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Concept
Liquefied natural gas
Summary
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume of natural gas in the gaseous state (at standard conditions for temperature and pressure).
LNG is odorless, colorless, non-toxic and non-corrosive. Hazards include flammability after vaporization into a gaseous state, freezing and asphyxia. The liquefaction process involves removal of certain components, such as dust, acid gases, helium, water, and heavy hydrocarbons, which could cause difficulty downstream. The natural gas is then condensed into a liquid at close to atmospheric pressure by cooling it to approximately ; maximum transport pressure is set at around (gauge pressure), which is about 1.25 times atmospheric pressure at sea level.
The gas extracted from underground hydrocarbon deposits contains a varying mix of hydrocarbon components, which usually includes mostly methane (CH4), along with ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8) and butane (C4H10). Other gases also occur in natural gas, notably CO2. These gases have wide-ranging boiling points and also different heating values, allowing different routes to commercialization and also different uses. The "acidic" elements such as hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and carbon dioxide (CO2), together with oil, mud, water, and mercury, are removed from the gas to deliver a clean sweetened stream of gas. Failure to remove much or all of such acidic molecules, mercury, and other impurities could result in damage to the equipment. Corrosion of steel pipes and amalgamization of mercury to aluminum within cryogenic heat exchangers could cause expensive damage.
The gas stream is typically separated into the liquefied petroleum fractions (butane and propane), which can be stored in liquid form at relatively low pressure, and the lighter ethane and methane fractions. These lighter fractions of methane and ethane are then liquefied to make up the bulk of LNG that is shipped.
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Liquefied natural gas
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume of natural gas in the gaseous state (at standard conditions for temperature and pressure). LNG is odorless, colorless, non-toxic and non-corrosive. Hazards include flammability after vaporization into a gaseous state, freezing and asphyxia.
Gazprom
PJSC Gazprom () is a Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. As of 2019, with sales over $120 billion, it was ranked as the largest publicly listed natural gas company in the world and the largest company in Russia by revenue. In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000, Gazprom was ranked as the 32nd largest public company in the world. The Gazprom name is a contraction of the Russian words gazovaya promyshlennost (газовая промышленность, gas industry).
Methane
Methane (USˈmɛθeɪn , UKˈmiːθeɪn ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Earth makes it an economically attractive fuel, although capturing and storing it poses technical challenges due to its gaseous state under normal conditions for temperature and pressure. Naturally occurring methane is found both below ground and under the seafloor and is formed by both geological and biological processes.
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