JP2019531454A - System and method for incorporating condensed water with improved cooler performance - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and system for cooling a process fluid is disclosed. The turbine intake air stream is cooled by an intake air cooling system. Moisture contained in the cooling intake air stream is condensed and separated from the cooling intake air stream to produce a water stream in the open loop circuit. The water stream is injected into the air cooler air stream. The combined air cooler air stream and jet water stream are routed through the air cooler. Heat is exchanged between the air cooler air stream and the jet stream mixed with the process fluid to condense, cool, or subcool the process fluid. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

(Cross-reference of related applications)
This application is related to US Patent Application No. 62 / 375,705 “System and Method for Incorporating Condensate with Improved Cooler Performance” filed Aug. 16, 2016, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference Is incorporated herein by reference.

  This application is a priority benefit of US Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 375,700 entitled “System and Method for Liquefaction of Natural Gas Using Turbine Inlet Cooling,” filed on the same day as the present application. The entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

(Technical field)
The present disclosure relates generally to gas turbines, and more particularly to intake air cooling of a gas turbine or another process component.

  This section is intended to introduce various aspects of the technology that may be relevant to the present disclosure. This discussion is intended to provide a framework for facilitating further understanding of certain aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that this section should be read in this regard and is not necessarily an admission of prior art.

  Many industrial processes use one or more turbines to generate electricity or drive mechanical loads. For example, hydrocarbon production facilities use combustion gas turbines to drive the compressors necessary to freeze natural gas from a gas to a liquid state. Specifically, the LNG production facility uses two or more refrigeration circuits to liquefy after at least pre-cooling the incoming natural gas. In many cases, the use of various refrigeration circuits in these facilities is not optimized and one or more pre-cooling capabilities of the refrigeration circuit cannot be fully utilized for all operating conditions. Operation over a wide range of ambient temperatures can be a factor that can lead to such imbalances in various refrigeration circuits.

  Furthermore, combustion gas turbine drives are sensitive to ambient temperature and can lose about 0.7% of available power for every 1 degree Celsius increase in ambient temperature. This means that many LNG plants need to be overly complex to ensure that the required horsepower is available regardless of the ambient temperature.

  US Pat. No. 6,324,867 to Fanning et al. Utilizes the extra refrigeration capacity of one refrigeration circuit to cool intake air for one or more gas turbine drives in another refrigeration circuit. Thus, systems and methods for liquefying natural gas are described that result in increasing the overall capacity of the LNG plant. The entire Fanning disclosure is incorporated herein by reference. By maintaining the turbine intake air at a substantially constant low temperature, the power produced by the turbine remains at a high level regardless of the ambient air temperature. This allows the LNG plant to be designed to gain greater capacity, and allows the plant to operate at a substantially constant production rate throughout the year. In addition, the Fanning system uses an existing first refrigerant circuit for this type of LNG system, for example, a circuit that includes propane as a coolant, so that no additional cooling source is required.

  US Pat. No. 8,534,039 to Pierson et al. Improves the performance of organic “Rankin” cycle condensers and refrigerant condensers using moisture condensed by gas turbine inlet air cooling for wet air cooling. It is described to do. This refrigerant condenser is part of a system that provides gas turbine intake air cooling. In Pierson, condensed moisture is collected in a bowl provided under a wet air fin cooler, and a pump injects the collected moisture onto the air fin tubes. Pierson also adds makeup water to maintain the lowest water level in the bowl.

US Pat. No. 6,324,867 US Pat. No. 8,534,039

  However, it would be desirable to provide a cooling system that does not require the use of a bowl as disclosed in Pierson and that minimizes possible contamination from cooling air pollutants.

  The present disclosure provides a method for cooling a process fluid according to the disclosed aspects. The turbine intake air stream is cooled by an intake air cooling system. Moisture contained in the cooled intake air stream is condensed and separated from the cooled intake air stream, creating a water stream in the open loop circuit. The water stream is injected into the air cooler air stream. The combined air cooler air stream and jet water stream are routed through the air cooler. Heat is exchanged between the process fluid and the mixed air cooler air and jet streams, thereby condensing, cooling, or subcooling the process fluid.

  The present disclosure also provides a system for cooling a process fluid in a hydrocarbon process that processes natural gas to produce liquefied natural gas. The cooler is disposed at the inlet of the gas turbine. The chiller is configured to cool the intake air stream from a substantially dry bulb temperature to a temperature below the wet bulb temperature. The separator is disposed downstream of the chiller and is configured to separate water in the cooled intake air stream to generate a water stream in the open loop circuit. The wet air fin cooler mixes the water stream with the air cooler air stream to condense, cool, or subcool the process fluid passing through the wet air fin cooler.

  The present disclosure also provides a method for cooling a process fluid. The process component intake air stream is cooled by an intake air cooling system. Moisture contained in the cooled intake air stream is condensed and separated from the cooled intake air stream, creating a water stream in the open loop circuit. The water stream is injected into the air cooler air stream. The combined air cooler air stream and jet water stream are routed through the air cooler. Heat is exchanged between the process fluid and the mixed air cooler air and jet streams, thereby condensing, cooling, or subcooling the process fluid.

  The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features of the present disclosure in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood. Additional features will also be described herein.

  The above and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description, claims, and accompanying drawings briefly described below.

