Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas that has been cooled to liquid form (mostly methane, CH4, with a little amount of ethane, C2H6) for non-pressurized storage or transportation. It takes up around 1/600th of the volume of gaseous natural gas (at standard conditions for temperature and pressure).
LNG has no odor, no color, is non-toxic, and does not corrode. Flammability following vaporization into a gaseous form, freezing, and suffocation are all risks. Certain components, including as dust, acid gases, helium, water, and heavy hydrocarbons, are removed during the liquefaction process, which could cause problems downstream. The natural gas is then cooled to roughly 162 C (260 F) and condensed into a liquid at close to atmospheric pressure; the maximum transport pressure is set at around 25 kPa (4 psi) (gauge pressure), which is about one-fourth of atmospheric pressure at sea level.
Methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8), and butane (C3H8) are common hydrocarbon compounds found in natural gas produced from hydrocarbon sources (C4H10). All of these products have a wide range of boiling points as well as different heating values, providing for a variety of commercialization and application options. To supply a clean sweetened stream of gas, “acidic” elements such as hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and carbon dioxide (CO2), as well as oil, dirt, water, and mercury, are eliminated from the gas. If acidic molecules, mercury, and other contaminants are not removed, the equipment may be damaged. Within cryogenic heat exchangers, corrosion of steel pipes and amalgamation of mercury to aluminum could cause costly damage.
The liquefied petroleum fractions (butane and propane), which can be kept in liquid form at low pressure, and the lighter ethane and methane fractions are routinely separated from the gas stream. These lighter methane and ethane fractions are subsequently liquefied to make up the majority of LNG transported.
Where gas-producing oil or gas fields were located far away from gas pipelines or in offshore places where pipes were not practicable, natural gas was believed to be economically unimportant. In the past, this usually meant that the natural gas generated was flared, especially because, unlike oil, there was no feasible mechanism for natural gas storage or transportation other than pipelines, which needed the gas to be used immediately by end users. This meant that, previously, natural gas markets were entirely local, and any output had to be consumed within the local network.
Natural gas was successfully commercialized into a global market that today competes with other fuels thanks to advancements in production procedures, cryogenic storage, and transportation. Furthermore, the introduction of LNG storage has brought network resilience that was before unthinkable. Given the ease with which other fuels may be stored in simple tanks, a supply lasting several months could be held in storage. Long-term gas storage reserves became conceivable with the introduction of large-scale cryogenic storage. These liquefied gas reserves could be used at any time through regasification operations, and they are now the primary mechanism for networks to address local peak shaving needs.
How does natural gas become LNG?
The process and advantages of natural gas liquefaction for transportation to meet global energy demand.
Return to a wide view of a 3D recreation of a city skyline rising from a gridlined background.
Pan and pull back to an overhead perspective of the skyline, which levels out to two 3D yellow blocks labelled Population and Demand, still surrounded by a white background with grey gridlines, the blocks creating a shadow in front of them, still surrounded by a white background with grey gridlines.
As four more blocks appear frame-right of the first two, pull back to a wide front view of the blocks. From left to right, the blocks are labeled 2000, 2010, 2020, 2030, 2040, and 2050, and they climb in height incrementally. Against a white background, the blocks throw a tiny grey shadow in front of them.
The world’s population is expanding, and many people’s living standards are improving. As a result, by 2050, global energy demand will have doubled compared to 2000.
As the blocks shrink and disappear into the white, gridlined background, zoom in on them.
Aerial image of a gridlined surface as a simulation of the earth’s revolving globe emerges from the surface, continents visible in mustard and oceans between in pale blue, the globe casting a faint grey shadow in a south-easterly direction.
However, certain natural gas resources are located in remote areas, making long-distance pipeline transit costly and unfeasible. What is the solution?
Against the white, gridlined background, the globe simulation transforms into a teardrop of blue liquid. The liquid drop rolls downward and vanishes.
We liquefy the gas by cooling it, which reduces its volume and makes it easier, more cost-effective, and safer to transfer by ship.
As it develops from the white, gridlined background, zoom in on a vertical cylindrical object, a simulated pipeline.
To replicate the reflection of the pipeline running along the ground’s surface, simulated gas particles of various colors float upwards through the pipe, and shadows appear on either side of the pipe.
Pan down to an oblique, horizontal angle of the pipeline, where colourful particles flow from frame left to frame right against a white background with grey gridlines and shadows.
