Vertical Gas Mixing Vessel for Stable Methane Feed
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing Liquefied Methane Gas (LMG) production plants face challenges in handling fluctuating biogas sources, such as landfill sites and anaerobic digesters, due to unpredictable methane gas concentrations and water content, leading to operational inefficiencies and potential gas stream interruptions, especially when combined with natural gas sources under different conditions.
Innovation Solution
A gas supply system and method that utilize a vertically-extending gas mixing vessel to intimately mix biogas and alternative methane gas sources, while separating condensate, allowing for proportional adjustment of methane gas content from 0 to 100% from each source to maintain a stable methane gas feed stream, ensuring continuous operation and adaptability to varying conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If biogas is used as the primary methane gas source for LMG production, then local availability and cost-effectiveness are improved, but operational stability and methane concentration consistency deteriorate due to unpredictable fluctuations in biogas composition and flow rate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines biogas and natural gas sources into a unified feed stream for LMG production. The system integrates two previously separate gas sources, allowing the stable natural gas to compensate for the fluctuating biogas, thereby maintaining operational reliability while preserving the local availability benefits of biogas.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the composition ratio of biogas and natural gas in the mixed feed stream based on real-time biogas quality parameters. When biogas methane concentration drops or flow rate fluctuates, the system increases the natural gas proportion to maintain consistent feed quality for the LMG production process.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the proportion of biogas in the methane gas feed stream is increased, then local sustainability is improved, but the risk of gas stream interruption and condensation issues worsens due to higher water content and unpredictable composition
Solution Approach 1:
Natural gas acts as an intermediary substance that buffers the harmful effects of biogas. By mixing natural gas (with lower water content and stable composition) with biogas, the system reduces the overall water content and stabilizes the feed stream, preventing condensation issues and gas stream interruptions while maintaining high biogas proportion for sustainability.
3Reliability
If natural gas is used to compensate for insufficient biogas methane concentration, then methane feed stability is improved, but the proportion of biogas in the total methane supply decreases, reducing sustainability benefits
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the biogas-to-natural gas ratio based on real-time biogas quality measurements. When biogas quality is good, the system maximizes biogas proportion for sustainability. When biogas quality deteriorates, the system increases natural gas proportion to maintain feed stability, creating a flexible, adaptive mixing strategy that optimizes both sustainability and reliability.
4Productivity
If biogas is saturated with water vapor at capture conditions, then local collection efficiency is improved, but condensation and operational issues worsen when the gas is processed and mixed with natural gas under different conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The system converts the high water content characteristic of saturated biogas from a harmful factor into a manageable parameter. By controlling the mixing ratio with natural gas and managing the thermodynamic conditions during mixing and processing, the system prevents problematic condensation while preserving the collection efficiency benefits of saturated biogas.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system ensures uninterrupted and optimized LMG production by stabilizing the methane gas feed stream, preventing condensation issues, and allowing for flexible operation under a wide range of conditions, thereby enhancing the reliability and efficiency of LMG production.
Implementation Method 1
A gas supply system and method that utilize a vertically-extending gas mixing vessel to intimately mix biogas and alternative methane gas sources
Implementation Method 2
separating condensate, allowing for proportional adjustment of methane gas content from 0 to 100% from each source to maintain a stable methane gas feed stream
Data Source
AI summary
The system is provided for generating a mixed methane gas feed stream using at least one source of biogas and an alternate source of methane gas. The system includes a biogas subsystem, a control device for the methane gas from the at least one alternate source of methane gas, and a vertically-extending gas mixing vessel. A method of controlling a methane gas mass flow rate of a mixed methane gas feed stream is also disclosed. The proposed concept is particularly well adapted for situations where an uninterrupted and relatively constant input of methane gas is required to ensure an optimum operation of, for instance, a LMG production plant.