1 is a schematic diagram of an LNG liquefaction system according to aspects of the present disclosure. FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of details of FIG. 1 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. 1 is a schematic diagram of an intake air cooling system for use with an LNG liquefaction system according to aspects of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating the relationship between refrigeration capacity of a chiller, gas turbine intake air temperature, and the ratio of ambient air flow to base air flow according to aspects of the present disclosure. 1 is a schematic diagram of an intake air cooling system according to aspects of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 illustrates a method according to aspects of the present disclosure.

  It should be noted that each figure is merely illustrative and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Further, the figures are not generally drawn to scale but are drawn for the purpose of conveniently and clearly illustrating various aspects of the present disclosure.

  In order to assist in understanding the principles of the present disclosure, reference will now be made to the illustrated feature, and a specific language will be used to describe the feature. Nevertheless, it should be understood that the scope of the present disclosure is not intended to be limited. It is envisioned that any alternatives and further modifications of the principles of the present disclosure as described herein, and any further applications will be commonly conceivable by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure is related. For clarity, some features not relevant to the present disclosure may not be shown in the drawings.

  First, for ease of reference, certain terms used in this application and their meanings when used in this context are described. Unless the terms used herein are defined below, the broadest definition is given to those skilled in the art, as this term is given in at least one publication or issued patent. Further, since the technology of the present invention is considered to be within the scope of the claims of the present invention, all equivalent means, synonyms, new developments, and terms or techniques serving the same or similar purpose are described below. Not limited by the use of.

  As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, another person may refer to the same feature or component by another name. This document does not intend to distinguish between components or features that differ only in name. Each figure is not necessarily drawn to scale. Certain features and components of the specification may be shown in exaggerated scale or figure form, and some details of conventional elements may not be shown for clarity and brevity. . When referring to the figures described herein, the same reference numbers may be referred to in several figures for simplicity. In the following description and claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended manner and should therefore be interpreted to mean “including but not limited to”.

  The articles “the”, “a” and “an” are not necessarily meant to mean only one, but rather are comprehensive and open-ended to optionally include multiple elements.

  As used herein, the terms “approximately”, “about”, “substantially”, and similar terms have a broad meaning consistent with the wording generally accepted by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the subject matter of the present disclosure relates. Is intended. These terms enable one of ordinary skill in the art reviewing the present disclosure to describe the given features described and claimed without limiting the scope of these features to the detailed numerical ranges presented. You should be able to understand what is intended. Accordingly, these terms are to be construed as indicating minor or insignificant modifications or variations of the described subject matter, and these modifications or variations are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.

  The term “heat exchanger” refers to a device designed to efficiently transfer or “exchange” heat from one material to another. Exemplary heat exchanger types include cocurrent or countercurrent heat exchangers, indirect heat exchangers (eg, spiral wound heat exchangers, plate fin heat exchangers in the form of brazed aluminum plate fins, shell and tube heat exchangers) Etc.), a direct contact heat exchanger, or some combination thereof.

  The present disclosure uses an open loop circuit of condensate collected in an intake air cooler (IAC) to transfer water to a wet air fin cooler and effectively transfer heat compared to a conventional fin fan cooler without water injection. System and method for increasing The disclosed methods and systems increase the overall process efficiency. Water condensed downstream of at least one filter element in the IAC is expected to be cooled and generally clean, but requires additional water treatment in the water injection system to control corrosion, biological growth, etc. It may be.

  In aspects of the present disclosure, the disclosed systems and methods include (for example) air separation, dispensing processes, integrated gasification combined cycle power plants, other power generation processes, pharmaceutical manufacturing, organic and / or inorganic chemical manufacturing, petroleum and It can be used in any process that uses a gas turbine, such as other processes in the gas industry. As a non-limiting example, the disclosed system can be used in a natural gas liquefaction process where the surplus refrigeration capacity of one refrigeration circuit is utilized to drive one or more of the other refrigeration circuit. The intake air for the device is cooled, resulting in an increase in the overall capacity of the LNG plant. The disclosed aspects have improved the performance of refrigerant condensers that form part of a system that provides gas turbine intake air cooling using moisture condensed by gas turbine intake air cooling to wet air cooling. It is an improvement over conventional solutions. In this conventional solution, condensed water was collected in a bowl placed under the wet air fin cooler, and the collected water was sprayed onto the air fin tube. According to aspects of the present disclosure, a bowl is not required to collect condensed moisture, and substantially all of the moisture collected from the gas turbine intake air cooling system is evaporated in the wet air fin air stream. Over-injection is minimized. Condensed moisture is collected downstream of the at least one air filter element at the gas turbine air inlet to minimize water contamination by atmospheric pollutants. Each of these measures is intended to minimize the risk of corrosion and contamination of wet air fin devices, gas turbine intake air coolers, and gas turbine intake air moisture separation devices. In addition, lower air temperature and lower speed due to wet air cooling with less air flow, with optional control of air flow to wet air fins with adjustable fan speed, pitch, louver, or the like And trade between higher temperatures and higher speeds can improve air fin performance.

  The present disclosure provides for wet air cooling by subcooling the refrigerant slip stream used for gas turbine intake air cooling and using moisture condensed during intake air cooling to improve the performance of this refrigerant subcooling. Further improvements improve the known cooling system.

  1 and 2 illustrate a liquefied natural gas (LNG) system 10 and process in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. It was understood that system 10 is a non-limiting example of how the disclosed aspects can be applied. In the system 10, the feed gas (natural gas) enters the preparation unit 12 through the inlet line 11, where it is processed to remove contaminants. The process gas then passes from the preparation unit 12 through a series of heat exchangers 13, 14, 15, 16 where it is cooled by evaporating the first refrigerant (eg, propane), and the refrigerant itself is , Flows through the respective heat exchangers through the first refrigeration circuit 20. The cooled natural gas then flows to fractionation tower 17 and pentane and heavier hydrocarbons are removed through line 18 for further processing in fractionation unit 19.

