The Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, recently dedicated to the nation India’s first small-scale liquefied natural gas (SSLNG) unit, established at GAIL (India) Ltd’s Vijaipur complex in Madhya Pradesh. This significant development marks a major step forward in India’s clean energy transition, with natural gas playing a central role.
Key Points
- GAIL’s Vijaipur SSLNG unit is being seen as a key first step in taking SSLNG distribution deep inside the country.
- According to Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, many such SSLNG plants are expected to come up in the coming years, which could potentially change the country’s natural gas landscape. (Via GAIL)
- India plans to raise the proportion of natural gas in its primary energy mix to 15% by 2030, up from slightly over 6% currently, primarily because of its lower pollution emissions.
What Is Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)?
- It is natural gas that has been cooled to a liquid state for storage and shipping.
- LNG is odorless, colorless, non-toxic, and non-corrosive. It is made up of almost entirely methane, which has less carbon than other fossil fuels.
- LNG is typically 85–95% methane, and it produces 40% less carbon dioxide than coal and 30% less than oil. It also does not emit soot, dust, or particulates.
- LNG is created by cooling natural gas to -161°C (-259°F), which reduces it to 1/600 of its original volume and half the weight of water.
What Is Small-Scale Liquefied Natural Gas?
- SSLNG refers to the liquefaction of natural gas and its transportation using unconventional means in a significantly smaller-scale operation
- It is LNG — gas in its liquid or super-chilled form — is supplied in specialised trucks and small vessels to industrial and commercial consumers in regions that are not connected by pipelines.
- Examples are supplying compressed natural gas (CNG) for vehicles and piped gas for households and manufacturing units
- Where the fuel is to be used directly in its liquid form, it would be supplied to end-users without regasification.
- The SSLNG chain can start from a large-scale LNG import terminal from where the LNG, instead of being regasified and supplied through pipelines, can be transported to consumers by cryogenic road tankers or small vessels.
- The chain can also start at locations with ample natural gas supply or production, where small liquefaction plants can be set up.
How Does The Vijaipur SSLNG Facility Work?
- The Rs 150 crore facility has SSLNG skids with a combined capacity of 36 tonnes per day, along with associated liquid handling systems.
- There are treatment skids — zeolite pretreatment skids (ZPTS) — and liquefaction skids, known as cryo boxes, for converting natural gas to LNG.
- The SSLNG unit is controlled by an automated, web-based Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, a mechanism that is typically used to monitor large industrial devices and processes.
- Natural gas is processed in the ZPTS at a pressure of approximately 15 bar to remove non-desirable components such as nitrogen, water, sulphur, and carbon dioxide.
- It is then fed to the cryo box, where it is compressed in a four-stage compressor to a pressure of around 260 bar.
- The gas is cooled by a propane-based external refrigeration system to minus 60-70 degree Celsius, and then subjected to expansion, such that the temperature falls below minus 140 degree Celsius, allowing it to liquefy.
- The LNG will then be dispatched by cryogenic tankers to nearby areas for use in city gas distribution networks as CNG and piped gas, and in the proposed LNG filling stations for medium and heavy vehicles.
Advantages of Using Natural Gas
- Natural gas is far less polluting than conventional hydrocarbons like coal and oil
- It is also cheaper than oil, more than 85% of India’s requirement for which is met through costly imports.
- Using LNG as a fuel for heavy-duty trucks and buses can result in cost savings for transport operators and fleet owners, potentially lowering operational expenses.
- It can complement renewable energy sources such as solar, wind power by providing reliable and flexible energy supply.
- It could lead to significant foreign exchange savings by substituting diesel with domestically produced or imported LNG.
Challenges in Natural Gas Adoption
- A major challenge lies in the transportation of gas to places that are not connected by the country’s natural gas pipeline grid
- Large-scale pipeline projects that are in the works will take years to be completed; even so, last-mile delivery challenges may persist in many parts of the country.
- LNG production and transportation require significant amounts of energy, contributing to its overall carbon footprint. From extraction to liquefaction, transportation, and regasification, each stage involves energy-intensive processes
Conclusion
The commissioning of India’s first small-scale liquefied natural gas unit is a milestone in the country’s energy transition strategy. As the government pushes to expand the use of natural gas, SSLNG facilities like the one in Vijaipur will be crucial in bridging the infrastructure gap, improving energy access, and enabling a cleaner, cost-effective fuel economy for the future.
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