Boil-Off Gas Handling Onboard LNG Fuelled Ships

[ MARINE / IN DETAIL]
[MARINE / IN DETAIL]
Boil-Off Gas handling

onboard LNG fuelled ships
AUTHOR: Bjrn Nygrd, Design Engineer, Engineering, Wrtsil Marine Solutions

mail: [email protected]
Clean burning natural gas has emerged as

an important fuel for ships as the marine
industry seeks ways of complying with
increasingly stringent environmental
regulations. These restrictions limit
emissions of sulphur oxides (SOx),
nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulates.
The options for compliance are to
employ after-treatment systems when
using conventional marine fuels, or to
use cleaner fuel having fewer harmful
emissions, such as natural gas.
36
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One drawback of natural gas is that it

has very low energy density compared
to traditional fuels. In order to serve as a
convenient energy source, the density needs
to be increased. This is done by cooling
the gas to cryogenic temperatures, creating
liquefied natural gas (LNG). The liquefied
gas can be stored in insulated tanks, keeping
it in a liquid state for longer periods.
However, heat flux from the surroundings
will increase the temperature inside the
tank, thus causing the liquid to evaporate.
The generated gas from this is known as
boil-off gas (BOG).
The larger volume of gaseous natural
gas created by this BOG will increase the
tank pressure. To manage this, pressure
vessels are utilised to contain the pressure.

For longer storage periods, however, the
pressure increases might be too high, which
will require alternative solutions to handle
the gas pressure.
Wrtsil, a leading developer of gas and
dual-fuel marine engine technologies, has
extensively studied the handling of BOG
onboard LNG fuelled ships. This article is
based on these studies.
Pressure build-up
Pressure build-up depends on several
parameters, including the ambient
temperature and the amount of LNG in
the tank. Another aspect to consider is
stratification, which may cause a faster
WRTSIL TECHNICAL JOURNAL 01.2016
Fig. 1 - Simplified system layout for BOG handling, when using two-stroke main engines and four-stroke auxiliary engines.
Ideally consumption should match BOR, resulting in a BOG balance of zero.
pressure rise. Stratification means that the

LNG is divided into layers with the higher
density liquid at the bottom and the lower
density liquid on top. When the lower layer
is heated, it cannot evaporate because of
the cover. The densities of the layers are
eventually equalised due to boil-off from
the top layer and heat transfer. The warmer
LNG from the bottom rises to the top and
evaporates. This is called rollover and causes
a rapid increase in the BOR (boil-off rate),
which is difficult to predict.
Thermal stratification can be eliminated
by agitating the tank, which occurs naturally
on gas-fuelled ships due to the motion of the
waves. Agitation of the tank may cause an
opposite reaction when warm LNG is mixed
with colder LNG, since the temperature

at the surface will then decrease and
condensate the BOG. The result is a collapse
of pressure, which is followed by saturation
at a lower pressure.
BOG handling requirements

There are various means of handling the
pressure build-up in LNG tanks. One is
to contain the pressure for the ambient
temperature of the fuel. Other methods
include reliquefaction, thermal oxidation,
and pressure accumulation. The IGF code
the international safety code for ships
using gases or other low flashpoint fuels
also accepts cooling of the fuel in a liquid
state. For reliquefaction, a direct system,
where the evaporated gas is compressed

and condensed before being returned
to the tank, is one solution. The other
alternative is an indirect system, where the
gas is condensed or cooled with an external
refrigerant, without being compressed.
Apart from handling the maximal BOR in
the tank, the selected method also needs to
cope with zero or low BORs. In the case of
failure, the system must provide a redundant
system that can maintain the tank pressure.
Venting gas to the atmosphere is not an
alternative for pressure control, and is only
allowed in emergency situations.
Reliquefaction
Liquefaction is the process where, using a
indetail 37
Fig. 2 - Illustration of an isochoric temperature increase of methane from -162C at atmospheric pressure to 45C
(upper design temperature for worldwide service). The result is a pressure of around 60 bar.
38
indetail
refrigerant cycle, warm gas is cooled and

