Introduction
Due to its high energy density, low carbon dioxide emissions compared with coal, and ease of transportation and storage, liquefied natural gas (LNG) has been increasingly used in last decades especially, especially under climate policies (). LNG is recognized as a transition energy carrier to assist the worldwide transition from a fossil fuel-based energy system to a zero carbon energy system.
The conventional LNG supply chain includes natural gas liquefaction, LNG transportation, and LNG regasification and storage. In recent years, substantial efforts have been conducted to reduce the carbon emissions of the LNG supply chain by adopting advanced optimization algorithms and emerging technologies (). The aim of this Research Topic is to present recent progress in state-of-the-art research related to sustainability enhancement of the LNG supply chain towards a low carbon energy society. Within this Research Topic, four manuscripts were published covering key sustainability aspects across the LNG supply chain.
Energy-efficient natural gas liquefaction processes
To reduce the energy consumption of natural gas liquefaction processes is one of the main concerns in LNG supply chain. Ahmad et al. proposed an artificial neural network (ANN) using particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm as the learning method to predict the design variables of single mixed refrigerant natural gas liquefaction process under changing natural gas feed conditions. Moreover, a mini review of unconventional natural gas liquefaction processes to recover remote natural gas resources has been conducted and efficient separation of methane/nitrogen/hydrogen with low energy consumption, safe and compact liquefaction process for marine sloshing conditions, and fundamental researches related to gas-liquid equilibrium and supercritical fluid cooling heat transfer were also proposed by Xu et al.
Heat exchangers in LNG supply chain
Heat exchangers are the main components in natural gas liquefaction plants and LNG receiving terminals. The condensation heat transfer of natural gas and mixed refrigerants in the main cryogenic heat exchanger has also been studied from the numerical and experimental perspectives (; ). New types of heat exchangers with high heat transfer efficiency also attracts attentions from the academic and industrial communities. Xie et al. conducted a state-of-the-art review of the current research status and technical challenges of printed circuit heat exchanger applied in floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG). They summarized and analyzed the heat transfer coefficients and pressure drop with distinctive flow channels in the printed circuit heat exchanger.
Natural gas district heating
Heating provided by natural gas-fired thermal plants could reduce the carbon emission by replacing the coal and oil-based thermal plants. Natural gas boilers are competitive with electric heaters, air source heat pumps, and hydrogen boilers for heating (). The pipe insulation performance of natural gas-based district heating system for low-temperature applications was investigated by Usman and Kim. They designed a hybrid district heating system comprising natural gas-based fuel cell, heat pump and solar thermal. Polyethylene, ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber, and polyurethane were selected as the pipe insulation material for a 500 m pipe which supplied 60°C hot water. The results indicated that polyurethane with 32 mm as the optimum insulation thickness could achieve heat losses below 20 W/m.
Conclusion
This Research Topic covered key sustainability aspects across the LNG supply chain, including energy efficient natural gas liquefaction processes, high heat transfer coefficients heat exchangers, and district heating with natural gas fueled plant. The ANN approach is able to forecast the mixed refrigerant composition as the feed condition changes without conducting complex process simulation and optimization. The process integration can be a promising method to increase the energy efficiency of the unconventional natural gas liquefaction processes. Moreover, the performance of printed circuit heat exchangers should be tested under multiple sloshing conditions when they are applied on FLNG. There is a need to choose appropriate insulation material for natural gas fueled district heating system to reduce the heat loss. To further enhance the sustainability, greenhouse gas emissions and life cycle impact of the LNG supply chain should be studied in the future.
Statements
Author contributions
All authors listed have made a substantial, direct, and intellectual contribution to the work and approved it for publication.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank for the funding support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51906225).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
References
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Summary
Keywords
LNG, supply chain, process system design, heat transfer, sustainable
Citation
He T, Ju Y, Lee M, Wu D, Liu Z and Qyyum MA (2022) Editorial: Green and sustainable LNG supply chain: A bridge to a low carbon energy society. Front. Energy Res. 10:975713. doi: 10.3389/fenrg.2022.975713
Received
22 June 2022
Accepted
19 July 2022
Published
11 August 2022
Volume
10 - 2022
Edited and reviewed by
Ellen B. Stechel, Arizona State University, United States
Updates
Copyright
© 2022 He, Ju, Lee, Wu, Liu and Qyyum.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Tianbiao He, hetianbiao@upc.edu.cn
This article was submitted to Process and Energy Systems Engineering, a section of the journal Frontiers in Energy Research
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.