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==Similar substances==
'''Liquefied natural gas''' or '''LNG''' is [[natural gas]] (predominantly [[methane]], CH<sub>4</sub>) that has been converted into liquid form for ease of transport and storage. More simply put, it is the liquid form of the natural gas that people use in their homes for cooking and for heating,
[[Liquefied petroleum gas]] or LPG is a somewhat similar substance consisting of either  propane or butane or mixtures of propane and butane with possibly some traces of [[propylene]] and [[butylenes]].  Those gaseous compounds are usually by-products recovered in petroleum refineries and easily liquified at a temperature of about 20 °C and pressures ranging from 2 atmospheres (for pure propane) to 8 atmospheres (for pure butane).


A typical raw natural gas contains only about 80% methane and a number of higher boiling [[hydrocarbons]] as well as a number of impurities. Before it is liquefied, it  is typically purified so as to remove the higher-boiling hydrocarbons and the impurities. The resultant liquefied natural gas contains about 95% or more methane and it is a 
LPG is also referred to as ''LP gas'' or, in some countries, as ''autogas''. It is widely sold in small pressure vessels such as shown in Fig.2 and it is used for:
clear, colorless and essentially odorless liquid which is neither corrosive nor toxic.<ref name=CalifEnergyCommission>[http://www.energy,ca.gov./faq.html Frequently Asked Questions About LNG] From the website of the [[California Energy Commission]]</ref><ref name=CEE>[http://www.beg.utexas.edu/energyecon/lng/LNG_introduction.php Introduction To LNG] Michelle Michot Foss (January 2007), Center for Energy Economics (CEE), Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas</ref>
* residential heating in rural areas where natural gas is not available
 
* fuel for barbecue grills
LNG occupies only a very small fraction (1/600th) of the volume of natural gas and is therefore more economical to transport across large distances. It can also be stored in large quantities that would be impractical for storage as a gas.<ref name=CalifEnergyCommission>[http://www.energy,ca.gov./faq.html Frequently Asked Questions About LNG] From the website of the [[California Energy Commission]]</ref><ref name=CEE>[http://www.beg.utexas.edu/energyecon/lng/LNG_introduction.php Introduction To LNG] Michelle Michot Foss (January 2007), Center for Energy Economics (CEE), Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas</ref>
* fuel for automobiles designed to use LPG
 
==Liquefaction plants for the production of LNG==
{{Image|LNG block flow diagram.png|right|310px|Fig.1: Block flow diagram of the LNG liquefaction process. See [[Natural gas processing]] for more details.}}
 
The liquefaction process involves separating the raw natural gas from any associated water and high-boiling hydrocarbon liquids (referred to as [[natural gas condensate]]) that may be associated with the raw gas. The raw gas is then further purified in a [[natural gas processing]] plant  to remove impurities such as  the [[acid gas]]es hydrogen sulfide (H<sub>2</sub>S) and  carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>), any residual water liquid or vapor, [[mercury]], [[nitrogen]] and [[helium]] which could cause difficulty downstream. ( See the block flow diagram of the liquefaction process in Fig.1)
 
The purified natural gas is next refrigerated and distilled to recover ethane (C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>6</sub>), propane (C<sub>3</sub>H<sub>8</sub>), butanes (C<sub>4</sub>H<sub>10</sub>) and any higher boiling hydrocarbons, collectively referred to as natural gas liquids (NGL). The natural gas is then [[condensation|condensed]] into a liquid at essentially [[atmospheric pressure]] by using further refrigeration to cool it to approximately -162 °C (260 °F).
 
There are a number of refrigeration systems available for liquefying natural gas. The global LNG industry has adopted two main liquefaction processes:
 
* the propane pre-cooled multi-component refrigeration (C3/MR) process, also known as the APCI process and used by the majority (about 80%) of LNG plants<ref name=migas>[http://www.migas-indonesia.net/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=1145&Itemid=42 The World of Energy :  LNG Technology - Processes,  Liquefaction Processes Fundamentals]</ref>
* the pure refrigerant cascade process
 
The first LNG plants in [[Algeria]] and [[Alaska]] (see history section below) were based on the cascade process using [[ propane]], [[ethylene]], and [[methane]] as refrigerants. Since then, however, the majority of large LNG projects have been based on the C3/MR process. Various studies have shown that the efficiency of the two main processes is similar.<ref name=migas/><ref name=natgas>[http://www.natgas.info/html/liquefiednaturalgaschain.html Liquefied Natural Gas Chain]</ref><ref>[http://petrofed.winwinhosting.net/upload/S%20Madhavan.pdf LNG Technology] S. Madhavan (August 2010), Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc., Houston, Texas</ref>
 
As mentioned above, the reduction in volume makes LNG much more cost efficient to transport over long distances where [[pipeline]]s do not exist. Where transporting natural gas by pipelines is not possible or economical, it can be transported by specially designed [[Cryogenics|cryogenic]] sea-going vessels called [[LNG carrier]]s or by either cryogenic rail or  road tankers.
 
