
OWUSREPORT STORAGE AND LOGISTICS
200 m^
, 20 m^/hr
200 m^ 20 m^/hr
4 6 8 10
Time, hrs
FIG. 2 Storage pressures for n-butane. FIG. 3 Storage pressures for propane.
again tries to achieve equilibrium con- A method co evaluate the pressure
ditions thereby indicating that the pres- buildup during high flowrate fllling is
sure buildup during high inflow rate important for the designers since it can
is a transient phenomenon. However, be used to predict the threshold fllling
halting the filling operation is generally rate for a given installation above which
not practical due to the increased wait- the excess vapors should be condensed.
ing time for the ship. The only option For the simplicity of evaluation, it
left in such cases will be to add a vapor is assumed that of the four processes
handling system. taking place during filling (as men-
The terms high and low flowrates tioned previously) only 2 and 3 are
are relative to the storage volumes and significant. Heat of compression of che
thus, no general value is assigned ro vapors (item I) is neglected since this
chem. However, for understanding, a heat would be completely transferred
rate of 50 co 100 m Vhr to an 18-meter to the liquid when storage is liquid
diameter sphere is low. The rate of 300 Typical rain-filling system filled. Also che heat losses to the envi-
m Vhr or higher is a high flowrate and ronment (item 4) have been neglected
the pressure increase will be signifi- in the present analysis.
cant. Thus, heat is liberated by the condensing vapors at the liquid
surface and through means of direct contact heat transfer it is
Mathematical model of pressure and temperature transferred to the bulk liquid. The theoretical treatment is given
i n c r e a s e . A quick estimation of temperature and pressure rise by Nusselt's theory of condensation which considers formation
due to filling can be done by assuming the that all the vapors in of liquid film on the condensing surface and further condensa-
the space occupied hy the liquid condense and give their latent tion and heat transfer by conduction- through this film which is
heat to the liquid and results in a thoroughly mixed system in considered to be in the laminar flow regime.^ The film thickness
equilibrium. No heat transfer to the surroundings is assumed. greatly influences the condensation rate. ^ The heat transferred to
This cemperature increase, Af, can be easily estimated by the fol- the liquid per unit area consists of the latent heat liberated by the
lowing equation: condensing vapors per unit area and is given as:
Q 'kw
(1) A (2)
where: X = the latent heat of condensation of vapors where: Q]A = the heat received per unit area
p,, = average vapor density \ = the latent heat of condensation
p. = liquid density k = the liquid thermal conductivity
c = the specific heat of the liquid. dt/dH= the temperature gradient in the liquid film
The pressure rise can also be estimated since it would be the w = the mass rate of condensing vapors
difference between saturation pressures at the temperature in the V= volumetric filling rate into the storage.
beginning and the temperature at the end of fllling. However, the Since heat is also used co raise the stored liquid temperature which
pressure rise observed during high filling in races is found to be rises over time, the correlation for unsteady-state heat transfer by
much higher than that estimated by Eq. 1, conduction is used.
130 JUNE 2008 HYDROCARBON PROCESSING
STORAGE AND LOGISTICS
Assuming the stored liquid to be a wall of infmite thickness, rate can be achieved in a single storage system since the liquid
che heat transfer rate is given by:-* surface areas in che other storage systems are also available for
vapor condensation.
Q Gharts like these can be used for estimating the pressure rise
A (3)
and to check if it falls within the available difference in the oper-
ating pressure and maximum allowable working pressure in an
where 0 - time existing installation. As mentioned before, the limited field data
a = thermal diffusivity (k/cp) are used for this evaluation and at present the results from ihesc
7^ = the temperature at the surfece charts shouid be considered very approximate and at best direc-
/(I = the temperature at infinite distance from the surface, tional only. The results can he further refined after testing the
considered same as the inlet liquid temperature. correlations against more field data.
Using the properties of LPG, the correlation was plotted for
the various flowrates. The results using Eq. 3 predict a very high Rain-filling system design. Facilities have been designed
surface temperature rise during storage Riling, which is not close with vapor compression and reliquefaction systems to evacuate
CO the general Reid observations of the pressure and the equilib- the displaced vapors from storage systems with bottom filling of
rium temperature. liquid. However, a less expensive alternative consists of fllling the
for further understanding of the heat transfer phenomenon, cold feed liquid directly on the top layer of the stored liquid by a
it is recommended that the actual field data be used co estimate a distributor. The inlet liquid should be distributed on as wide a sur-
parameter k' WJinPK), where ^' replaces the thermal conductiv- face of the stored liquid as possible to replenish the hot upper layer
ity parameter k in Eq. 3. of liquid with cold feed liquid and for cooling the warm vapors.
Parameter ^' can be determined for various percentages of The design should not use high-energy sprays or atomization.
storage fill based on the sample field data. Parameter k^ is found Sprays are undesirable since they can contribute to more static
to vary with temperature, which indicates convection influence charge on the liquid.' Another beneflt of rain fllling is in custody
in the overall heat transfer.^ transfer-type operations by making the accounting easier.
A typical rain-fllling system design (Fig. 4) will have the inlet
Predicting pressure and temperature increase. Using line joining a distributor that has pipe rings with holes in the
Eq. 3, replacing k with k\ the liquid surface temperature can be bottom. One distributor ring placed just above 60% of the level
computed at different percentage fill in any pressurized storage and another smaller ring located at about 8 0 - 9 0 % of the level
system. should be provided. The dual distributor ring arrangement takes
The storage pressure for LPG is computed by the Lee and care of pressure rise at high level in sphere-type storage tanks
Kesler method for various temperatures: since at high level the QJA is high (due to a smaller area near che
crown) while che lower distributor ring is submerged. Hole sizes
typically are in the range of 5 mm to 10 mm. The ring shouid not
be placed coo high as to cause liquid carryover into che vapor or
here: relieflines. HP
/'J =5.92714-6.09848/7;- LITERATURE CITED
' API Recommended Practice 200.5. Ihotection Against Ignitions Arising out of
1.28862 ln 7;+0.169347 Static, Lightning, and Stray Currents. Section 4.1.5 Preventive Mea.sures.
^ Bejan, A. and A. D. Krau.s, Hem Transfer Handhook, Chapter 3, Conduction
and Heat Transfer.
" ^ Kern, D. Q., Process Heat Transfer, Chapter 18, Batch and Unsceady State
=15.2518-15.68757;- Processes.
13.4721 In 7;+0.43577 r /
S a t i s h M a t h u r 15 an engineering supervisor in the Process
where: P^ = reduced pressure and 7^ i:^ reduced temperature. Department of Bechtel India Pvt Ltd. He ha^ over 32 years of experi-
Storage pressure is plotted (Figs. 2 and 3) for a range of bottom price in the oil, gas, petrochemicals and synthetic fiber industries.
Tilling rates and liquid surface areas. For storage shapes other than from conceptual design through commissioning. Pnor to Bechtel.
Mr. Mathur was with Engineers India Limited. He was a member of
vertical cylinders (such iis spheres and bullets) the effective surface the functional committee in the Oil Industry Safety Directorate. Ministry of Petroleum
area can he used. and Chemicals, Govt. of India, for developing safety standard for LPG storage in bot-
As seen from the figures, che rise in scorage pressure increases tling plants (OISD-144), Mr Mathur holds a BTech degree in chemical engineering
from the Indian Institute of Technology. New Delhi. India.
with an increase in the inlet flowrate but falls with an increase in
liquid stirfiice area. T'he.se plots are for vertical cylinders, but they
may be used for other shapes also by using the effective surface R a j e e v N a n d a is a process manager (gas processing. LNG and
area. For the larger surface areas, more flow can be permitted offshore) at Technip USA Inc.. Houston. Texas. He has over 20 years
of experience in the oil and gas industry and has been involved in
for a given temperature or pressure rise limit. This explains why several large-scale EPC pro]ects from conceptual design through
ihe plant-produced LPG at the lower flowrate did not cause successful commissioning. Mr. Nanda is a part of Technip's Global
significant temperature and pressure rise compared to when the Expert Network for cryogenic gas processing and LNG regas. and is a member of
imported LPG from ships at a much higher rate is filled. It also AlChE. He has presented and coauthored various papers in international meetings
such as GPSA, NPRA and AlChE. Mr, Nanda holds a BS degree in chemical engineering
provides an explanation why that with vapor balance lines pro-
from the Harcourt Butler Technological Institute, India, and an MS degree in process
vided across storage systems (a common practice) larger inflow design and engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology. New Delhi. India.
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING JUNE 2008 131