  The remaining mixture of methane, ethane, propane, and butane is removed from fractionator 17 through line 21 and is a second refrigerant that can include a mixed refrigerant (MR) that flows through second refrigeration circuit 30. By further cooling the gas mixture, it is liquefied in the main low-temperature heat exchanger 22. The second refrigerant, which can include at least one of nitrogen, methane, ethane, and propane, is then compressed in compressors 23a, 23b driven by process components such as gas turbine 24. After compression, the second refrigerant is cooled by passing through air or water coolers 25a, 25b and then evaporates the first refrigerant from the first refrigerant circuit 20 to heat exchangers 26, 27. , 28 and 29 are partially condensed. Next, the second refrigerant can flow to the high pressure separator 31 that separates the condensed liquid portion of the second refrigerant from the vapor portion of the second refrigerant. The condensed liquid portion and vapor portion of the second refrigerant are produced from the high pressure separator 31 by lines 32 and 33, respectively. As can be seen in FIG. 1, both the condensed liquid portion and the vapor portion from the high pressure separator 31 flow through the main low temperature heat exchanger 22 where they are cooled by evaporating the second refrigerant.

  The condensed liquid stream in line 32 is removed from the central portion of the main cryogenic heat exchanger 22 and its pressure drops across the expansion valve 34. The currently low pressure second refrigerant is then returned to the main low temperature heat exchanger 22 where it is evaporated by the warmer second refrigerant flow and feed gas flow in line 21. When the second refrigerant vapor stream reaches the top of the main cold heat exchanger 22, it is condensed and removed and expanded across the expansion valve 35 before returning to the main cold heat exchanger 22. When the condensed second refrigerant vapor falls into the main low temperature heat exchanger 22, it exchanges heat between the feed gas in line 21 and the high pressure second refrigerant stream in line 32. Evaporate. The falling condensed second refrigerant vapor mixes with the low pressure second refrigerant liquid stream at the center of the main low temperature heat exchanger 22, and the mixed stream is vaporized through the outlet 36 as the main low temperature heat exchanger 22. The second refrigeration circuit 20 is completed by flowing back to the compressors 23a and 23b.

  The closed first refrigeration circuit 20 is used to cool both the supply gas and the second refrigerant before passing through the main low temperature heat exchanger 22. The first refrigerant is then compressed by a first refrigerant compressor 37 that is driven by a process component such as a gas turbine 38. The first refrigerant compressor 37 can include at least one compressor casing, the at least one casing collectively including at least two inlets, and at least two first refrigerant streams at various pressure levels. Can receive. The compressed first refrigerant is condensed in one or more condensers or coolers 39 (for example, seawater or air cooled) and collected in the first refrigerant surge tank 40, from which heat is exchanged. (Propane cooler) 13, 14, 15, 16, 26, 27, 28, 29, where the first refrigerant evaporates and cools both the feed gas and the second refrigerant, respectively. . Both gas turbine systems 24 and 38 may include an air inlet system that may include an air filtration device, a moisture separation device, a cooling and / or heating device, or a specific separation device.

  Each means may be provided in the system 10 of FIG. 1 to cool the intake air 70, 71 to both gas turbines 24 and 38 to increase the operating efficiency of the turbine. Basically, the system can cool the intermediate fluid using the extra refrigeration capacity available in the system 10, and the intermediate fluid is circulated through the closed inlet coolant loop 50 and drawn into the turbine. Water, glycols, or other heat transfer fluids that cool the air can be included.

  Referring to FIG. 2, in order to provide the necessary cooling for the intake air 70, 71, the first refrigerant slip stream is passed from the first refrigeration circuit 20 through the line 51 (ie, from the surge tank 40). Withdrawn and rapidly evaporates across the expansion valve 52. Since the first refrigeration circuit 20 is already available in this type of gas liquefaction process, there is no need to provide a new or separate cooling source in this process, and the cost of the system is substantially reduced. The expanded first refrigerant passes through the heat exchanger 53 from the expansion valve 52 before returning to the first refrigeration circuit 20 through the line 54. Propane evaporates in the heat exchanger 53, thereby lowering the temperature of the intermediate fluid, and the intermediate fluid itself is pumped from the storage tank 55 through the heat exchanger 53 by the pump 56.

  The cooled intermediate fluid is then pumped through air coolers or coolers 57, 58 positioned at the inlet to the turbines 24, 38, respectively. As the intake air 70, 71 enters the respective turbine, it passes through a coil or the like in an air cooler or cooler 57, 58, which itself is before the air is delivered to that respective turbine. The intake air 70, 71 is cooled or cooled. The warmed intermediate fluid then returns to storage tank 55 through line 59. Preferably, the intake air 70, 71 will be cooled to about 5 ° C. (41 ° F.) or higher because ice may form at lower temperatures. In some cases, it may be desirable to add a cryoprotectant (eg, ethylene glycol) that includes an inhibitor to the intermediate fluid to prevent blockage, equipment damage, and inhibit corrosion.

  FIG. 2 illustrates one aspect of the present disclosure in detail, with a wet air fin cooler 104 connected to the first refrigeration circuit 20. When used in the present disclosure, the wet air fin cooler 104 is a combination of (a) a conventional air fin heat exchanger and (b) wet air cooling. The fan 108 can be used to pass through the attached tube so that the fluid (eg, liquid or gas) is cooled to approximately ambient temperature (eg, dry bulb temperature) through the finned tube, Wet air cooling uses the nozzle 110 in the jet header 112, for example, to evaporate a liquid, typically water, in the ambient air stream to approach the lower wet bulb temperature of the ambient air.

