JP2003287197A - Natural gas transportation system, managing device, program and record medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To establish a number of natural gas filling stations all over Japan. <P>SOLUTION: This system is provided with an LNG base 1 having one or a plurality of LNG tanks 2 storing liquefied natural gas, a plurality of natural gas filling stations 18 storing liquefied natural gas and gasifying stored liquefied natural gas and filling gasified natural gas in a natural gas automobile, and a plurality of large lorries 29 or small lorries 23 receiving supply of liquefied natural gas stored in the LNG tank 2 at the LNG base 1 and storing the same, transporting the stored liquefied natural gas to at least one or more of the natural gas filling station, and supplying stored liquefied natural gas to at least one or more second tanks at the natural gas filling station. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a natural gas transportation system for transporting natural gas, a management device used for the natural gas transportation system, a program, and a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, natural gas vehicles that use natural gas supplied from city gas pipes as fuel have come into use. Since natural gas vehicles use natural gas as fuel for traveling, compared to ordinary vehicles that use gasoline or the like as fuel, the amount of carbon dioxide generated is small and the suspended matter contained in exhaust gas is small. It has the excellent feature that the load on the environment is low, such as a small number. Such natural gas vehicles are becoming popular mainly in commercial vehicles for delivering luggage, buses, garbage trucks, and the like.

In order to drive a natural gas vehicle, it is necessary to fill the natural gas as a fuel at a natural gas filling station, and the natural gas for filling the natural gas vehicle is as shown in FIG.
It is transported by the conventional natural gas transportation system 100 shown in FIG.

The natural gas transportation system 100 includes an LNG base 101, a gas conduit 103, a natural gas filling station 104, and 1.
05 and a natural gas vehicle 106.

LNG base 101 uses liquefied natural gas (Li
L for storing quefied natural gas)
It is a base that has an NG tank 102, vaporizes the liquefied natural gas stored in the LNG tank 102, regulates the vaporized natural gas to a predetermined pressure, and supplies the gas to the gas conduit 103.

The natural gas filling stations 104 and 105 are supplied with natural gas from the gas conduit 103, and the supplied natural gas is normally pressurized to about 250 atm (CNG: Compressed natural G).
As) is a means for reducing the pressure to 200 atm and filling it in the fuel tank of the natural gas automobile 106.

The natural gas vehicle 106 is an automobile that is filled with natural gas at the natural gas filling station 104 and runs using the filled natural gas as fuel.

Next, the operation of such a conventional natural gas transportation system will be described.

The LNG base 101 is an LNG tank 102.
Liquefied natural gas is stored in. Then, after the liquefied natural gas stored in the LNG tank 102 is vaporized,
The pressure is regulated by a pressure regulator (not shown) installed in the LNG base 101 or the like, and the regulated natural gas is supplied to the high-pressure or medium-pressure gas conduit 103. And the gas conduit 1
The natural gas supplied to 03 is pressure-regulated again by a pressure regulator in a governor station (not shown) installed at each of the relay points of these natural gas conduit networks, and the re-regulated natural gas is Each is supplied to a medium-pressure gas conduit and a low-pressure gas conduit (not shown). Then, the natural gas supplied to the low-pressure gas conduit is supplied to a general household or the like and used as fuel for a gas range or a water heater (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 2).

On the other hand, a part of the end of the gas conduit 103 is connected to the natural gas filling stations 104 and 105, and the natural gas supplied to the gas conduit 103 as described above is the natural gas filling stations 104 and 105. Is supplied to each.

The natural gas filling station 104 is a gas conduit 103.
The natural gas supplied from the above is pressurized to 250 atm with a gas compressor. Natural gas (CNG) pressurized in this way
The natural gas automobile 106 at 200 atm.

The natural gas vehicle 106 is supplied with natural gas (CNG) at the natural gas filling station 104, and runs using the supplied natural gas as fuel.

[0013]

[Non-patent document 1] Storage of methane using an adsorbent, "Journal of the Japan Institute of Energy," October 20, 2002

[Non-patent document 2] Development of adsorption type natural gas storage system,
"International Gas Research
h Conference (IGRC'01) Poster Presentation ", USA, November 7, 2001

[0014]

However, it is hard to say that the natural gas vehicle 106 having such an excellent feature of having a low environmental load is still prevalent as compared with a gasoline vehicle or an LPG vehicle. Currently, about 8,000 natural gas automobiles are prevalent in Japan (as of the end of 2000),
In addition, there are about 100 natural gas filling stations throughout Japan (as of the end of 2000).
Gasoline vehicles (gas stations are installed at approximately 53700 locations (end of 2000)) or LPG vehicles (L
It can be said that the number of PG stands is about 2000 (as of the end of 2000), and the number of LPG vehicles is about 300,000.

Next, with reference to FIG. 9, the reason why the natural gas vehicle is not widely spread despite having such an excellent feature that the environmental load is low will be described.

For the user 115, since a natural gas vehicle is more expensive than a gasoline vehicle, it cannot be purchased easily, and since the number of natural gas filling stations 114 is small, it is necessary to take a long distance to fill the natural gas. Because there are inconveniences such as having to go to the natural gas filling station in
I don't want to buy a natural gas car. On the other hand, since the number of natural gas vehicles that can be sold is small, the automobile manufacturer 112 cannot reduce the cost by mass production, the price of the natural gas vehicles becomes high, and the filling stations 114 are established all over the country. There is a complaint that not. Further, for the filling station 114, since the number of natural gas vehicles that are popular is small, even if the filling station is created, it is not profitable. In this way, the automobile manufacturer 112, the user 1
15. At present, three of the natural gas filling stations 114 are in a three-pronged state.

The administration 111 has instructed the automobile manufacturer 112 to proceed with the production of the natural gas vehicle, provides a subsidy to install the natural gas filling station 114, and provides the user 115 with the natural gas vehicle. We are trying to promote the popularization of natural gas vehicles by providing subsidies when purchasing, but the current situation is that we cannot give subsidies forever. If the subsidy from the administration 111 is stopped, it is feared that the speed of popularization of natural gas vehicles will be significantly reduced. In addition, since natural gas vehicles have an excellent characteristic that they have a low environmental load, natural gas vehicles should be spread quickly from the viewpoint of global environment protection.

As one approach for solving the problem of the three problems described with reference to FIG. 9, many natural gas filling stations 114 are installed all over Japan. That is, if a large number of natural gas filling stations 114 are installed all over Japan, the user 115 can receive natural gas filling at any of the nearby natural gas filling stations 114 at any time. The car manufacturer 112 has decided that the user 11
5 thinks that the natural gas vehicle 115 may be purchased, the mass production of the natural gas vehicle is started, and as a result, the price of the natural gas vehicle becomes low. The lower the price of the natural gas vehicle, the more users 115 will purchase the natural gas vehicle.

However, at present, a medium-pressure gas pipe or a high-pressure gas pipe capable of transporting natural gas at a pressure higher than that is required to install a natural gas filling station.
The pressure of natural gas in the low-pressure gas pipe is too low to transport a sufficient amount of natural gas in a short period of time.
Therefore, the place where the natural gas filling station can be installed is limited to the road where the medium-pressure gas conduit or the high-pressure gas conduit such as a major gas company is buried. Therefore, natural gas filling stations cannot be installed in places where neither medium pressure gas conduits nor high pressure gas conduits are buried. On the other hand, since natural gas vehicles run anywhere there are roads, it is necessary to install a large number of natural gas filling stations throughout Japan regardless of whether medium-pressure gas conduits or high-pressure gas conduits are buried. There is.
As described above, since the natural gas filling stations can be installed only in limited places, many natural gas filling stations cannot be installed all over the country.

That is, there is a problem that many natural gas filling stations cannot be installed all over Japan.

In view of the above problems, the present invention can install a large number of natural gas filling stations all over Japan, and thus can spread a natural gas vehicle, a natural gas transportation system, a management device, and a program. , And a recording medium.

[0022]

In order to solve the above problems, a first aspect of the present invention relates to a first aspect of storing liquefied natural gas.
One or more LNG bases (1) having two tanks (2) and a second tank (8, for storing liquefied natural gas)
10, 12, ...) for vaporizing the stored liquefied natural gas and filling the vaporized natural gas in a natural gas vehicle (7, 9, 11,
...) and receives and stores the liquefied natural gas stored in the first tank (2) at the LNG base (1), and stores at least one of the stored liquefied natural gas.
Transport to one or more of the above natural gas filling stations and at least one
Second tanks (8, 1, 1) of one or more of said natural gas filling stations
0, 12, ...) And a plurality of transportation means (23, 29, 31) for supplying the stored liquefied natural gas to the natural gas transportation system.

The second aspect of the present invention has a first tank (2) for storing liquefied natural gas, and vaporizes the stored liquefied natural gas to supply it to a gas conduit network. 1) and a second tank (8,
10, 12, ...) for vaporizing the stored liquefied natural gas and filling the vaporized natural gas in a natural gas vehicle (7, 9, 11,
...), a reliquefaction base (5) for reliquefying the natural gas supplied from the gas conduit network and storing it in a third tank (6), and the reliquefaction base (5), The liquefied natural gas stored in the third tank (6) is supplied and stored, and the stored liquefied natural gas is transported to at least one or more natural gas filling stations, and at least one or more of the above A natural gas transportation system comprising: a plurality of transportation means (23, 29, 31) for supplying the stored liquefied natural gas to the second tank of a natural gas filling station.

In the third aspect of the present invention, the natural gas filling station (7, 9, 11, ...) Is a BOG (boil off gas) generated in the second tank and / or the natural gas filling station (7). The natural gas transportation system according to the first or second aspect of the present invention, which has a BOG adsorption storage tank (88) for collecting BOG generated by the transportation means.

The fourth aspect of the present invention is a management apparatus used in the natural gas transportation system of the first or second aspect of the present invention, wherein at least the position of each of the plurality of transportation means (23, 29, 31) is set. The operation information (68) shown and request information (69) showing from which natural gas filling station (7, 9, 11, ...) The natural gas filling station is requested. Based on the operation plan, an operation plan creating means (61) for creating an operation plan for each operation of the plurality of transportation means (23, 29, 31), and the plurality of transportation means (23, 29) based on the operation plan. , 31) and an operation instruction means (62) for instructing the operation.

Further, in a fifth aspect of the present invention, the operation plan creating means (62) includes a plurality of the natural gas filling stations (7, 9,
11, ..., Each of the second tanks (8, 1)
0, 12, ...) Based on the inventory information (70) indicating at least the amount of the natural gas stored, the operation plan of the operation of the plurality of transportation means (23, 29, 31) is created. It is a management apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention.

[0027] In the sixth aspect of the present invention, the operation plan creating means includes geographical information, information indicating a pre-registered position of the filling station, and information indicating a pre-registered position of the LNG base. The fourth to create the operation plan by using
Is a management device of the present invention.

In the seventh aspect of the present invention, the operation plan is
It is the management apparatus of the 4th this invention which is an operation plan which carries out the said operation | movement across the supply area of the supplier which supplies the said natural gas.

Further, in an eighth aspect of the present invention, the management device is
A fourth aspect of the present invention, which has an information acquisition unit that acquires traffic information and / or weather information, and the operation plan creation unit creates the operation plan using the acquired traffic information and / or weather information. Is a management device of.

The ninth aspect of the present invention is the operation information indicating at least the position of each of the plurality of transportation means of the management apparatus of the fourth aspect of the present invention, and the natural gas filling of any of the plurality of natural gas filling stations. Operation plan creating means for creating an operation plan for each of the plurality of transportation means based on request information indicating whether the natural gas has been requested from a place, and the plurality of transportations based on the operation plan. It is a program for causing a computer to function as operation instruction means for instructing the means to perform the operation.

The 10th aspect of the present invention is a recording medium carrying the program according to the 9th aspect of the present invention, which can be processed by a computer.

[0032]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) First, the first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration of the natural gas transportation system according to the present embodiment, focusing on transportation of natural gas.

The natural gas transportation system of this embodiment is
Transport management system 41, LNG base 1, satellite base 3, reliquefaction base 5, natural gas filling stations 7, 9, 11, 1
3, 15, 17, 19, 21, large lorry 25, 29,
And small lorries 23, 27, 31.

The transportation management system 41 is a large lorry 2
It is a system that manages the operation of 5, 29 and small lorries 23, 27, 31.

The LNG base 1 stores liquefied natural gas in the LNG tank 2. The liquefied natural gas stored in the LNG tank 2 is vaporized, regulated and supplied to the high or medium pressure gas conduit 103. In addition, it is a base for supplying liquefied natural gas to the large lorries 25, 29 and the small lorries 23, 27, 31.

The satellite base 3 stores the liquefied natural gas transported from the LNG base 1 by the large lorry 25 in the LNG tank 4, and vaporizes the liquefied natural gas stored in the LNG tank 4 in the same manner as the LNG base 1. Is supplied to the high-pressure or medium-pressure gas conduit 103 after pressure regulation, and the liquefied natural gas is supplied to the large lorries 25 and 29 and the small lorries 23 and 27.
It is a base to supply to 31.

The reliquefaction base 5 is a high or medium pressure gas conduit 1
The natural gas supplied from 03 is reliquefied using the reliquefaction technology and stored in the LNG tank 6, and the stored liquefied natural gas is stored in the large lorries 25, 29 and the small lorries 23, 27, 31. It is a supply base.

Natural gas filling stations 7, 9, 11, 13, 1
5, 17, 19 and 21 are LNG storage tanks 8, 10, 12, 1 respectively for the liquefied natural gas transported by the large lorries 25, 29 and the small lorries 23, 27, 31 and the like.
4, 16, 18, 20, 22 are stored, the liquefied natural gas stored therein is vaporized, the pressure is increased to 250 atm by a compressor, and then a natural gas automobile is filled at 200 atm with a dispenser.

Large lorry 25, 29 and small lorry 2
3, 27 and 31 are supplied with liquefied natural gas from any one of the LNG base 1, the satellite base 3 and the reliquefaction base 5, and are stored in their respective LNG storage tanks. 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 1
It is a means for transporting from 9, 21 to one or more.

FIG. 2 shows a detailed structure of the natural gas filling station 13. The other natural gas filling stations 7, 9, 11, 1
5, 17, 19, and 21 have the same configuration as the natural gas filling station 13.

The natural gas filling station 13 is an LNG storage tank 18,
LNG pump 81, LNG vaporizer 82, compressor 83, gas storage 85, remote control valve 86, remote control valve 8
7 and BOG adsorption storage tank 88.

The LNG storage tank 18 is a means for storing liquefied natural gas at a low temperature. The LNG pump 81 is means for sending out the liquefied natural gas in the LNG storage tank 18 to the LNG vaporizer 82. The compressor 83 pressurizes the natural gas vaporized by the LNG vaporizer 82 to about 250 atm (C).
NG). The gas storage device 85 is a means for storing the CNG supplied to the natural gas vehicle 89. The remote control valves 86 and 87 are operated by a remote control from a transportation management system 41, which will be described later, and the large lorry 29 and the LN
BOG (boil off gas) generated from the G storage tank 18
Is a means of passing. The BOG adsorption storage tank 88 is filled with an adsorption material such as activated carbon.
It is a means for adsorbing and storing G. The BOG adsorption storage tank 88 is
A cylindrical shape is desirable from the viewpoint of strength against the filling pressure, and a filter is installed in the tank near the gas inlet / outlet so that the adsorbent material does not go outside.

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the natural gas transportation system of this embodiment, focusing on the exchange of information.

Natural gas filling stations 7, 9, 11, 13, 1
5, 17, 19, and 21 are respectively the transportation management system 4
1. Communication devices 7a, 9a, 11 capable of communicating with
a, 13a, 15a, 17a, 19a, 21a.

In addition, LNG base 1, satellite base 3,
Each of the reliquefaction bases 5 includes communication devices 1a, 3a, 5a capable of communicating with the transportation management system 41.

The small lorry 23 has a GPS 23b for specifying a geographical location and a communication device 23b capable of communicating with the transportation management system 41. Large lorry 2
5, 29, and small lorries 27, 31 are also GP
S and a communication device.

FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the transportation management system 41.

The transportation management system 41 comprises an operation plan preparation means 61, an operation instruction means 62, an information acquisition means 63, an operation information acquisition means 64, a request acceptance means 65, and an inventory information acquisition means 66. The operation plan creation means 61 holds the geographical information which is held in advance and the position information of each natural gas filling station and each LNG base which is registered in advance, and these information and traffic information / weather information. 67, operation information 68 indicating the operation status of large lorries and small lorries, request information 69 indicating whether natural gas is requested from each filling station, and an inventory indicating the amount of natural gas in stock at each natural gas filling station The information 70 is used to create an operation plan for each large lorry and each small lorry.

The operation instruction means 62 is the operation plan preparation means 6
It is a means for instructing operation to each small lorry and each large lorry based on the operation plan created in 1.

The information acquisition means 63 is means for acquiring the traffic information / weather information 67 by communicating.

The operation information acquisition means 64 is means for acquiring operation information 68 indicating how each small lorry or each large lorry is operating by communicating with each small lorry or each large lorry.

The request receiving means 65 is means for acquiring the request information 69 sent from each natural gas filling station by communicating with each natural gas filling station.

The inventory information acquisition means 66 is means for acquiring inventory information 70 indicating the amount of natural gas in stock at each natural gas filling station by communicating with each natural gas filling station.

FIG. 5 shows the structure of the natural gas filling station 17.

The natural gas filling station 17 has an LNG storage 18,
The inventory information detection means 71, the request means 72, and the request / stock notification means 73 are included.

The inventory information detecting means 71 is the LNG storage tank 18
It is a means to detect the inventory of liquefied natural gas stored in.

The requesting means 72 is arranged such that the inventory quantity of the liquefied natural gas detected by the inventory information detecting means 71 is a predetermined quantity such as LNG.
It is a means for requesting liquefied natural gas when the amount of liquefied natural gas that can be stored in the storage tank 18 becomes less than 1/4.

The request / stock notifying means 73 notifies the transportation management system of the inventory quantity of liquefied natural gas by communication, and when the requesting means 72 requests the liquefied natural gas, notifies the transportation management system 41 of the request. It is a means.
In addition, natural gas filling stations 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 19,
Other natural gas filling stations such as 21 have the same structure as that of FIG.

FIG. 6 shows the structure of the large lorry 29.

The large lorry 29 is equipped with a GPS 29a and operation information notifying means 74. The GPS 29a receives the radio wave transmitted from the artificial satellite, identifies the position of the large lorry 29 at the time of reception, and also receives the electric wave from the large lorry 2.
It is a means for identifying the geographical position of the large lorry 29 by detecting the traveling state of 9 and calculating the current position from the position at the time of reception.

The operation information notifying means 74 notifies the transportation management system 41 of the geographical position specified by the GPS 29a by wireless communication, and whether the large lorry 29 is carrying liquefied natural gas or the LNG base 1 or the like. It is also a means for notifying the transportation management system 41 of the operating status indicating whether or not the vehicle is traveling to receive the supply of liquefied natural gas from the vehicle. In addition, large lorry 25 and small lorry 2
Other large lorries and small lorries such as 3, 27 and 31 also have the same configuration as in FIG.

The large lorry of the present embodiment is an example of the transportation means of the present invention, the small lorry of the present embodiment is an example of the transportation means of the present invention, and the LNG tank 2 of the present embodiment is It is an example of the first tank of the present invention, the LNG storage tank of the present embodiment is an example of the second tank of the present invention, and the LNG tank 6 of the present embodiment is an example of the third tank of the present invention. The medium-pressure and high-pressure gas conduits of this embodiment are examples of the gas conduit network of the present invention.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

In FIG. 1, the LNG base 1 stores liquefied natural gas in the LNG tank 2. And LNG
After the liquefied natural gas stored in the tank 2 is vaporized, the pressure is regulated by a pressure regulator (not shown) installed in the LNG base 1 and regulated to a predetermined pressure in the gas conduit 103. Natural gas is supplied. And the gas conduit 1
The natural gas supplied to 03 is pressure-regulated again by a pressure regulator in a governor station (not shown) installed at each of the relay points of these natural gas conduit networks, and the re-regulated natural gas is Each is supplied to a medium-pressure gas conduit and a low-pressure gas conduit (not shown). Then, the natural gas supplied to the low-pressure gas conduit is supplied to ordinary households and used as fuel for a gas range and a water heater.

On the other hand, a part of the end of the gas conduit 103 is connected to the reliquefaction base 5, and the natural gas supplied to the gas conduit 103 as described above is supplied to the reliquefaction base 5.

The reliquefaction base 5 reliquefies the natural gas supplied from the gas conduit 103 by using the reliquefaction technique,
Store in NG tank 6.

The large lorry 25 having the LNG storage tank 26 is supplied with liquefied natural gas at the LNG base 1,
It is stored in the NG storage tank 26 and travels from the LNG base 1 to the satellite base 3. And LNG at satellite base 3
The liquefied natural gas stored in the storage tank 26 is supplied.

The large lorry 25 is a natural gas vehicle that uses natural gas as a fuel for traveling like the other large lorries and small lorries of the present embodiment, and therefore carbon dioxide is generated or suspended during traveling. It has excellent characteristics such as low load on the environment such as few substances.

The satellite base 3 stores the liquefied natural gas supplied from the large lorry 25 in the LNG tank 4.

The liquefied natural gas stored in the LNG tank 4 and the LNG tank 6 is vaporized in the satellite base 3 and the reliquefaction base 5, respectively, as in the LNG base 1, and supplied to a gas conduit or the like after pressure regulation. There is.

On the other hand, each locomotive has a transportation management system 4
It operates according to the operation instructions from 1. When the transportation management system 41 is instructed to transport the liquefied natural gas from the reliquefaction base 5 to the natural gas filling station 19 to the small lorry vehicle 31, the small lorry 31 is LNG at the reliquefaction base 5 according to the instruction. Liquefied natural gas is supplied from the tank 6 and stored in the LNG storage tank 32, and the natural gas filling station 19
And supplies the natural gas transported to the LNG storage tank 20 of the natural gas filling station 19.

Then, the natural gas filling station 19 vaporizes the liquefied natural gas stored in the LNG storage tank 20 into the natural gas vehicle that has traveled to fill the natural gas filling station 19 with the natural gas, and the compressor The pressure is increased to 250 atm and the fuel tank of a natural gas vehicle is filled at 200 atm with a dispenser.

The large lorry 29 is used in the transportation management system 41.
From LNG base 1 to natural gas filling stations 17, 15, 14
If you are instructed to transport liquefied natural gas to
According to the instruction, the large lorry 29 is supplied with the liquefied natural gas stored in the LNG tank 2 at the LNG base 1 and first travels to the natural gas filling station 17. Then, at the natural gas filling station 17, the transported liquefied natural gas is supplied to the LNG storage tank 18. When the supply of liquefied natural gas to the natural gas filling station 17 is completed, a large lorry 29
Runs further to the natural gas filling station 15. Then, liquefied natural gas is supplied to the LNG storage tank 16 at the natural gas filling station 15. When the supply of the liquefied natural gas to the natural gas filling station 15 is completed, the large lorry 29 travels to the natural gas filling station 13 and the LNG storage tank 1 of the natural gas filling station 13 is run.
Liquefied natural gas is supplied to No. 4.

