Fuel gas supply system and method of an LNG carrier

Abstract

A fuel gas supply system of an LNG carrier is provided for supplying fuel gas to a high-pressure gas injection engine of an LNG carrier, wherein LNG is extracted from an LNG storage tank of the LNG carrier, compressed at a high pressure, gasified, and then supplied to the high-pressure gas injection engine.

Description

BACKGROUND[0001]1. Technical Field[0002]The present invention relates to a fuel gas supply system and method of an LNG carrier, and more particularly, to a fuel gas supply system and method of an LNG carrier for efficiently supplying fuel gas from an LNG storage tank to a high-pressure gas injection engine in the LNG carrier.[0003]2. Description of the Related Art[0004]Generally, natural gas is turned into a liquefied natural gas (hereinafter called “LNG”) at a cryogenic temperature in a liquefaction plant, and then transported over long distances to a destination by an LNG carrier.[0005]As liquefaction of natural gas occurs at a cryogenic temperature of −163 degrees Celsius at ambient pressure, LNG is likely to be vaporized even when the temperature of the LNG is slightly higher than −163 degrees Celsius at ambient pressure. In an LNG carrier having an LNG storage tank which is thermally-insulated, as heat is continually transmitted from the outside to the LNG in the LNG storage ta...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a fuel gas supply system and method for an LNG carrier that simplifies the configuration, reduces power requirements, and prevents excessive pressure increase due to accumulation of boil-off gas in an LNG storage tank. The system extracts LNG from the LNG storage tank, compresses it to high pressure, gasifies it, and then supplies it to the high-pressure gas injection engine of the LNG carrier. This method ensures a steady supply of fuel gas to the engine and reduces the risk of damage to the engine due to excessive pressure increase.

Problems solved by technology

In an LNG carrier, if boil-off gas is accumulated in an LNG storage tank, the pressure in the LNG storage tank excessively increases.

This multi-stage compression has problems that the fuel gas supply system becomes very complex, and that an excessive amount of power is required to compress the boil-off gas in a gaseous state at a high pressure.

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