LNG & CNG
Transportation is one of the largest costs associated with the use of natural gas – traditionally, large transportation pipelines needed to be built to facilitate the transfer of natural gas. But sometimes, geography gets in the way. That’s where liquid natural gas (LNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) come in.
Liquid Natural Gas (LNG)
How do you get natural gas to areas that don’t have natural gas pipelines? LNG!
Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) is clean, sweetened natural gas, comprised mostly of methane and ethane fractions, that is cooled to about -260 °F to achieve a liquid state. In this liquid state, LNG takes up about 600 times less space than in its gaseous state.
Cryogenic LNG carrier ships and trucks are used to transport LNG to areas where a natural gas pipeline is not physically or economically feasible. Once LNG gets where it’s going, it can be regasified – converted back to its gaseous state – and used just like any other natural gas.
Once upon a time, the methane and ethane fractions of natural gas were often considered unusable and flared off. With the advent of cryogenic technology, LNG has massively expanded the natural gas market. Check out Welker’s patent pending LNG sampling solutions to find out how we can help you collect comprehensive, representative samples of your Liquid Natural Gas product.
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)
What if you only need to transport over medium distances and don’t want to undertake the relatively expensive cooling process? Try CNG!
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is clean, dry, methane-rich natural gas that is compressed to high pressure (approximately 3600 psig) while still maintaining its gaseous state. Compressed gas takes up approximately 1% of the volume of gas at atmospheric pressure, making it possible to transport in smaller vessels over medium distances, without the expenses of cooling related to LNG.
CNG can also be used as vehicle fuel as an alternative to gasoline. CNG fuel combustion produces fewer environmentally-harmful byproducts than gasoline, diesel fuel, or liquified petroleum gas (LPG).