Boil-off gas compressor for LNG fueled ship

Abstract

Provided is a boil-off gas compressor for LNG-fueled vessels using LNG as fuel for a propulsion engine thereof. The boil-off gas compressor includes: compressor housings in which impellers are rotatably arranged; a motor housing in which a motor is disposed to drive the impellers; and a bearing for rotatably supporting rotation shafts, which transfer rotation drive force of the motor to the impellers. The compressor housings may be integrally formed with the motor housing.

Claims

1. A boil-off gas compressor for LNG-fueled vessels using LNG as fuel for propulsion engines of the LNG-fueled vessels, the boil-off gas compressor comprising: a compressor housing; an impeller housed in the compressor housing and configured to rotate to compress combustible boil-off gas; a motor housing; a motor housed in the motor housing and configured to drive the impeller; a partition wall disposed between the compressor housing and the motor housing; a rotational shaft connecting the motor and the impeller and configured to transmit rotation driving force of the motor to the impeller; a first bearing configured to support the rotational shaft; and a second bearing configured to support the rotational shaft, wherein the first bearing and the second bearing are disposed in the motor housing, and the motor is interposed between the first bearing and the second bearing, wherein the first bearing is spaced from the partition wall and disposed in the motor housing between the partition wall and the motor, the first bearing being configured to lift the rotational shaft such that a bearing gap is formed between the first bearing and the rotational shaft, wherein the compressor housing and the motor housing are integrally formed and partitioned by the partition wall, wherein there is a leakage gap between the partition wall and the rotational shaft, wherein the compressor housing is in fluid communication with the motor housing through the leakage gap between the rotational shaft and partition wall configured to allow the combustible boil-off gas to leak from the compressor housing to the motor housing through the leakage gap such that the combustible boil-off gas received in the motor housing causes a pressure inside the motor housing to be higher than atmospheric pressure and inhibit external oxygen that would have caused explosion from flowing into the motor housing.

2. The boil-off gas compressor according to claim 1, wherein the motor is driven by a high speed frequency inverter and the impeller is directly connected to the motor without a separate set-up gear.

3. The boil-off gas compressor according to claim 1, wherein each of the first bearing and the second bearing is a self-lubricating type bearing not using lubricant oil.

4. The boil-off gas compressor according to claim 1, further comprising a secondary compressor housing and a secondary impeller housed in the secondary compressor housing, wherein the impeller and the compressor housing are disposed at one of both sides of the motor housing, and the secondary impeller and the secondary compressor housing are disposed at the other of both sides of the motor housing.

5. The boil-off gas compressor according to claim 4, wherein the compressor housing and the secondary compressor housing are connected to each other such that the boil-off gas compressed while passing through the impeller is cooled by an intermediate cooler and then supplied to the secondary impeller such that the boil-off gas is additionally compressed by the secondary impeller.

6. The boil-off gas compressor according to claim 1, wherein the partition wall between the motor housing and the compressor housing comprises an insulating member.

7. The boil-off gas compressor according to claim 6, further comprising a heater configured to avoid decreasing of the motor's temperature.

8. The boil-off gas compressor according to claim 1, further comprising: a pressure sensor configured to detect the pressure of the interior of the motor housing.

9. The boil-off gas compressor according to claim 1, wherein the motor housing comprises a supply hole through which an inert gas is supplied from an exterior to the motor housing and a vent hole through which an interior gas is discharged.

10. The boil-off gas compressor according to claim 1, wherein the interior of the motor housing is filled with the combustible boil-off gas.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a conceptual view of a fuel supply system of an LNG-fueled vessel provided with a boil-off gas compressor according to the present invention.

(2) FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a boil-off gas compressor for LNG-fueled vessels according to one embodiment of the present invention.

(3) FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of modification of the boil-off gas compressor for LNG-fueled vessels according to the embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE

(4) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(5) For an LNG-fueled vessel, efficient use of boil-off gas is a very important issue in terms of not only economic feasibility but also environment. If boil-off gas (BOG) generated in the LNG-fueled vessel is not suitably treated, the boil-off gas must be discharged to the atmosphere in order to protect a storage tank. BOG mainly consisting of methane gas has a global warming index about 23 times higher than carbon dioxide and thus discharge of the BOG from the LNG-fueled vessel must be strictly restricted.

(6) Although a screw type compressor or a reciprocation type compressor is used for treatment of the boil-off gas in the LNG-fueled vessel, these compressors cannot directly treat cryogenic boil-off gas or can cause contamination of LNG products due to lubricant oil. When the centrifugal compressor has a small capacity, it is difficult to implement a compression system and there are problems with a set-up gear, a gas sealing device, and increase in costs.

