HIGH PRESSURE N2 TANK vs. LOW PRESSURE N2 TANK & BOOST PUMP: Which is best?

HIGH PRESSURE N2 TANK vs. LOW PRESSURE

N2 TANK & BOOST PUMP: Which is best?
Liquid nitrogen, used in oil field service work, must be transferred from its storage tank to the high
pressure triplex pump. Since liquid nitrogen is stored at its boiling point of 320 Deg F, it can not
be placed under a "suction", but must be "pushed". Nitrogen that is drawn into a pipe or pump at
less than atmospheric pressure will boil and cause the pump to loose prime. This pump
characteristic is call Net Positive Suction Pressure (NPSH), and is true for all pumps, positive
displacement or centrifugal. Generally, two different approaches have been developed to supply
liquid nitrogen to the triplex pump. These are a High Pressure Tank, and a Boost Pump.
The High Pressure Tank system uses a properly sized pressure building system to produce and
maintain tank pressure. This pressure is used to push the liquid nitrogen out of the tank, through
the piping, and into the triplex pump. The pressure building coil or heat exchanger is sized to
maintain the desired flow at a pressure compatible with the triplex pumps NPSH requirements.
This system frequently used a pressure regulator to control the tank pressure to a specific set
point regardless of pumping rates, which provides an automatic liquid nitrogen flow and pressured
to the triplex pump, with virtually no moving parts.
The Low Pressure Tank & Boost Pump system also uses a tank pressure building system to supply
liquid nitrogen to the centrifugal boost pump. The boost pump then provide increased pressure to
the flow to the triplex pump. The pressure building system in this application is necessary, since
the boost pump has its own NPSH requirement. The boost pump system usually requires a means
for returning excess nitrogen flow back to the tank. This is necessary since the centrifugal pump
operates best at a specific flow and pressure. If the flow needed by the triplex is less than the
optimum flow for the centrifugal, the excess flow is recirculated back to tank.
Which is best? Each system has its pros and cons, usually the losses during a job are very similar
between both systems. In some specific cases though one system can be better than the other.
Some triplex pumps are designed to operate best with fairly high suction pressures. This higher
pressure is easier provided with the boost pump system. However for triplex pumps designed for
no recirculation and little venting, the boost pump system would not operate. Generally the pros
and cons are:

Boost Pump System High Pressure Tank
System Complexity Requires low pressure tank
hydraulic pump drive and
recirculation piping
Requires high pressure tank
and larger pressure building
system
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HIGH PRESSURE N2 TANK vs. LOW PRESSURE N2 TANK & BOOST PUMP: Which is best?
Operating efficiency Centrifugals best volumetric
efficiency is 65%, plus
recirculation losses
100% flow to the triplex
Tank Operating Pressure 25 psig 75- 90 psig
"Hot" nitrogen flow
returned to tank
Varies, can be as high a 90%
of unit rated capacity. Adds
excess heat which can cause
additional losses.
0%
% of unused Nitrogen left
in empty tank (due to
operating pressure)
0.3%
Example: 2000 gal tank
waste is 6 gal of product.
1%
Example: 2000 gal tank waste
is 20 gal of product.
Effectiveness on off shore
work vessel
Fair, but effected by rough
sea conditions.
Poor, in rough sea conditions
Tank relative weight Low Medium to high
Reliability/Maintenance Good/Moderate Maintenance Very Good/ No Maintenance
Components to be cooled
down (excluding triplex
pump, suction piping, and
prime piping)
Centrifugal pump, pump
isolation flex hoses,
centrifugal prime piping,
recirculation valve and
recirculation piping
None



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