Improving the stability of high expansion foam used for LNG vapor risk mitigation using exfoliated zirconium phosphate nanoplates

© 2018 Institution of Chemical Engineers Natural gas consumption has increased as it is a cleaner energy source when compared to coal or petroleum. It can be stored in its liquid form as liquefied natural gas (LNG) because it has a much lower liquid volume. This has allowed ease of storage and transportation enabling it to be used as a global commodity. In case of an incident resulting in leaked LNG, the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) and American Gas Association (AGA) recommend high expansion foam use to mitigate the risk due to a cryogenic vapor cloud. This work investigates the role of exfoliated zirconium phosphate (ZrP) nanoplates in stabilizing high expansion foam. Experiments performed under wind induced forced convection and thermal radiation illustrate that exfoliated ZrP nanoplates can stabilize high expansion foam. Up to 40% reduction in the foam breakage rates was observed when using exfoliated ZrP nanoplate stabilized foam. Use of this foam can increase the duration over which it needs to be replenished, while allowing rising LNG vapors to become lighter by exchanging heat with the foam and ensuring effective vapor dispersion.

Krishnan, P., Al-Rabbat, A., Zhang, B., Huang, D., Zhang, L., Zeng, M., Mannan, M. S., & Cheng, Z.

Krishnan, Pratik||Al-Rabbat, Anas||Zhang, Bin||Huang, Dali||Zhang, Lecheng||Zeng, Minxiang||Mannan, M Sam||Cheng, Zhengdong

Improving the stability of high expansion foam used for LNG vapor risk mitigation using exfoliated zirconium phosphate nanoplates Academic Article