A tribute to engineers

[ls99]

Here is a massive engineering feat. Not something that can be done with backyard trial and error.

Much of what they show is impressive. But a lot of the unseen are electrics, electronics and fine mechanics.

 

[mpeirce]

Very impressive.

I wonder is this is a harbinger of similar "floating factories at sea". Could they do something similar with a refinery I wonder?

 

[haha]

Exciting. It is easy to get frustrated with politics and "economics" but then something like this makes me feel like at least some people know reality very well.

Ha

 

[2B]

Very impressive.

I wonder is this is a harbinger of similar "floating factories at sea". Could they do something similar with a refinery I wonder?

There are quite a bit of process operations already on existing offshore platforms. There isn't anything like a complete refinery. It certainly could be done but it would not be cost effective.

The produced oil and gas offshore is only processed enough to make it easy to transport to land either by ship or pipeline.

 

[Ronstar]

Wow - totally amazing given that several thousand people from around the world put that together

 

[2B]

This is what I do at my job. Does anyone think I should stick with it and not resign / retire 5 Jan. This was going to be my last "in office" day before 5 Jan.

 

[ERD50]

Kinda old thread I know, but just getting around to a reply.

Very impressive indeed. What I'm curious about, and what I found on the web was either too vague, or too detailed and it went over my head - how do they chill the natural gas to such low temperatures? How much energy does that take?

Small CO2 and propane tanks ( 20 # or so) are kept liquid by pressure alone (though low temperatures reduce the pressures required to keep it in the liquid state). Are these high pressures just impractical for such large volumes (small tanks, lower surface area, lower forces)?

-ERD50

 

[Ferd]

Natural gas will not form a liquid at any temperature above about -90 degrees F, so it has to be cooled down to form a liquid. Also, such huge tanks can not withstand very much pressure so they cool it even further to about -260 F so that the vapor pressure is low. Look a a phase diagram for natural gas and you will understand.

The liquefaction does take a lot of energy. That is one of the reasons LNG is more expensive than CNG. But CNG is too bulky to be transported by ship. So only areas that don't have access to CNG pipelines use LNG. There are starting to be more trucks using LNG because it gives them more range than CNG and is cheaper and cleaner than diesel.