Due to the natural gas shortage, many affected companies are currently desperately looking for practicable alternatives that can be supplied at short notice. One of these can be Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG). What needs to be considered when using SNG?
SNG is an “artificial” natural gas that can be produced as a gas mixture of propane or LPG mixed with nitrogen or air. As the composition of SNG has similar calorific values to natural gas, the company’s existing infrastructure only needs to be supplemented.
With a propane/air gas mixing system instead of natural gas or to support natural gas supply reductions, existing components, more specifically burners and piping, generally do not need to be changed or modified.
In principle, SNG systems are designed as follows:
- Liquid gas tank with pump and vaporizer system,
- Gas/air mixing system with adapted output for the calorific values,
- Generation analogous to existing natural gas, if necessary with Wobbe control.
The advantage of SNG is that it enables an uninterrupted energy supply and therefore continuous production within the system. Nevertheless, operators must observe certain framework conditions and carry out certain checks before using SNG.