Integrating LNG Cold Energy Recovery for Sustainable Water and Power Production: A Dual-Purpose Approach

This work addresses the interconnected challenges of climate change, the global energy crisis, and water scarcity. The demand for energy and food, driven by population growth and urbanization, places increasing pressure on limited water resources, particularly in water-intensive processes. Desalination, while crucial for addressing water scarcity, remains energy-intensive and contributes significantly to CO2 emissions. The use of liquefied natural gas (LNG), a cleaner alternative to traditional fossil fuels, is gaining traction; however, its production and regasification still have environmental impacts, especially the release of cold energy during regasification, which is often wasted. This paper focuses on the integration of LNG regasification with water and energy production, particularly leveraging LNG’s cold energy for more sustainable water production. The study explores various process schemes based on organic Rankine cycles (ORCs) and freeze desalination (FD), which is less explored but offers significant energy efficiency benefits. By employing process simulations and exergy analysis, the paper seeks to identify sustainable and energy-efficient solutions for large-scale applications, contributing to the development of innovative technologies that integrate LNG cold energy into energy and water production, improving the overall system efficiency.