News Release. Basotect finds new application in LNG tankers. K 2013 Trade press conference June 25 and 26 in Ludwigshafen, Germany

Transcription

1 News Release June 25, 2013 P 306/13e Evelyn Naudorf Phone: +49 (0) evelyn.naudorf@basf.com K 2013 Trade press conference June 25 and 26 in Ludwigshafen, Germany Basotect finds new application in LNG tankers Blanket made of foam blocks prevents sloshing Presentation by Bernhard Vath Head of Global New Business Development Basotect BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany and Dr. Sangeon Chun Cryogenic Research & Development Center (System R&D) Samsung Heavy Industries BASF SE D Ludwigshafen Phone: Communicatiosn Performance Materials Phone: Fax:

2 Page 2 P 306/13e More than a quarter of the global production of natural gas in 2011 or nearly 331 billion cubic meters was liquefied and shipped throughout the world in ocean-going tankers. In preparation for transport, the gas is cleaned, liquefied at minus 162 degrees Celsius, and then loaded onto tankers that carry liquid cargo. This process reduces 600 cubic meters of gas to one cubic meter of LNG (liquefied natural gas). Thus far, these tankers have only been able to travel when either empty or full, because they would otherwise be put at risk by the sloshing of the liquefied gas, which in severe cases might even cause them to capsize. Working together with BASF, the South Korean company Samsung Heavy Industries has therefore developed a new anti-sloshing solution made of the BASF foam Basotect. This solution can substantially improve the safety of liquefied gas transports while at the same time offering economic and environmental benefits to shipping companies and their customers as confirmed by studies from two universities. A foam for minus 162 degrees Celsius Basotect, an open-cell foam made from melamine resin, has very high acoustic and good heat-insulation properties and is both flame-retardant (DIN 4102, B1) and resistant to many chemicals. Due to its favorable set of properties, this BASF foam is used for sound absorption in buildings and heat insulation purposes in automotive and rail engineering as well as in solar thermal and air-conditioning systems. Basotect s new application in LNG tankers capitalizes on an advantage that had thus far not attracted much attention, namely, the retention of the material s flexural properties under cryogenic conditions, i.e. down to temperatures of below minus 200 degrees Celsius. The blanket uses buoys to float LNG tankers contain three to five tanks and each tank can hold around 40,000 cubic meters of liquefied gas. These steel tanks must remain cooled to minus 162 degrees Celsius at all times. In addition to this

3 Page 3 P 306/13e special challenge, all ships that carry liquids must address the problem of sloshing, which even mild seas can cause. As a consequence, LNG tankers can only travel when full (loaded over 80 percent) or empty (loaded under 10 percent). It has thus far not been possible for LNG tankers to have flexible load levels. The anti-sloshing concept developed by BASF and Samsung consists of a blanket made of Basotect cubes. Each cube, with sides of one meter, is made of two blocks of Basotect. A buoyant entity, or type of buoy, is placed between the two blocks so that the Basotect cube does not submerge more than 80 percent even after becoming fully soaked with liquefied gas. The individual cubes are stitched into Vectran textile covers and secured to one another with Vectran belts. Vectran, which is made from polyarylate fiber, is produced by the Japanese company Kuraray, and is also suitable for use under cryogenic conditions. In addition, Vectran is extremely durable and abrasion-resistant. The anti-sloshing blanket consists of many individual elements because it has to be flexible and mobile in order to best accommodate and reduce wave action. These individual elements should be secured together at the shipyard, in fact directly inside the tanks, before the tanker is filled with LNG for the first time. The blankets can be placed in the tanks before they are loaded, and remain there after they are emptied. Tests at BASF s technical laboratory have shown that when the containers are emptied, Basotect releases nearly all of the LNG it has absorbed. The challenge: light and heavy at the same time The principle of using floating blankets to calm the rough surface of a body of liquid is well known, and is used in aviation and aeronautics as well as in transporting liquid cargo in trucks. It has not seen use in LNG tankers so far because the extremely low temperatures in their tanks

4 Page 4 P 306/13e place correspondingly extreme demands on the contact materials. Another challenge is posed by apparently contradictory physical requirements: on the one hand an anti-sloshing blanket has to be lightweight in order to float at every level of load, yet it must also be sufficiently heavy to have an anti-sloshing effect. In addition, the material has to be soft in order to withstand repeated severe impact against the walls of the tank while also not damaging the walls. The newly developed anti-sloshing blanket system made of Basotect meets these requirements. The melamine resin foam s open-celled structure enables it to absorb a certain amount of LNG, which increases the blanket s overall inertia. Above all, however, Basotect differs from other foams because it retains its properties even at extremely low temperatures. Moreover, sloshing in closed containers with the dimensions of tanks used for transporting LNG can generate extremely high-impact loads, which can damage the tank walls. Usually, these LNG tanks of the membrane type cargo containment system are built with an octagonal cross-section as an initial means of reducing sloshing and therefore also the impact load against their walls. However, this measure is not sufficient when the tanks are only half full. Tests at universities confirm efficiency Using a wave simulator, the design of the Basotect blanket has been tested in South Korea by the departments of Naval Architecture & Ocean Engineering at Seoul National University and Pusan National University. The correctly dimensioned, transparent container used to simulate the sloshing conditions has the octagonal shape of an LNG tank and is equipped with pressure sensors in its walls. Tests showed that the Basotect blanket was able to considerably reduce sloshing and reduce peak pressures against the walls by about one-fifth. Because

