Chart Ferox, fully owned European subsidiary of Chart Industries, has received a contract to design, build, and deliver an LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) fuel system for a fast ferry which will be built by Incat, Australia.
The boat will be the first catamaran powered by 27,000 HP gas turbines fuelled by natural gas. The catamaran, measuring 99 meters length, will be the world.s fastest, environmentally cleanest, most efficient, high speed ferry and will be operated in Latin America.
Chart is contracted to supply the on board LNG fuelling system, including the storage tank, piping and control system as well as the bunkering system. The LNG on board storage tank is double walled stainless steel utilizing Chart.s proprietary multilayer composite vacuum insulation system which maximizes the volume of LNG available to be stored. The piping, pumps, heat exchangers and control system, contained within a fire proof room, deliver the natural gas to the turbine engine at a precise pressure and flow. A secondary heat exchanger utilizes waste heat from the turbine exhaust to vaporize the LNG, changing its state to gas. The bunkering system is designed to load two cryogenic LNG trailers simultaneously in less than one hour, creating a virtual LNG pipeline to the ferry.
Chart is a pioneer in the development of LNG fuel delivery systems for clean burning natural gas used within the transportation industry. With the cost difference between natural gas and traditional fuels increasing, Chart plays an important role is establishing the infrastructure to allow the transition to take place.
[mappress] Source: Chart-Ferox, April 13, 2012