Liquifying natural gas requires a process that lowers the temperature of this gas to around -260 degrees F (-160 degrees C). The Main Cryogenic Heat Exchanger (MCHE) is the primary piece of equipment responsible for the necessary cooling; therefore, it is widely recognized as the ‘Heart’ of the LNG facility.

The valves responsible for controlling the flows must be rugged, reliable, and able to handle the temperatures and pressures involved in this extremely challenging process. The Joule-Thomson (JT) effect is leveraged throughout all the primary LNG liquefaction processes to achieve cooling of the feed gas or the refrigerant streams.

JT control valves reduce the pressure of the fluid significantly and induce the desired cooling. Because of the elevated pressure drop, the control valve can experience excessive noise levels if not addressed properly. It also experiences very low process temperatures and must be capable of precise throttling down to full cryogenic temperatures.

Reid Youngdahl joins me in this 30-minute podcast to discuss how we helped a major LNG producer overcome key production challenges by implementing Fisher JT Valves. Listen as we dive into the successful installation and the impactful results achieved in their operations.

Give the podcast a listen and visit the Valves, Actuators and Regulators for the Entire LNG Value Chain section on Emerson.com for more on the products and solutions to drive reliable and efficient LNG production.

Also, visit the LNG Success Podcast page to listen to other podcasts in this series.

Transcript
Jim: Hi, everyone, I'm Jim Cahill with another "Emerson Automation Experts" podcast. Today, we'll open a four-part series by exploring the role of control technologies in helping drive efficient and reliable LNG production performance. Emerson's valves, regulators, and actuators empower the entire LNG value chain, from liquefaction to the transport and terminal of LNG, and from project startup and commissioning to long-term facility operations and maintenance. Emerson's Reid Youngdahl joins me to discuss a great success story in which a Fisher JT control valve improved the performance of the main cryogenic heat exchanger at an LNG plant in Europe. Welcome, Reid.

Reid: Hi, Jim. Thanks for having me.

Jim: Hey, it's great having you here on the podcast. Let's begin. Can you share your background and path to your current role here at Emerson?

Reid: Sure. Yeah. So, I've been with Emerson for 11 years now. All that's been within our flow controls Fisher organization, primarily Fisher control valves, and that's been located here in our global headquarters up here at Marshalltown, Iowa. So, my current role is a valve technical specialist. So, I have the privilege to provide global support for our products. We're kind of broken up into industry groups to kind of provide better support to our end users. So, primarily, my applications are severe service support for the oil and gas industry with an emphasis on specializing in LNG. So, whether that's working with EPCs, doing sizing selection, consultation on large projects, or that could be supporting troubleshooting valves out in the field. And then, through that process, through the years, I have had the opportunity to work on a lot of these critical JT valves that we'll be talking about today, Jim.

Jim: Well, that's a great background there. And yeah, I would think LNG with cryogenic temperatures is severe serv...