Liquefied natural gas is stored on board vessels under cryogenic conditions, and hence, fuel preheating is required before injection in the engine. The cooling effect associated with this preheating phase can be utilized to decrease the vessel’s overall fuel consumption. Previous works focused on evaluating the prospects for cold energy recovery for specific applications, but failed to provide a detailed overview of the potential uses of liquefied natural gas cold energy recovery on board ships. The objective of this paper is to provide a detailed overview of the potential uses of liquefied natural gas cold energy recovery on board ships, including discussing their prospects in terms of fuel savings and constraints. The evaluations are based on the use of validated numerical models and are carried out for two reference vessels: a ferry featuring a low pressure fuel supply system, and a long-distance containership featuring a high pressure fuel supply system. The results of the study indicate that the greatest fuel savings can be attained when the vessel is powered by a low pressure fuel supply system, reaching up to 2.4%, and that the most promising solution for recovering the cold energy is its use in the organic Rankine cycle unit. The findings of this work provide the scientific basis needed for further research work and the subsequent commercialization of installations of cold energy recovery on ships.

液化天然气在低温条件下存储在船上，因此，在喷射到发动机之前需要对燃料进行预热。与该预热阶段相关的冷却效果可用于减少船舶的总体燃料消耗。先前的工作着重于评估特定用途的冷能回收前景，但未能详细概述船上液化天然气冷能回收的潜在用途。本文的目的是详细概述液化天然气冷能回收在船上的潜在用途，包括讨论在节省燃料和限制方面的前景。这些评估是基于使用经过验证的数值模型而进行的，并且是针对以下两种参考容器进行的：具有低压燃油供应系统的渡轮和具有高压燃油供应系统的长途集装箱船。研究结果表明，当船舶由低压燃料供应系统提供动力时，可实现最大的燃料节省，最高可达2.4％，回收冷能的最有希望的解决方案是将其用于有机朗肯循环单位。这项工作的发现为进一步的研究工作以及随后的船舶冷能回收装置的商业化提供了必要的科学依据。回收率高达2.4％，回收冷能最有希望的解决方案是将其用于有机朗肯循环装置。这项工作的发现为进一步的研究工作以及随后的船舶冷能回收装置的商业化提供了必要的科学依据。回收率高达2.4％，回收冷能的最有希望的解决方案是将其用于有机朗肯循环装置。这项工作的发现为进一步的研究工作以及随后的船舶冷能回收装置的商业化提供了必要的科学依据。