×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

LPG VERTICAL VAPORIZER

LPG VERTICAL VAPORIZER

LPG VERTICAL VAPORIZER

(OP)
Hello,

We have a dilemma in choosing the right equipment for a vertical LPG vaporizer (with hot water): one option is to purchase such an equipment from a company that manufacture this equipment versus the second option to design a shell and tube heat exchanger and build it.
Are there any reasons to prefer one of the options (the first one costs more)? Are there any special details unique for LPG we should consider in the design option?

regards,
         roker

RE: LPG VERTICAL VAPORIZER

Roker:

First, I have found no difference between a vertical or horizontal LPG vaporizer - the performance is the same from both, so my comments apply to either.

There is more to an LPG vaporizer than just determining the heat transfer surface area required and the heating fluid employed.  The mechanical configuration, the type of apparatus used, and the instrumentation are perhaps just as important - if not more.  There may be impurities in the LPG that will sediment (or precipitate out) within the vaporizer if allowed to do so.  This will foul the heating surfaces.  I've always employed my vaporizers connected externally to my LPG storage tank and routed all generated vapor back to the tank, controlling the tank vapor pressure with the flow of my vaporizer heating fluid.  If the LPG has impurities, I always try to keep the liquid inlet into the vaporizer slanted back towards the storage tank and let the tank accumulate the heavies in its lower section.

Hot water is ideal for this application.  If you use a U-tube exchanger (i.e., TEMA type BEU), this pretty well dictates that you must have a horizontal vaporizer orientation.  The U-tube removal is awkward and difficult in the vertical orientation and air traps itself in the top of the "U" when the bundle is pointing upwards.  The trapped air is impossible to remove and ultimately affects heat transfer.

For smooth operation and constant, steady LPG vapor pressure availability for draw-off, the instruments selection is important as far as quality and application are concerned.  In the instrumentation, I also stress concentrating on the safety relief protection.   All these issues are normally handled by a vaporizer supplier.  If you do the job yourself, then you inherit these responsibilities also.  If you haven't done this before or if you lack the experience, then an outside, experienced supplier who can guarantee the performance is the way I would recommend the project be implemented.

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources