Natural gas transport vessel
AssigneeElwha LLC
InventorsJesse R. Cheatham, III, Tom Driscoll, Alexander Galt Hyde, Roderick A. Hyde, Muriel Y. Ishikawa, Jordin T. Kare, Nathan P. Myhrvold, Tony S. Pan, Robert C. Petroski, David R. Smith, Clarence T. Tegreene, Nicholas W. Touran, Yaroslav A. Urzhumov, Charles Whitmer, Lowell L. Wood, Jr., Victoria Y. H. Wood
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A lightweight transport vessel transports compressed natural gas underwater without needing to liquefy the gas for transport.
Claims27
A vessel suitable for transporting compressed natural gas (CNG) underwater, comprising:
- a flexible container configured to hold CNG at an operating pressure;
- and
- a buoyancy control system configured to adjust a buoyancy of the vessel by moving CNG into or out of the flexible container,
- wherein moving CNG into or out of the flexible container includes converting at least a portion of the CNG into or out of hydrates.
A vessel suitable for transporting compressed natural gas (CNG) underwater, comprising:
- a flexible container configured to hold CNG at an operating pressure;
- a buoyancy control system configured to adjust a buoyancy of the vessel by moving CNG into or out of the flexible container;
- and
- an umbilical hose configured to reach the surface while the vessel is underwater,
- wherein the umbilical hose is configured to permit the vessel to import air or oxygen from the surface.
A method of transporting compressed natural gas (CNG), comprising:
- at a source location, placing CNG in a vessel, the vessel including:
- a flexible container configured to hold CNG at an operating pressure;
- and
- a buoyancy control system configured to adjust a buoyancy of the vessel by moving CNG into or out of the flexible container;
- propelling the vessel to a destination location;
- and
- removing the CNG from the vessel at the destination location,
- wherein propelling the vessel includes combusting at least a portion of the CNG in the vessel.
A method of transporting compressed natural gas (CNG), comprising:
- at a source location, placing CNG in a vessel, the vessel including:
- a flexible container configured to hold CNG at an operating pressure;
- and
- a buoyancy control system configured to adjust a buoyancy of the vessel by moving CNG into or out of the flexible container;
- maneuvering the vessel to a destination location;
- and
- removing the CNG from the vessel at the destination location,
- wherein maneuvering the vessel includes maintaining the vessel at a desired depth by adjusting the buoyancy of the vessel using the buoyancy control system.
A method of transporting compressed natural gas (CNG), comprising:
- at a source location, placing CNG in a vessel, the vessel including:
- a flexible container configured to hold CNG at an operating pressure;
- and
- a buoyancy control system configured to adjust a buoyancy of the vessel by moving CNG into or out of the flexible container;
- maneuvering the vessel to a destination location;
- and
- removing the CNG from the vessel at the destination location,
- wherein the vessel further includes an umbilical hose configured to reach the surface while the vessel is underwater and to import air or oxygen from the surface, and further comprising combusting at least a portion of the CNG with air or oxygen from the umbilical hose.
A method of transporting compressed natural gas (CNG), comprising:
- at a source location, placing CNG in a vessel, the vessel including:
- a flexible container configured to hold CNG at an operating pressure;
- and
- a buoyancy control system configured to adjust a buoyancy of the vessel by moving CNG into or out of the flexible container;
- maneuvering the vessel to a destination location;
- and
- removing the CNG from the vessel at the destination location,
- wherein maneuvering the vessel to a destination location includes adjusting a shape of the vessel.
A system for transporting compressed natural gas (CNG) from a first location to a second location, the system comprising:
- a source station at the first location including:
- a CNG source configured to deliver CNG to a location at a first shallow depth;
- a source conduit configured to transport CNG to a first deep depth from the first shallow depth;
- and
- a source fitting at the first deep depth configured to attach to a CNG transport vessel;
- a transport vessel including:
- a flexible container for holding CNG;
- a vessel fitting configured to attach to the source fitting to allow CNG to be transferred to the flexible container at the first deep depth;
- and
- a propulsion system configured to propel the vessel from the first location to the second location;
- and
- a destination station at the second location including:
- a destination fitting configured to attach to the vessel fitting to receive CNG from the vessel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.