On Dec. 23, DongHwa Entec Co., Ltd. successfully completed a performance test demonstration of the LNG fuel supply system package(DH-SSFGS) applied to “The Songdo(Korea Gas Marine Transport Co., Ltd.),” Korea’s first LNG fuel-powered tug. 

Present for the demonstration, held at the DongHwa Entec R&D Center, were a number of major customers including the owners of the ship and shipyards. 

DongHwa Entec Co., Ltd. is currently supplying its own solution that is differentiated from previous LNG fuel supply systems. 

The system is applied to enhance the competitiveness of Donghwa Entec’s products in the domestic small coastal ship market amid growing demand for eco-friendly fuel, including LNG, in line with the government’s “Eco-friendly Ship Act”. 

The LNG fuel gas supply system(DH-SSFGS) for small ships was developed for dual-fuel low-pressure engines, to which the PBU(Pressure Build up) method is applied, instead of pump pressurization. 

It involves pressurizing by partially evaporating and re-circulating LNG in the fuel tank in order to meet the constant pressure required by the engine. 

The system is different from the previous PBU method in that the lines supplied to engines are unified by evaporating pressurized LNG on the fuel tank pressurization line.

This serves to increase space utilization and is verified by applying an LNG evaporator and Gas Heater to the low-pressure line with PCHE (Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger), which provides the key advantage of fitting into small spaces on small ships. 

Further, the integrated composition demonstrates stable maintenance of pressure and temperature required by engines despite dramatic output changes, showing the advantage of using BOG(Boil Off Gas) generated within the fuel tank as fuel. 

The system has also increased convenience in operation with its composition that enables automatic control of pressure within the fuel tank before LNG bunkering up to the minimum pressure required by engines through the Tank Pressure Control Mode. 

CEO Bae Dong-jin of Korea Gas Marine Transport Co., Ltd. stated: “With Korea’s first LNG fuel-powered tug scheduled for operation during the first half of 2021 as a foothold, we will continue to cement our strategic technical cooperation and partnership with DongHwa Entec through this demonstration. 

CEO Kim Dong-kun of DongHwa Entec Co., Ltd. responded, “I will do my best to build a sustainable business relationship and grow together in the rapidly changing market environment.

” DongHwa Entec Co., Ltd. has announced its patent registration(10-2141086) and PCT international application (PCT/KT2020/012412) on the “space-intensive LNG fuel supply system for small ships”, which was completed in July this year.