5 Page 5 P 306/13e there is less sloshing, shipbuilders can also eliminate two corners of the octagonal shape and thus have right angles at the top of the tank. This means that about five percent more LNG can be stored and the production cost can be saved in the simplified tank shape. Also, the anti-sloshing system considerably reduces undesired abrupt vaporization in operation which could lead to a sudden increase of internal pressure. The vaporization is measured with the so called boiloff rate (BOR). The BOR is mainly determined by how well the insulation succeeds in preventing heat transfer from the LNG to its surroundings. The reduction of BOR is an additional benefit of the antisloshing blanket solution that some ship owners and operators are asking for: it improves safety and increases the amount of liquefied gas that arrives at the harbor. Because the blanket not only protects against sloshing but also lowers the boil-off rate, the concept is known as ABAS (= Anti-Boil-Off Anti-Sloshing). Anti-sloshing is good for the environment Use of anti-sloshing blankets made of Basotect changes both economic and environmental aspects of LNG transport, and thus helps make it more sustainable. Because LNG tankers will be able to take different load levels, it will be possible for them to call at several harbors in succession and to unload their contents based on need. This will reduce the number of no-load journeys and therefore also costs while at the same time making an important contribution to resource efficiency. In 2012, Samsung received general approval for the ABAS concept from two leading classification companies for shipping worldwide, the American Bureau of Shipping in Houston, Texas, USA, and the Bureau Veritas in Paris, France. General approval is a key part of the authorization process for the international shipping industry. It testifies

6 Page 6 P 306/13e that the application has been subjected to extensive testing for use and found to conform to international standards. Press photo at: under category plastics, search term Basotect or also at BASF s plastics press archive: Information on Basotect from BASF: basotect@basf.com or under telephone number +49 (0)

7 Page 7 P 306/13e Photo/Graph: BASF/Samsung Heavy Industries, 2013 BASF and the South Korean company Samsung Heavy Industries have developed a new concept to prevent the sloshing of liquefied gas during its transport in tankers. The antisloshing solution is a kind of carpet consisting of cubes with a volume of one cubic meter, made of the BASF foam Basotect. The open-cell foam made from melamine resin, stays flexible even under cryogenic conditions: The ship s steel tanks must remain cooled to minus 162 degrees Celsius to keep the gas liquid. In 2012, the anti-sloshing concept received a general approval from two leading classification companies for shipping worldwide. More than a quarter of the global production of natural gas in 2011 was liquefied and shipped throughout the world in ocean-going tankers. Thus far, these tankers have only been able to travel when either empty or full. With the new anti-sloshing concept flexible load levels are possible, which reduces the number of no-load journeys.

8 Basotect finds new application in LNG tankers Blanket made of foam blocks prevents sloshing Bernhard Vath Head of Global New Business Development Basotect BASF SE Dr. Sangeon Chun Cryogenic Research & Development Center Samsung Heavy Industries Project partner: 0 A quarter of the global production of natural gas is liquefied and shipped 2011: 331 billion m 3 natural gas worldwide liquefied and shipped 600 m 3 gas = 1 m 3 liquefied gas Liquefaction at -162 C Picture: Samsung Heavy Industries BASF and Samsung offer anti-sloshing solution 1

9 Basotect : A versatile foam, also for cryogenic conditions Open-cell foam structure High acoustic absorption capacity Good heat-insulation properties Flame & chemical resistance Applications: automotive, railway, construction, solar collectors Constant physical properties down to temperatures of -200 C Pictures: Porsche AG, Barceló Raval, Viessmann, Hitachi, Samsung Heavy Industries 2 LNG tankers so far: No flexible load levels LNG tankers contain 3 to 5 tanks Maximum tank volume: 40,000 m 3 liquefied natural gas (LNG) Tankers only travel when full (> 80%) or empty (< 10%) No flexible load levels possible Picture: Samsung Heavy Industries New solution: Anti-Sloshing blanket made of Basotect 3

10 Blanket made of Basotect cubes prevents sloshing in LNG tankers Cubes with sides of 1 meter Made of 2 Basotect blocks Inclosed buoy guarantees flotage Stitched into Vectran * textile covers (polyarylate) Secured to one another with Vectran * belts Picture: Samsung Heavy Industries * Vectran is a registered trademark of Kuraray 4 Basotect blanket fulfills apparently contradictory physical requirements Lightweight and able to float (buoy) Sufficiently heavy to prevent sloshing Soft enough to not damage the walls of the tank Resistant to extremely low temperatures 5

11 Anti-sloshing solution 6 So far: Octagonal shape of the tank against sloshing Sloshing in closed containers generates high-impact loads Octagonal shape reduces sloshing / impact loads Not sufficient when tanks are only half full Graph: Samsung Heavy Industries 7

12 Concept successfully tested at universities Naval departments at Seoul National and Pusan National University: Tests in wave simulator Reproduction of LNG tank with / without Basotect anti-sloshing solution Equipped with pressure sensors Basotect blanket considerably reduces sloshing and peak pressures Picture: Samsung Heavy Industries 8 Economic and environmental benefits New shape with right angles 5% higher capacity Less Boil-off Reducing loss of LNG Less no-load journeys thanks to flexible load levels Saving fuel BOR: Boil-off rate ABAS: Anti-boil-off Anti-Sloshing Anti-sloshing concept with Basotect reduces costs and preserves resources 9

13 Approval from leading classification companies 2012 General Approval from American Bureau of Shipping in Houston, Texas/USA Bureau Veritas in Paris, France Confirmation of Successful testing Concept s conformity with international standards 10