Development of a Simple 5–15 Litre per Hour LNG Refueling System

Abstract

A variable capacity, small-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) refueling system has been designed, built, and tested at the Cryofuel Systems’ Laboratory, University of Victoria, Canada. The system, designed to continuously liquefy between 5 and 15 litres of NG, utilizes liquid nitrogen (LN₂) as its cold source and contains most of the components found in a typical commercial refueling system; ie. purification system, liquefier, LNG storage, automatic control and monitoring system. This paper describes the design of the system as well as the results of a set of LNG production trials. The performance of the system exceeded expected LNG production rates, but at levels of efficiency somewhat less than predicted. Cryofuel Systems expects to use this system to implement an LNG vehicle demonstration program and to gain experience in the integration of LNG refueling systems which exploit advanced liquefaction technology such as magnetic refrigeration.