LNG prices have soared continuously; what are the prospects for the use of LNG’s cooling capacity?
Thread Content
Under the combined impact of the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, LNG prices have been rising steadily recently, reaching new highs for the same period in the past 5 years. With firm prices on the supply side, LNG users on the demand side are facing significant difficulties. In this context, if the cold energy released during LNG gasification can be utilized comprehensively, it will lead to both environmental and economic benefits, thereby facilitating the sustainable development of the LNG market. Current applications of comprehensive cold energy utilization include: cold energy power generation (the technology in China is not yet mature) ； Low-temperature cold storage (limited applicability) ； Cryogenic air separation (limited applicability, high investment, generally suitable for large receiving stations) ； Cold-energy ice production (wide applicability, suitable for gasification stations of all sizes, low investment cost) ； Currently, cold-energy ice production technology is becoming increasingly mature and advanced, improving efficiency while also meeting the requirements for energy conservation and carbon reduction.
Can LNG cooling energy be used in a combined manner, both for generating electricity through cooling and for ice production at the same time?
Indeed, our technology for using LNG’s cold energy to produce ice is already quite mature, and it can be applied directly at LNG storage stations or gasification plants. In applications at LNG receiving stations, it is necessary to make use of the cold energy from LNG in a hierarchical manner; this can be achieved by designing the system in conjunction with the IFV intermediate medium heat exchangers used for LNG cold energy power generation. This can increase the utilization rate of LNG cold energy to over 50%.
Using cold energy for ice production does offer good economic benefits, but it has poor social benefits; it requires large areas of ice rinks and is not suitable for large-scale reception stations. If cold-energy power generation can overcome the issue of connecting to the grid, I think it would be the best option