When the small lorry 27 receives an instruction from the transportation management system 41 to transport the liquefied natural gas from the satellite base 3 to the natural gas filling station 9, the liquefied natural gas is supplied to the satellite base 3 as described above. Then, the liquefied natural gas is stored in the LNG storage tank 10 and travels to the natural gas filling station 9. And the LNG storage tank 10 of the natural gas filling station 9
Liquefied natural gas is supplied to. Further, when the small lorry 27 receives an instruction to transport the liquefied natural gas from the satellite base 3 to the natural gas filling station 11, it similarly transports the liquefied natural gas from the satellite base 3 to the natural gas filling station 11, and the LNG storage tank. Liquefied natural gas is supplied to 12.

The small lorry 23 is the transportation management system 41.
From the LNG base 1 to the natural gas filling station 7, the small lorry 23 is
The NG base 1 receives the supply of liquefied natural gas, stores it in the LNG storage tank 24, travels to the natural gas filling station 7, and at the natural gas filling station 7, transports the liquefied natural gas to the LNG storage tank 8
Supply to.

Natural gas filling stations 7, 9, 11, 13, 1
5, 17, 19 and 21 each have a large lorry 2
5, 29 and small lorries 23, 27, 31 carry liquefied natural gas, so that each natural gas filling station 7, 9, 11,
13, 15, 17, 19, and 21 can be installed along the road where the gas conduit 103 is not buried. Also, by installing a reliquefaction base 5 and a satellite base 3 in a region far from the LNG base 1,
5, 29 and small lorries 23, 27, 31 can transport the liquefied natural gas from the reliquefaction base 5 near the natural gas filling station to the natural gas filling station, so
There is no need to transport natural gas from G base 1. Therefore, the traveling distance associated with the transportation of the liquefied natural gas is shortened, and the fuel and the transportation time can be saved.

As described above, the large lorry 29 supplies the natural gas to each filling station while operating, and the large lorry 29 travels to the natural gas filling station 13 to supply the liquefied natural gas to the natural gas filling station 13. The operation to be performed will be described in detail.
The operation of filling the filling station 13 with another lorry and the operation of filling the natural gas with a filling station other than the filling station 13 are similar to those shown below.

First, when the large lorry 29 approaches the natural gas filling station 13, the transportation management system 41 in the management center confirms the pressure in the LNG storage tank 18 and remotely controls the LNG storage tank 18 so that the LNG storage tank 18 receives the LNG. Valve 8
The remote control valve 87 is controlled via the Internet to open the valve 7. The determination as to whether or not the large lorry 29 has approached the natural gas filling station 13 is made by the transportation management system 41 and the position information of the large lorry 29 sent from the GPS 29a of the large lorry 29 to the transportation management system 41. It can be done automatically by using the map information.

When the remote control valve 87 is opened, L
The gas in the NG storage tank 18 passes through the remote control valve 87 to the BO
It is introduced into the G adsorption storage tank 88,
G is adsorbed on an adsorbent material such as activated carbon.

The gas such as BOG filled in the LNG storage tank 18 passes through the remote control valve 87 and is collected in the BOG adsorption storage tank 88, so that the LNG storage tank 18 is
The internal pressure gradually decreases. A pressure gauge is installed in the LNG storage tank 18 to detect the pressure, and the detected gas pressure is transferred via the Internet to the transportation management system 4
1 is reported. The transportation management system 41 controls to close the remote control valve 87 when the reported pressure of the LNG storage tank 18 drops to a predetermined pressure, usually 2 atm. When the remote control valve 87 is closed by remote control of the transportation management system 41, the pressure in the LNG storage tank 18 becomes constant at 2 atm. The gas pressure of the LNG storage tank 18 before the depressurizing operation varies depending on the storage tank, but is usually about 5 atm. Then, by performing the above operation, the gas pressure in the LNG storage tank 18 is reduced to 2 atm before the large lorry 29 reaches the natural gas filling station 13. That is, the gas pressure in the LNG storage tank 18 is 5 atm to 2 atm.
The pressure is reduced to atmospheric pressure.

When the preparation for receiving the large lorry 29 is thus completed, the large lorry 29 arrives at the natural gas filling station 13. Preparation for receiving such a large lorry 29 is normally completed in about several minutes to 10 minutes. Therefore, the transportation management system 41 starts the above operation about 10 minutes before the large lorry 29 arrives at the natural gas filling station 13. Therefore, by the time the large lorry 29 arrives at the natural gas filling station 13, the above operation has just been completed. In this way, the transportation management system 41 uses the position information sent from the large lorry 29,
The natural gas filling station 13 can be efficiently managed.

When the large lorry 29 arrives at the natural gas filling station 13, the gas pressure in the storage tank of the large lorry 29 is increased from 2 atm to 5 atm. And the storage tank of large lorry 29 and L
When the NG storage tank 18 is connected by a pipe, the large lorry 2 is caused by the pressure difference between the storage tank of the large lorry 29 and the LNG storage tank 18.
Liquefied natural gas is transferred from the storage tank 9 to the LNG storage tank 18.

In this way, it is assumed that all of the liquefied natural gas carried by the large lorry 29 has been completely transferred to the LNG storage tank 18. In such a case, a residual gas remains as a gas in the storage tank of the large lorry 29. The following operation is performed in order to extract this residual gas.