==History==
 
Natural gas liquefaction dates back to the 1820s when [[Great Britain|British]] physicist [[Michael Faraday]] experimented with liquefying different types of gases. [[Germany|German]] engineer [[Carl Von Linde]] built the first practical [[vapor-compression refrigeration]] system in the 1870s.
 
The first commercial LNG liquefaction plant was built in [[Cleveland, Ohio]], in 1941 and the LNG was stored in tanks at atmospheric pressure, which raised the possibility that LNG could be transported in sea-going vessels.  In January 1959, the world's first LNG carrier, a converted freighter named ''The Methane Pioneer'', containing five small, insulated aluminum tanks transported 5,000 m<sup>3</sup> (about 2,250 metric tons<ref name=MT>'''Note:''' 1 metric ton = 1 MT = 1 tonne = 1,000 kg = 2,204.6 pounds = 1.1023 short tons</ref>) of LNG from [[Lake Charles, Louisiana]] in the [[United States]]  to [[Canvey Island]] in [[England]]'s [[Thames river]]. That voyage demonstrated that LNG could be transported safely across the oceans. During the next 14 months, that same freighter delivered seven additional cargoes with only a few small problems.<ref name=CEE/><ref name=Nontech>{{cite book|author= Michael R. Tusiani and Gordon Shearer|title=LNG: A Nontechnical Guide| publisher-Pennwell Corp.|year=2007|pages= p.138|id=ISBN 0-87814-885-X}}</ref>
 
The demonstrated ability to transport LNG in sea-going vessels spurred the building of large-scale LNG liquefaction plants at major gas fields world-wide. The first large-scale LNG plant began operating in 1964 at [[Arzew, Algeria]] and initially produced about 2,560 metric tons/day (MT/day<ref name=MT/>) of LNG. In 1969, another LNG plant began operating near [[Kenai, Alaska]] and initially produced LNG at a rate of about 3,400 MT/day.<ref name=CEE/><ref name=Charter>[http://www.encharter.org/fileadmin/user_upload/document/LNG_2008_ENG.pdf Fostering LNG Trade: Role of the Energy Charter] 2008, Appendices A , C and E, from the website of the Energy Charter Secretariat.</ref>
 
By mid-2008, there were 19 LNG liquefaction plants  operating in 15 countries worldwide, and the three largest were:
*Bontang project in Indonesia, producing about 64,000 MT/day
*Ras Gas project in Qatar, producing about 59,000 MT/day
*Arzew project in Algeria, producing about 49,000 MT/Day
 
There were also 65 LNG receiving terminals (often referred to regasification terminals) operating in 19 countries world-wide.<ref name=Charter/>
 
==LNG transportation==
{{Image|LNG tanker Abuja.jpg|right|250px|LNG carrier with 5 spherical LNG tanks. Total length is 285 metres (311 yards).}}
 
As of 2008, a typical sea-going LNG carrier could transport about 150,000 m<sup>3</sup> (70,000 MT) of LNG, which will become about 92,000,000 standard  [[metre]]s<ref>'''Note:''' Presumably , a standard cubic metre of gas is defined as gas at  reference conditions of  1 [[Atmosphere (unit)|atmosphere]] pressure  and a temperature of 0 °C. However, most of the LNG technical literature does not explicitly define the reference conditions.</ref> natural gas when regasified in a receiving terminal. LNG carriers are similar in its size to an aircraft carrier and are very expensive to build and to operate. Therefore, they cannot afford to have idle time. They travel fast, at an average speed of 18 to 20 knots<ref>'''Note:''' 1 knot = 1 nautical mile/hour = 1.852 km/hour = 1.15 statute mile/hour = 6,076 feet/hour</ref>, as compared to 14 knots for a sea-going [[Petroleum crude oil|crude oil]] carrier. Also, loading at the LNG liquefaction plants and unloading at the receiving terminals usually requires only 15 hours as an average.
 
All LNG carriers have a  double-hulled structure specially designed to prevent leakage or rupture in case of an accident. The cargo (LNG) is stored at atmospheric pressure and -162 ºC in specially insulated tanks (referred to as the "containment structure")  inside the inner hull. The cargo containment structure consists of a primary liquid tank,  a layer of insulation, a secondary liquid barrier, and a secondary layer of insulation. Should there be any damage to the primary liquid tank, the purpose of the secondary barrier is to prevent leakage. All surfaces in contact with LNG are constructed of materials resistant to the extreme low temperature. Therefore, the material is typically stainless steel or aluminum or a nickel-iron alloy known as "invar".
 
About 57% of the worldwide LNG carrier fleet uses tanks, which are supported by and conform to the shape of carrier's hull, to contain the LNG cargo. Such carriers are commonly referred to as "membrane type" vessels. The other major type of LNG carrier, constituting about 41% of the worldwide fleet, uses self-supported spherical tanks  to contain the LNG, with the upper half of the spheres being above-deck as can be seen in Fig.2. Such  carriers are commonly referred to as "Moss type" vessels (named after the [[Norway|Norwegian]] company, Moss Maritime).   
 
