Applications
:: O.C. Turboexpanders manufactures Expanders for a wide spectrum of applications.
Natural Gas Plants:
O.C. Turboexpanders’ Expander/Compressor Units are instrumental in optimizing Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) ethane recovery. The Turboexpander performs the refrigeration necessary to condense and recover the heavier hydrocarbons while simultaneously providing power for any needed gas compression. The Natural Gas Liquids condensed are conveniently separated after being cooled through the expander and passing through the demethanizer.
To prepare natural gas for pipeline transport, dew point manipulation of the gas ensures that no liquid will condense within the pipeline. O.C. Turboexpanders’ machines are designed to control the dew point effectively preventing liquid from condensing in pockets or puddles throughout the pipeline.
For cryogenic transport of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), O.C. Turboexpanders manufactures packages that chill sales gas to the extremely low temperatures necessary for the natural gas to remain in the liquid phase at relatively low pressures. Alternatively O.C. Turboexpanders also manufactures turboexpanders for nitrogen refrigeration cycles used to liquefy natural gas.
Green Power:
High pressure gas streams, whether they arise from geothermal sources or stem from natural gas pipelines, are often an untapped energy resource. By directly feeding the high pressure gas into one of O.C. Turboexpanders’ Expander/Generator Packages, electricity is generated recovering the power from the pressure letdown. Since turboexpanders cool a gas almost isentropically some preheating of the gas may be required to avoid condensate formation. This fact has lead to several Combined Heat and Power (CHP) pressure letdown applications utilizing turboexpanders to recovery otherwise wasted heat from a fuel cell or reciprocating engine.
Binary Power Plants where an geothermal heat source has its energy converted via a heat exchanger to evaporate the working fluid (such as isobutane/isopentane mixtures), which in turn drives the turboexpander, are a specialty of O.C. Turboexpanders. By containing it in a closed system, the working fluid is perpetually recycled. Large capacity generators, 10 megawatts plus, are driven by the turboexpander through an integral gearbox. Smaller capacity generators, less then 500kW, are of the variable speed type not requiring a gearbox and are direct driven by the turboexpander. O.C. Turboexpanders supplies self-contained skids for Expander/Generator applications.
Furthermore, customer interested has increased in O.C. Turboexpanders’ equipment for small scale power generation turboexpanders with Ammonia cycles and Organic Rankine Cycles (ORC using common refrigerants such as R245fa or R134a) in the 100kW to 5MW range. Applications include but are not limited to waste heat recovery, biomass, and solar & geothermal power.
Air Separation Units:
Turboexpanders have long been applied in air separation units to nearly isentropically reject heat from the refrigerated gas stream, replacing the use of an isenthalpic Joule-Thompson valve. This reduces the overall specific power consumption for the production of high purity oxygen and nitrogen for Steel, Glass, Coal, and Gas-to-Liquids plants. O.C. Turboexpanders is a leading global supplier of turboexpanders for air separation units. O.C. Turboexpanders specializes in providing a custom solution to maximize efficiency while never sacrificing the reliability of the turboexpander. One such example is O.C. Turboexpanders’ product line of dual turboexpanders skids which O.C. Turboexpanders designs and manufactures.
Industrial Gas Production:
Providing specialized packages for industrial gas production, purification, and liquefaction is one of the primary manufacturing functions of O.C. Turboexpanders. Liquefaction of elementary gases such as Helium, Hydrogen are fundamental examples. Additionally, Ammonia and Ethylene production are facilitated using O.C. Turboexpanders’ small frame machines.
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