Economics of liquefied natural gas production, transport and distribution for end use as a transportation fuel
- Cryogenic Fuels, Inc., Fort Collins, CO (United States)
Natural gas vehicles have been operating in the United States for over 30 years. With few exceptions, these vehicles are owned and operated by local gas utilities that utilize the natural gas in the compressed form (CNG), at pressures of up to 3,600 psi. However, the limited range, system weight and the high cost of fueling facilities presents a serious handicap for these compressed fuel systems. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) automotive fuel systems, on the other hand, are a relatively new player in the emerging clean fuels market. While the technical feasibility, safety, and operational suitability of LNG fuel systems have been demonstrated during the past 20 years, in a variety of test projects including automotive, marine, aviation, and rail systems, little has been done to commercialize or promote this technology. Recent independent cost comparisons and technical evaluations have been conducted by several major transit organizations and national truck fleets with interesting results. They have concluded that LNG automotive fuel systems can meet the performance and operational criteria of their gasoline and diesel fuel systems without compromising vehicle range or imposing unacceptable weight and payload penalties on their vehicles. The purpose of this paper is to further define the economics of LNG production, transportation and distribution costs. The liquefaction of natural gas is a mature technology and was first accomplished by Faraday in 1855. The first large scale plants were installed in the United States in 1941 and this paper provides a summary of the issues and costs associated with the procurement, installation, and operation of modern day natural gas liquefaction systems. There are no technical barriers to building LNG plants where needed. In addition to these {open_quotes}peak shaving{close_quotes} liquefaction plants, operated by utilities, there are many liquefaction plants owned and operated by the industrial gas business sector.
- OSTI ID:
- 45413
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-930703-; TRN: 94:007382-0005
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: International cryogenic materials conference (ICMC), Albuquerque, NM (United States), 12-16 Jul 1993; Other Information: PBD: 1994; Related Information: Is Part Of Advances in cryogenic engineering, Volume 39, Part A; Kittel, P. [ed.]; PB: 1038 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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