That is, first, the large lorry 29 and the remote control valve 86 are connected by piping. Then, the pressure detector attached to the pipe detects the gas pressure of the storage tank of the large lorry 29, and reports the detected gas pressure to the transportation management system 41 via the Internet.
Notify that the tank of the large lorry 29 is connected by piping. Then, the transportation management system 41 controls the remote control valve 86 to be opened. When the remote control valve 86 is opened, the residual gas filled in the storage tank of the large lorry 29 is introduced into the BOG adsorption storage tank 88, and B
It is adsorbed by the adsorbent material in the OG adsorption storage tank 88. The pressure detector attached to the pipe reports the gas pressure to the transportation management system 41 via the Internet every time the gas pressure is detected, and the transportation management system 41 reports that the gas pressure is below a predetermined pressure. In this case, the remote control valve 86 is controlled to be closed. Then, under the control of the transportation management system 41, the remote control valve 86 is closed. In this way, residual gas in the storage tank of the large lorry 29 can be removed.

The BOG adsorbed in the BOG adsorption storage tank 88 in this way is generated by a gas engine or the like in order to cover the electric power used in the natural gas filling station 13.
It is burned in a boiler and used for cooling and heating with hot water and for preventing freezing of the LNG vaporizer 82 and the like with liquefied natural gas. Further, by supplying the BOG adsorbed in the BOG adsorption storage tank 88 to the compressor 83, it can be used as a fuel for the natural gas vehicle 89.

Further, the amount of BOG generated is inevitably large at night when the number of times CNG is filled in the natural gas automobile 89 is small, or in the summer when the outside temperature is high. As the amount of BOG generated increases, the gas pressure in the LNG storage tank 18 increases. In such a case, the remote control valve 87 detects the gas pressure, and when the gas pressure becomes, for example, 5 atm or more, reports it to the transportation management system 41, and according to the control of the transportation management system 41, the BOG of the LNG storage tank 18 is changed. It is introduced into the BOG adsorption storage tank 88 and adsorbed by the adsorbent.

On the other hand, methane gas, which is the main component of BOG, is said to have a greenhouse effect that is 20 times more than that of carbon dioxide. In the present embodiment, such a BOG having a high greenhouse effect is not directly emitted to the atmosphere, so that it does not adversely affect the global environment as compared with the case of emitting carbon dioxide. In addition, the BO collected in the BOG adsorption storage tank 88
Eventually, carbon dioxide will be converted to carbon dioxide by reusing G, so that an environment-friendly system can be realized.

Further, since the operation status of the large lorry 29 is notified to the transportation management system 41 by the GPS 29 and the operation notification means 74 of the large lorry, the transportation management system 41 manages the traffic congestion and the operation failure due to a sudden accident or the like. However, it is possible to perform early treatment and work at the filling station 17.

When the natural gas automobile 89 is filled with natural gas, the LNG pump 81 sends the liquefied natural gas in the LNG storage tank 18 to the LNG vaporizer 82, and the compressor 83
The natural gas vaporized by the LNG vaporizer 82 is pressurized to about 250 atm to generate natural gas (CNG). At this time, as described above, the BOG adsorption storage tank 8 is stored in the compressor 83.
BOG adsorbed on 8 was also sent in as fuel,
It is compressed by the compressor 83. The generated CNG is an odorant 8
After being added with 4, 4 is once stored in the gas storage device 85. In this way, the CNG stored in the gas storage device 85 is filled into the fuel tank of the natural gas automobile 89 at 200 atm by the dispenser.

As described above, by using the natural gas transportation system of the present embodiment, it is possible to install a natural gas filling station anywhere on a road where a large lorry or a small lorry can travel. Become. That is,
Since there is no need to carry out very expensive and time-consuming work such as burying a gas conduit to install a natural gas filling station as in the past, a natural gas filling station will be installed in a short period of time without cost. You will be able to.

In FIG. 3, the transportation management system 41 is
It communicates with the natural gas filling stations 7, 9, 11 etc. using the Internet, and also has LNG base 1, reliquefaction base 5,
It also communicates with the satellite base 3 and the like through a dedicated line, and also wirelessly communicates with a lorry vehicle such as a small lorry 23. The transportation management system 41 uses the information obtained from these communications to create an operation plan for each large lorry and each small lorry, and instructs each large lorry and small lorry to operate based on the created operation plan. .

In FIG. 4, the transportation management system 41 is
It holds geographical information in advance and position information of each natural gas filling station, each LNG base, and the like registered in advance. In addition, when a new natural gas filling station, LNG base, satellite base, or reliquefaction base is newly installed and constructed, their position information is registered.

Further, the information acquisition means 63 acquires traffic information such as traffic congestion information of the road and weather information indicating a road which cannot be passed or is difficult to pass due to a region where a typhoon is passing or snowfall or freezing from the Internet. Traffic information /
The weather information 67 is held.

In the large lorry 29 shown in FIG. 6, the GP
S29a specifies the position of the large lorry 29. Then, the operation information notifying means 74, the specified position information,
The transport management system 41 is wirelessly notified of operation information including operation start points and destination points, and information indicating the type of operation such as filling the liquefied natural gas or receiving the supply of the liquefied natural gas. Similarly, the other large-sized lorries and small-sized lorries according to the present embodiment wirelessly notify the operation information.

The operation information acquisition means 64 acquires such operation information and holds it as operation information 68.

On the other hand, at the natural gas filling station 17 shown in FIG. 5, the inventory information detecting means 71 detects the inventory which is the amount of liquefied natural gas stored in the LNG storage tank 18. The requesting means 72 requests liquefied natural gas if the detected inventory falls below, for example, 1/4 of the maximum amount of liquefied natural gas that can be stored in the LNG storage 18. Then, the request / stock notifying means 73 uses the Internet to request the stock information and the stock information 72, which is information indicating the detected stock amount.
Request information indicating the request from the transportation management system 41. Other natural gas filling stations of this embodiment similarly notify the transportation management system 41 of inventory information and request information.

In the transportation management system 41 of FIG. 4, the request receiving means 65 acquires such request information and holds it as request information 69. Also, the inventory information acquisition means 6
6 acquires such inventory information and holds it as inventory information 70.

