Power Electronics for Renewable Energy Systems, Transportation and Industrial Applications

Chapter 22High-Power Drive Systems for Industrial Applications: Practical Examples

Lazhar Ben-Brahim¹ and Teruo Yoshino²

¹Department of Electrical Engineering, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

²Power Electronics Systems Division of Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systems Corporation, Tokyo, Japan

22.1 Introduction

Most natural gas (NG) reserves are located in areas (Middle East or Africa) far from large consumers, such as the United States, China and Japan. Therefore, the gas needs to be transported over long distances. However, NG is voluminous and the reduction of its volume is necessary prior to its transportation. NG volume can be reduced by around 600 times by using a liquefaction process; thus, making it more economical for storage and transportation [1]. The obtained liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a natural gas that has been cooled to −160 °C changing it to a liquid. To carry out this task, several large refrigeration compressors are used for each LNG plant. The operation of these high-powered compressors requires a large drive system. Traditionally, these compressors, whose power exceeds 100 MW, are driven by large gas turbines (GTs) [2]. To start a GT, it is often combined with a 10–20 MW motor drive called a GT starter or helper [3]. Recent advances in power electronics technology have offered hope for the development of multi-megawatt electric drives to drive large-capacity compressors in modern LNG plants, instead of GT drives. These electric drives, also called ...