condensed into a liquid. Reliquefaction
indicates the process whereby evaporated
LNG is cooled and reverted to a liquid state.
Several licensed refrigeration processes
are available for the liquefaction of natural
gas. These processes use one or more cycles
in order to imitate the cooling curve of
natural gas. A good match of the curve will
give the process high efficiency and thus,
low energy consumption. Conversely, a
low temperature difference between the
refrigerant and the gas will demand a larger
heat exchange area. Refrigeration process
design is about optimising the number
of cycles, the refrigerant composition,
and the heat exchange area. The result
depends on whether simplicity, efficiency,
a compact footprint, or low cost is the key
boundary condition. Depending on which
refrigeration cycle is used, liquefaction
processes can be divided into three
categories; cascade cycle, mixed refrigerant
and expander cycle.
Cascade cycle
The cascade process is defined by several
cascaded refrigeration cycles, based on the
reversed Rankine cycle, using pure two-phase
refrigerants. The idea is to reduce entropy
production by using several refrigeration
cycles for each liquefaction stage. By
evaporating the liquid refrigerants, a very high
thermodynamic efficiency can be achieved.
Conversely the process is complicated and
requires a large number of components,
meaning the size requirement is large and the
capital cost is high. The high efficiency and
high investment cost makes it suitable for
large land based liquefaction plants.
Mixed refrigerant
Mixed refrigerant liquefaction is also based
on the Rankine cycle. However, contrary to
cascade cycles, a blend of refrigerants is used
to obtain a close following of the natural
gas cooling curve. By mixing refrigerants

a temperature glide can be attained, which
means the temperature at phase change
will not be constant. This is because the
components in the mixture evaporate at
different temperatures, causing a change of
concentration, which can be adapted to the
process gas cooling curve. In reality, the mixed
refrigerant will cause a curved temperature
profile, which will lower the thermodynamic
efficiency, compared to the cascade cycle.
The mixed refrigerant process is suitable for
small-scale liquefaction plants where the
low equipment count and simplicity can be a
substitute for high efficiency.
Expander cycle
The expander cycle differs from the other
liquefaction cycles by using an expander
instead of a J-T valve. The expander is
connected to the compressor, and extracts
useful power from the compressed gas. The
refrigerant used is a pure gas, and is only
in gaseous phase, making it insensitive to
motion. This also eliminates issues relating
to the distribution of liquid refrigerants
in the heat exchangers, thereby allowing
rapid start-up. A gaseous phase refrigerant,
however, has a limited enthalpy difference,
and requires a higher refrigerant flow
than two-phase refrigerants, which limits
the capacity. The process does not follow
the cooling curve of the process gas very
well, which results in lower efficiency than
with other technologies. This, on the other
hand, makes the process more forgiving to
variations in the gas composition.
Most expander processes utilise the
reversed Brayton cycle, either closed or
open loop, to generate cooling. This is done
either in a single or dual stage or with precooling. By using an open-loop expander
cycle, a fraction of the process gas is utilised
as a refrigerant. This eliminates the need for
excess refrigerants.
The reversed Stirling cycle is another type
of expander process used for liquefaction.

The Stirling cycle is a modified Carnotcycle, where heat from the compression
stage is utilised in the expansion stage,
making it a regenerative cycle.
Offshore reliquefaction
The selection of liquefaction technology
for offshore applications differs from the
onshore equivalents. Space on marine
vessels is limited, which increases the need
for a compact solution.
The use of hazardous hydrocarbons has to
be limited for safety reasons.
Small-scale offshore reliquefaction is,
from a capacity perspective, quite similar to
onshore peak-shaving plants. The expander
cycle is a proven technology for these
small-scale plants and is a viable choice for
offshore reliquefaction.
Thermal oxidation
Another method for handling BOG is by
thermal oxidation, i.e. combustion. This is
primarily done by feeding the excess gas to
the consumers, i.e. the ships engines. Twoand four-stroke internal combustion engines
are normally used for propulsion and power
generation, while two-stroke engines usually
have a high power output and are used for
direct propulsion. Four-stroke engines can
be used both as main and auxiliary engines,
the latter being used while in port as well as
when at sea. Additionally, auxiliary boilers
can be used to produce steam or hot water.
If the amount of BOG does not correspond
to the rate of consumption, the gas can be
fed to a gas combustion unit (GCU). The
GCU is a burner which combusts the BOG
in a controlled manner without the risk
of releasing unburned natural gas to the
atmosphere. Although a possible solution
for BOG handling, no useful energy can
be recovered from a GCU, which is why
it should primarily be recovered by other
means.
indetail 39
60
40
20
0
-20
-40
Temperature F
-60
-80
-100
-120
-140
-160
-180
-200
-220
-240
-260
20
40
60
80
100 120 140 160 180
Heat removed, MMBTU/Hr.
Fig. 3 - The three-stage cooling curve of natural gas (15-161C),

