Tianbiao He
Yonglin Ju
Moonyong Lee3
Dawei Wu
Zuming Liu
Muhammad Abdul Qyyum- 1Department of Gas Engineering, College of Pipeline and Civil Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, China
- 2Institute of Refrigeration and Cryogenics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
- 3School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, South Korea
- 4Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- 5Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- 6Department of Petroleum and Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman
Editorial on the Research Topic
Green and sustainable LNG supply chain: A bridge to a low carbon energy society
Introduction
Due to its high energy density, low carbon dioxide emissions compared with coal, and ease of transportation and storage, liquefied natural gas (LNG) has been increasingly used in last decades especially, especially under climate policies (Zichittella and Perez-Ramirez, 2021). LNG is recognized as a transition energy carrier to assist the worldwide transition from a fossil fuel-based energy system to a zero carbon energy system.
The conventional LNG supply chain includes natural gas liquefaction, LNG transportation, and LNG regasification and storage. In recent years, substantial efforts have been conducted to reduce the carbon emissions of the LNG supply chain by adopting advanced optimization algorithms and emerging technologies (He et al., 2019). The aim of this Research Topic is to present recent progress in state-of-the-art research related to sustainability enhancement of the LNG supply chain towards a low carbon energy society. Within this Research Topic, four manuscripts were published covering key sustainability aspects across the LNG supply chain.
Energy-efficient natural gas liquefaction processes
To reduce the energy consumption of natural gas liquefaction processes is one of the main concerns in LNG supply chain. Ahmad et al. proposed an artificial neural network (ANN) using particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm as the learning method to predict the design variables of single mixed refrigerant natural gas liquefaction process under changing natural gas feed conditions. Moreover, a mini review of unconventional natural gas liquefaction processes to recover remote natural gas resources has been conducted and efficient separation of methane/nitrogen/hydrogen with low energy consumption, safe and compact liquefaction process for marine sloshing conditions, and fundamental researches related to gas-liquid equilibrium and supercritical fluid cooling heat transfer were also proposed by Xu et al.
Heat exchangers in LNG supply chain
Heat exchangers are the main components in natural gas liquefaction plants and LNG receiving terminals. The condensation heat transfer of natural gas and mixed refrigerants in the main cryogenic heat exchanger has also been studied from the numerical and experimental perspectives (Duan et al., 2017; Sun et al., 2019). New types of heat exchangers with high heat transfer efficiency also attracts attentions from the academic and industrial communities. Xie et al. conducted a state-of-the-art review of the current research status and technical challenges of printed circuit heat exchanger applied in floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG). They summarized and analyzed the heat transfer coefficients and pressure drop with distinctive flow channels in the printed circuit heat exchanger.
Natural gas district heating
Heating provided by natural gas-fired thermal plants could reduce the carbon emission by replacing the coal and oil-based thermal plants. Natural gas boilers are competitive with electric heaters, air source heat pumps, and hydrogen boilers for heating (Slorach and Stamford, 2021). The pipe insulation performance of natural gas-based district heating system for low-temperature applications was investigated by Usman and Kim. They designed a hybrid district heating system comprising natural gas-based fuel cell, heat pump and solar thermal. Polyethylene, ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber, and polyurethane were selected as the pipe insulation material for a 500 m pipe which supplied 60°C hot water. The results indicated that polyurethane with 32 mm as the optimum insulation thickness could achieve heat losses below 20 W/m.
Conclusion
This Research Topic covered key sustainability aspects across the LNG supply chain, including energy efficient natural gas liquefaction processes, high heat transfer coefficients heat exchangers, and district heating with natural gas fueled plant. The ANN approach is able to forecast the mixed refrigerant composition as the feed condition changes without conducting complex process simulation and optimization. The process integration can be a promising method to increase the energy efficiency of the unconventional natural gas liquefaction processes. Moreover, the performance of printed circuit heat exchangers should be tested under multiple sloshing conditions when they are applied on FLNG. There is a need to choose appropriate insulation material for natural gas fueled district heating system to reduce the heat loss. To further enhance the sustainability, greenhouse gas emissions and life cycle impact of the LNG supply chain should be studied in the future.
Author contributions
All authors listed have made a substantial, direct, and intellectual contribution to the work and approved it for publication.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank for the funding support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51906225).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
References
Duan, Z., Ren, T., Ding, G., Chen, J., and Mi, X. (2017). Liquid-migration based model for predicting the thermal performance of spiral wound heat exchanger for floating LNG. Appl. Energy 206, 972–982. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.09.003
He, T., Chong, Z. R., Zheng, J., Ju, Y., and Linga, P. (2019). LNG cold energy utilization: Prospects and challenges. Energy 170, 557–568. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2018.12.170
Slorach, P. C., and Stamford, L. (2021). Net zero in the heating sector: Technological options and environmental sustainability from now to 2050. Energy Convers. Manag. 230, 113838. doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2021.113838
Sun, C., Li, Y., Han, H., Zhu, J., Wang, S., and Liu, L. (2019). Experimental and numerical simulation study on the offshore adaptability of spiral wound heat exchanger in LNG-FPSO DMR natural gas liquefaction process. Energy 189, 116178. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2019.116178
Keywords: LNG, supply chain, process system design, heat transfer, sustainable
Citation: He T, Ju Y, Lee M, Wu D, Liu Z and Qyyum MA (2022) Editorial: Green and sustainable LNG supply chain: A bridge to a low carbon energy society. Front. Energy Res. 10:975713. doi: 10.3389/fenrg.2022.975713
Received: 22 June 2022; Accepted: 19 July 2022;
Published: 11 August 2022.
Edited and reviewed by:
Ellen B. Stechel, Arizona State University, United StatesCopyright © 2022 He, Ju, Lee, Wu, Liu and Qyyum. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Tianbiao He, hetianbiao@upc.edu.cn