As described above, the information acquisition means 63, the operation information acquisition means 64, the request reception means 65, and the inventory information acquisition means 6
6, traffic information / weather information 67, operation information 68, request information 69, and inventory information 70 are updated in real time.

The operation plan creating means 61 is based on the traffic information / weather information 67, the operation information 68, the request information 69, and the inventory information 70, and the geographical information and the natural gas filling stations and the LNGs registered in advance. Using location information such as bases,
Create an optimal operation plan for each large lorry and each small lorry.

FIG. 7 shows an example of these pieces of information. Figure 7
Is the traffic information 76 on the map information 75 that is held in advance.
a, 76b, meteorological information 77, LNG base 1 and natural gas filling stations 19 and 21, which are position information of pre-registered natural gas filling stations and LNG stations, are displayed in an overlapping manner.

The portion of traffic information 76a indicates that traffic congestion is occurring. In addition, the traffic information 76b portion indicates that traffic is prohibited due to an accident. The weather information 77 indicates that the road is frozen.

The large lorry 29 indicates the current position of the lorry currently transporting the liquefied natural gas in response to the operation instruction from the operation plan creating means 61.

When the operation plan creating means 61 obtains the request information 69 from the natural gas filling stations 17, 15, 13, it shows the operation plan of the large lorry 29 by the point indicated by the traffic information 76a and the traffic information 76b. The operation plan for operating the natural gas to the natural gas filling stations 17, 15, 13 is created by avoiding the points indicated by the weather information 77 and the points indicated by the weather information 77. Further, the amount of liquefied natural gas supplied from the LNG base 1 is determined from the inventory information 70 of the natural gas filling stations 17, 15, 13.

Therefore, the operation instructing means 62 instructs the large lorry 29 to pass the liquefied natural gas to the natural gas filling stations 17, 15 and 13 through the paths 78a, 78b and 78c. .

In addition, in Japan, a plurality of natural gas suppliers currently supply natural gas in a plurality of regions. Then, the installation location of the natural gas filling station 17 and the installation location of the natural gas filling station 15 may be different supply areas of the natural gas company. Even in such a case, the operation plan creating means 61 uses the liquefied natural gas supplied at the LNG base 1 of the natural gas supplier as
It can also be supplied to a natural gas filling station 15 included in a natural gas supply area of a natural gas supplier different from the LNG base 1. As described above, in the natural gas transportation system according to the present embodiment, natural gas can be transported even when the natural gas filling station extends over the area supplied by the natural gas supplier or even in adjacent areas. . In this way, the operation plan creation means 61 can transport natural gas in consideration of the balance of demand for natural gas nationwide.

In this way, the operation plan creating means 61 can create an optimum operation plan in consideration of the traffic information / weather information 67 as well, so that the large lorry 29 or the like can efficiently use the optimum route. Liquefied natural gas can be transported.

In this embodiment, the LNG storage tank 18 is
Is over 5 atmospheres, the BOG adsorption storage tank 88
Although it was explained that the OG is controlled so as to be collected,
The pressure is not limited to this and may be a pressure other than 5 atm. In short, it is only necessary to control so that the BOG generated in the LNG storage tank 18 is collected in the BOG adsorption storage tank 88 when the pressure becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure.

Further, in the present embodiment, the large lorry 2
It was described that the pressure in the LNG storage tank 18 was reduced to 2 atm when preparing to receive No. 9, but the invention is not limited to this. The pressure may be reduced to a pressure other than 2 atm. In short, the large lorry 29 when the large lorry 29 supplies the liquefied natural gas
The pressure need only be lower than the pressure of the LNG storage tank 30 of FIG.

Further, in the present embodiment, the large lorry 2
L of large lorry 29 when 9 supplies liquefied natural gas
Although the NG storage tank 30 has been described as being pressurized from 2 atm to 5 atm, the present invention is not limited to this, and other pressures may be used.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the operation plan creating means 61 sets the operation plan to the route 7 such as the large lorry 29.
8a, 78b, and 78c were created, but not limited to this, the large Lori 29, etc., make their own plans for which LNG base will be supplied with liquefied natural gas and which natural gas filling station will be transported. Route 78 using GPS29a
You may search for a, 78b, 78c, etc. Further, in this case, the operation instruction means 62 causes the traffic information 76 to be transmitted.
The a, 76b and the weather information 77 may be provided to the large lorry 29 and the like, and the GPS 29a may also utilize these information to search for the optimum route 78a, 78b, 78c.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the requesting means 72
Explains that when the amount of liquefied natural gas detected by the inventory information detecting means 71 is less than 1/4 of the amount of liquefied natural gas that can be stored in the LNG storage tank, the liquefied natural gas is required. Not limited, LNG such as 1/3, 1/5
Liquefied natural gas may be requested when the amount is less than 1/4 of the amount of liquefied natural gas that can be stored in the storage tank.

Further, in the present embodiment, the transportation management system 41 communicates with the natural gas filling stations 7, 9 and 11 using the Internet, and the transportation management system 4 is also used.
1 has communicated with the LNG base 1, the reliquefaction base 5, the satellite base 3 and the like by a dedicated line, and the transportation management system 41 has been described as wirelessly communicating with a small lorry such as a small lorry 23. Not limited to this, communication may be performed by other communication methods.

The operation plan creating means 61 has been described as the request information 69 acquired by the request receiving means 65 being information indicating which natural gas filling station is requesting liquefied natural gas. 69 may also include information indicating the delivery date for delivering the liquefied natural gas. In this case, the operation plan preparation means 61 shall prepare the operation plan 61 so that such a delivery date may be met.

As described above, the transportation management system 41 registers the position of the existing natural gas filling station in advance and, when a new natural gas filling station is newly installed, registers the position. Then, the geographical information held in advance and the position information of each registered natural gas filling station, each LNG base, etc. are used, and traffic information / weather information 67, operation information 68, request information 69, and The inventory information 70 can be used to efficiently transport the amount of liquefied natural gas required by each filling station.