Most  LNG vessels use [[steam-turbines]] to provide propulsion power and those vessels use the gas that boils off from the cargo as fuel for generating [[steam]]. Therefore,  LNG carriers do not arrive at the destination port with the same LNG quantities as were loaded at the liquefaction plant. The accepted maximum figure for boil-off is about 0.15% of cargo volume a day . Thus, for a 20 day voyage,  the LNG cargo will have been reduced by about 3%.  Recent advances in technology allow the installation of plants on-board  the  vessels that can re-liquefy the boil-off,  which is then returned to the cargo tanks. Because of this, the builders and users of LNG carriers can now consider  the use of more efficient diesel engines rather than steam-turbines.
 
As of mid-2008, there were 247 LNG carriers in the worldwide fleet and the total capacity of the fleet was 30,800,000 cubic metres of LNG.<ref name=Charter/>
 
==LNG receiving terminals==
{{Image|LNG Terminal.jpg|right|325px|LNG storage tanks in onshore LNG terminal at Yokohama, Japan.}}
 
LNG receiving terminals (often referred to as regasification terminals) receive LNG carriers, unload their LNG cargoes and store the LNG in tanks. When required, the LNG is withdrawn from the storage tanks, converted back into natural gas by using [[heat exchanger]]s to vaporize the LNG, and then sent  to the end consumers via a local pipeline grid.
 
The main components of a receiving terminal are the LNG carrier unloading berths and port facilities, LNG storage tanks, vaporizers to convert the LNG into its original gaseous form, and a pipeline link to the local natural gas grid. LNG tankers may also be unloaded offshore, away from congested and shallow ports. This is accomplished using a floating mooring system and unloading the carriers via an undersea insulated LNG pipeline to the land-based regasification facility.<ref name=natgas/>
 
The major component of the receiving terminal is the vaporization equipment which heats the LNG from –161.5°C to more than 5°C in order to convert the LNG back into its gaseous phase. Conceptually, vaporizers are relatively simple units in which LNG is typically  pumped through heat exchangers where it is heated by exchanging heat with a warmer  fluid in a [[heat exchanger]]. The warmer fluid may be sea water, warm water or other warm fluid. There are also a number of other methods for vaporizing the LNG.<ref>[http://www.cbi.com/images/uploads/technical_articles/LNGjournaljulAug06.pdf Study focuses on six LNG regasification systems]] Brian Eisentrout, Steve Wintercorn and Barbara Weber, ''LNG Journal'', July/August 2006, page 21.</ref>
 
In conventional receiving terminals facilities either onshore or offshore, the unloaded LNG is stored onshore in large tanks, either above ground or semi-buried, until gas is required by the end consumers.
 
==Units and conversions==
 
Most of the available LNG technical literature uses certain dimensional units and conversions that vary from one literature source to another. The key units and conversions are set forth below so as to make available a single set of self-consistent data:
 
'''''Basic units:'''''
* 1 cubic [[metre]] (m<sup>3</sup>) = 35.315 cubic [[Foot|feet]] (ft<sup>3</sup>)
* 1 metric ton (MT) = 1 [[tonne]] = 1,000 kg = 2,204.6 [[pound]] = 1.1023 [[U.S. customary units|short ton]] (ton)<sup> (a)</sup>
* 1 short ton (ton) =  2,000 pound = 0.9072 metric ton (MT) = 0.9072 tonne = 907.2 kg 
 
'''''Definitions:'''''
* LNG [[Density (chemistry)|density]]  = 450 kg/m<sup>3</sup> = 0.45 MT/m<sup>3</sup> <sup>(b)</sup>
*1 MT of LNG = 2.222 m<sup>3</sup> of LNG = 1,360 m<sup>3</sup> of natural gas (at an assumed pressure of 1 atmosphere and a temperature of 0 °C)<sup> (b) (c)</sup>
*1 short  ton of LNG = 71.18 ft<sup>3</sup> of LNG = 46,053 ft<sup>3</sup> of natural gas (at an assumed pressure of 1 atmosphere and a temperature of 60 °F)<sup> (b) (c)</sup>
 
Notes:<br/>
(a) The [[U.S. customary units]] include both a short ton (1,000 pound) and a long ton (2,240 pound).<br/>
(b) The LNG density varies from one literature source to another. The volumes of natural gas per MT of LNG and per short ton of LNG also vary from one source to another since each source presumably uses different [[reference conditions of gas temperature and pressure]].<br/>
(c) The LNG technical literature, for the most part, does not explicitly define the reference conditions of gas temperature and pressure when stating natural gas volumes in either cubic metres or cubic feet.
 
==References==
{{reflist}}

Revision as of 12:43, 23 February 2011

Similar substances

Liquefied petroleum gas or LPG is a somewhat similar substance consisting of either propane or butane or mixtures of propane and butane with possibly some traces of propylene and butylenes. Those gaseous compounds are usually by-products recovered in petroleum refineries and easily liquified at a temperature of about 20 °C and pressures ranging from 2 atmospheres (for pure propane) to 8 atmospheres (for pure butane).

LPG is also referred to as LP gas or, in some countries, as autogas. It is widely sold in small pressure vessels such as shown in Fig.2 and it is used for:

  • residential heating in rural areas where natural gas is not available
  • fuel for barbecue grills
  • fuel for automobiles designed to use LPG
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