  The wet air fin cooler 104 is used to supercool the slip flow of the liquid first refrigerant in the line 51 from the surge tank 40. The supercooled first refrigerant is sent to the heat exchanger 53 through the line 105. By supercooling this propane, both the refrigeration capacity of the heat exchanger 53 and the coefficient of performance of the refrigeration system are increased. The coefficient of performance is the ratio of the refrigeration capacity of the heat exchanger 53 divided by the incremental compressor power that provides this refrigeration. The wet air fin cooler 104 is arranged to cool the slip flow of the first refrigerant in the line 51 of FIGS. Alternatively, the wet air fin cooler 104 can be incorporated as part of one or more condensers or coolers 39 to provide a cooling source (directly or indirectly) to the coolers or coolers 57, 58. Therefore, before removing the slip flow of the first refrigerant in line 51, liquid propane, which serves as another part of the liquefaction process, is supercooled. However, it is preferred to subcool only the propane slip stream in line 51 to maximize the benefit to gas turbine intake air cooling.

  According to the disclosed aspects, separators 101 and 102 are located at the gas turbine air inlet behind a cooler or cooler 58, 57, respectively. These separators 101, 102 remove the condensed water from the intake air 70, 71 when the intake air is cooled from ambient dry bulb temperature to a temperature below the wet bulb temperature. Separators 101, 102 can be inertial, such as vertical wings, coalescing elements, low speed plenums, or some other type of moisture separator or demister known to those skilled in the art. The gas turbine air inlet may include a filtering element, such as an air filter 41, which is located either or both upstream or downstream of the cooler or cooler 57, 58 and the separator 101, 102, respectively. be able to. Preferably, at least one filtration element is arranged upstream of the cooler and the separator. This air filtration element includes a moisture barrier, such as an ePTFE (expanded PTFE) membrane sold under the trade name GORETEX, and is capable of concentrating in the condensed water removed by the separators 101, 102. , Dust, salt, or other contaminants can be removed. Minimizing air pollutants in the collected water (water) by placing at least one filtration element or similar device upstream of the chiller and separator associated with gas turbine 24 and / or 38 The contamination and corrosion of the cooler and separator can be minimized, and the contamination and corrosion of the wet air fin cooler 104 can be similarly suppressed and minimized.

  During cooling of the gas turbine intake air 70, 71, a significant portion of the refrigeration capacity is used to condense the moisture in the gas turbine intake air 70, 71 rather than simply lowering the dry bulb temperature of the intake air. As an example, if the intake air at a dry bulb temperature of 40 ° C. and a wet bulb temperature of 24 ° C. is cooled, the effective specific heat of the air is about 1 kJ / kg / ° C. between 40 ° C. and 20 ° C., Condensation of moisture from the air by lowering the dry bulb temperature dramatically increases to about 3 kJ / kg / ° C. below the wet bulb temperature of 24 ° C. From this, about two-thirds of the refrigeration capacity used to cool the air below the wet bulb temperature (dew point) is that the slight change in the composition of the air relative to the gas turbines 24 and / or 38 is available to the gas turbine. We can conclude that it is wasted because it only has a slight impact on power. This condensed moisture is essentially at the same temperature as the cooled intake air to the gas turbine and is located in the air stream in front of the air cooler or cooler 57 or 58. Can be used to perform some pre-cooling of the intake air 70, 71 using another cooling coil similar to. However, this arrangement can only recover some of the refrigeration capacity used to lower the temperature of the water, not part of the capacity used to condense the water. That is, the heat of vaporization of water cannot be recovered by heat transfer of the gas turbine intake air or cooling by humid air.

  Most of the refrigeration capacity that is used to cool and condense the water from the gas turbine intake air 70, 71 collects this water from the separator 101 or 102 and pumps it with a pump 103. This water can be recovered by spraying onto the tube of the wet air fin cooler 104 or otherwise mixing this water with the air stream 106 to the wet air fin cooler 104. Based on the ambient conditions and actual flow rate of the air carried by the fan associated with the wet air fin cooler 104, the water pumped by the pump 103 saturates the air flow in the wet air fin cooler 104 and the wet bulb temperature. May be sufficient to reach The excess water flow from the separators 101, 102 is available and can be used for other purposes, or may be insufficient to saturate the air flow. In the latter case, additional water from another source can be supplied. In addition, the water separated by the separators 101, 102 is supplied to the wet air fin cooler 104 in the open loop circuit, in other words, the water is not recirculated or reused by the wet air fin cooler 104. The cooling of the gas turbine intake air 70, 71 provides a continuous source of cooling water that will be used by the wet air fin cooler 104 so that the water is recirculated after being injected into the wet air fin cooler. Or it does not need to be reused. The use of such an open loop water circuit reduces the need for recooling and / or filtering after the water is used in a wet air fin cooler, thus reducing the cost of the system 10 or any other system that utilizes the disclosed aspects. And complexity is reduced. Additionally or alternatively, the water injected into the wet air fin cooler is filtered and relatively clean, so this water can be disposed of with the minimum additional processing required, or other system 10 It can be used as a water source for the process.

Table 1 shows an example of the effectiveness of using water collected from separator 101 or 102 to improve air inlet cooling. The three columns show the effect of a wet air fin cooler 104 with no cooler, such as a wet air fin cooler 104, an air fin cooler without water injection, and condensed water from the separator 101 or 102.

