Witte Engineered Gases & Cryogenics

In-depth Descriptions & Examples

Project Management

Managing projects for cryogenic applications and industrial gases is one of our core skills. We have managed large projects that include flow rates from 1.5 MM standard cubic ft per hours (scfh) to pressures as high as 10,000 psig for industrial gases that include nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, argon, helium, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide. Our expertise in projects includes:

  1. The very important “scope of work” defining what needs to be accomplished with boundaries.
  2. Design of the piping diagram, controls, and materials of construction
  3. Completion of the project documentation to include the flow diagrams, equipment layout electrical
    4. drawings, and the list of equipment to be used.
Projects completed by from small to millions dollar projects. These projects can include the entire system installation including all the utility work (concrete, power, and piping) with equipment procurement (turnkey) to portions of system installation. Our expertise encompasses thousands of installations of cryogenic tanks, gaseous storage vessels, and ancillary equipment. This is a core competency.

We can advise you on what to buy and where to buy it. We have the expertise and industry contacts to save you money in purchasing your own equipment.

Real Life Application

We can review your existing system for efficiency to assure that the product is not wasted and the system is delivering the needed product at the correct flow rate, pressure and purity.

Case study – Liquid Nitrogen Use
A user of liquid nitrogen (LN2) for cooling multiple GC (gas chromatograph) Cryotrap, piped liquid nitrogen throughout the facility using vacuum jacketed (VJ) pipe and a keep full device. Unfortunately for them, the system had not been designed correctly and they were wasting 50% of the LN2 delivered. With some minor modifications, the system was returned to its normal use at savings in excess of 10,000 gal of LN2/mo. LN2 is used for freezing food, thermal chambers, among many other applications.

Case study – Hyperbaric Oxygen
A medical hyperbaric application was using ~1300 gal/mo of liquid oxygen, as a gas. However, there were several opportunities to save wasted gas by the addition of some different design equipment. By reengineering the storage system type and design, savings of ~50% was achieved.

Case Study – Tank Blanketing
A plant was using nitrogen to blanket flammable storage tanks. The customer was originally having flow problems during purging and withdrawal operations. After engineering analysis of the system and review of the piping system several recommendations were made that eliminated the flow problems and achieved savings of 75% of the consumption.

Case Study – Equipment Type and Size
A manufacturer was using cylinders and small liquid containers due to the infrastructure costs to go to a larger container. After providing project cost and engineering analysis of the system, it was proven that the savings in product price, lost product, and decreased labor costs (not considering potential accidents due to moving heavy containers) would pay back the infrastructure costs in 6 months.

Case Study – Incompatible Materials
A plant owned, cryogenically operated oxygen storage system was requested to be reviewed for correct design. The results determined incorrect materials of construction for cryogenics temperatures and incompatible materials for any oxygen systems. Although a catastrophic event did not occur, the potential was very real. The cost for the new parts were less than $200 to repair.

Case study – Pipeline Not Delivering
A customer called to complain about discoloration at the cutting edge. After an engineering analysis of the entire system from storage vessel to the laser, several undersized areas within the system were identified and changed. In addition, the tank modifications were needed as well to assure the storage pressure was maintained.