(7) According to the present invention, there is provided a centrifugal compression-type boil-off gas compressor for LNG-fueled vessels using LNG as fuel for propulsion engines thereof, in which a compressor housing is integrally formed with a motor housing, thereby fundamentally preventing leakage of a combustible gas, that is, boil-off gas, and inflow of external air.

(8) FIG. 1 is a conceptual view of a fuel supply system of an LNG-fueled vessel provided with a boil-off gas compressor according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the fuel supply system of the LNG-fueled vessel includes a storage tank 2 adapted to store LNG and boil-off gas (that is, natural gas generated through vaporization of the LNG) to be used as fuel; and a main engine 8 and an auxiliary engine 9 that use the LNG and the boil-off gas as fuel supplied from the storage tank 2.

(9) The main engine 8 may be a propulsion engine for providing propulsion force for navigation of the vessel, and the auxiliary engine 9 may be a power generation engine for supplying power to be consumed in the vessel.

(10) LNG stored in the storage tank 2 may be compressed by an LNG pump 4 and may be supplied as fuel to at least one of the main engine 8 and the auxiliary engine 9 through an LNG vaporizer 5, in which the LNG is heated. Boil-off gas generated from the LNG inside storage tank 2 may be compressed by a boil-off gas compressor 10 according to the present invention and then supplied as the fuel to at least one of the main engine 8 and the auxiliary engine 9.

(11) The LNG compressed and heated by the LNG pump 4 and the LNG vaporizer 5 may be mainly supplied as fuel to the main engine 8, and the boil-off gas compressed by the boil-off gas compressor 10 may be mainly supplied as fuel to the auxiliary engine 9.

(12) If the amount of the boil-off gas generated in the storage tank is less than a fuel amount required for the auxiliary engine 9, some of the fuel gas (that is, compressed and heated LNG) supplied to the main engine 8 can be supplied as fuel to the auxiliary engine 9. Here, if the pressure of the fuel gas required for the auxiliary engine 9 is lower than the pressure of the fuel gas required for the main engine 8, the fuel gas can be decompressed by a decompressor (not shown), such as a J-T valve and the like, before the auxiliary engine 9.

(13) On the other hand, if the pressure of the boil-off gas compressed by the boil-off gas compressor 10 cannot satisfy the pressure of the fuel gas required for the main engine 8 and the amount of the boil-off gas generated in the storage tank is larger than the amount of the fuel gas for the auxiliary engine 9, some of fuel gas (that is, compressed and heated boil-off gas) supplied to the auxiliary engine 9 can be supplied to the main engine 8.

(14) It should be noted that FIG. 1 shows one example of the fuel supply system of the LNG-fueled vessel provided with the boil-off gas compressor 10 according to the present invention, and that the boil-off gas compressor 10 according to the present invention may be provided to other types of fuel supply systems as well as the fuel supply system shown in FIG. 1. In addition, the boil-off gas compressor 10 according to the present invention may be applied not only to a fuel supply system for supplying boil-off gas as fuel to an engine, but also to any system requiring compression of the boil-off gas. Further, a material to be compressed by the boil-off gas compressor 10 according to the present invention is not restricted to boil-off gas, that is, natural gas, and may include a gas vaporized from LPG or oil and any kinds of combustible gas that can be exploded.

(15) FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a boil-off gas compressor for LNG-fueled vessels according to one embodiment of the present invention.

(16) Referring to FIG. 2, the boil-off gas compressor 10 according to the embodiment includes compressor housings 24a, 24b each having an impeller 30a or 30b rotatably disposed therein, and a motor housing 12 in which a motor 14, for example, an electric motor, for driving the impellers 30a, 30b, is disposed. A set of the impeller 30a or 30b and the compressor housing 24a or 24b may be disposed at each of both sides of the motor housing 12. In FIG. 2, the impeller and the compressor housing disposed at the left side of the motor housing 12 are referred to as a first impeller 30a and a first compressor housing 24a, and the impeller and the compressor housing disposed at the right side of the motor housing 12 are referred to as a second impeller 30b and a second compressor housing 24b.

(17) According to this embodiment, the motor housing 12 is integrally formed with the first and second compressor housings 24a, 24b. Here, the expression “motor housing is integrally formed with the compressor housing (or integrated therewith)” means that, outwardly, the motor housing 12 is connected to the compressor housings 24a, 24b as one body and that the motor housing 12 is placed adjacent the compressor housings 24a, 24b such that the boil-off gas leaked from the compressor housings 24a, 24b can flow into the motor housing 12.

(18) Although FIG. 2 shows the boil-off gas compressor 10 in which sets of the impellers 30a, 30b and the compressor housings 24a, 24b are disposed at both sides of the motor housing 12, respectively, the impellers and the compressor housings may be disposed only at one side of the motor housing.

