INERT GAS SYSTEM
Inert Gas is a gas which contains insufficient Oxygen to support
combustion and
which is used to prevent explosion by eliminating or removing at
least one of following component;
Hydrocarbon gas
Oxygen
Source of ignition
Eliminate Explosion
Inert Gas mainly consists of Nitrogen and combination of small
percentage of other gases as follows;
Nitrogen
Carbon Dioxide
Oxygen
Water vapour
Carbon monoxide
Nitrous gases
Sulphur dioxide
Soot
Approx. 80%
Approx. 14%
2 to 5 %
Approx. 5%
Approx. 0.01%
Approx. 0.02%
Approx. 0.3%
300mg/m3
Inert Gas can obtain either from vessels Inert Gas generator or vessels
boiler exhaust gas due to low oxygen content of exhaust gas from boiler.
Typical Inert Gas system consists of following main components;
Boiler uptake valve
Scrubber
I.G blower
Oxygen analyzer
Pressure Regulating valve
Recirculation valve
Deck water seal
Mechanical non return valve
Isolating valve
Individual branch valves for each tank
Pressure / Vacuum Breaker
Mast riser
Gases from Boiler uptake are hot and include impurities before reaching
the scrubber
The scrubbers main purpose is to clean and cool the flue gas from the boiler
uptakes and to remove impurities such as soot and sulphur oxides by
continuous water spray and demister . Cleaned and cooled gases from the
scrubber outlet are forced by the I.G fan/blower through the oxygen analyzer
to check oxygen content in the gas. If the content of the oxygen in the flue
gas is less than 5% by volume then, these gases are supplied to cargo tanks
via deck water seal otherwise re-circulating valve will automatically open to
re-circulate the gases to the scrubber. The oxygen analyzers are fitted at the
outlet of the Scrubber and at the I.G main deck line to maintain the oxygen
level less than 8% (5% for most of the new ships). A Cargo tank is considered
to be Inerted when the oxygen content in the tank is less than 8 % by
volume.
Low oxygen content Inert Gases are now passing through the Deck
water seal which mainly prevent the back flow of Hydro Carbon gases from
the Cargo Tanks to Machinery Space and helps for further dry, cool and purify
the gases. There are three types of Deck seal as follow;
Wet Type
Semi-dry Type
Dry Type
Deck Water Seal - Semi-dry type
Instead of bubbling through the water trap the inert gas flow draws
the sealing water into a separate holding chamber by venturi action
thus avoiding or at least reducing the amount of water droplets
being carried over. Otherwise it is functionally the same as wet
type.
Deck Water Seal - Dry Type
Water gets drained when inert gas plant is in operation (as flowing
to the tanks).
It is filled with water when the inert gas plant shuts down or tank
pressure exceeds inert gas blower discharge pressure.
Filling and drainage are performed by automatically operated valves
controlled by the levels in the water seal and drop tanks and by the
operating state of the blowers.
The correct level of water in the deck seal is necessary to maintain at
all time and to be check prior every operation.
The Inert Gas is then delivered to the Cargo Tanks through individual
branch lines. All cargo tanks are fitted with common Mast Riser for
releasing the gases during loading and pressure/vacuum water breakers to
prevent excessive stresses in case of malfunctioning Mast riser and
Individual branch valve.
The main usages of Inert Gas System are;
Inerting during Unloading Cargo, Crude oil washing and Tank
Cleaning operation
Purging of Cargo Tank with Inert Gas
Gas Freeing with fresh air by means of I.G blower
Advantages of Inert Gas system
Preventing of explosion by blanketing the surface of the cargo
from the atmosphere
Reduce rate of corrosion due to low content of Oxygen in the
tank
Increase in discharging rate by maintaining the tank with
positive pressure
Less evaporation rate during transit
Reduce risk of explosion due to static electricity during tank
cleaning.
