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