Environment friendly Cryogenic polyurethane insulation for offshore LNG transport and storage

Polyurethane foam (PU) is the most universal and popular insulation in the world as it is used in every industry – from shipbuilding, to automotive, construction and many other. Polylabs has been in the PU market since 2014 – manufacturing one of the key raw materials – bio polyols to replace fossil origin materials in the PU industry and make the industry environment friendly.

Polylabs has a space technology that can be adopted to terrestrial applications – offshore LNG transport and storage – CRYOFOAM.

CRYOFOAM is a technology developed for space applications – rocket launcher fuel tank insulation environmentally friendly (confirms new REACH requirements and low GWP) cryogenic polyurethane foams with low density, closed cell structure and high safety coefficient usable as blow-on insulation for extra large and complex rocket internal tank surfaces like bulkheads and for Liquid nitrogen and hydrogen gas applications. These gases are used as fuel in rocket launchers AND have to be stored at ultra-low temperatures (-210C nitrogen, -252C hydrogen).

LNG (liquid natural gas) is a natural gas that has been liquefied and has only 1/600 of its volume in a gaseous state. The natural gas is cooled to -1640 degrees Celsius in order to liquefy it. LNG’s reduced volume makes it ideal for efficient transport and storage. Low LNG temperatures place high demands on the equipment used for LNG storage and transportation (carrier ships, pipework systems, and storage tanks). These pipes and tanks must be permanently thermally insulated. This calls for cryogenic insulation. Rising LNG demand is expected to boost the global cryogenic insulation market.

Within the project we want to combine our experience in polyol production with the CRYOFOAM technology and use that to create a new environmentally friendly PU insulation that can be used in LNG transport and storage (offshore and onshore).

The project objectives are as follow:

  1. create a custom-built PU foam measurement equipment,
  2. identify LNG requirements for insulation
  3. adapt the CRYOFOAM formulation to LNG needs, test the product with the equipment.
  4. Introduce the formulation to a select customer in LNG industry
  5. Promote the product to a wider audience

The expected outcome will be an environment friendly, bio based insulation foam, which can be used cross sectoral in offshore LNG transport as well as onshore storage and transport, shipbuilding and other sectors.

This SME Innovation Project has received cascade funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Green Offshore Tech project and Grant Agreement No 101005541.

This document reflects only the author’s view and the Commission, the Agency and the GreenOffshore Tech Consortium are not responsible for any use they may be made of the information it contains.

Key Features of Cradle-to-Gate:
  • Cradle: Refers to the extraction of raw materials or the beginning of the product’s lifecycle.
  • Gate: Refers to the point when the product leaves the manufacturing facility, ready for delivery.

This model includes:

  1. Raw Material Footprint: Emissions from sourcing and producing raw materials.
  2. Transportation Footprint: Emissions from transporting raw materials to the production site.
  3. Production Footprint: Emissions from manufacturing processes.

Exclusions: Cradle-to-Gate does not include downstream processes like product use, end-of-life disposal, or recycling.

Advantages of Cradle-to-Gate Calculations:
  • Provides a focused view of the manufacturing process’s environmental impact.
  • Aligns well with suppliers and manufacturers who are responsible for the production phase only.
  • Easier to calculate and verify compared to full lifecycle assessments (Cradle-to-Grave or Cradle-to-Cradle).

For technical data sheets, please reach out: office@polylabs.lv

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