Return to an aerial view of a network of pipes through which particles are flowing, all emanating from a single pipe with multiple tines that resembles a fork.
So, how do you make liquefied natural gas? Impurities, water, and other liquids are present in natural gas produced from the ground. It goes through a cleaning process first. It passes via a number of pipes and tanks, with gravity assisting in the separation of the gas from the heavier liquids.
Pull back and pan to an aerial picture of the entire plant, including one of the massive Shell logo-emblazoned towers.
Zoom in to another portion of the facility, where you can see a single pipeline carrying multicolored particles to a tank.
Zoom in to see the yellow particles, which represent carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, absorbing into the backdrop and fading, leaving green, blue, turquoise, and purple particles flowing from frame left to frame right.
Blue water particles then swerve towards a faint, grey circular opening in the background, disappearing from the simulated particle flow.
Turquoise particles, which mostly represent propane and butane, swerve towards another circular aperture in the backdrop, leaving many green and purple particles, which represent methane and ethane, respectively.
As a dazzling white portion slowly opens up at the top of the pipeline, still denoted by the white gridlined background, pull back to a rear view of green and purple particles streaming away and disappearing to the top of the frame.
The remaining contaminants are then removed. Carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide are absorbed by a water-based solvent as the natural gas travels through it. When the gas cools, these would ordinarily freeze and produce obstructions. Any residual water is then drained, as it would freeze if it remained. Finally, the lighter natural gas liquids, primarily propane and butane, are separated and sold separately or used as a refrigerant in the cooling process. Mercury traces are also filtered out. The purified natural gasmethane, which contains a little amount of ethane, is now ready to be liquefied.
Zoom in for an aerial view of three heat exchangers with pipes flowing along a white gridlined background in a stylized line animation.
Zoom in on the coolant’s central exchanger and pan to the front view of the coolant’s yellow-rimmed glass, which shows cold air blasting downwards through a network of pipes.
As the moving particles shrink in size and cluster together to cover the screen, zoom in for a closer look at them against the white-grey gridlined background.
Panning to a front view of a beaker containing water, throwing a shadow on the white surface, dissolves to an overhead perspective of the beaker containing water.
In heat exchangers, this happens. The heat from the natural gas is absorbed by a coolant chilled by massive refrigerators. It reduces the volume of the gas by 600 times by cooling it to -162C. This transforms it into liquefied natural gas, or LNG, a clear, colorless, non-toxic liquid that is considerably easier to store and transport.
Tanks and structures rise from the white-grey surface, and the beaker becomes opaque, transforming into an insulated tank with the Shell emblem on its front as we pan to a front view. Pipes leading from the tanks to the foreground look to be filled with blue liquid, but the rest of the background is still white and grey.
Return to an overhead picture of the plant in the background, with an LNG vessel in the foreground, with elements of its superstructure highlighted in yellow.
As the picture pans down and back behind the stern of the ship, the plant structures fade into the white background. From frame right to frame left, the ship moves quickly across and out of the screen diagonally.
The LNG is stored in insulated tanks until it is ready to be loaded onto an LNG ship or carrier.
Aerial image of the LNG vessel connected to three tanks via pipeline, with blue liquid flowing from the vessel to the tanks.
Pan 180 degrees to three tubes flowing out of the three tanks, the substancenow designated by yellowstreaming fast down the pipelines that extend to the city skyline, once more against a white and grey gridlined background.
When the ship reaches at its destination, the LNG is transported to a regasification plant, where it is heated and converted back to gas. The gas is then transferred to clients via pipelines, providing energy for homes and businesses.
Shell continues to provide cleaner-burning natural gas to fulfill rising energy demand.
How is LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) made?
In the United States, some power plants make and store LNG onsite to generate electricity when electricity demand is high, such as during cold and hot weather, or when pipeline delivery capacity is constrained or insufficient to meet increased demand for natural gas by other consumers. Peak shaving is the term for this procedure. Natural gas is taken from pipelines, liquefied in small-scale liquefaction facilities, and stored in cryogenic tanks at power plants. When needed, LNG is regasified and burned by power plants. LNG tanks have been expressly constructed for use as fuel in some ships, lorries, and buses.
What is the cost of converting natural gas to LNG?
Let’s look at the illustration in Figure 1. The starting price is determined by the Henry Hub index, which is used to price natural gas futures contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and OTC swaps on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). Our example considers what happens to the Henry Hub price of 3.0 USD/MMBTU when it is delivered from the Southern US gas network to a consumer on an island someplace in Asia.
