Air Liquide supplies the first Turbo-Brayton cryogenic units for an FSRU

Air Liquide fits BW Magna floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) with two Turbo-Brayton cryogenic units for the first time. Air Liquide’s patented solution was chosen by shipping company BW LNG to help store the natural gas in liquid form in the best conditions. The purpose of this FSRU, which is named BW Magna and is docked in the Port of Açu in Brazil, is to supply natural gas to the largest LNG-to-power complex in Latin America built by Gás Natural Açu (GNA) at Açu Port. The commercial operation of the first plant of the complex is to start in the second quarter of 2021.

This floating giant, BW Magna, is intended to store and regasify natural gas that is transported by sea from production regions of the world. Shipping company BW LNG has signed a 23-year contract to store and regasify natural gas at sea before transferring it to the electricity generation plant operated by GNA. The BW Magna FSRU can hold 174,000 m³ of natural gas at -160°C in its four cryogenic tanks. 

For this project, Air Liquide supplies a Boil Off Gas reliquefaction solution in order to maintain the cargo at cryogenic temperature based on the principle of subcooling. Air Liquide’s Turbo-Brayton cryogenic units sub-cool the liquid natural gas and send it back directly in the tanks, preventing it from evaporating and increasing the pressure. In cases when the energy dispatch of the Açu thermoelectric plant is not required, the Turbo-Brayton will prevent the cargo losses on the FSRU. 

Air Liquide’s patented Turbo-Brayton solution has many advantages. The system is extremely easy to install on the vessel, as it is delivered pre-assembled on its single skid, and it only requires water and electricity to operate in an optimized way. Finally, this solution uses motors on magnetic bearings, which eliminates oil as well as limits maintenance to servicing once every five years. The chosen system is made up of two Air Liquide “TBF-1225” Turbo-Brayton units, to recondense 3.2 tonnes of LNG per hour. This success once again shows that Turbo-Brayton technology is a great choice for maritime applications.