Systems and methods for backhaul transportation of liquefied gas and CO2 using liquefied gas carriers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12012883-B2
Application number	US-202318234800-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 16, 2023
Priority date	Mar 16, 2021
Publication date	Jun 18, 2024
Grant date	Jun 18, 2024

Abstract

Embodiments of systems and methods for transporting liquefied gas and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in a dual-fluid vessel thereby minimizing transportation between locations are disclosed. In an embodiment, the dual-fluid vessel has an outer shell with an outer surface, an outer compartment within the outer shell configured to store liquefied gas, a bladder positioned within the outer compartment configured to store CO 2 , and insulation positioned between the outer shell and the outer compartment to provide temperature regulation for the liquefied gas when positioned in the outer compartment and CO 2 in the bladder.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A liquefied gas carrier to transport liquefied gas and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), the liquefied gas carrier comprising:
one or more dual-fluid storage tanks to transport liquefied gas or CO 2 , the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks having:
an outer shell;
an outer compartment positioned within the outer shell and configured to store the liquefied gas;
a bladder positioned within the outer compartment and configured to expand when the CO 2 flows therein, thereby to reduce contamination between the CO 2 and the liquefied gas; and
insulation positioned between the outer shell and the outer compartment to provide temperature regulation from external heat sources to reduce boil off of the (a) liquefied gas when positioned in the outer compartment and (b) CO 2 in the bladder.

2. The liquefied gas carrier of claim 1 , wherein a pressure and temperature rating for the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks comprises a maximum pressure of about 80 pounds per square inch gauge (psig) to about 102 pounds psig and a minimum temperature of about −260 degrees Fahrenheit minimum temperature.

3. The liquefied gas carrier of claim 1 , wherein the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks comprises one or more of spherical tanks, refrigerated tanks, prismatic tanks, cylindrical tanks, or bilobe tanks.

4. The liquefied gas carrier of claim 1 , wherein the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks includes one or more (a) temperature-control apparatuses to control a temperature within the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks, or (b) pressure-control apparatuses to control a pressure within the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks.

5. The liquefied gas carrier of claim 1 , further comprising a nitrogen tank positioned proximal and connected to one of the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks, and wherein the nitrogen tank is configured to, if the bladder is partially or substantially empty, fill the outer compartment with nitrogen to stabilize the bladder.

6. The liquefied gas carrier of claim 1 , wherein the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks further includes one or more membranes, waffles, or baffles positioned within the outer compartment of each of the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks.

7. The liquefied gas carrier of claim 1 , wherein the liquefied gas carrier comprises a marine vessel.

8. The liquefied gas carrier of claim 1 , wherein the liquefied gas comprises one or more of liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, liquid nitrogen, or liquid air.

9. The liquefied gas carrier of claim 1 , wherein the liquefied gas carrier comprises a retrofit of an existing vessel.

10. The liquefied gas carrier of claim 1 , further comprising a controller configured to control unloading/loading operations of CO 2 from the bladder and liquefied gas from the outer compartment.

11. The liquefied gas carrier of claim 10 , further comprising a plurality of sensors each configured to measure one of pressure or temperature of one of the liquefied gas within the outer compartment or CO 2 within the bladder, and wherein the controller is further configured to manage one or more of temperature of the liquefied gas and CO 2 or pressure within the outer compartment and bladder based on measurements from the plurality of sensors.

12. A dual-fluid transport system for transporting liquefied gas and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), the dual-fluid transport system comprising:
a liquefied gas carrier configured to transport liquefied gas and CO 2 , the liquefied gas carrier comprising:
one or more dual-fluid storage tanks to transport the liquefied gas or the CO 2 , the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks having:
an outer shell,
an outer compartment positioned within the outer shell, the outer compartment configured to store the liquefied gas, and
a bladder positioned within the outer compartment and configured to expand when the CO 2 flows therein, thereby to reduce contamination between the CO 2 and the liquefied gas,

insulation positioned between the outer shell and the outer compartment to provide temperature regulation from external heat sources to reduce boil off of one or more of (a) the liquefied gas when positioned in the outer compartment and (b) the CO 2 when positioned in the bladder,
one or more pumps configured to pump the liquefied gas and CO 2 from the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks, and
a first controller positioned within a first control room to control unloading/loading operations of CO 2 from the bladder and liquefied gas from the outer compartment;

one or more articulated rigid loading arms positioned at a location and to connect the liquefied gas carrier to the location and configured to load and unload the liquefied gas and CO 2 ;
a vapor return line connected to the one or more articulated rigid loading arms and configured to return excess vapor from the liquefied gas to the location;
one or more liquefied gas storage tanks configured to store liquefied gas and one or more CO 2 storage tanks configured to store CO 2 ;
a dehydration unit (a) positioned between the one or more articulated rigid loading arms and the one or more liquefied gas storage tanks and (b) configured to remove water from the CO 2 when the CO 2 is loaded onto the liquefied gas carrier; and
a second controller positioned within a location control room at the location and to control unloading/loading operation of CO 2 and liquefied gas to/from CO 2 storage tanks and liquefied gas storage tanks.

13. The dual-fluid transport system of claim 12 , wherein the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks comprises a maximum pressure of about 80 pounds per square inch gauge (psig) to about 102 pounds psig and a minimum temperature of about −260 degrees Fahrenheit.

14. The dual-fluid transport system of claim 12 , wherein the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks comprises one or more of spherical tanks, refrigerated tanks, prismatic tanks, cylindrical tanks, or bilobe tanks.

15. The dual-fluid transport system of claim 12 , wherein the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks includes one or more of (a) temperature-control apparatuses to control a temperature within the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks or (b) pressure-control apparatuses to control a pressure within the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks.

16. The dual-fluid transport system of claim 12 , further comprising a nitrogen tank positioned proximal and connected to one of the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks, and wherein the nitrogen tank is configured to, if the bladder is partially or substantially empty, fill the outer compartment with nitrogen to stabilize the bladder.

17. The dual-fluid transport system of claim 12 , wherein the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks includes one or more membranes, waffles, or baffles positioned within each of the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks.

18. The dual-fluid transport system of claim 12 , wherein the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks further comprises one or more sensors, the one or more sensors to determine a temperature or a pressure of the liquefied gas and the CO 2 .

19. The dual-fluid transport system of claim 12 , further comprising a liquefaction unit positioned at the location to transfer the CO 2 to the liquefied gas carrier.

20. The dual-fluid transport system of claim 12 , further comprising one or more valves positioned between (a) the one or more articulated rigid loading arms and (b) the one or more liquefied gas storage tanks and one or more CO 2 storage tanks, and wherein the one or more valves are

Assignees

• Marathon Petroleum Co Lp

Inventors

• Thobe Zachary D

Classifications

• F17C2250/0447

  Composition; Humidity · CPC title

• F17C2221/013

  Carbon dioxide · CPC title

• F17C2270/0168

  by vehicles · CPC title

• F17C2227/0135

  Pumps · CPC title

• F17C2250/032

  using computers · CPC title