  As an example of the effectiveness of controlling the air flow rate of the wet air fin cooler, a wet air fin cooler having a fixed UA (surface area combined with a heat transfer coefficient) is used for the same embodiment described above. For this example, the same 40 ° C. dry bulb, 24 ° C. wet bulb ambient air is assumed to provide cooling air to the wet air fin cooler. As a basis, the air flow is set at 1,000,000 kg / hr and all of the water condensed from the gas turbine intake air is used for wet air cooling of the wet air fin cooler 104. When water is injected onto the air fin tube or into the air stream (or a combination of both), some of the water will evaporate, cooling the tube or air stream and approaching the wet bulb temperature of the air stream . However, as the water evaporates, the moisture content of the wet air stream also increases, so the wet bulb temperature of the wet air stream likewise rises above the ambient wet bulb temperature. Therefore, it is impossible to evaporate the water and reach a wet air flow temperature that approaches the ambient wet bulb temperature, and the “wet wet bulb temperature ( There is only a possibility of approaching “WWBT)”.

  FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present disclosure in which a dedicated auxiliary compressor 114 is added to compress the vapor and bring the heat exchanger 53 to a pressure similar to the outlet pressure of the first refrigerant compressor 37. . This provides an improvement to the system of FIG. 2 and allows control of the intake air cooling system independent of the control of the first refrigerant circuit required to manage the LNG liquefaction system. In order to ensure that there is no icing of the intake air cooler or intake air entering the gas turbine inlet, the temperature of the intermediate fluid is adjusted to ensure that the intake air temperature can be controlled to avoid icing Sometimes it is convenient to do. In order to control the intermediate fluid temperature, the pressure of the first refrigerant slip stream exiting the heat exchanger 53 may need to be adjusted so that the temperature of the slip stream is between −5 ° C. and 20 ° C. This can be done by using a control valve at the outlet of the heat exchanger 53 as shown in FIG. However, adjusting the capacity of the auxiliary compressor 114 can provide more efficient and more accurate control. The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 can also be a particularly good solution when the intake air cooling system is retrofitted to an existing LNG liquefaction system.

  FIG. 4 is a chart 400 showing the effect of air flow rate on cooling effectiveness when the wet air fin ambient air flow rate changes from 80% to 120% of the reference value. In this case, any excess moisture that does not need to reach the WWBT of the air upstream of the wet air fin cooler 104 can be ignored or essentially dripped. FIG. 4 shows that the maximum refrigeration capacity of the chiller 402 leads to an air flow (approximately 101% in this example) that approximately matches the full evaporation of the available water supply. This is the optimal air flow required to maximize refrigeration capacity and has the limitation that excess water is separated upstream of the wet air fin cooler 104. This optimal air flow is not limited, but 1) measure the relative humidity of the air flow after water injection to target about 100% relative humidity, 2) measure the gas turbine intake air temperature, Perform real-time optimization to minimize gas turbine inlet temperature by air flow regulation, 3) Measure refrigerant outlet temperature from wet air fin cooler 104 and perform similar real-time optimization 4) Building a physics-based or empirical model of the system to optimize the air flow across the wet air fin cooler 104, 5) another optimal technique generally known to those skilled in the art, or 6) (1 ) To (5) can be determined by a plurality of means. For those skilled in the art, a physics-based model can be used to estimate or determine the amount of moisture that can be evaporated into the air fin air stream to reach saturation, and humid air data and ambient temperature, relative humidity, air fin air. It will be appreciated that it can be as simple as incorporating flow, barometric pressure, jet water flow, and jet water temperature.

  The embodiment of FIG. 4 was limited to humid air cooling of the air fin air stream before any heating of this air stream by any heat transfer from stream 51. With a sufficient mixing zone in front of the air fin tube bundle, this air flow will dry, but will be saturated with moisture at local conditions with some separated excess moisture. However, if the air flow is reduced below the optimal condition of FIG. 4 and any excess moisture is not separated, but rather travels with this air flow, the new optimal air flow will be locally localized downstream of the air fin bundle. It can be seen that it is characterized by complete evaporation of moisture available under airflow conditions. Similar to the original embodiment, this new optimum air flow is similar to that described in (1)-(6) above, except that some humidity measurement is preferably performed on the air flow downstream of the wet air fin cooler. Can be determined by technology.

  FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a cooling system 500 in accordance with aspects disclosed herein. System 500 includes a turbine 502 that is operatively connected to a load 504, such as a compressor, generator or the like. Air 506 entering the turbine can be filtered by one or more filters 508 and, in some aspects, cooled using a cooler or cooler 510 through which a refrigerant (not shown) passes. One or more separators 512 can remove condensed water in the cooling air, as described above. Water can be sent through conduit 514 to storage tank 516 and then pumped through conduit 520 to wet air fin cooler 522 using one or more pumps 518. The water can then be sent to an injection header 524 and injected through nozzle 526 into ambient air 528 directed to wet air fin cooler 522 using fan 530. The combined water jet and ambient air are directed onto or around the finned tube 532. Finned tube 532 is configured to allow process fluid 534 to pass therethrough. As described above with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2, the wet air fin cooler 522 cools the process fluid, which exits the wet air fin cooler at 536. The process fluid can be any fluid that is to be cooled and can include refrigerants, solvents, natural gas liquids, natural gas, or other fluids in the oil and gas industry. The water jet in the ambient air can be recovered by collecting condensed water on the finned tube 532 or other means, and can be discarded or utilized in another process. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the water open loop circuit can be illustrated by the water path from the separator 512 through the wet air fin cooler 522.

