A feasibility study and economic impact analysis of containerized LNG as fuel for inland container vessels

Schutter, L. (2015) A feasibility study and economic impact analysis of containerized LNG as fuel for inland container vessels. Master's Thesis / Essay, Industrial Engineering and Management.

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Abstract

LNG is a promising transportation fuel with low fuel costs and emission values. However, large scale implementation of LNG requires a new kind of LNG infrastructure with gas stations and LNG bunker terminals and these are currently very limited. By storing LNG in intermodal containers, called containerized LNG, it is possible to apply traditional container transport of these LNG containers by trains, trucks and vessels. LNG infrastructure investments are no longer required by free-riding on existing infrastructure, like roads, railways, rivers and seas. This technique opens the way for innovations in the marine sector. In this research, we studied the feasibility of LNG containers for the inland segment and we provided a model to explore the economic impact. We did this by exploring the current LNG developments in the inland segment. There are currently a few LNG vessels sailing on our inland waterways. Since LNG exist in its infancy in the inland segment, regulations of LNG usage are still not complete. We found that regulations of LNG containers as fuel supply are not there for the inland segment. By providing the containerized LNG supply chain in this research, we explored which regulations apply for LNG containers in different phases. However, the regulations of the main phase of the LNG container, where it supplies fuel for the vessel's engines, were not able to obtain. We found that the sea segment is further developed in terms of LNG regulations. We obtained regulations of LNG container usage for the vessel's fuel supply for sea vessels from the IGF code of 2014. We found that LNG regulations of the sea segment are often used when LNG regulations in the inland segment do not exist. The model of the research explored economic outcomes of sailing on LNG containers for inland vessels. We made a model for a conversion trade-off for retrofitting MDO inland container vessels to dual fuel engines with different types of LNG supply configurations. We compared an integrated LNG tank configuration with a LNG container configuration for the vessel's fuel supply. Both configurations have their pros and cons. A quantitative analysis showed that LNG containers can be economically beneficial configurations for specific user input parameters. We also showed in a case study that the economic model fits in practice.

Item Type:	Thesis (Master's Thesis / Essay)
Degree programme:	Industrial Engineering and Management
Thesis type:	Master's Thesis / Essay
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	15 Feb 2018 08:09
Last Modified:	15 Feb 2018 08:09
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/13443

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