L.A. Turbine Ships First Ares Turboexpander-Compressor

L.A. Turbine has shipped its first Ares active magnetic bearing (AMB) turboexpander-compressor to a new processing plant in the Bakken Shale Play of North Dakota. The Ares turboexander-compressor, designed for a plant flow rate of 200 MMcfd (5.6 X 10⁶ m³/d), will be used for natural gas liquids (NGL) processing. Installation and commissioning is set for the third quarter of this year.

The Ares turboexpander-compressor features a skid-mounted AMB control system and programmable logic control (PLC) panel. This configuration allows operators to place the skid onsite and power it up without running yards of wires to a control room.

L.A. Turbine and Waukesha Magnetic Bearings collaborated on the new turboexpander-compressor, which also features 1/3 less space than oil-dependent variants. Waukesha Magnetic Bearings supplied the Ares turboexpander-compressor with its AMB hardware, as well as the Zephyr five-axis digital controller (see COMPRESSORTECH², Aug-Sept. 2018, p. 29).