(19) In the structure wherein the sets of the impellers 30a, 30b and the compressor housings 24a, 24b are disposed at both sides of the motor housing 12, respectively, as shown in FIG. 2, rotation driving force of the motor 14 is transferred to the first impeller 30a through a first rotational shaft 16a and to the second impeller 30b through a second rotational shaft 16b. Here, the first rotational shaft 16a and the second rotational shaft 16b may be coaxial shafts.

(20) Each of the first rotational shaft 16a and the second rotational shaft 16b may be rotatably supported by a bearing 18. In this embodiment, the bearing 18 is a self-lubricating type bearing which does not use lubricant oil. Use of the self-lubricating type bearing can solve a contamination problem caused by the boil-off gas and allows omission of a lubricant supply system, thereby simplifying the overall configuration of the compressor. For example, the self-lubricating type bearing may be a bearing configured to lift the rotational shafts using gas or electromagnetic force.

(21) The first rotational shaft 16a extends into the first compressor housing 24a through a partition wall between the motor housing 12 and the first compressor housing 24a and is coupled to the first impeller 30a to rotate the first impeller 30a upon operation of the motor 14. Likewise, the second rotational shaft 16b extends into the second compressor housing 24b through a partition wall between the motor housing 12 and the second compressor housing 24b and is coupled to the second impeller 30b to rotate the second impeller 30b upon rotation of the motor 14.

(22) Each of the partition walls between the motor housing 12 and the first and second compressor housings 24a, 24b is provided with an insulating member 20, which may prevent cold heat of the boil-off gas having a very low temperature from being transferred into the motor housing 12. Each of portions of the partition walls and the insulating members 20 through which the first and second rotational shafts 16a, 16b pass is provided with an air-tightening/heating member 22. The insulating members 20 and the air-tightening/heating members 22 may prevent excessive decrease in temperature of the motor 14, thereby preventing adverse influence on devices, such as the motor 14 and the like.

(23) In order to prevent the boil-off gas flowing in the first and second compressor housings 24a, 24b from being heated by the air-tightening/heating member 22, the insulating member 20 is advantageously disposed between each of the air-tightening/heating members 22 and each of the first and second compressor housings 24a, 24b.

(24) Referring to FIG. 2, the first compressor housing 24a is formed with a first inlet 26a extending in an axial direction to allow the boil-off gas to be supplied to the first impeller 30a therethrough, and a first outlet 28a extending in the perpendicular direction to the axial direction to allow the boil-off gas heated by the first impeller 30a to be discharged therethrough. The second compressor housing 24b is also formed with a second inlet 26b extending in the axial direction to allow the boil-off gas to be supplied to the second impeller 30b therethrough, and a second outlet 28a extending in the perpendicular direction to the axial direction to allow the boil-off gas heated by the second impeller 30b to be discharged therethrough.

(25) The motor housing 12 may be provided with a pressure sensor 32 to detect the interior pressure of the motor housing 12. In addition, the motor housing 12 may be provided with at least one temperature sensor (not shown). The temperature sensors may be provided not only to the motor housing but also to other places, such as the compressor housings and the like, which require temperature detection.

(26) The motor housing 12 may be formed with a supply hole 34 through which a gas is supplied from the outside into the motor housing 12, and a vent hole 36 through which the gas is discharged from the motor housing 12. The supply hole 34 may be used to supply an inert gas such as nitrogen into the motor housing 12, for example, upon maintenance, assembly, and disassembly of the boil-off gas compressor.

(27) Each of the first and second inlets 26a, 26b and the first and second outlets 28a, 28b may be provided with a flange (not shown) to facilitate connection of a pipe thereto.

(28) Next, operation and effects of the boil-off gas compressor according to this embodiment will be described.

(29) In the boil-off gas compressor 10 according to this embodiment, even when boil-off gas having a very low temperature is directly introduced into the first and second compressor housings 24a, 24b, the insulating member 20 blocks heat transfer to the boil-off gas having a very low temperature, thereby preventing operation of the electric motor 14, which operates at high RPM, from being influenced by heat transfer. In addition, a connecting portion between each of the first and second compressor housings 24a, 24b and the motor housing 12 may be provided with a separate heater having an air-tightening function, that is, the air-tightening/heating member 22, to protect the electric motor. Further, heat due to operation of the electric motor 14 can be discharged through a jacket type cooling system (not shown) provided to the motor housing 12.

(30) The first and second impellers 30a, 30b requiring a high RPM are directly connected to the motor 14 without a set-up gear. The motor 14, that is, a high speed electric motor, may be driven by a high speed frequency inverter (not shown), which may be disposed outside the motor housing 12.