  Condensed water collected in the intake air cooler (IAC) is used to transfer water to the wet air fin cooler in the open-loop circuit, thereby enabling effective heat transfer compared to conventional fin fan coolers without water injection Increase. The water condensed downstream of the at least one filter element in the IAC is expected to be cooled and generally clean, but additional water treatment is required in the water injection system to control corrosion, biological growth, etc. You may need it.

  The disclosed aspects often have particular applicability to the oil and gas industry or other industries where the use of water is less important than large power plants with high capacity steam systems. For example, the disclosed aspects can be incorporated into any heat transfer service that requires additional capacity or process debottlenecking, such as process compressor discharge temperature control. The disclosed aspects enhance the effective heat transfer of any air fin cooler for any service. The disclosed mode can be used for discharge of a process compressor as a means for extending the maintenance management interval to reduce the load on the driving device, that is, to lower the combustion temperature. The disclosed embodiments can also be used to improve the natural gas liquid process, thereby reducing the molar weight of the gas using an auxiliary refrigerant system. The capacity of such auxiliary refrigerant systems is often a limiting factor for process capacity. Using the disclosed wet air fin cooler significantly increases the capacity of these auxiliary refrigerant systems, leading to additional available capacity of the primary compression process. The disclosed aspects can also be used to improve the efficiency of a turbine / generator exhaust gas system, where condensed water from an exhaust gas recirculation cooler is associated with an associated steam system condenser and / or process flow cooler. Used as wet spray above.

  The scope of the disclosed aspects is not limited to use in the oil and gas industry. Aspects of the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, air separation, integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants, other power generation processes, pharmaceutical manufacturing, organic and inorganic chemical manufacturing, etc. It can be conveniently applied to industrial processes. Further, the scope of the disclosed aspects is not limited to processes in which a gas turbine is used. For example, the intake air stream to the air separation unit (ASU) compressor can be cooled below the dew point, and the water condensed thereby can be used in a wet air fin cooler as described herein. Another process fluid can be cooled. Cooling the compressor intake air reduces the required compression energy and can improve process efficiency, but by using condensed water in a wet air fin cooler as described herein, process efficiency is improved. Will be further improved. In another example, the gas turbine can be integrated with the IGCC and ASU for natural gas liquid fueling plants by extracting a portion of the compressed air from the gas turbine as an input stream to the ASU. In this case, the input stream can be cooled below the dew point using the embodiments described herein.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method 600 for cooling a process fluid in accordance with the disclosed aspects. At block 602, an intake air stream of a process component such as a turbine is cooled with an intake air cooling system. At block 604, moisture contained in the cooled intake air stream is condensed. At block 606, moisture is separated from the cooled intake air stream to produce a water stream in the open loop circuit. At block 608, a water stream is injected into the air cooler air stream. At block 610, the combined air cooler air stream and jet water stream are routed through the air cooler. At block 612, heat exchange is performed between the process fluid and the combined air cooler air and jet streams to condense, cool, or subcool the process fluid.

