African Fusion

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August 2015 AFRICAN FUSION 39
Transporting natural gas through
pipelines can be non-profitable over
long distances, so natural gas, which
consistsmostly ofmethanewith smaller
amounts of ethane andpropane, is often
transported by ship in the formof liquid
natural gas (LNG). By super cooling natu-
ral gas to -163°C, its volume decreases
600 times. In this state, the ‘gas’ is known
as liquid natural gas (LNG).
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
on the other hand, consists mostly of
propane and butane stored as liquid at
atmospheric temperatures but under
pressures of between 200 and 250 bar.
LNG has to be stored in cryogenic
conditions, which require the use of
high quality materials and welding
consumables. These materials and
consumables are required in the con-
struction of cryogenic gas plants such
as: LNG trains and short pipelines; LNG
carriers, tanker trucks and rail tank cars;
regasification terminals, such as the
Sunrise Energy’s LPG terminal currently
under construction inSaldanhaBay; and
large cryogenic storage tanks.
Welding consumables play an im-
portant role in the construction of LNG
and LPG projects. High quality products
are major factors that contribute to the
safety and cost efficiency of building
plants andstorage vessels.Materials and
structuresmustmeet themost stringent
specifications.
A variety of materials are used for
LPG and LNG plants, such as carbon
steels, stainless steel, 3.5% to 9% Ni
steels and aluminium. Nickel-based
and austenitic welding consumables
are used in cryogenic applications in
order to comply with the high ductil-
ity and strength requirements at low
temperatures.
voestalpine Böhler Welding offers a
complete portfolio of specialised prod-
ucts for all the common welding pro-
cesses: SMAW, SAW, GMAW and FCAW,
with the required qualifications, certi-
fications and documentation that meet
the industry’s quality requirements.
Some global reference, amongst
many others, include: ethylene tanks for
Antwerp in Belgium; an LNG-production
plant at Bintulu, Malaysia; separators
for low temperature service in France;
an ethylene terminal facility in 9%
nickel steel in India; and, built this year, a
52 000m3 ethane tankweldedusing flux-
cored UTP AF 6222MoPW (E NiCrMo-3)
consumables in Stenungsund, Sweden.
“We are a state-of-the art high-qual-
voestalpine Böhler Welding offers a complete
portfolio of specialised products for LNG and LPG
welding projects for all common welding processes.
LNG and LPG welding consumables
ity manufacturer of welding consum-
ables with over 30 years of experience
in the LPG and LNG fields. From us, you
can expect consistently high-quality
products and competent support.
voestalpine Böhler Welding has sup-
plied over 25 of the largest global LNG
projects,” says Tim Siveright of Böhler
Udderholm Africa, voestalpine Böhler
Welding’s representative in South Af-
rica. “And we are very excited about the
future expansion prospects for the local
LPG and LNG industry,” he concludes.