LNG Pumps Technologies

LNG Pumps Technologies

Knowledge Share Article
By
Dilip Patel
AD Consulting & Engineering Ltd.

Managing Director l Consultant l Training Lecturer
LNG Pumps Technologies R0 - ©copy rights with Dilip Patel + AD Consulting & Engineering - Page 1 of 13
CONTENTS:
1.0 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3
2.0 LNG Pump Equipment Selection ............................................................................. 4
3.0 LNG Pump Technologies ......................................................................................... 4
3.1 Centrifugal Submerged Motor Electric Pump – Large Column Mounted.................. 5
3.2 Centrifugal Submerged Motor Electric Pump – Suction Vessel Mounted ................ 8
3.3 Centrifugal Submerged Motor Electric Pump for Cargo Stripping or Engine Fuel
Supply – Small Column Mounted .......................................................................... 10
3.4 Surface-Mounted Pumps with External Motor – Multi-Stage Centrifugal Pump Can
Mounted ............................................................................................................... 11
3.5 Reciprocating High Pressure Pumps - Simplex to Triplex ..................................... 12
4.0 Conclusions ............................................................................................................ 12
5.0 Lng Pump Manufacturers ...................................................................................... 13
1.0 Introduction
There are few technologies available in the current market place for pumping LNG from
ships to LNG tanks and then LNG tanks to vaporisers via high pressure pumps at the LNG
storage and regas terminals. There are also smaller pumps now available for the small-scale
LNG industry such as LNG bunkering, L-CNG refuelling stations for cars/trucks/buses, etc.
In this article we will briefly look at each available cryogenic pump technology and related
equipment. The purpose of this article is to bring knowledge to those who are new to the
LNG industry. We will start with an overall flow diagram of a typical onshore LNG storage
and vaporisation terminal to become familiar with the pump locations.
Flow diagram of a typical LNG import and regas terminal process
LNG is a continuously boiling liquid around minus -162 0C temperature at near atmospheric
pressure which can vary between 70 mbag to 250 mbarg in the supply chain.
LNG is brought to a storage and vaporisation terminal via LNG carriers where the cryogenic
liquid is unloaded using cargo pumps from the carrier to the LNG storage tanks at the
terminal. The ship’s cargo pumps typically operate between 550 m3/hr to 2000 m3/hr
discharge flow rate at 7.5 barg to 5 barg pressure range. Newer larger ships may have
higher flow rate pumps.
Vaporisation of LNG is usually performed at high pressures, varying from 40 barg to 80 barg
dependent on the pipeline operating pressure range. At majority of onshore terminals, the
LNG is pumped out from the storage tanks using in-tank submerged pumps at lower
pressure (LP) around 10 barg and then the pressure is boosted to the required high pressure
(HP) of up to 80 barg using the external vessel mounted / canned booster pumps. Some or
all of the low-pressure LNG is routed via a recondenser vessel to re-liquefy the boil off gas
generated in the tanks during normal or ship unloading operations.
The LNG pump industry is more than 50 years old with good track record for general
operability, safety, reliability, availability and varying degree of performance. There are few
different cryogenic pump technologies available in the market.
2.0 LNG Pump Equipment Selection

The choice of plant and equipment for an LNG terminal, including cryogenic pumps, is
governed by the following universally considered factors:
 Operability;
 Maintainability;
 Reliability;
 Health, Safety & Environmental (HSE) Matters;
 Capital and Operating costs including life cycle costs;
 Project Schedule;
 Constructability;
 Proven Experience in similar situations.
Pump performance considerations are regarded as a major item in the process of equipment
selection. All of the above factors are considered when selecting the pumping equipment.
3.0 LNG Pump Technologies

