A NEW SAFETY CONCEPT FOR PRESSURISED LNG STORAGE TANKS

LNG is the fastest-growing gas supply source in the world due to two crucial economic and environmental factors. On the one hand, LNG has a very attractive price and on the other hand – in terms of sustainability – clean burning gas produces significantly fewer emissions than oil and coal and has the lowest environmental impact amongst fossil fuels. LNG produces 25% less carbon when used in the power sector compared to fuel oil, 50% less carbon compared to coal, and 99% fewer particulates, 85% less nitrogen oxide (NOx) and 99% less sulphur oxide (SOx) than traditional fossil fuels as a whole. As the environmental rules to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are getting stricter, the demands for LNG as marine fuel, truck fuel and even as an energy source for industry and communities is increasing. This is resulting in a significant expansion in LNG receiving terminals, LNG fuel stations and in general LNG storage capacities in either flat bottom storage tanks or pressurised storage tanks such as spheres (Figure 1) or bullets (Figure 2). The focus of this article is pressurised storage. With increasing demand for higher storage capacities in pressurised tanks, the question has...