Applications

Natural Gas Processing

Expanders are used in the processing of natural gas to produce process refrigeration and recover power that can be used elsewhere in the process. Processes that use expanders include:

Natural Gas Liquids/Liquefied Petroleum Gas (NGL/LPG) recovery and ethane (C2) recovery. Dew point control Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) production Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) production

Petrochemical Gas Processing

Expanders are used to produce low temperatures and refrigeration for two major purposes: recovery of valuable components from process tail gas; and product purification. Processes that use expanders include:

Ethylene production Propane dehydrogenation Ammonia production Hydrogen purification

Power Recovery

Expanders are used to recover the pressure energy available in gas streams. Examples of power recovery expander applications include:

Natural Gas Pressure Letdown Geothermal binary cycle Steam pressure letdown Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plants

Industrial Gas Industry

Expanders are used to produce the low temperatures and refrigeration needed for the separation and purification of air and other industrial gases. Applications include:

Air separation Nitrogen liquefaction Helium liquefaction Hydrogen liquefaction

Other Applications

Expanders have found use in special applications such as:

Jet Engine test cell air conditioning