LNG: An eco-friendly cryogenic fuel for sustainable development

As the demand of natural gas has sharply increased in the last two decades at the global level, the transportation of natural gas from different parts (gas producing to the consuming areas) of the world has become more significant. Liquefaction of natural gas provides a safer and economical alternative for transportation and also increases its storage capabilities. The liquefaction process requires the natural gas to be cooled using various methods of cryogenic processes and also be depressurized to atmospheric conditions for easier and safer storage. LNG transported in cryogenic vessels offers several advantages over pipeline transport of natural gas especially when the gas consuming areas are far away from the gas producing areas. Moreover, LNG as an automobile fuel has a definite edge over other fuels. This article presents an overview on the characteristics of LNG, present state of affairs of LNG, its import from overseas, CNG vs. LNG as an automobile fuel, eco-friendliness of natural gas fuel, etc. It also discusses the potential of natural gas production from different sources. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.