<p dir=”ltr” align=”justify”>What is LNG?
Liquefied natural gas, or LNG, is natural gas in its liquid form. When natural gas is cooled to minus 259 degrees Fahrenheit (-161 degrees Celsius), it becomes a clear, colorless, odorless liquid. LNG is neither corrosive nor toxic.
Natural gas is primarily methane, with low concentrations of other hydrocarbons, water, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen and some sulfur compounds. During the process known as liquefaction, natural gas is cooled below its boiling point, removing most of these compounds. The remaining natural gas is primarily methane with only small amounts of other hydrocarbons. LNG weighs less than half the weight of water so it will float if spilled on water.
Natural gas is in great demand globally as a clean fuel and as a feedstock for petrochemicals, agricultural chemicals and plastics. Traditionally, transport has been limited to pipelines, whose economic and physical limitations have typically restricted distribution to regional/interstate supply, relatively close to the gas source, where terrain and geopolitical considerations are not prohibitive. However,
when converted to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), the fuel can be conveniently transported by ship to distant markets
worldwide – well beyond the reach of pipeline systems, thereby greatly increasing the availability of this highly desirable energy resource with an unparalleled flexibility of supply.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is essentially natural gas (NG), cooled at a certain temperature below its vaporization point. Thus, the LNG productive chain starts in the exploration and production of natural gas.
At this initial exploration phase, there is a close relation between the NG and petroleum industries. This occurs because usually, in the same basin, there may be gas together with
petroleum, either dissolved or as a gas layer formed in the upper part of the deposit. In this case, it is said that natural gas is “associated” to petroleum. In turn, the so-called “nonassociated” gas is the one found in fields where there is very little or no petroleum, allowing only the exploration of gas. This way, the geological research efforts to locate these fields, as well as the drilling, development and exploration technologies may be shared between the two industries.
How it works
When chilled to -162º C (-260º F) at 1 atm, natural gas is a clear liquid taking up 600 times less space than the corresponding gas and enabling practical transportation
by specially designed ships. Various combinations of refrigeration cycles are used in licensed LNG production processes, but most employ gas turbine-driven compressors
to achieve the necessary cryogenic temperatures. For commercial, safety and environmental reasons, these compression units must be very robust, efficient, and
highly reliable.
Where does LNG come from?
A majority of the world’s LNG supply comes from countries with large natural gas reserves. These countries include Algeria, Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Libya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, and Trinidad and Tobago.
What countries import LNG?
There are 60 LNG receiving terminals located worldwide. Japan, South Korea, the United State and a number of European Counties
import LNG.
Where are LNG import terminals located in the United States?
LNG terminals in the United States are located in Everett, Massachusetts; Cove Point, Maryland; Elba Island, Georgia; and Lake Charles, Louisiana; Offshore Boston; Gulf of Mexico; Freeport, Texas; Sabine, Louisiana; and Peñuelas, Puerto Rico.
How is LNG transported?
LNG is transported in double-hulled ships specifically designed to handle the low temperature of LNG. These carriers are insulated to limit the amount of LNG that boils off or evaporates. This boil off gas is sometimes used to supplement fuel for the carriers. LNG carriers are up to 1000 feet long, and require a minimum water depth of 40 feet when fully loaded. There are currently 136 ships which transport more than 120 million metric tons of LNG every year. (Source: University of Houston IELE,Introduction to LNG.)
How is LNG stored?
When LNG is received at most terminals, it is transferred to insulated storage tanks that are built to specifically hold LNG. These tanks can be found above or below ground and keep the liquid at a low temperature to minimize the amount of evaporation. If LNG vapors are not released, the pressure and temperature within the tank will continue to rise. LNG is characterized as a cryogen, a liquefied gas kept in its liquid state at very low temperatures. The temperature within the tank will remain constant if the pressure is kept constant by allowing the boil off gas to escape from the tank. This is known as auto-refrigeration. The boil-off gas is collected and used as a fuel source in the facility or on the tanker transporting it. When natural gas is needed, the LNG is warmed to a point where it converts back to its gaseous state. This is accomplished using a regasification process involving heat exchangers.
How is natural gas stored?
Natural gas may be stored in a number of different ways. It is most commonly stored underground under pressure in three types of facilities. The most commonly used in California are depleted reservoirs in oil and/or gas fields because they are more available. Aquifers and salt cavern formations are also used under certain conditions. The characteristics and economics of each type of storage site will dictate its suitability for use. Two of the most important characteristics of an underground storage reservoir are its capability to hold natural gas for future use and its deliverability rate. The deliverability rate is determined by the withdrawal capacity of the associated valves and compressors and the total amount of gas in the reservoir. In other states, natural gas is also stored as LNG after the natural gas has been liquefied and placed in above-ground storage tanks. (Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration.)
How is LNG used?
LNG is normally warmed to make natural gas to be used in heating and cooking as well as electricity generation and other industrial uses. LNG can also be kept as a liquid to be used as an alternative transportation fuel.
Why use LNG?
