Expert assessments indicate that in this century the role of natural gas in the energy sector of most countries will increase. By the early thirties of the 21st century, gas consumption may well double. To solve the problem of energy saving in transport systems, energy recovery systems are increasingly used, one of which is a turbo expander.
How a turbo expander works
Utilization of energy arising from excess pressure in the gas transmission system is one of the important tasks solved in the gas industry. For these purposes, special expansion turbines are used, which are mechanically connected to a power consumer - a compressor or an electric generator. This energy recovery device that does not consume fuel is called a turbo expander.
By design, a turboexpander is a gas turbine that operates at differential gas pressures. Generators, compressors and pumps are connected to the expansion turbine itself. In this complex system, the turbo expander performs a central function, being its "heart".
One of the technical problems that the designers of turbo expanders are working on is to eliminate vibration, which has a destructive effect on the device.
The turbine is based on the principle of gas expansion in a working device. Passing through the impeller, the gas gives up its energy. In this case, there is a significant decrease in its temperature. The released energy can be used to compress the gas in a compressor or to drive an electric generator. In the latter case, the turbo expander provides not only relatively cheap electrical energy, but also produces cold.
Application of turbo expanders
Turbo expanders are used in cryogenic plants. They are also used with success in air separation and pressurized nitrogen liquefaction plants. Today it is difficult to imagine a modern natural gas processing plant without an expansion turbine.
The turboexpander is actually a cheap and clean energy source.
The main application of turbo expanders is found in the gas industry, where they play the role of gas expansion units. In the turbine, the process of energy conversion takes place, the amount of which is directly related to the power of the energy potential of the gas flow. The use of turbo expanders makes it possible to utilize the excess energy that is generated when gas is pumped through distribution stations.
Turboexpanders are actively used during the start-up of gas turbine plants and the rotation of machine rotors in order to cool them. Lowering the gas temperature is also necessary in installations where it is liquefied, as well as in the preliminary preparation of the gas product for transportation and to remove excess moisture by freezing it.
