Regasification of liquefied natural gas in satellite terminals: Techno-economic potential of cold recovery for boosting the efficiency of refrigerated facilities

• Published in: Energy conversion and management Vol. 248; p. 114783
• Main Authors: Atienza-Márquez, Antonio, Bruno, Joan Carles, Coronas, Alberto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 15.11.2021; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: administrative management; byproducts; Cold; Cold recovery; Compression; Condensates; condensation (phase transition); Cooling towers; Cost analysis; Economic analysis; Economics; electricity; energy conversion; Energy efficiency improvement; Food industry; gasification; Harbor facilities; Liquefied natural gas; Liquefied natural gas regasification; Low temperature; Monte Carlo method; Monte Carlo simulation; Natural gas; Peak load; Recovery; Reference systems; Refrigeration; Satellite LNG terminals; satellites; Sustainable refrigeration; Techno-economic potential; Terminals; Thermal analysis; Thermal energy; Cold recovery; Techno-economic potential; Liquefied natural gas regasification; Energy efficiency improvement; Sustainable refrigeration; Satellite LNG terminals
• ISSN: 0196-8904; 1879-2227
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enconman.2021.114783

•Cold recovery from cryogenic fuels regasification addressed in satellite terminals.•New configuration for boosting the efficiency of sub-zero refrigeration machines.•The system competitiveness improves for tropical climates and large plant sizes.•The system would reduce the electricity consumption and emissions up to 9–22%.•A reduction of 5–15% in the cost of refrigeration production would be achieved. The regasification of liquefied natural gas releases low-temperature thermal energy, which is usually wasted. Most initiatives to recover this cold mainly focus on large-scale harbour terminals rather than on small-scale applications in satellite facilities. This paper proposes a new system configuration that can be used to exploit liquefied natural gas cold as a by-product of regasification in satellite plants supplying sub-zero refrigeration in agro-food industries. Cold is applied indirectly to lower the condensation temperature of the vapour-compression chillers which handle the thermal load of cold rooms. The system seeks to boost efficiency, an effect that would be more marked in warm climates. Performance is best when the peak refrigeration load matches the maximum cold thermal energy available from the regasification site. When this is the case, the annual electricity saving is 9–22% more than when a conventional refrigeration system is used with wet cooling towers and with no liquefied natural gas cold recovery. The economic potential of the system is assessed with a Monte Carlo analysis. The cost of producing refrigeration throughout the system’s lifetime can be reduced by 5–15% with respect to the conventional reference system in warm/temperate locations and for large/medium plant sizes. However, the system is no so competitive in economic terms for cold locations and small-size plants.