LNG

32 - Wrtsil 1-2004
The Ship Power Supplier

Until now, steam turbines have dominated
as propulsion machinery for LNG carriers,
with their apparent reliability and the ease
with which they can burn the boil-off gas
from the ships cargo tanks while at sea.
The low fuel efficiency of steamturbines,
however, has already encouraged almost all
other shipping segments to switch to
diesel-powered ships. As a result of both
increased fuel efficiency and increased cargo
capacity, an LNG carrier with dual-fuel
electric machinery will deliver more natural
gas to the offloading terminal even when gas
is used as fuel throughout the voyage.
Dual-fuel electric propulsion
The order last autumn for a 153,000 m
3
LNG carrier by Gaz de France at Chantiers
de lAtlantique proves the point.
The ship, due for delivery in 2005, will
be propelled by dual-fuel engines and
electric propulsion. The heart of the system
is four dual-fuel engines three 12-cylinder
and one 6-cylinder Wrtsil 50DF giving
a combined output of 39.9 MW.
The ship will be the largest LNG carrier
in service. It will be employed to carry
liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Norway
or Egypt, but is also designed for the
alternative of trading on the spot market.
This is the second of two similar orders
to Wrtsil. In 2002, four 6-cylinder 50DF
engines, with an aggregate output of
22.8 MW, were ordered for Gaz de France
Energys 75,000 m
3
LNG carrier, also
being built at Chantiers de lAtlantique in
Sainte Nazaire.
Once delivered later this year, Gaz de
France Energy will be the first LNG
carrier in service featuring this new
propulsion system. The membrane-type
vessel will be employed to carry LNG
from Algeria to France. The service speed
is 16 knots, which can be achieved with
three of the four generating sets. Like its
newer sister ship, the vessel is also
designed for spot market trading, such as
voyages to the USA.
Optimized propulsion from Wrtsil
Wrtsil has done extensive research to
find a more attractive propulsion solution
for LNG carriers, said Mikael Mkinen,
Group Vice President, Marine Division,
when the second order was placed.
We have studied the specific
requirements of the LNG trade to determine
the desired characteristics of the optimum
propulsion plant, and we have now
developed a number of attractive solutions.
Dual-fuel engines have so far been
successfully applied in eight onshore power
plants and a number of marine
installations, including two FPSOs and two
offshore support vessels. LNG carrier
operators will be watching with interest
when the first ship with Wrtsil 50DF
engines takes to the sea later this year.
Major benefits
The basic propulsion solution for these
LNG carriers uses dual-fuel engines for
electric power generation. The electric
power is supplied to an electric propulsion
system, fairly similar to the diesel-electric
propulsion systems on modern cruise ships.
The solution offers LNG carriers a number
of significant advantages.
Greater earning power
Whilst making maximum use of the gas
fuel (boil-off from the cargo of liquefied
natural gas) to develop useful power,
Wrtsil 50DF engines have a much lower
fuel consumption overall and thus lower
operating costs than the conventional steam
turbine plant.
Wrtsils calculations show that the
earnings of a 145,000 m
3
dual-fuel electric
LNG carrier sailing between the Middle
East and Japan will be several millions of
dollars per year higher than the annual
earnings of a steam turbine powered ship of
the same size.
Fuel flexibility
The Wrtsil 50DF, derived from the
successful Wrtsil 46 diesel engine, is a
true dual-fuel engine, using low-pressure
Dual-fuel diesel
Recent orders for Wrtsil 50DF dual-fuel engines for two LNG carriers, eight
engines in all, are no coincidence. This engine type promises big benefits for LNG
operators including larger cargo capacity, lower fuel consumption, higher flexibility
in operation, and lower emissions. Gaz de France is the first to take the plunge.
But surely not the last.
The 153,000 m
3
LNG carrier by
Gaz de France will be equipped with
three 12-cylinder and one 6-cylinder
Wrtsil 50DF engines.
1-2004 Marine News - 33
natural gas as primary fuel. The engine can
be run alternatively in gas mode or liquid
fuel mode.
It is also fully capable of switching over
from gas to liquid fuel (marine diesel oil)
automatically should the gas supply be
interrupted, while continuing to deliver full
power.
When running on natural gas, ignition is
triggered using a very small quantity of
liquid fuel. Marine diesel oil can be used as
a secondary fuel.
Lower emissions
The Wrtsil 50DF engines also have much
lower stack emissions than a steam plant.
The NO
X
emissions of the Wrtsil 50DF
engines are about one-tenth those of the
equivalent diesel engines.
The combination of the engines low fuel
consumption and their maximum use of
natural gas means the Wrtsil 50DF
engines also have low CO
2
emission levels.
Higher transport capacity
Being more compact than steam turbines,
diesel-electric propulsion enables much
improved flexibility in the machinery
layout. This enables increased cargo capacity
for a given displacement, or alternatively
smaller ship dimensions for a given cargo
capacity.
Further developments of the dual-fuel
electric LNG carrier could include locating
the prime movers on the main deck. Only
the electric propulsion motors, sea water
intakes with the necessary pumps, and the
bilge and ballast systems, would still need to
be arranged on the tank top. Added to space
savings, this would simplify the
arrangements for ventilation, fire insulation
and extinguishing and escape ways.
Furthermore, dual-fuel generators can be
delivered as compact, containerized, fully
functional power modules. They can be
tested before being lifted onboard, thus
enabling savings in installation and
commissioning cost and time.
n
engines for LNGcarriers
by Glenn Mattas, Sales, Wrtsil Finland Oy
and Barend Thijssen, Solutions, Wrtsil Corporation
The Wrtsil 50DF
Developed from Wrtsils very
successful type 46 diesel engines, the
Wrtsil 50DF engines have cylinder
dimensions of 500 mm bore by 580
mm piston stroke. Available in
configurations with six, eight and
nine cylinders in line, and 12, 16 and
18 cylinders Vee-form, the Wrtsil
50DF engines develop 950 kW per
cylinder MCR at 500 or 514 rev/min
for 50Hz and 60Hz electricity
generation respectively.
Gas fuel is supplied at a low
pressure (less than five bar) to the
engines. In gas mode, the Wrtsil
50DF engines operate according to
the lean-burn Otto process. Gas is
admitted into the air inlet channels of
the individual cylinders during the
intake stroke to give a lean, premixed
air-gas mixture in the engine
combustion chambers. Reliable
ignition is obtained by injecting a
small quantity of diesel oil directly
into the combustion chambers as
pilot fuel which ignites by
compression ignition as in a
conventional diesel engine.
The Wrtsil 50DF engines use a
micro-pilot injection with less than
one per cent of the fuel energy being
required as liquid fuel at nominal load.
Electronic control closely regulates the
micro-pilot injection systemand
air-gas ratio to keep each cylinder at its
correct operating point between the
knock and misfiring limits.
n

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32 - Wrtsil 1-2004

The Ship Power Supplier

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