Analysis of Mixing Processes of LPG Gases in Tanks When Transporting by Sea

Abstract

The present study is an analysis of the processes in the components of the LPG (propane/butane) reliquefaction plant under the conditions of co-mingling in tanks when transporting by sea. For the analysis, the monitoring data of an LPG cargo operation have been used. An energy analysis of the mixture-based reliquefaction plant has been performed. The characteristics of the mixture in the tanks, the operating conditions of the reliquefaction plant, and the performance of the system have been considered. The method of equivalence has been applied for thermodynamic analysis. The result of the substitution of actual processes with equivalent ones allows for the accomplishment of the parameters control of each working fluid within the mixture as a pure working fluid. It is shown that the low-boiling component determines the operating parameters of the entire reliquefaction plant. The method of equivalence and visualization of the processes within the LPG as a mixture using the thermodynamic diagrams of pure working fluids is recommended to shorten the path to set up the appropriate reliquefaction plant management strategy. The energy analysis performed using the method of equivalent cycles has been validated with the existing reliquefaction plant characteristics. The inaccuracies are in the limit of 4%.