Lowering the cost of LNG Piping

摘要

Using a more expensive alloy allows for a lower cost design piping system engineered by Osaka Gas, of Japan, for handling liquified natural gas (LNG) has resulted in significant cost savings. The pipe is made of K93600 (an alloy of 36 percent nickel, the balance being mostly iron), rather than less expensive austenitic stainless steel. However, the system requires fewer metres of pipe and a smaller-diameter underwater tunnel, so the total cost of the system is lower than that of conventional designs. The K93600 pipe used has an outside diameter of 31.8 centimetres (cm) with a wall thickness of 6 millimetres (mm). The piping is contained in an concrete tunnel 2.4 metres in diameter.