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

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12546245-B2
Application number	US-202418648656-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 29, 2024
Priority date	Mar 16, 2021
Publication date	Feb 10, 2026
Grant date	Feb 10, 2026

Abstract

Embodiments of systems and methods for transporting liquefied gas and carbon dioxide (CO2) 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 CO2, 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 CO2 in the bladder.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A liquefied gas marine vessel to transport liquefied gas and carbon dioxide (CO2), the liquefied gas marine vessel comprising:
one or more dual-fluid storage tanks to transport liquefied gas or CO2, the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks having:
an outer shell;
compartment positioned within the outer shell to store the liquefied gas;
a bladder positioned within the compartment to expand when the CO2 flows therein, thereby to reduce contamination between the CO2 and the liquefied gas; and
insulation positioned between the outer shell and the compartment to provide temperature regulation from external heat sources.

2 . The liquefied gas marine vessel 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.

3 . The liquefied gas marine vessel 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 marine vessel 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 marine vessel 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 marine vessel 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 . A dual-fluid transport system for transporting liquefied gas and carbon dioxide (CO2), the dual-fluid transport system comprising:
a liquefied gas marine vessel configured to transport liquefied gas and CO2, the liquefied gas marine vessel comprising:
one or more dual-fluid storage tanks positioned on the liquefied gas marine vessel to transport the liquefied gas or the CO2, 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,
a bladder positioned within the outer compartment and configured to expand when the CO2 flows therein, thereby to reduce contamination between the CO2 and the liquefied gas, and
insulation positioned between the outer shell and the outer compartment to provide temperature regulation from external heat sources;
one or more pumps configured to pump the liquefied gas and CO2 from the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks;
a first controller positioned within a first control room to control unloading/loading operations of CO2 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 marine vessel to the location and configured to load and unload the liquefied gas and CO2;
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 CO2 storage tanks configured to store CO2; 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 CO2 when the CO2 is loaded onto the liquefied gas marine vessel; and a second controller positioned within a location control room at the location and to control unloading/loading operation of CO2 and liquefied gas to/from CO2 storage tanks and liquefied gas storage tanks.

8 . The dual-fluid transport system of claim 7 , 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.

9 . The dual-fluid transport system of claim 7 , 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.

10 . The dual-fluid transport system of claim 7 , 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.

11 . The dual-fluid transport system of claim 7 , 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.

12 . The dual-fluid transport system of claim 7 , 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.

13 . The dual-fluid transport system of claim 7 , 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 CO2.

14 . The dual-fluid transport system of claim 7 , further comprising a liquefaction unit positioned at the location to transfer the CO2 to the liquefied gas marine vessel.

15 . The dual-fluid transport system of claim 7 , further comprising one or more valves positioned between the one or more articulated rigid loading arms and the one or more liquefied gas storage tanks and one or more CO2 storage tanks, and wherein the one or more valves are controlled by the first controller and/or the second controller thereby to control the flow of the liquefied gas and the CO2.

16 . A method of unloading/loading liquefied gas and carbon dioxide (CO2) at a location, the method comprising:
aligning one or more articulated rigid loading arms positioned at a location with one or more dual-fluid storage tanks positioned on a liquefied gas marine vessel, the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks including an outer compartment configured to store liquefied gas and a bladder connected to a wall within the outer compartment configured to store CO2; connecting each of the one or more articulated rigid loading arms to the outer compartment or the bladder of each of the one or more dual-fluid storage tanks; and if the outer compartment contains liquefied gas:
in response to reception of a first liquefied gas pump operation signal from a first controller and a second liquefied gas pump operation signal from a second controller, pumping a first liquefied gas from the outer compartment to one or more liquefied gas storage tanks and one of (a) a second liquefied gas from one or more liquefied gas storage tanks to the outer compartment or (b) CO2 from one or more CO2 storage tanks to the bladder, or
if the bladder contains CO2:
in response to reception of a first CO2 signal from the first controller and

Assignees

• Marathon Petroleum Co Lp
• Marthon Petroleum Company 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