By using the natural gas transportation system of this embodiment, it is possible to install natural gas filling stations nationwide. Therefore, a natural gas vehicle having an excellent feature of having a low environmental load becomes popular. Therefore, the natural gas transportation system of this embodiment can greatly contribute to the protection of the global environment.

The program of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute the functions of all or part of the means (or devices, elements, etc.) of the management apparatus of the present invention described above, and cooperates with the computer. It is a program that works and operates.

Further, the recording medium of the present invention has a program for causing a computer to execute all or some of the functions of all or some of the means (or devices, elements, etc.) of the management apparatus of the present invention. It is a recording medium that is carried, and is a recording medium that can be read by a computer and that the program that has been read performs the function in cooperation with the computer.

The "partial means (or device, element, etc.)" of the present invention means one or some of the plural means, and the above-mentioned The "partial step (or process, operation, action, etc.)" means one or some of the plurality of steps.

The "function of the means (or device, element, etc.)" of the present invention means all or a part of the function of the above means, and the "step (or process, operation) of the present invention". ,
"Operation or the like" means an operation of all or a part of the steps.

Further, one usage form of the program of the present invention is:
It may be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium and operate in cooperation with the computer.

Further, one usage form of the program of the present invention is:
Transmitted through a transmission medium, read by a computer,
It may be a mode of operating in cooperation with a computer.

Further, the data structure of the present invention includes a database, a data format, a data table, a data list, a data type and the like.

The recording medium includes a ROM and the like, and the transmission medium includes a transmission medium such as the Internet,
Light, radio waves, sound waves, etc. are included.

Further, the computer of the present invention described above is C
The hardware is not limited to pure hardware such as PU, but may include firmware, OS, and peripheral devices.

As described above, the structure of the present invention is
It may be realized by software or hardware.

[0128]

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention allows a large number of natural gas filling stations to be installed all over Japan, and thus natural gas automatic generators can be popularized. Transportation systems, management equipment,
A program and a recording medium can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration related to natural gas transportation of a natural gas transportation system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of a natural gas filling station according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration related to information exchange of the natural gas transportation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a transportation management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a natural gas filling station according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a large lorry according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is map information according to the first embodiment of the present invention,
A diagram showing an example of traffic information / weather information, location information of each natural gas filling station, each LNG base, etc.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional natural gas transportation system.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the reason why natural gas vehicles are not popular.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 LNG base 2 LNG tank 3 Satellite base 4 LNG tank 5 Reliquefaction base 6 LNG tank 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21 Natural gas filling station 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20,22 LN
G storage tank 25, 29 Large lorry 23, 27, 31 Small lorry 41 Transport management system 61 Operation planning means 62 Operation instruction means 86 Remote control valve 87 Remote control valve 88 BOG adsorption storage tank

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. One or more LNG bases having a first tank for storing liquefied natural gas, and a second tank for storing liquefied natural gas, wherein the stored liquefied natural gas is vaporized. And a plurality of natural gas filling stations for filling the gasified natural gas into a natural gas vehicle, and at the LNG base, receiving and storing the liquefied natural gas stored in the first tank, A plurality of transporting the stored liquefied natural gas to at least one or more natural gas filling stations and supplying the stored liquefied natural gas to the second tanks of at least one or more natural gas filling stations And a natural gas transportation system including transportation means. 2. A LNG base having a first tank for storing liquefied natural gas, vaporizing the stored liquefied natural gas to supply it to a gas conduit network, and a second LNG base for storing the liquefied natural gas. A plurality of natural gas filling stations having tanks for vaporizing the stored liquefied natural gas and filling the vaporized natural gas into a natural gas vehicle, and the natural gas supplied from the gas pipeline network are recycled. Liquefy,
A reliquefaction base for storing in a third tank, and at the reliquefaction base for receiving and storing the liquefied natural gas stored in the third tank, at least one of the stored liquefied natural gas Natural gas transportation comprising a plurality of transportation means for transporting to the above natural gas filling station and for supplying the stored liquefied natural gas to at least one or more of the natural gas filling stations system. 3. The natural gas filling station has a BOG adsorption storage tank for recovering BOG (boil-off gas) generated in the second tank and / or BOG generated in the transportation means. 2. The natural gas transportation system according to 2. 4. A management device used in the natural gas transportation system according to claim 1, wherein operation information indicating at least the position of each of the plurality of transportation means, and which of the plurality of natural gas filling stations is provided. Based on the request information indicating whether the natural gas is requested from the natural gas filling station, an operation plan creating means for creating an operation plan of each operation of the plurality of transportation means, and based on the operation plan A management apparatus comprising: an operation instruction means for instructing the operation to the plurality of transportation means. 5. The operation plan creation means, based on inventory information indicating at least the amount of the natural gas stored in the second tank of each of the plurality of natural gas filling stations, the plurality of transportations. The management device according to claim 4, wherein an operation plan of the operation of the means is created. 6. The operation plan creation means also uses the geographic information, information indicating a pre-registered position of the filling station, and information indicating a pre-registered position of the LNG base to perform the operation plan. The management apparatus according to claim 4, wherein 7. The management device according to claim 4, wherein the operation plan is an operation plan for performing the operation across a supply area of a supplier supplying the natural gas. 8. The management device has information acquisition means for acquiring traffic information and / or weather information, and the operation plan creation means has the acquired traffic information and / or weather information.
Alternatively, the management device according to claim 4, wherein the operation plan is created also by using weather information. 9. The operation information indicating at least the position of each of the plurality of transportation means of the management device according to claim 4,
Operation plan creation for creating an operation plan for each of the operations of the plurality of transportation means based on request information indicating from which one of the plurality of natural gas stations the natural gas has been requested And a program for causing a computer to function as operation instruction means for instructing the operation to the plurality of transportation means based on the operation plan. 10. A recording medium carrying the program according to claim 9, which can be processed by a computer.