The disclosed aspects may include any combination of the methods and systems indicated in the following numbered clauses. This should not be considered as a complete list of all possible aspects, but any number of variations can be considered from the above description.
1. A method for cooling a process fluid comprising:
Cooling the turbine intake air stream with an intake air cooling system;
Condensing moisture contained in the cooling intake air stream;
Separating the moisture from the cooling intake air stream to generate a water stream in an open loop circuit;
Injecting the water stream into an air cooler air stream;
Sending the mixed air cooler air stream and jet stream through the air cooler;
Exchanging heat between the process fluid and the mixed air cooler air stream and jet stream to condense, cool or subcool the process fluid;
A method comprising the steps of:
2. The air cooler includes a bundle of tubes, and the step of exchanging heat includes
Passing the process fluid through the tube bundle;
Sending the mixed air cooler air stream and jet stream above or across the tube bundle;
The method of clause 1, comprising:
3. 3. The method of clause 1 or 2, wherein the step of sending the combined air cooler air stream and jet water stream is accomplished using a fan.
4). 4. The method of clause 3, wherein the flow rate or speed of the air cooler air flow is adjusted using one or more of fan speed control, fan blade pitch control, and damper adjustment.
5. The flow rate or speed of the air cooler air flow is the relative humidity of the air cooler air flow, the flow rate of the jet water flow, ambient temperature, pressure, humid air data, ambient relative humidity, air flow temperature, and the jet water flow rate. The method of clause 4, wherein the method is adjusted based on at least one of the temperatures.
6). 6. The method of any of clauses 1-5, wherein the step of separating moisture is accomplished by a separation device selected from inertial separators, vane separators, plenums, and coalescers.
7). 7. The method of any of clauses 1-6, further comprising the step of at least partially filtering the intake air stream before cooling the intake air stream.
8). 8. The method of any of clauses 1-7, wherein the process stream is a hydrocarbon process stream that requires exhaust heat.
9. The method of any of clauses 1-7, wherein the process stream is a process stream in one of a dispensing manufacturing process, a power generation process, and a chemical manufacturing process.
10. The intake air flow, the turbine, and the intake air cooling system are a first intake air flow, a first turbine, and a first intake air cooling system, respectively.
Cooling the second intake air stream of the second turbine with a second intake air cooling system;
Condensing moisture contained in the second cooling intake air stream;
Separating the moisture from the second cooling intake air stream;
Sending the moisture into the stream;
The method according to any of clauses 1-9, further comprising:
11. Cooling the turbine intake air stream with an intake air cooling system includes cooling the intake air stream from a substantially dry bulb temperature of the intake air stream to a temperature below a wet bulb temperature of the intake air stream. The method according to any of clauses 1-10.
12 A system for cooling a process fluid in a hydrocarbon process that processes natural gas to produce liquefied natural gas, comprising:
A gas turbine,
A cooler disposed at the inlet of the gas turbine and configured to cool the intake air flow from a dry bulb temperature to a temperature below the wet bulb temperature;
A separator disposed downstream of the cooler and configured to separate water of the cooling intake air stream to generate a water stream in an open loop circuit;
A wet air fin cooler that mixes the water stream with the air cooler air stream to condense, cool, or subcool the process fluid passing through the wet air fin cooler;
A system comprising:
13. The wet air fin cooler is
A tube bundle through which the process fluid passes;
An injection header configured to inject the water stream into the air cooler air stream;
A fan that pushes the air flow and jet stream over or across the tube bundle;
The system of clause 12, comprising:
14 14. The system of clause 13, further comprising a fan controller that controls at least one of the fan speed, the fan blade pitch, and a damper associated with the fan.
15. 15. The system according to any of clauses 12-14, wherein the separator is one of an inertia separator, a vane separator, a plenum, and a coalescer.
16. 16. The system according to any of clauses 12-15, further comprising a filter arranged to at least partially filter the intake air stream before the intake air stream is cooled by the cooler.
17. The system of clause 16, wherein the filter comprises a moisture barrier.
18. The gas turbine, the cooler, the intake air stream, and the separator are a first gas turbine, a first cooler, a first intake air stream, and a first separator;
A second gas turbine;
A second cooler disposed at the inlet of the second gas turbine, the cooler configured to cool the second intake air stream from a substantially dry bulb temperature to a temperature below the wet bulb temperature. A second chiller,
Arranged downstream of the second cooler and configured to separate water in the cooled second intake air stream and to feed the separated water into the water stream A second separator;
The system according to any of clauses 12 to 17, further comprising:
19. A method for cooling a process fluid comprising:
Cooling the intake air flow of the process component with an intake air cooling system;
Condensing moisture contained in the cooling intake air stream;
Separating the moisture from the cooling intake air stream to generate a water stream in an open loop circuit;
Injecting the water stream into an air cooler air stream;
Sending the combined composite air cooler air stream and jet stream through the air cooler;
Exchanging heat between the process fluid and the mixed air cooler air stream and jet stream to condense, cool or subcool the process fluid;
A method comprising the steps of:
20. The air cooler includes a bundle of tubes, and the step of exchanging heat includes
Passing the process fluid through the tube bundle;
Sending the mixed air cooler air stream and jet stream above or across the tube bundle;
20. A method according to clause 19, comprising:
21. 21. The method of clause 19 or 20, wherein the step of sending the combined air cooler air stream and jet water stream is accomplished using a fan.
22. 22. The method of clause 21, wherein the air cooler air flow rate or speed is adjusted using one or more of fan speed control, fan blade pitch control, and damper adjustment.
23. The flow rate or speed of the air cooler air flow is the relative humidity of the air cooler air flow, the flow rate of the jet water flow, ambient temperature, pressure, humid air data, ambient relative humidity, air flow temperature, and the jet water flow rate. 23. The method of clause 22, wherein the method is adjusted based on at least one of the temperatures.
24. 24. The method of any of clauses 19-23, wherein the step of separating moisture is accomplished by a separation device selected from inertial separators, vane separators, plenums, and coalescers.
25. 25. A method according to any of clauses 19-24, further comprising the step of at least partially filtering the intake air stream prior to cooling the intake air stream.
26. Cooling the intake air stream of the process component with an intake air cooling system includes cooling the intake air stream from a substantially dry bulb temperature of the intake air stream to a temperature below a wet bulb temperature of the intake air stream. The method of any of clauses 19-25, comprising:

  It should be understood that many variations, modifications, and alternatives of the foregoing disclosure may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the above description does not limit the scope of the disclosure. Rather, the scope of the present disclosure should be determined only by the claims and their equivalents. It is envisioned that the structures and features in the embodiments of the present invention can be changed, rearranged, replaced, deleted, duplicated, combined, or tied together.

10 System 11, 18, 21, 32, 33, 51, 54, 59, 105 Line 12 Preparation unit 13, 14, 15, 16, 26, 27, 28, 29, 53 Heat exchanger 17 Fractionation column 19 Fractionation Unit 20 First refrigeration circuit 22 Main low temperature heat exchangers 23a, 23b Compressors 24, 38 Turbines 25a, 25b Air or water cooler 30 Second refrigeration circuit 31 High pressure separators 34, 35, 52 Expansion valve 36 Outlet 37 Compressor 39 Condenser or cooler 40 Surge tank 41 Air filter 50 Inlet coolant loop 55 Storage tank 56, 103 Pump 57, 58 Cooler or cooler 70, 71 Intake air 101, 102 Separator 104 Wet air fin cooler

Claims (26)