with pre-cooling, liquefaction and sub-cooling.
Compression
Feeding gas to the engines is one way of
handling BOG in the tanks. Four-stroke
engines usually have a suitable fuel pressure
need for type C tanks and can consume the
gas at tank pressure. Two-stroke engines,
however, demand a higher pressure.
Therefore, in order to consume the BOG,
the pressure must be increased to that
required by the engines.
When choosing the compressor type,
pressure ratio and gas flow are the most
important aspects that need to be evaluated.
40
indetail
Fig. 4 - The Wrtsil LNGPac system allows the

safe and convenient utilisation of gas fuel.
For safety reasons when using LNG as feed

gas, contamination from lubricants and
the risk of gas leaks need to be considered.
Either a piston or a rotary screw compressor
should be used for gas flows below
1000 m3/h. Piston compressors have a
compression ratio suitable for high pressure
engines. Screw compressors, with their
lower compression ratio, are suitable for low
pressure engines.
In oil-free piston compressors, noncontact seals are usually used between the
piston and cylinder. To minimise leakage,
the contact surfaces are lined with sharp

edges, called labyrinth seals. Rotary screw
compressors can also be designed to operate
without lubricants. These compressors are
driven by synchronised gears, making small
clearances possible without rotor contact.
Fuel sharing
In order to match BOG generation with
engine consumption for a desired load, fuel
sharing can be utilised. Dual-fuel engines
are capable of running on both diesel and
gas, which can be used to even out variations
in gas supply or quality. With normal gas

operation, around 15% of the pilot fuel is
needed to ignite the gas. With fuel sharing, the
amount of gas can be varied between around
15% and 85%, with the rest being diesel.
Summary
There are basically three suitable BOG
handling methods which should be
considered, namely boilers, auxiliary
engines or reliquefaction units. Auxiliary
engines are more suited to gas consumption
than main engines. Additionally, the power
generated is usually needed - even in port.

Reliquefaction units using an expander cycle
have rather low efficiency, which means they
should be avoided for large BOR. For such
cases, thermal oxidation in either a boiler or
an auxiliary engine is a better solution.
By comparing the different BOG handling
methods, it is clear that there is no universal
solution that works for all systems. On the
contrary the solution is rather sensitive to
tank size and consumer types. This means
that the BOG handling solution has to be
evaluated on a case by case basis.
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Boil-Off Gas Handling Onboard LNG Fuelled Ships

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What are the main methods for handling boil-off gas from LNG fuel tanks?

What are the main methods for handling boil-off gas from LNG fuel tanks?

What factors influence the pressure buildup in LNG fuel tanks?

What factors influence the pressure buildup in LNG fuel tanks?

[ MARINE / IN DETAIL]

Boil-Off Gas handling

Clean burning natural gas has emerged as

One drawback of natural gas is that it

vessels are utilised to contain the pressure.

WRTSIL TECHNICAL JOURNAL 01.2016

pressure rise. Stratification means that the

with colder LNG, since the temperature

BOG handling requirements

where the evaporated gas is compressed

WRTSIL TECHNICAL JOURNAL 01.2016

refrigerant cycle, warm gas is cooled and

gas cooling curve. By mixing refrigerants

of expander process used for liquefaction.

100 120 140 160 180

Heat removed, MMBTU/Hr.

Fig. 3 - The three-stage cooling curve of natural gas (15-161C),

Fig. 4 - The Wrtsil LNGPac system allows the

For safety reasons when using LNG as feed

the contact surfaces are lined with sharp

WRTSIL TECHNICAL JOURNAL 01.2016

in gas supply or quality. With normal gas

generated is usually needed - even in port.

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