TK Stainless

96 MaGaZine high-performance materials
enerGy By TanKer
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Rising gas prices and dependency on a handful of exporting
nations are impacting European energy supplies. The search
for alternatives is in full swing. And that’s why in recent years
one segment of the global gas industry in particular has been
gaining in importance: Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). By 2020,
the volume of trade in LNG is expected to have doubled to
around 350 million tons per year. By 2030, LNG will account for
around 25 percent of total gas consumption – in 2007 the figure
was just 4 percent. Unlike normal gas, which is transported by
pipeline over distances of up to 3,200 kilometers, ocean tankers
are used to ship LNG over longer distances. This expands the
group of possible exporters to include the Middle East, North and
West Africa and Australia. As the importance of LNG grows, so
in TerMinaLs the gas is regasified.
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too do requirements for materials which can meet the special
conditions of LNG transportation. ThyssenKrupp Titanium and
ThyssenKrupp VDM have recognized the potential of this growth
market and can supply special materials which are suitable
for use in the pipes for loading and unloading the tankers with
liquefied gas, in chemical liquefaction equipment and also in the
coolers for the tankers’ diesel engines.
Before LNG can be shipped by sea, the natural gas first
has to be liquefied. This is done by cooling the gas to minus 163
degrees Celsius in special coolers up to 60 meters high, in which
the gas is reduced to one six-hundredth of its original volume for
transportation. Around 250 tons of titanium are used for various
items of equipment in these coolers. The next step is to pump