Conventional design of centrifugal pumps where the shaft and the electric motors are
housed in separate containers does not work well with cryogenic fluids, since there is a huge
temperature difference between the fluid housing and the rest of the equipment. Because of
this, it is difficult to provide a satisfactory leak free dynamic seal through the pump head
plate and the shaft.
The LNG pumps are traditionally located inside the storage tanks which can be vey tall. If the
pump motor is mounted at the top of the tank with its hydraulic head at the tank bottom, a
very long drive shaft would be required and this would make the shaft alignment very
difficult. The other issue would be the different contraction of pump parts between the
cryogenic and ambient temperature exposures.
The extreme difficulties created by the very low temperature application led to the
development of cryogenic pumps with motors submerged in the LNG itself. Many cryogenic
fluids are electricity non-conductive, therefore the motor can be submerged in the LNG
without any concerns related to short circuiting the motor windings. Since there is no oxygen
present in the LNG tank and the pump container, the design provides safe environment for
the pump operation.
Submerging the pump impeller, shaft and motor in LNG eliminates the seal leakage
problems and for hazardous boiling fluid, this offers an ideal pumping solution.
The submergence of motor and single shaft mounting of the pump and motor eliminates the
motor heating and bearing lubrication problems. To reduce friction arising from the axial
thrust force generated by the pump, thrust balancing mechanism is provided to balance the
load and minimise the heat generated by the thrusting force. This design is applied to both
column and vessel mounted LNG pumps.
Many centrifugal pump designs include a helical pump suction / inlet inducer which helps to
reduce the NPHS requirement and thus allowing the tank pump down level to a much lower
level.
Large capacity pump motors can be fitted with VFD drive for either a soft start or operating
the pump at a different capacity than the rated one at the design speed.
Having looked at the available literature and the author’s experience, the following
technologies are available for the pumping of LNG for onshore terminals and other small-
scale applications:
 Centrifugal submerged motor electric pump – large column mounted;
 Centrifugal submerged motor electric pump – vessel / pot mounted;
 Centrifugal submerged motor electric pump for cargo stripping or engine fuel supply
– small column mounted;
 Surface-mounted pumps with external motor – multi-stage centrifugal pump can

mounted
 Reciprocating high pressure pumps - Simplex to Triplex
We will look at each type of pump in brief with qualitative commentary against each of the
above types of equipment:
3.1 Centrifugal Submerged Motor Electric Pump – Large Column Mounted
LNG tanks either on a ship or at onshore plants are usually very large where the tank height
can be up to 50 m from the base. For these tanks the pumps are mounted in a pump column
which connects between the tank roof and the tank inner bottom. These pumps are
retractable via permanently installed lifting rope and flexible cryogenic power and instrument
cables. On top of the LNG tank, usually a permeant jib crane is provided to install and
remove the in-tank pumps. For LNG tanks side wall penetrations are not permitted.
The column mounted pumps in the tanks also have foot valves, usually designed and
supplied by the pump manufacturer. The foot valve prevents the LNG entering in to the
pump column when the pump is lifted up for its removal from the tank. Nitrogen gas purging
is provided to push down the LNG in to the tank prior to the pump removal for maintenance.
Figure 1 – LNG In-tank pump arrangement – sketch from Elliott Ebara Pumps
The LNG tanks once boxed up, purged and cooled down for operational service are kept in
service for the life of the tank. It is extremely rare for the large onshore LNG tanks to be
taken out of service for internal maintenance or inspection unless something has seriously
gone wrong. Therefore, it is so critical that the pump column design provided from the outset
is totally suitable for service for the life of the tank, which can be up to 40 years.
The pump suction foot valve at the bottom of the tank must also operate without any
maintenance for the life of the tank.
It is also important that the in-tank pumps are capable of pumping down to as low as
possible level to ensure that the dead inventory in the LNG tank is minimised. Modern
design of pumps provides inlet inducer to achieve a lower NPHS requirement.
The LNG carrier tanks are usually provided with a separate LNG stripping pump to empty
the ship’s tank for its periodic internal inspection. The stripping pumps are also used for
spraying LNG in to the tank during the initial cool down process and to generate additional
boil off gas as and when required.
The centrifugal pumps are generally designed and built to API 610 with certain exceptions.
Figure 2 – In-tank LNG Pump sketch from Nikkiso
All LNG pumps of this type are provided with either stainless steel ball bearing or ceramic
ball bearings. The ceramic ball bearings provide up to 5 times longer service prior to routine
replacement. Since, the pump removal is a difficult and expensive operation, it is better to
build these pumps with ceramic bearings.
Vibration monitoring probes should also be deployed for the bearings and also that for the
pump body as well. The vibration probes for both X and Y directions are preferred for the
larger pumps.
The pump cable entry seal must be provided with continuous nitrogen purge and its
monitoring to ensure safe operation of the pump.
3.2 Centrifugal Submerged Motor Electric Pump – Suction Vessel Mounted
The multistage medium to high

pressure LNG pumps are
widely used at LNG storage
and vaporisation terminals.
Discharge pressures of up to
80 barg with flow rates of up to
500 m3/hr are deployed.
For these pumps typical power

supply is at 6.6kV. Power
consumption can be up to 1000
kWh with the pump overall
efficiency of around 75%.
The pump is mounted in a

suction vessel, where the entire
pump and motor are
submerged in the LNG fluid,
thus avoiding problems of gas
leakage, bearing lubrication
and motor cooling.
These pumps have essential

features such as the thrust
balancing mechanism, suction
inducer, cable seal box purge
with nitrogen, vent, drain, etc.
These pumps are mounted

outside the LNG storage tanks,
usually fed from the LNG
stream from the recondenser
and the main stream from the
LP in-tank pumps.
The stainless-steel suction

vessel design is governed by
the maximum head that can be
generated by the LP in-tank
Figure – 3 pumps and the thermal relief
valve settings for the protection
Suction Vessel Mounted LNG Pump by Elliott-Ebara of equipment and pipework in
the plant.
Figure 4 – Suction Vessel Mounted LNG Pump by Nikkiso
All LNG pumps of this type are provided with either stainless steel ball bearing or ceramic
ball bearings. The ceramic ball bearings provide up to 5 times longer service prior to routine
replacement. Since, the pump removal is a difficult and expensive operation, it is better to
build these pumps with ceramic bearings.
Vibration monitoring probes should also be deployed for the bearings and the pump body as
well. The vibration probes for both X and Y directions are preferred for the larger pumps.
The pump cable seals must be provided with continuous nitrogen purge with its monitoring to
ensure safe operation of the pump.
3.3 Centrifugal Submerged Motor Electric Pump for Cargo Stripping or

Engine Fuel Supply – Small Column Mounted
These pumps are similar to the in-tank pumps we learned earlier in section 3.1 of this article,
except that these pumps are much smaller in flow rate capacity. The smaller size of the
pumps allows the pump down level in the tanks to much lower level than the larger cargo
discharge pumps.
The pumps may have up to two stages and produce discharge head of up to 150m at a
capacity of around 50 m3 /hour. The motor power is in the range of 20-25kW. Such pumps
have very low NPSH requirement. Spray and/or stripping pump motors are of the low-
voltage type, and they operate at 3,600 rpm. Spray or stripping pumps are usually less than
1 meter tall and weigh around 200kg per unit.
These pumps are deployed to cool down liquid headers prior to discharging of cargo and
also to cool the cargo tank during a ballast voyage prior to arrival at the loading terminal. The
pumps are also deployed to empty the ship storage tanks for dry dock inspection at regular
intervals as per the ship’s classification rules.
Figure – 5
Spray / Stripping Pump by Elliott Ebara Figure – 6
Spray / Stripping Pump by Shinko
3.4 Surface-Mounted Pumps with External Motor – Multi-Stage Centrifugal

Pump Can Mounted
Centrifugal pumps with external motors are also available for LNG service. However, in the
recent years these have not been used widely for large duties such as HP sendout pumps at
LNG terminals.
These pumps have claimed higher combined pump and motor efficiency than that available
with any other LNG pump technology. The use of conventional electric motors brings further
efficiency advantages. These motors are typically air-cooled, explosion-proof (EExd)
machines, which offer greater efficiencies than those of submerged motor designs.
A proprietary gas sealing unit is installed between the motor and the pump which are on an
inline shaft. It is claimed that the external motor design offers better reliability, because the
thrust bearings in the pump and motor are conventionally oil lubricated and the mechanical
seals operate in near-perfect conditions. These critical components are not being subjected
to the extreme low temperatures of the pumped LNG.
Figure – 8
External Motor Pump Seal Between Motor and

Pump by Sulzer
Figure – 7
External Motor Pump by Sulzer
3.5 Reciprocating High Pressure Pumps - Simplex to Triplex
Reciprocating pumps are generally used for small flow rates with high pressure service in
the small-scale LNG industry. These pumps are available with a single or multiple head
configuration. The motor is mounted on the side, usually on a skid frame.
The reciprocating pumps are used for L-CNG refuelling stations for cars, trucks, buses, filling
base stations, etc. Recent developments also include very high-pressure LNG pumps for
injecting high pressure vaporised gas in to large reciprocating engines on ships.
Standard equipment with such pump packages includes motor, gearbox, pulsation damper,
check valve, safety valves, pressure gauges, pressure sensors, pressure switch, etc. Other
accessories such as nitrogen flushing system, pressurised lubrication system, VFD and
automation controls can also be specified.
Figure – 9 Figure – 10
Reciprocating LNG Pump by Vanzetti Reciprocating Packaged LNG Pump by Vanzetti
4.0 Conclusions
We have looked at number of technologies for LNG pumps at the onshore terminals, ships
and small-scale applications. The selection of the technology and equipment requires many
factors to be considered. Usually during the FEED stage, studies are performed to identify
the pump technology to be installed during the execution stage of the project. These pumps
are expensive items of equipment, due to very few manufacturers and the use of expensive
metals such as stainless steel, special alloy aluminium and cryogenic motor materials.
5.0 LNG Pump Manufacturers
 Nikkiso Cryogenic – USA & Japan – includes former J C Carter – In-tank LP and
vessel mounted HP pumps
 Elliott – Ebara – USA – In-tank LP and vessel mounted HP pumps
 Shinko Industries Ltd, Japan - In-tank LP and vessel mounted HP pumps
 Cryostar – France – small capacity vessel mounted pumps and external motor
pumps
 Vanzeti – Italy – small pumps - centrifugal vessel/column mounted and reciprocating

high pressure pumps
 Sulzer – External motor HP pumps

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LNG Pumps Technologies

AD Consulting & Engineering Ltd.

1.0 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3

2.0 LNG Pump Equipment Selection ............................................................................. 4

3.0 LNG Pump Technologies ......................................................................................... 4

3.1 Centrifugal Submerged Motor Electric Pump – Large Column Mounted.................. 5

3.5 Reciprocating High Pressure Pumps - Simplex to Triplex ..................................... 12

4.0 Conclusions ............................................................................................................ 12

5.0 Lng Pump Manufacturers ...................................................................................... 13

Flow diagram of a typical LNG import and regas terminal process

2.0 LNG Pump Equipment Selection

3.0 LNG Pump Technologies

 Centrifugal submerged motor electric pump – large column mounted;

 Centrifugal submerged motor electric pump – vessel / pot mounted;

 Surface-mounted pumps with external motor – multi-stage centrifugal pump can

 Reciprocating high pressure pumps - Simplex to Triplex

3.1 Centrifugal Submerged Motor Electric Pump – Large Column Mounted

Figure 2 – In-tank LNG Pump sketch from Nikkiso

3.2 Centrifugal Submerged Motor Electric Pump – Suction Vessel Mounted

The multistage medium to high

For these pumps typical power

The pump is mounted in a

These pumps have essential

These pumps are mounted

The stainless-steel suction

Figure 4 – Suction Vessel Mounted LNG Pump by Nikkiso

3.3 Centrifugal Submerged Motor Electric Pump for Cargo Stripping or

Spray / Stripping Pump by Elliott Ebara Figure – 6

Spray / Stripping Pump by Shinko

3.4 Surface-Mounted Pumps with External Motor – Multi-Stage Centrifugal

External Motor Pump Seal Between Motor and

3.5 Reciprocating High Pressure Pumps - Simplex to Triplex

Reciprocating LNG Pump by Vanzetti Reciprocating Packaged LNG Pump by Vanzetti

5.0 LNG Pump Manufacturers

 Elliott – Ebara – USA – In-tank LP and vessel mounted HP pumps

 Shinko Industries Ltd, Japan - In-tank LP and vessel mounted HP pumps

 Vanzeti – Italy – small pumps - centrifugal vessel/column mounted and reciprocating

 Sulzer – External motor HP pumps

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