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On-site Nitrogen generation

January 5, 2021

Gas plant in United Arab Emirates generates nitrogen on site and on demand thanks to Atlas Copco Rental Middle East.

On site nitrogen generation - Rental
When you know that the reactor tower of a gas plant is packed with some of the most flammable substances on earth… and when you realize that in some reactors, temperatures can soar well above 400°C… then it suddenly becomes very clear that the presence of even small amounts of oxygen at this most critical stage of production can have disastrous results. Which is why Atlas Copco Rental’s customer, a major gas plant based in Dubai, demanded the highest possible standards of quality, stability and reliability when it came to the nitrogen used to cool its reactor. And while it is a common misconception that liquid nitrogen is the most reliable option, 2 months of failsafe operations proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Atlas Copco’s state-of-the-art nitrogen generating membranes are more than capable of meeting the strict performance requirements and do so with far greater reliability, efficiency, flexibility, and safety.

A potentially explosive challenge

Maintaining an inert environment inside the reactor of a gas plant calls for extremely high volumes of nitrogen at extremely high levels of purity. (A minimum of 99.5% purity, to be precise, because even at 99.4%, an alarm will sound and the reactor will automatically shut down.) And to cope with fluctuating demand, our customer needed a high-performance solution that was as flexible as it was reliable in order to shave the inevitable peaks in production. 

The most common approach in the past has been to use liquid nitrogen. But while there is no question about the purity of liquid N2, ensuring a sufficiently high and sufficiently stable supply is far from easy and far from risk free.
Amro Atari , Senior Sales Engineer at Atlas Copco Rental Middle East

Indeed, the associated truck movements on site, often several times per day, come with logistical challenges, operational risks and potential safety hazards of their own. And so after much painstaking analysis, meticulous calculations, comprehensive demonstrations and even a week-long pilot, our customer was well and truly ready to consider the alternatives. 

Powerful package, proven performance

Our expert team at Atlas Copco Rental Middle East proposed a complete package for generating the required flow-rate and purity of nitrogen on site and on demand, based on Atlas Copco’s revolutionary NGM 1100 nitrogen generating membrane. In combination with our equally state-of-the-art PTS 1600 oil-free compressor and PHS 1600 heatless desiccant dryer, the package was configured with a built-in failsafe set to 99.8% purity and included delivery, installation, operation, servicing, and round-the-clock monitoring. And to demonstrate the capacity of the solution to run continuously at the required volume and purity, a 1-week pilot project was conducted to test the system’s resilience and performance under varying conditions. 

Results speak louder than words

In the end, our nitrogen generating package ran continuously at the customer’s site for a period of 2 months, delivering a stable output of up to 350 cfm of nitrogen gas at a pressure of 20 bar and a purity of 99.8%, well above the minimum requirement of 99.5%. In fact, the customer was sufficiently satisfied with the package’s performance that they retained it for longer than originally foreseen, using it between peak moments in other reactors and, e.g., for purging storage tanks as well. Which of course brought even further time and cost savings.

“The most clear demonstration of our customer’s faith in the NGM package, however, is that they have since banned the use of liquid nitrogen at their plant altogether,” says Amro. “When compared to the performance of our total solution for on-site generation, there is simply no reason any more to justify the expense, risk, and administrative effort involved in trucking in such high volumes of liquid N2 on a daily basis.”

More in the pipeline

As a result of the successful pilot, we have since concluded a long-term agreement with the same customer for the supply of process-critical equipment whenever required. And there are currently already 4 other projects in the pipeline as part of this long-term agreement. 

“As well as the performance and proven reliability of our equipment, one of the overwhelming reasons for choosing Atlas Copco Rental Middle East as a long-term partner is the size and availability of our fleet,” explains Amro. “This enables us to respond to requests, often at extremely short notice.” In addition, our teams are now very familiar with the plant and the constraints of their operations, which means we can also propose perfectly customized and precisely dimensioned solutions in a very limited timeframe.

The enormous success of this project is further proof that, even in the highly critical environment of a refinery reactor, Atlas Copco’s next-generation of nitrogen generating membranes are by far the safest, most reliable, most efficient and most cost-effective choice. For a constant and virtually limitless supply of nitrogen at an extremely high level of purity. 

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At Atlas Copco, we have been turning industrial ideas into business-critical benefits since 1873. By listening to our customers and knowing their needs, we deliver value and innovate with the future in mind. 

Great ideas reinforce sustainable development. At Atlas Copco Specialty Rental, we team up with our customers to set up state-of-the-art temporary air, flow, steam and nitrogen solutions. Our passionate experts have extensive application and equipment knowledge. We understand our customers' needs and can provide a total solution for any industry, no matter if it is for emergencies or planned projects. We are a division of the Power Technique business area, headquartered in Boom, Belgium and offer specialty rental solutions under several brands around the globe.