A method for cooling a process fluid comprising:
Cooling the turbine intake air stream with an intake air cooling system;
Condensing moisture contained in the cooling intake air stream;
Separating the moisture from the cooled intake air stream to generate a water stream in an open loop circuit;
Injecting the water stream into an air cooler air stream;
Sending the combined air cooler air stream and jet stream through an air cooler;
Exchanging heat between the process fluid and the mixed air cooler air stream and jet stream to condense, cool, or subcool the process fluid;
A method comprising the steps of: The air cooler includes a bundle of tubes, and exchanging heat includes
Passing the process fluid through the tube bundle;
Sending the mixed air cooler air stream and jet stream above or across the tube bundle;
The method of claim 1 comprising:   The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the step of sending the combined air cooler air stream and jet water stream is accomplished using a fan.   The method of claim 3, wherein a flow rate or speed of the air cooler air flow is adjusted using one or more of fan speed control, fan blade pitch control, and damper adjustment.   The flow rate or speed of the air cooler air flow is the relative humidity of the air cooler air flow, the flow rate of the jet water flow, ambient temperature, pressure, humid air data, ambient relative humidity, air flow temperature, and the jet water flow rate. The method of claim 4, wherein the method is adjusted based on at least one of the temperatures.   6. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the step of separating moisture is accomplished by a separation device selected from inertial separators, vane separators, plenums, and coalescers.   7. A method according to any preceding claim, further comprising the step of at least partially filtering the intake air stream prior to cooling the intake air stream.   8. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the process stream is a hydrocarbon process stream that requires exhaust heat.   8. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the process stream is a process stream in one of a dispensing manufacturing process, a power generation process and a chemical manufacturing process. The intake air flow, the turbine, and the intake air cooling system are a first intake air flow, a first turbine, and a first intake air cooling system, respectively, and the method includes:
Cooling the second intake air stream of the second turbine with a second intake air cooling system;
Condensing moisture contained in the second cooling intake air stream;
Separating the moisture from the second cooled intake air stream;
Sending the moisture into the stream;
The method according to claim 1, further comprising:   Cooling the intake air stream of the turbine with an intake air cooling system includes cooling the intake air stream from a substantially dry bulb temperature of the intake air stream to a temperature below a wet bulb temperature of the intake air stream. The method according to claim 1. A system for cooling a process fluid in a hydrocarbon process that processes natural gas to produce liquefied natural gas, comprising:
A gas turbine,
A cooler disposed at the inlet of the gas turbine and configured to cool the intake air stream from a dry bulb temperature to a temperature below the wet bulb temperature;
A separator disposed downstream of the cooler and configured to separate water of the cooling intake air stream to generate a water stream in an open loop circuit;
A wet air fin cooler that mixes the water stream with the air cooler air stream to condense, cool, or subcool the process fluid passing through the wet air fin cooler;
A system comprising: The wet air fin cooler is
A bundle of tubes through which the process fluid passes;
An injection header configured to inject the water stream into the air cooler air stream;
A fan that pushes the air flow and jet stream over or across the tube bundle;
The system of claim 12, comprising:   The system of claim 13, further comprising a fan controller that controls at least one of the fan speed, the fan blade pitch, and a damper associated with the fan.   15. A system according to any of claims 12-14, wherein the separator is one of an inertial separator, a vane separator, a plenum, and a coalescer.   16. A system according to any of claims 12-15, further comprising a filter arranged to at least partially filter the intake air stream before the intake air stream is cooled by the cooler.   The system of claim 16, wherein the filter comprises a moisture barrier. The gas turbine, the cooler, the intake air flow, and the separator are a first gas turbine, a first cooler, a first intake air flow, and a first separator;
A second gas turbine;
A second cooler disposed at an inlet of the second gas turbine, wherein the second cooler cools the second intake air stream from a substantially dry bulb temperature to a temperature below the wet bulb temperature; A second cooler configured as described above,
Arranged downstream of the second cooler and configured to separate water in the cooled second intake air stream and to deliver the separated water into the water stream A second separator;
The system according to claim 12, further comprising: A method for cooling a process fluid comprising:
Cooling the intake air flow of the process component with an intake air cooling system;
Condensing moisture contained in the cooling intake air stream;
Separating the moisture from the cooled intake air stream to generate a water stream in an open loop circuit;
Injecting the water stream into an air cooler air stream;
Sending the combined composite air cooler air stream and jet stream through an air cooler;
Exchanging heat between the process fluid and the mixed air cooler air stream and jet stream to condense, cool, or subcool the process fluid;
A method comprising the steps of: The air cooler includes a bundle of tubes, and exchanging heat includes
Passing the process fluid through the tube bundle;
Sending the mixed air cooler air stream and jet stream above or across the tube bundle;
20. The method of claim 19, comprising:   21. A method according to claim 19 or 20, wherein the steps of sending the combined air cooler air stream and jet stream are accomplished using a fan.   The method of claim 21, wherein a flow rate or speed of the air cooler air flow is adjusted using one or more of fan speed control, fan blade pitch control, and damper adjustment.   The flow rate or speed of the air cooler air flow is the relative humidity of the air cooler air flow, the flow rate of the jet water flow, ambient temperature, pressure, humid air data, ambient relative humidity, air flow temperature, and the jet water flow rate. 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the method is adjusted based on at least one of the temperatures.   24. A method according to any of claims 19 to 23, wherein the step of separating moisture is accomplished by a separation device selected from inertial separators, vane separators, plenums, and coalescers.   25. A method according to any of claims 19 to 24, further comprising the step of at least partially filtering the intake air stream prior to cooling the intake air stream.   Cooling the intake air stream of the process component with an intake air cooling system includes cooling the intake air stream from a substantially dry bulb temperature of the intake air stream to a temperature below a wet bulb temperature of the intake air stream. 26. A method according to any one of claims 19 to 25 comprising:

Images