An Investigation into the Effects of r-GO Nanofluids on Heat Transfer in LNG Operations

High thermal conductivity fluids are helpful heat transfer mediums. There was speculation that highly conductive nanoscaleparticles of reduced graphene oxide (r-GO) could be used to improve the thermal conductivity of fluids. Various r-GOsuspensions in different water-MEG (Monoethylene Glycol) were assessed to arrive at sufficiently stable suspensionsfor industrial use. The assessments of the r-GO nanofluids proved the most stable suspensions in an 80-20% Wat-MEGconcentration and a pH range of 9-11 could lead to an increase of up to 55% in thermal conductivity of the base liquid, even incryogenic-like temperatures. This can lead to substantial performance improvement in LNG and processing plants.