Parametric Analysis on Small Scale System for Liquefied Natural Gas production

To decrease its environmental impact, naval sector needs to develop new approaches regarding both the design and the operation of on-board energy systems, mainly to reduce pollutant in port areas. An effective solution comes from liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hybrid diesel-LNG engines. In this paper, a small scale plug&play system to produce liquefied natural gas for on-site purposes is presented. Different supply pressure from the natural gas network are taken under consideration. A parametric analysis on key cycle parameters is conducted to optimize and reduce energy consumption of the overall process taking into account various layouts. Two liquefaction processes are defined, considering respectively a Joule-Thompson valve and a turbo-expander for the gas liquefaction. In the final section, a specific case study on the Port of Ravenna is presented with also an economic analysis regarding the feasibility of the plant.