Regasification of Liquefied Natural Gas Based on the Rankine Cycle: Thermodynamic Analysis

Options for organizing the regasification of liquefied natural gas (LNG) with the Rankine cycle are compared, with a view to more effective use of the cold energy of the liquefied gas. The comparison is based on exergy efficiency: the ratio of the total thermal inlet and outlet exergy for the system. In calculating the thermal characteristics of the flow, components of thermal exergy that don't change are discarded. ChemCad software is used for computational experiments. In organizing the regasification of liquefied natural gas (LNG) with the Rankine cycle, the heat source employed is seawater or flue gas at the output of turbine-based thermal power systems. When using environmental resources (seawater) at marine terminals, the efficiency of regasification proves higher than when using flue gas. However, the power generated in the Rankine cycle is 2.4 times greater when using flue gas. In addition, when using the residual heat of the flue gas, the heat pollution of the environment may be significantly reduced. All in all, the use of flue gas can be more economically viable.