There are a few steps along the road to make this possible, all of which have an impact on the pricing.
First and foremost, the gas must be purchased and transported to a liquefaction plant in the United States. The cost of liquefying gas is determined by the cost of transporting gas from a Henry Hub-priced pipeline to a liquefaction facility. To this must be included the liquefaction plant’s capital and operating costs, as well as the cost of holding LNG until an LNG carrier arrives to load it. The total “add-on cost” for all of this may be in the range of +2.6 USD/MMBTU.
Additionally, there will be port fees associated with loading the LNG carrier, as well as possible canal fees during passage. Passing through the Panama canal with a 173,000 m3 tanker will cost roughly 380,000 USD, adding 0.1% to the LNG price per MMBTU. The main shipping charges, however, will be the gasoline needed throughout the journey, as well as the daily ship charter rate. The entire shipping expenses will, of course, be determined by the size of the ship and the length of the journey. To account for all shipping-related costs, we’ve assumed an add-on fee of +1.1 USD/MMBTU in this case.
The LNG is unloaded from the ship and delivered to the receiving terminal once it arrives at its destination. The investment and operation expenditures of a receiving terminal, as well as harbour fees, can increase the cost of LNG by further +0.8 USD/MMBTU. We can add an additional 0.1 USD/MMBTU for regasification and another 0.2 USD/MMBTU for the pipeline price to that. All of this adds up to a gas price of around 7.8 USD/MMBTU for the consumer at the gas pipeline’s end.
If the end customer requires lesser quantities of LNG than the major LNG terminal can provide, he must purchase from medium-scale operators. In that instance, he would be able to purchase LNG from the major terminal for 7.5 USD/MMBTU, plus the mid-scale logistics expenditures. The eventual pricing for the mid-scale user would be in the range of ten dollars per million British thermal units (MMBTU).
Finally, for small-scale consumers, a smaller storage facility would be available, with LNG being transported by small-scale carriers or LNG trucks/ISO containers. The final price could be as high as 12.8 USD per MMBTU.
As a result, the original Henry Hub price of 3.0 USD/MMBTU for the little gas customer on an island somewhere in Asia will wind up being 12.8 USD/MMBTU at his final destination in this hypothetical case. In comparison, LNG sold in ISO containers FOB Miami costs between $10 and $16 per MMBTU.
Is it possible to transform natural gas into a liquid?
Natural gas in liquid form is referred to as liquefied natural gas (LNG). After pre-treatment, produced natural gas can be cooled (liquefied) to roughly -161C (-260F) at normal pressure to condense into a liquid form known as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Because LNG takes up only 1/600th of the volume of natural gas in its gaseous form, it may be transported to far-flung markets.
LNG is typically carried in cryogenic containers and kept liquid by auto-refrigeration, with any heat additions offset by energy loss from LNG vapor vented out of storage and utilized to power the vessel. The LNG is re-gasified and delivered to end customers once it arrives at its destination.
Is Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) more expensive than natural gas?
LNG prices are often higher than CNG pricing since LNG has a more complicated production and shipping procedure.
Is LNG harmful to the environment?
Adaptable energy solutions are required in the twenty-first century to meet not just the economic needs of energy firms and their consumers, but also to safeguard the environment in the face of climate change and pollution. The solution is liquefied natural gas (LNG). LNG is the future’s fuel, and that future has finally here.
You’ve probably heard a lot about LNG and its incredible potential as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly fuel source for your business. LNG is the cleanest-burning fossil fuel with several environmental benefits, offering operators a sensible, safe, and cost-effective option to comply with laws. California, for example, has some of the harshest environmental and labor restrictions in the country.
LNG is a transparent, odorless, and colorless liquid made from natural gas that has been chilled to minus 259 degrees Fahrenheit. The natural gas is liquefied by cooling it below its boiling point, removing constituents such as most hydrocarbons, water, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen, and some sulfur compounds. Only trace amounts of other hydrocarbons are present in the leftover liquefied natural gas.
Increased usage of LNG, as the cleanest-burning fossil fuel, can considerably improve local air quality while also lowering carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. LNG emits 45-50 percent less CO2 than coal and 30% less CO2 than fuel oil, cuts nitrogen oxide emissions considerably, creates no soot, dust, or odors, and produces negligible levels of sulfur dioxide, mercury, and other particles when compared to other fuels.
