Shell subsidiary Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Alfa Laval regarding the development of a new gas combustion unit (GCU) for use on liquid hydrogen carriers
The project will see Alfa Laval develop a system to safely combust hydrogen boil-off gas (BOG) from a storage tank on board a new liquid hydrogen carrier.
Because the venting of cargo is restricted, a gas combustion unit offers a means of controlling tank pressure and temperature when the boil-off gas poses safety risks beyond the tank’s design conditions.
The design of the new GCU system for hydrogen will be based on Alfa Laval’s existing GCU for LNG. More than 200 of these units have been installed in over a decade, and an additional 100 units have been ordered this year. The challenges in hydrogen combustion, however, are significantly greater than those involved with LNG.
At 253°C, hydrogen has a higher boil-off rate than methane which makes having a GCU or a similar means of boil-off gas handling crucial for hydrogen carriers.
