Application of the Stirling engine driven with cryogenic exergy of LNG (liquefied natural gas) for the production of electricity

LNG (liquefied natural gas) delivered by means of sea-ships is pressurized and then regasified before its introduction to the system of pipelines. The utilization of cryogenic exergy of LNG for electricity production without combustion of any its portion is analyzed. For the conversion of LNG cryogenic exergy into electricity, the Stirling engine is proposed to be applied. The theoretical thermodynamic model of Stirling engine has been applied. This model is used to investigate the influence of pinch temperature in heat exchangers, engine compression ratio and dead volumes ratios on the thermodynamic parameters of the Stirling engine. The results of simulation represent the input data for investigations of thermodynamic performance of the proposed system. In order to evaluate the thermodynamic performance of the proposed process, an exergy analysis has been applied. The exergy efficiency and influence of design and operational parameters on exergy losses are determined for each of the proposed system configurations. The obtained results represent the background for advanced exergy-based analyses, including thermo-ecological cost.