scholarly journals Liquefied Natural Gas in Mobile Applications—Opportunities and Challenges

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 5673
Author(s):  
Tomasz Banaszkiewicz ◽  
Maciej Chorowski ◽  
Wojciech Gizicki ◽  
Artur Jedrusyna ◽  
Jakub Kielar ◽  
...  

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is one of the most influential fuels of the 21st century, especially in terms of the global economy. The demand for LNG is forecasted to reach 400 million tonnes by 2020, increasing up to 500 million tonnes in 2030. Due to its high mass and volumetric energy density, LNG is the perfect fuel for long-distance transport, as well as for use in mobile applications. It is also characterized by low levels of emissions, which is why it has been officially approved for use as a marine fuel in Emission Control Areas (ECAs) where stricter controls have been established to minimize the airborne emissions produced by ships. LNG is also an emerging fuel in heavy road and rail transport. As a cryogenic fuel that is characterized by a boiling temperature of about 120 K (−153 °C), LNG requires the special construction of cryogenic mobile installations to fulfill conflicting requirements, such as a robust mechanical construction and a low number of heat leaks to colder parts of the system under high safety standards. This paper provides a profound review of LNG applications in waterborne and land transport. Exemplary constructions of LNG engine supply systems are presented and discussed from the mechanical and thermodynamic points of view. Physical exergy recovery during LNG regasification is analyzed, and different methods of the process are both analytically and experimentally compared. The issues that surround two-phase flows and phase change processes in LNG regasification and recondensation are addressed, and technical solutions for boil-off gas recondensation are proposed. The paper also looks at the problems surrounding LNG installation data acquisition and control systems, concluding with a discussion of the impact of LNG technologies on future trends in low-emission transport.

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kian-Guan Lim ◽  
Michelle Lim

AbstractThe technology to liquefy natural gas for transport to countries worldwide and the increasing use of natural gas as a cleaner fossil fuel for industry and household meant that the supply of liquified natural gas (LNG) worldwide is a profitable trend. Shipping companies can strategically choose to diversify into LNG fleet to grasp this trend. By supplying more LNG shipping capacities, the greater availability of LNG worldwide, as a source of marine fuel and as a source of cleaner energy in replacing coal and oil, is supporting eco-innovation. In this paper, we investigate three economic and financial benefits to a shipping firm that diversified into liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping, namely firm profitability performance, firm efficiency, and stock return performance. We also investigate if there is an early mover advantage in doing so. Our empirical findings indicate that fleet diversification into LNG carriers resulted in higher profitability and better operational efficiency. For the listed shipping firms, their stock returns increased with diversified exposures to the LNG business. There is some evidence of higher profitability in the early mover advantage. Firms that originated in LNG business also benefited when there was diversification into the non-LNG business.


Author(s):  
Xinglin Yang ◽  
Zongming Yang ◽  
Huabing Wen ◽  
Viktor Gorbov ◽  
Vira Mitienkova ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Amir Sharafian ◽  
Paul Blomerus ◽  
Walter Mérida

Abstract Recent research into methane emissions from the liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply chain has revealed uncertainty in the overall greenhouse gas emissions reduction associated with the use of LNG in heavy-duty vehicles. Methane is the main component of natural gas and a potent greenhouse gas. This study investigates the impact of five methods used to offload LNG from a tanker truck to an LNG refueling station and estimate the amount of fugitive methane emissions. The LNG offloading process time, and the final pressures of the tanker truck and refueling station are considered to evaluate the performance of the LNG offloading methods. The modeling results show that the LNG transfer by using a pressure buildup unit has a limited operating range and can increase methane emissions by 10.4% of LNG offloaded from the tanker truck. The results indicate that the LNG transfer by using a pump and an auxiliary pressure buildup unit without vapor return provides the shortest fuel offloading time with the lowest risk of venting methane to the atmosphere.


Author(s):  
Peiwei Xin ◽  
Faisal Khan ◽  
Salim Ahmed

This paper presents a layout optimization methodology for the topside deck of a floating liquefied natural gas facility (FLNG) using inherent safety principles. Natural gas is emerging as a clean energy, and a large amount of natural gas exists in the proven offshore area, thus making it an energy source with huge potential in today's and the future market. FLNG facilities tap natural gas from an offshore well by floating, compressing it into liquefied natural gas (LNG), and offloading it to LNG carriers after temporary storage. In addition, FLNG facilities enable long-distance as well as multilocation transportation. The FLNG facility requires compact design due to limited space and high construction costs and thus faces a more challenging situation where the design has to concurrently guarantee economic profits and a safe operational environment. Therefore, the layout of the topside deck, which includes production, storage, and other functions, plays a paramount role in designing an FLNG facility. This paper optimizes the layout of an FLNG topside deck by implementing inherent safety principles. The objective is to design a topside deck layout which achieves the largest extent of inherent safety with optimal costs. The details of the principles and their application for layout optimization are also provided.


Author(s):  
I. Ten ◽  
Š. Malenica ◽  
A. Korobkin

The present paper deals with the methods for the evaluation of the hydroelastic interactions that appear during the violent sloshing impacts inside the tanks of liquefied natural gas carriers. The complexity of both the fluid flow and the structural behaviour (containment system and ship structure) does not allow for a fully consistent direct approach according to the present state of the art. Several simplifications are thus necessary in order to isolate the most dominant physical aspects and to treat them properly. In this paper, choice was made of semi-analytical modelling for the hydrodynamic part and finite-element modelling for the structural part. Depending on the impact type, different hydrodynamic models are proposed, and the basic principles of hydroelastic coupling are clearly described and validated with respect to the accuracy and convergence of the numerical results.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Philip Cassar ◽  
Dimitrios Dalaklis ◽  
Fabio Ballini ◽  
Seyedvahid Vakili

With water covering almost three-quarters of the Earth’s surface and by factoring in that the maritime transport industry is holding the comparative advantage in relation to all other means, activities associated with the seas and oceans of our planet are extremely vital for the normal functioning of global trade. Furthermore, evaluating the opportunities of the so-called “Blue Economy” and possibilities for further growth should be at the epicentre of future development plans. Indicative examples -apart from various endeavours of maritime transport- include other sectors, like shipbuilding and repairs, fishing activities and related processes, as well as oil and gas exploration. All these provide significant economic output and facilitate job creation. It is true that the shipping industry contributes to the carriage of vast quantities of cargo and maintains a crucial role in global trade; however, the specific industry is also responsible for significant quantities of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. IMO (MEPC) in 2018 adopted an initial strategy on the reduction of GHG emissions from ships. This plan envisages a reduction of CO2 emissions per transport work, at least 40% by 2030, pursuing efforts towards even further reduction by 2050, compared to the 2008 levels. It is imperative for shipping and related industries to investigate and introduce more environmentally friendly (“cleaner”) ways of operation. In the search for these cleaner fuels, it is the responsibility of maritime stakeholders to make available (economically viable) fuel alternatives worldwide. In view of an increasing trend in using Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as a marine fuel, setting up regulations and amend national legislation to allow the provision of LNG as a ship fuel in a safe manner, is a first stage which potential service providing countries have to successfully fulfil. The current analysis is focusing on the small island state of Malta, which apart from certain international aspects introduced by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), it has to abide by European Union’s (EU) regulations and make LNG as a marine fuel available until 2025. Its main aim is to provide ways to cover the identified regulatory gap of the Maltese legislation, relating to ports, ship fuel bunkering and the local gas market.


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