SEOUL, June 24 (Korea Bizwire) — Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. said Thursday that it and its affiliate Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. have received approval in principle from Norwegian-German ship quality assurance society DNV and Britain’s Lloyd’s Register for their new liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel supply system.
The newly-developed system, dubbed Hi-eGAS (Hyundai High Efficient Gas Supply System), is based on the concept of recycling the waste heat generated during the process of supplying fuel to LNG-powered ships.
Compared to existing systems, it can reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions by 1.5 percent.
LNG-powered ships, in general, have used boilers to make hot steam, which has converted LNG at a temperature of -163 degrees Celsius into a gas at room temperature to supply a ship’s engine.
However, this process has the disadvantage of increasing fuel costs and carbon emissions.
Hi-eGAS reduces unnecessary fuel consumption by using the waste heat of a ship’s engine to heat the LNG fuel.
In addition, a new heat exchanger, a core part of the Hi-eGAS system, was jointly developed in collaboration with a domestic marine equipment maker, thereby greatly reducing the risk of ice formation within the LNG fuel supply system.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)