Natural gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel. It produces less emissions and pollutants than either coal or oil. The North American supply basins are maturing and as demand for natural gas increases in California and throughout the United States, alternative sources of natural gas are being investigated. Natural gas is available outside of North America, but this gas is not accessible by pipelines. Natural gas can be imported to the United States from distant sources in the form of LNG. Since LNG occupies only a fraction (1/600) of the volume of natural gas, and takes up less space, it is more economical to transport across large distances and can be stored in larger quantities. LNG is a price-competitive source of energy that could help meet future economic needs in the United States.
Is LNG flammable?
When cold LNG comes in contact with warmer air, it becomes a visible vapor cloud. As it continues to get warmer, the vapor cloud becomes lighter than air and rises. When LNG vapor mixes with air it is only flammable if it’s within 5%-15% natural gas in air. If it’s less than five percent natural gas in air, there is not enough natural gas in the air to burn. If it’s more than 15 percent natural gas in air, there is too much gas in the air and not enough oxygen for it to burn.
Is LNG explosive?
As a liquid, LNG is not explosive. LNG vapor will only explode if in an enclosed space. LNG vapor is only explosive if within the flammable range of 5%-15% when mixed with air.
What is a Rapid Phase Transition?
When enough LNG is spilled on water at a very fast rate, a Rapid Phase Transition, or RPT, occurs. Heat is transferred from the water to the LNG, causing the LNG to instantly convert from its liquid phase to its gaseous phase. A large amount of energy is released during this rapid transition between phases and a physical explosion can occur. While there is no combustion, this physical explosion can be hazardous to any nearby person or buildings.
LNG Liquefying
The natural gas liquefying plant is the main stage in the LNG production chain. In it, the temperature of natural gas is reduced to -162º C, which is below the vaporization point of methane. Hence, the methane gas turns liquid and its volume is reduced to 1/600 of the original volume
The liquefying plant is usually built in coastal areas, in bays, so that it facilitates the production outflow by vessels, thus making it also desirable for the plant to be close to the NG producing fields, as the transportation price via gas pipelines is considerable and, depending on the distance to be covered, it may increase the global costs of the project.
The premises composing the liquefying plant are: a gas processing unit (UPGN) in case the gas has not been previously processed with the separation of components of greater commercial value and the standardization of the product global composition. The gas is then dehydrated and broken down, so that hydrocarbons are separated: processed or dry gas (essentially methane), ethane, GLP (propane and butane) and C5+ components (especially natural gasoline). This way, the natural gas processed is led to the liquefying
stage in a set of heat exchangers and LNG storage tanks.
The liquefaction of NG is conducted at several stages of gas cooling until the cooled liquid is obtained in a process similar to that of a conventional refrigerator. A cooling gas extracts heat from the NG by means of heat exchangers in parallel sets, forming liquefying trains until this gas is cooled at a temperature of -162ºC.
Propane is the main cooling gas, leading the NG temperature to -30ºC; the gas will go through other cooling trains in which nitrogen, associated to other hydrocarbons, act as secondary coolers, making NG go below the vaporization temperature.
The technology that uses propane as initial cooling gas is the most commonly used and gained the market along the evolution and diffusion of LNG in the world market,
incorporating several technological improvements, mainly concerning cooling compression turbines, which account for a large share of the plants operational cost and their efficiency, allied to increase in power and environmental improvement in the use of cooling gases, besides the development of much more efficient thermal insulating materials, which revest the storage tanks, were essential for the growth in the insertion of LNG as a viable option to
natural gas.
The storage of liquefied NG is made in tanks with compression and re-liquefying systems to recover the gases that leak from stocking and resume the gas state; the logistics of liquefying, shipping and transportation forecasts is necessary for minimizing the stored volume, maximizing the LNG production and therefore mitigating losses from re-liquefying
and storage.
LNG Shipping
In order to convey the LNG between the liquefying and regasification plants, specially built vessels for storing gas in its liquid form are used, which count on large reservoirs capable of keeping the gas temperature during transportation. However, losses occur in this process varying from 1% to 3% of the initial volume, according to the distance to be covered, besides the consumption of the gas employed as fuel for the LNG Carrier Ship.
the ones that store gas in spherical tanks and those counting on tanks in longitudinal positions; the costs between the two types is similar both in construction and in operation.In function of its great meaningfulness for the world LNG industry, Japan concentrates a large share of the shipyards that build these types of vessels, and today it has European
and Korean shipyards as competitors in this sector. The major producing companies are Daewoo Shipbuilding, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding,
Samsung Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Shipbuilding and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
Besides LNG Carrier Ships, LNG can also be conveyed by smaller tanks, by means of trucks or trains generally used to supply peak, temporary or isolated demands when the development cost of a gas pipeline makes the gas supply too expensive.
Regasification
Regasification plants constitute the importation side in the LNG chain. They are usually located close to the natural gas consumer centers and harbor LNG Carrier Ships in
especially built terminals. The plants are formed by LNG storage tanks and heat exchangers where LNG is again transformed into gas for distribution.