Active Magnetic Bearing for Turboexpanders in Ethylene Plants: Technology and Advantages

Active Magnetic Bearing (AMB) turboexpanders are becoming an industrial standard in ethylene production plants. End customers are choosing this technology over oil bearing system for better reliability and efficiency, smallerfootprint and lower life cycle costs. This article briefly describes the AMB technology and its evolution since the first patents followed by the comparison between the AMB and oil bearing technologies. The analysis includes technical and economic factors.