LPG Vaporizers - LPG Vaporizer design and manufacture

LPG Vaporizers

Among many types of gases, propane is the most demanded one and continues to grow in popularity as a primary source of fuel. The reasons for its popularity lie in its vast supplies, cost-effectiveness, and environmentally acceptable profile in comparison with other types of fuel. The ease of use combined with these advantages has made propane the only alternative when it comes to fuel for accommodation heating, agricultural baseload, and facilitation. Moreover, propane is applied as an emergency and supplementary fuel for industrial heating processes and electricity production, especially in remote areas that face hardship with access to gas pipelines.The implementation of gas fuel for all these sectors and enterprises demands a profound understanding of the very essence of a vaporizer, LPG system specifications, LPG vaporizer design, the nature of vaporization, and the LPG vaporizer working principle. Moreover, it requires the knowledge of many related aspects that comprise LPG vaporization rate, the level of ambient storage temperature, the filling point and size of the LPG storage tanks, appropriate storage vessel pressure, the rate of fuel consumption for supported appliances, possible safety matters, and so on.

Advantages of LPG

Under the conditions of standard temperature and pressure, propane stays in the form of a gaseous fuel. Yet still, for propane’s efficient handling and storage, gas is liquefied under measurable pressure to make liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). In a liquefied condition, LPG can be handily and at the least-cost manner shipped and stored in cylinders and storage vessels.

Any gas-consuming equipment (process burner, boiler, heater) can consume LPG provided the gas is in the gaseous state. Once liquefied gas undergoes the process known as boil-off or vaporization returning to its natural state and thus becomes vapor again.

Fortunately, the process of propane vaporization occurs at ambient temperatures. Otherwise stated, in most cases, it is enough to let propane simply release from its pressurized storage tank to generate a flow of gas basically sufficient for commercial and domestic applications of gas.

The Reasons to Use Vaporizers

In order to provide steady and reliable operation of your gas-using equipment, the volume of propane that your gas appliance withdraws from a storage container has to be matched by the gasification rate. However, the speed of natural vaporization per a certain period has its limits due to the level of ambient temperature and storage vessel size (including tank fill level).

Any temperature that exceeds the ambient level of temperature will bring about a faster rate of gasification, combined with a more intensive vapor pressure. Similarly, a bulky, fuller storage container will cause respectively larger vaporizing capacity.

At the same time, low temperatures or small and half-empty storage tanks produce lower vapor pressure that might not be enough.

If the dew point of ambient air becomes higher than the temperature of the liquid inside the tank, frost will start to emerge on the bottom part of the storage tank and spread to the level of the liquid. If the storage vessel is covered with ice, it is a perfect indicator that your vessel is just not large enough for the vaporization capacity required from it.

Every part of an appliance that consumes propane requires a certain amount of vapor to operate properly. For instance, natural vaporization is not enough for heavy industrial equipment that consumes larger portions of gas per certain period when compared to residential appliances.

Vaporizers are intended to receive huge amounts of LPG and convert it to vaporized gas with fixed pressure and rate that starts from hundreds of liters per hour and ends with thousands of liters per hour. The volume of heat applied to the LPG leverages the rate of vaporization, thus making the right LP gas vaporizer supply a constant delivery of propane as required.

LP Vaporizer Selection

All vaporizers have been designed to perform two functions:

• To generate gas vapor at a higher rate that can be offered by a propane storage vessel.

• To generate SNG (synthetic natural gas) as a direct alternative to natural gas.

Further, we will review the types of vaporizers available in the LPG vaporizer market, their capabilities, and for which equipment each type is the most relevant.

LPG Vaporizer Types

1. inDirect Fired Vaporizer - without direct fire LPG gas vaporizers KBV are completely different from Direct Fired Vaporizers. Indirect gas fired vaporizers is the best solution for industrial and agricultural commercial companies with limited electricity supply and work LPG-powered. The principle of operation of the KBV gas  LPG Vaporizers consists in the indirect heating (through a water bath) of the liquid fraction of Liquefied Petroleum Gas with a gas burner with a closed combustion chamber, as a result of which the liquid phase propane LPG evaporates into a gaseous one. The main advantage of indirect gas vaporizers KBV (kbv gas fired vaporizers) is safety and reliability due to the absence of gas direct fired and energy efficiency due to the absence of heating of gas propane with electricity.

KBV gas Vaporizers most effective for gas burners with a capacity of 5,000 kW to 100,000 kW. The capacity ranges KBV series vaporizers from from about 500 kg/h (22,7 MMBTU per hour) to about 2000 kg/h (90,1 MMBTU per hour).

1. Water Bath Vaporizer. Water Bath Vaporizers have been designed as a set of tubes where propane flows. These tubes are enclosed in an insulated bath or any similar enclosed space. The bath contains HTS (heat transfer solution), which is heated by a bench of burners fixed at one end of the unit. Natural gas enters the tube as a liquid and receives heat from the HTS.

Absorbing the heat, propane converts to a vapor. PLC (programmable logic control) monitors the rate of vaporization, which is preset by the flow rate of the incoming gas and the volume of heat being applied.

Any liquid LP vaporizer is intended to be employed in continuous-duty equipment that may include such enterprises as hotels, penitentiaries, retreat centers, or any similar assisted-living facilities.

The capacity ranges from about 100 kg/h (4,5 MMBTU per hour) to more than 2000 kg/h (90,1 MMBTU per hour)

1. Electric LPG Vaporizer. Electric Vaporizers employ electricity to generate heat by means of applying it to the liquid gas to transform it into vapor. This type of vaporizer is featured with an electrical classification that gives the possibility to set them up right next to a gas storage vessel. One can find it useful under the condition of limited space for the installation.

The capacity ranges from 30 kg/h (1,36 MMBTU per hour) to 1 200 kg/h (54,54 MMBTU per hour).

1. Steam Vaporizer. Steam Vaporizers take advantage of on-site available hot water, steam, or any high-temperature gas as the source of heat to vaporize liquid gas. Usually, large industrial facilities that employ steam for their needs benefit from its availability to use it for LP vaporization.

Steam vaporizers are commonly used in industrial and commercial equipment that provides a constant excessive supply of steam.

The capacity ranges from about 500 kg/h (18 MMBTU per hour) to more than 2000 kg/h (70,2 MMBTU per hour)

1. SNG Vaporizers. SNG (synthetic natural gas) vaporizers include special air mixers connected with standard vaporizers. Such a mixer merges air with incoming propane to lower the calorie value. Thus, we receive synthetic natural gas, which is the result of the “air-propane” combination. SNG vaporizers provide seamless conversion from natural gas to mixed propane.

Usually, Synthetic Natural Gas vaporizers are used in the same facilities that employ natural gas.

The capacity ranges from 100 kg/h (4,5 MMBTU per hour) to 1 200 kg/h (54,54 MMBTU per hour).

As a rule, SNG systems are applied as a support to the natural gas-fired systems and are only required for sporadic usage.

In addition, there have been designed Electric SNG systems intended for small demand loads. Such systems can be deployed in very confined spaces. Normally, they operate as a piece of emergency equipment. Such small systems’ capacity ranges from 5 MMBTU per hour to 28 MMBTU per hour.

What Can We Do for You?

If you want to ensure constant and leveraged operation of your equipment, you need to choose the most appropriate vaporizer. Being an exclusive representative of one of the best LPG vaporizer manufacturers, the I-Maximum engineering company here is ready to help. Whether you require the best ever vaporizer from a standard stock that we have or you need a special custom-designed vaporizer with specific requirements, you are in the right place!