(31) In a typical compressor using a combustible gas, such as boil-off gas and the like, since the electric motor is separated from the compressor, a gas sealing device must be disposed in several stages on the rotational shaft. The typical compressor requires continuous supply of an inert gas to the gas sealing device and additional installation of a discharge device for discharging gas having leaked from the gas sealing device. Nevertheless, the typical compressor has a safety problem due to difficulty in complete prevention of gas leakage.

(32) However, in this embodiment, some components of the compressor and the component of the electric motor, that is, the first and second compressor housings 24a, 24b and the motor housing 12, are integrally formed with each other, and the interior of each of the first and second compressor housings 24a, 24b and the motor housing 12 is completely blocked from the outside, thereby fundamentally preventing leakage of the combustible gas.

(33) According to this embodiment, the motor housing 12 is provided with the first and second bearings 18, which adopt a self-lubricating type bearing system, thereby eliminating a need for a separate lubricant supply apparatus while fundamentally preventing contamination of the boil-off gas by lubricant oil. Contamination of the boil-off gas by the lubricant oil can cause many problems due to coagulation of the lubricant oil in the LNG carrier vessel or in various pieces of equipment or the storage tank provided to the LNG-fueled vessel, which is exposed to cryogenic conditions.

(34) In a typical combustible gas compressor, an impeller part is separated from an electric motor part and a special explosion-proof motor is used. However, according to this embodiment, despite the presence of the air-tightening/heating member 22, the compressor does not completely block a gas such as BOG and is configured to allow the boil-off gas to flow between the first and second compressor housings 24a, 24b and the motor housing 12. In the compressor with this structure, electric devices including the electric motor 14 are operated in a state that the housings are filled with a combustible gas.

(35) At a site where the combustible gas is used, it is very important to prevent explosion due a combustible gas. To this end, a special explosion-proof electric device is generally used. However, according to this embodiment, a portion provided with the electric motor 14, that is, the interior of the motor housing 12, is filled with a combustible gas and is blocked from supply of oxygen thereto, thereby fundamentally preventing a risk of explosion. Combustion or explosion require three elements, that is, a combustible material, oxygen, and an ignition source. However, according to this embodiment, the possibility of supplying oxygen to the interior of the motor housing 12 is removed, thereby making it possible to maintain a safer state than a typical explosion-proof device.

(36) The interior of the motor housing 12 is always maintained at a higher pressure than atmospheric pressure, thereby preventing external gases including oxygen from entering the motor housing 12 in any cases. As described above, the boil-off gas can flow from the interior of each of the first and second compressor housings 24a, 24b towards the motor housing 12. Since the boil-off gas is compressed by the first and second impellers 30a, 30b inside the first and second compressor housings 24a, 24b, the boil-off gas having flown into the motor housing 12 can be in a state of being compressed to a higher pressure than atmospheric pressure. As a result, the interior pressure of the motor housing 12 provided with the motor 14 can be maintained at a higher pressure than atmospheric pressure.

(37) For measurement of the interior pressure of the motor housing 12, the motor housing 12 or other portions having the same pressure as the motor housing 12 is provided with a pressure sensor 32 to allow operation of the motor 14 to be automatically stopped if the interior pressure of the motor housing 12 is decreased below atmospheric pressure.

(38) FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a modification of the boil-off gas compressor for LNG-fueled vessels according to the embodiment of the present invention.

(39) Referring to FIG. 3, the boil-off gas compressor 10 according to the modification is similar to the boil-off gas compressor 10 shown in FIG. 2 except that the pipe according to the modification is configured to allow the boil-off gas compressed by the first impeller 30a to be additionally compressed by the second impeller 30b. The same or like components will be denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(40) Referring to FIG. 3, the boil-off gas compressor 10 may be a two-stage compressor. In the boil-off gas compressor, boil-off gas discharged from a first stage output unit, that is, from the first outlet 28a, after being compressed by the first impeller 30a, is subjected to heat exchange in an intermediate cooler 40 to reduce the temperature of the boil-off gas, and additionally compressed by the second impeller through a second stage input unit of the compressor, that is, through the second inlet 26b. Further, when the boil-off gas discharged through the first stage output unit has a low temperature, the boil-off may be directly supplied to the second stage input unit without passing through the intermediate cooler. To this end, the boil-off gas compressor 10 may be provided with a by-pass line 42 along which the boil-off gas bypasses the intermediate cooler 40.

(41) Although some embodiments have been described herein, it should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustration only and are not to be construed in any way as limiting the present invention, and that various modifications, changes, alterations, and equivalent embodiments can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the present invention should be defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereto.