Overland Park, Kan. (August 14, 2008) -- Black & Veatch, a leading
global engineering, consulting and construction company, announced today it has
received a U.S. patent for a heat quench column that adds to the company’s
sustainable solution set by achieving lower carbon emissions for vaporizing
liquefied natural gas (LNG) while maintaining low operating costs.
“Development of LNG infrastructure is important to bringing a stable and
long-term natural gas supply to the United States and other parts of the
world,” said Dean Oskvig, President and CEO of Black & Veatch’s global
energy business. “However, environmental concerns have slowed development in
some regions due to emissions generated from the revaporization process. Black
& Veatch’s innovative technology answers this complex challenge.”
LNG occupies 1/600th of the volume of its vaporized gas
equivalent, making LNG ideal for shipping and storing. However, revaporizing
natural gas requires significant heat energy. Submerged combustion vaporization
(SCV) is commonly used for revaporization because of its high thermal
efficiency. For large-scale LNG import terminals, however, SCV technology
produces higher amounts of emissions.
“Black & Veatch’s heat quench exchanger boosts fired heater efficiency,
making it cost-competitive with SCV technology while achieving lower emission
levels,” said Marty Rosetta, Lead Process Engineer in Black & Veatch’s Gas,
Oil & Chemicals business line and developer of the heat quench
exchanger.
The Black & Veatch technology works by capturing and reusing excess heat
energy from a fired heater or combustion turbine discharge during the
regasification process to achieve efficiencies approaching 97 percent,
depending on unit size and configuration.
“This technology demonstrates Black & Veatch’s commitment to provide our
clients and the communities they serve with a cost-effective solution for
meeting today’s environmental requirements,” Oskvig added.
About Black & Veatch
Black & Veatch is a leading global engineering, consulting and construction
company specializing in infrastructure development in energy, water,
telecommunications, management consulting, federal and environmental markets.
Founded in 1915, Black & Veatch develops tailored infrastructure solutions
that meet clients’ needs and provide sustainable benefits. Solutions are
provided from the broad line of service expertise available within Black &
Veatch, including conceptual and preliminary engineering services, engineering
design, procurement, construction, financial management, asset management,
program management, construction management, environmental, security design and
consulting, management consulting and infrastructure planning. With $3.2
billion in revenue, the employee-owned company has more than 100 offices
worldwide and has completed projects in more than 100 countries on six
continents. The company’s Web site address is www.bv.com.
Media Contact:
George Minter
913-458-8001
minterga@bv.com
24-hour Media Line:
1-866-496-9149
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