Indeed, energy-related carbon emissions fell to an 18-year low in 2012, mainly to greater use of natural gas. According to a 2015 analysis by Pace Global, if five major industrialized countriesGermany, Japan, South Korea, China, and Indiacontinued to use coal to generate power instead of LNG, their greenhouse gas emissions might rise by up to 194 percent. Consider the environmental benefits of more enterprises and countries switching to LNG that burns cleanly.
LNG is not only good for the environment, but it’s also a good investment for your company. The volume of LNG has been decreased to 1/600th that of its un-liquified state, making it easier to store and transport. LNG is also less than half the weight of water, making it not only lighter but also floatable, making it easier to skim off the top in the unlikely case of a leak or spill.
LNG is a versatile renewable energy source that may be added to your operation’s renewable energy mix. “Power generation based on natural gas gives the flexibility and greater dispatchability that complements renewable energy power generation,” the National Renewable Energy Laboratory stated. You may continue to produce electricity when wind or solar resources fluctuate by introducing LNG into your operation’s energy mix, providing crucial power when you need it while also lowering carbon dioxide emissions. As a result, LNG offers a cost-effective and adaptable solution for satisfying carbon emission criteria in even the most stringent jurisdictions.
Given the ever-changing political and economic situation in the country’s most populous states, Matrix NAC is uniquely qualified to assist you in realizing LNG’s enormous potential.
For example, in 2014, California Senate Bill 54 (SB 54) went into force, effectively prohibiting non-trades contractors from working on refinery projects. Our unionized workforce has the expertise and training that your business need, as well as what jurisdictions like California require. Matrix NAC has provided unionized professional personnel in the construction, maintenance, and repair services to energy and industrial industries across North America since 1986 as the direct-union hire part of Matrix Service Company.
LNG is the versatile, cheap, and environmentally responsible answer your organization need in a dynamic, ever-changing marketplace with sophisticated laws. Matrix NAC is the key to unlocking its full potential.
Is there a distinction between LNG and natural gas?
Compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) are the two types of natural gas currently used in vehicles (LNG). Both are made in the United States, are reasonably priced, and are commercially available. CNG and LNG are sold in units of gasoline or diesel gallon equivalents (GGEs or DGEs), based on the energy content of a gallon of gasoline or diesel fuel, and are considered alternative fuels under the Energy Policy Act of 1992.
Compressed Natural Gas
Natural gas is compressed to less than 1% of its original volume at regular atmospheric pressure to make CNG. CNG is stored in a compressed gaseous form onboard a vehicle at a pressure of up to 3,600 pounds per square inch to give acceptable driving range.
CNG is employed in a variety of applications, including light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles. On a GGE basis, a CNG-powered car achieves nearly the same fuel efficiency as a normal gasoline vehicle. 5.66 pounds of CNG is equal to one GGE.
Liquefied Natural Gas
LNG stands for liquefied natural gas. LNG is made by purifying natural gas and supercooling it to -260 degrees Fahrenheit. Natural gas is liquefied when it is cooled below its boiling point, which removes the majority of the extraneous substances found in the fuel. The remaining natural gas is mostly methane, with a few additional hydrocarbons thrown in for good measure.
LNG’s use in commercial applications has been limited due to its relatively high production cost and the necessity to store it in expensive cryogenic tanks. LNG is stored in double-walled, vacuum-insulated pressure containers and must be kept at frigid temperatures. Because liquid is denser than gas, more energy can be stored per volume, LNG is excellent for trucks that require longer ranges. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is commonly utilized in medium- and heavy-duty automobiles. One GGE is approximately 1.5 gallons of LNG.
What is the difference between compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG)?
First and foremost, both gases are methane, which is found in both household houses and the gas transmission network (otherwise known as the gas grid).
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a type of natural gas that has been liquefied. Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a type of natural gas that has been compressed. The crucial fact is that gas has various energy densities in different states, which is why there are two fuels rather than one. A unit of compressed gas energy takes up three times the volume of a unit of liquid gas energy. Simply said, LNG is denser than CNG, which means you can extract more energy out of a vehicle by using LNG instead of CNG.
What’s the distinction between LPG and LNG?
LNG is stored and shipped in purpose-built cryogenic tanks, whereas LPG is stored, shipped, and transported in tanks or cylinders. LNG is often transported via pipelines.
