LNG terminal facilities
Introduction
A regasification plant is an industrial facility that exists between the extraction of liquefied natural gas and the natural gas distribution network. It carries out the process that converts liquefied natural gas into natural gas.
When the regasification plant is located on board a ship and it contains storage tanks, the set is called a floating storage and regasification unit (UFAR).[1].
Facilities
Three buildings are mainly required: the natural deposit with its extraction plant, the liquefaction plant and the regasification plant. In addition, pipes and LNG ships are used as a means of transportation.
The regasification plant has a docking dock, since it is usually located near the coast. This dock has pipes that transport the liquefied gas to the cryogenic tanks and from there the liquefied natural gas passes through the plant. The plant has three fundamental devices: reliquefiers, vaporizers and regulation stations, each with a different function.
Operation
From the field, natural gas is extracted, from which heat is extracted until it reaches -160 °C. After this process, it is loaded onto LNG ships, which transport the cargo to the destination facilities.
In the regasification plant, the load of methane tankers is reintroduced into the cryogenic tanks, where the temperature is maintained. These tanks are composed of a cryogenic steel interior, insulated with perlite and covered with an exterior steel and concrete tank. These tanks measure about 50 meters high by 75 meters in diameter.
Liquefied natural gas is extracted through pipes from above.
In the regasification process, liquefied natural gas is transported to vaporization systems, where the temperature of the liquefied gas is raised using seawater, thus converting the liquid into gas. The liquefied natural gas at -145 °C is passed through the seawater vaporizers, leaving them in a gaseous state and at 0-10 °C. The vaporizer is made up of a series of tubes through which the LNG is passed, bathed in large quantities of seawater. In this process, the seawater lowers its temperature by about 3 to 5 °C, which generates the greatest environmental impact of the process, altering the ecological balance of the coastal marine waters, in addition to the immediate death of any living being that is sucked in by the pumps.