LNG

LNG, or Liquefied Natural Gas, is essentially natural gas and comprises predominantly of 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 is odorless, non-toxic, and non-corrosive, and is liquefied using a cryogenic process.

Some interesting observations about LNG:

  1. LNG is the acronym for Liquefied Natural Gas or Liquid Natural Gas.
  2. LNG is methane (CH4) that is liquefied by cryogenic chilling below -161°C.
  3. As a liquid, the volume of the methane is reduced to 1/600 its gaseous state, which makes LNG transportable in cryogenic ships or trucks.
  4. LNG comes from raw natural gas processing.
  5. There are a number of other gases that are separated from the raw natural gas before chilling, including propane, butane (n-butane) and isobutane (i-butane), as well as mixtures of these gases.
  6. LNG gas can be converted into liquid at a relatively low pressure.
  7. LNG converts into a flammable hydrocarbon gas – methane (CH4) – which is commonly used as fuel in heating, cooking, hot water and vehicles, after it has been re-gasified into methane. It is this gaseous natural gas that is piped to homes and businesses.
  8. Australia will likely be the world’s largest exporter of LNG by the year 2020.
  9. LNG is stored, as a liquid, in cryogenic steel vessels with very low storage pressure, at less than 10-kPa.
  10. After regasification, it reverts to and is used as natural gas.