Estudo prospectivo para uso de Gás Natural Liquefeito (GNL) como combustível em transporte aquaviário no estado do Amazonas

Abstract

Due to its composition, natural gas is considered an environmentally sustainable energy source. This natural resource has been used in various sectors of economic activity - from thermal power plants to car fuel. The maritime sector has begun to consider the use of liquefied natural gas as fuel for ships in order to comply with industry standards, paying attention to the issue of environmental sustainability. Considering that the State of Amazonas has river transport as the main means of transportation for cargo and passengers and, at the same time, is a major national producer of this resource, we sought to prospect the state of the art of technologies for using liquefied natural gas as fuel for vessels in order to propose sustainable and economic improvements for this sector. This work is a prospective study for the use of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), considering possibilities of developing new storage tank technologies for the waterway sector in the state of Amazonas. The general objective was to carry out a prospective analysis of the current state of scientific and technological developments of cylindrical storage tanks for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) used in vessels powered by this type of gas. The methodology employed was divided into three stages: pre-prospective, prospective and post-prospective, using secondary data collected from scientific journals and patent databases (Google and Orbit Intelligence). The results show that there are already several technologies for the use of LNG in the maritime sector, in the Asian, American and European continents, which can be adapted to the local market, considering that these technologies minimize the impact of gas emissions. However, because it is volatile, LNG presents risks, requiring specific structures that are capable of storing it adequately, taking into account the geographic conditions of the Amazon region. This technological prospecting resulted in a Scientific Technical Report, which can be accessed to obtain a portfolio with various specifications of LNG storage cylinders, and which aims to offer assistance for decision-making by players in the waterway segment and other related sectors.