Liquefied gas storage installation with buffer storage - adjusts capacity to suit varying demand without burning off excess

摘要

A storage installation with a stock tank for liquefied gas has a conduit drawing off the gaseous phase via a compression plant for delivery to a consumer. The output line of the compressor plant can be connected via a refrigeration plant to a pressure vessel. This is sufficiency large to accommodate under pressure, the excess of the gas phase over and above requirements of the consumer. The excess is fed back in fluid form to the pressure vessel which can be emptied into the stock tank when the consumer requirement is once more in excess of the gas phase available. Specifically the refrigerator between compressor and pressure vessel is a mixer or heat exchanger, and the cooling medium is the liquefied gas drawn from the stock tank. The installation can adjust to very small quantities of gas being taken off by the consumer network, without the excess of the gas phase arising from vaporisation having to be burned.