A South Korean manufacturer has unveiled how the world’s largest liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2) storage tanks will look like.
Sejin Heavy Industries is constructing a pair of LCO2 tanks for Evangelos Marinakis’ Capital Maritime, which ordered last July two firm 22,000 cu m ships at Hyundai Mipo, with options for two more.
The nascent LCO2 seaborne trades are currently very small in scale with Marinakis’ orders the current record-breakers in terms of capacity.
LCO2 tanks require 50% thicker plates than those used for LPG
Transporting carbon dioxide in liquid form requires maintaining high pressures up to four to five times atmospheric levels and low temperatures below -78°C. Due to its sensitivity to external conditions, where it can easily transition between gas, liquid, and solid states, LCO2 tanks require much thicker plates than those used for LPG tanks, about 50% thicker, to sustain the necessary high pressure and low temperature.
A Sejin Heavy representative stated, “Domestic major shipyards are actively engaging in the LCO2 carrier market, viewing it as a potential growth driver. Sejin Heavy Industries has also been thoroughly preparing for this trend alongside the shipbuilders. Discussions are currently underway with world-class shipbuilders for orders of around 30 LCO2 tanks, and we anticipate further orders in the future.”
