LNG Regasification System
Hyundai Heavy Industries Co.(HHI), a major shipyard in South Korea, has succeeded in independently developing an advanced liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification system, improving the competitiveness in the LNG ship market further.
The company will install its new LNG regasification system in a 170,000-cubic-meter LNG floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) under construction and have a system demonstration for shipbuilders and ship classification firms at home and abroad on March 31.
According to Hyundai Heavy Industries on the 30th, the new LNG regasification system is a key part of LNG-FSRUs which vaporize LNG and deliver it to offshore receiving facilities. In the past, seawater and propane gas were used to heat LNG. However, the new technology is an indirect heating LNG regasification system using glycol, a type of alcohol which is used as a material of synthetic fibers and antifreeze.
The new system has significantly boosted durability and safety by using glycol mixture which has a lower solidifying point as the heating medium.
In particular, the system heating with glycol can minimize the corrosion of main devices, including heat exchanger, unlike seawater because it doesn’t contain any impurities like salt. It also lowers the risks of explosion which can cause with the system heating with propane gas.
Hyundai Heavy Industries won an Approval in Principle (AIP) from Lloyd's Register for its new technology last month and it is also seeking to receive class AIP from global leading shipbuilders. In addition, the company has applied for a patent at home and abroad. The first LNG-FSRU equipped with the new regasification system will be delivered in early 2019.