Liquefied natural gas, or in short LNG, is a CO2-saving alternative to diesel fuel, which more and more for this purpose designed trucks are using. An interactive map from the German Energy Agency lists 152 LNG filling stations for Germany. STREICHER Anlagenbau GmbH & Co. KG has already established twelve of these on behalf of the Dutch company Cryotek BV.
Methane, the main component of natural gas and biogas, only becomes liquid under normal pressure at a temperature of minus 164 degrees – then it is called LNG. Modern low-temperature or cryogenic technology “cryo”, Greek for “ice cold”, is used here, which goes along with high demands on materials, production and insulation of the components that come into contact with the medium. For filling stations, it is possible to operate them without external cooling and still keep the LNG in its liquid phase. The systems are located often well-connected in terms of its infrastructure at busy motorway junctions or near truck stops and are intended to be almost self-sufficient. The filling with fresh LNG takes place during ongoing operation using a trailer.
The tank systems built by STREICHER on behalf of Cryotek BV are standardised and designed in a modular skid design. They essentially consist of three main components: a free-standing, double-walled cryogenic tank that holds around 70 cubic meters of LNG, a small filling skid that enables the refueling of LNG, and a main skid, which in turn consists of three separate sub-units. Through a clever arrangement, these three sub-units can be combined to form a main skid with the dimensions of a 40' container. In addition to the construction of the main components and the connecting pipelines, STREICHER is also involved in the commissioning, acceptance and optimisation of the system.