Cold Energy Recovery Research Articles

Exergoeconomic evaluation of a novel multigeneration process using solar driven Kalina cycle integrated with gas turbine cycle, double-effect absorption chiller, and liquefied natural gas cold energy recovery

This study is motivated to propose, evaluate, and optimize a solar-based multigeneration system relying on consecutive heat integration. Here, a heliostat field is configured to collect solar power and supply high-temperature air toward a nitrogen-based Brayton cycle. Afterward, the output hot air is subjected to a Kalina cycle suitable for medium-temperature heat resumption. A double-effect absorption refrigeration cycle boosted by a Liquid-based natural gas cold energy recovery unit for power generation and natural gas regasification are the other subsystems. The principal purpose is to protect the energy level of the fluid evacuating the solar field and to minimize the irreversibility of the scheme since solar-based systems lead to major irreversibility. The designed process is apprised from a 3E perspective, including exergy, energy, and exergoeconomic analyses. In addition, a comprehensive sensitivity study is done based on the influence of effective factors on the exergy and energy efficiencies and unit cost of products. Eventually, a multi-objective optimization is performed to set the most suitable condition of decision parameters and reach the optimal unit cost of products and exergy performance (objective functions). To do optimization, a genetic algorithm is applied, and two decision-making approaches, i.e., LINMAP and TOPSIS, are regarded. The optimal objectives are gauged to be 24.76% and 15.90 $/GJ by TOPSIS and 24.47% and 15.73 $/GJ by LINMAP, respectively.

Strategies To Improve the Performance of Hydrogen Storage Systems by Liquefaction Methods: A Comprehensive Review.

The main challenges of liquid hydrogen (H2) storage as one of the most promising techniques for large-scale transport and long-term storage include its high specific energy consumption (SEC), low exergy efficiency, high total expenses, and boil-off gas losses. This article reviews different approaches to improving H2 liquefaction methods, including the implementation of absorption cooling cycles (ACCs), ejector cooling units, liquid nitrogen/liquid natural gas (LNG)/liquid air cold energy recovery, cascade liquefaction processes, mixed refrigerant systems, integration with other structures, optimization algorithms, combined with renewable energy sources, and the pinch strategy. This review discusses the economic, safety, and environmental aspects of various improvement techniques for H2 liquefaction systems in more detail. Standards and codes for H2 liquefaction technologies are presented, and the current status and future potentials of H2 liquefaction processes are investigated. The cost-efficient H2 liquefaction systems are those with higher production rates (>100 tonne/day), higher efficiency (>40%), lower SEC (<6 kWh/kgLH2), and lower investment costs (1-2 $/kgLH2). Increasing the stages in the conversion of ortho- to para-H2 lowers the SEC and increases the investment costs. Moreover, using low-temperature waste heat from various industries and renewable energy in the ACC for precooling is significantly more efficient than electricity generation in power generation cycles to be utilized in H2 liquefaction cycles. In addition, the substitution of LNG cold recovery for the precooling cycle is associated with the lower SEC and cost compared to its combination with the precooling cycle.

Development of a novel grid-free district cooling system considering blockchain-based demand response management

District cooling system (DCS) enjoys improved cooling efficiency due to economies of scale cooling. However, most DCSs import electricity from the power grid, intensifying the electricity peak and grid investments. In addition, improving environmental sustainability is one of the major targets of DCSs. This study proposes a novel grid-free configuration to decouple the DCS from the power grid and natural gas networks. Meanwhile, an alternative operating strategy, waste cold energy recovery, ice storage, and cooling demand response are employed to promote the environmental sustainability of the DCS. Key results from this study have revealed that the proposed DCS does not need to import electricity from the power grid and facilitates a flexible plant location without the limitation of the natural gas network. Under the basic configuration, the daily primary energy saving rate (PESR) and energy cost saving rate (ECSR) can achieve 22.4% and 62.8%, respectively. The alternative operating strategy enhances the system’s part-load performance while the cold energy recovery unit facilitates extra cooling production. Further, the incorporation of the ice storage module improves the system’s average load rate and reduces the chillers' capacity. Finally, the blockchain-based decentralized network provides a trusted platform for implementing cooling demand response. Cooling demand response mitigates the cooling peak and total cooling consumption by precooling the space and adjusting the indoor set-point temperature in terms of the overall cooling load rate. Adopting these sustainable technologies yields the daily PESR and ECSR up to 35.2% and 68.9%, respectively.

Advanced Design of Ammonia Production Processes from LNG: Efficient and Economical Cold Energy Utilization Methods

Efficient green energy technologies are essential for sustainable green hydrogen applications. However, economic reasons necessitate bridging technologies between fossil fuels and green hydrogen. Natural gas, the cleanest fossil fuel, can provide non-carbon-containing energy resources, such as hydrogen and ammonia. Ammonia is suitable for economical hydrogen storage and transportation and for direct use as a fuel. In this study, efficient liquefied natural gas (LNG) cold energy utilization and recovery methods developed for producing ammonia are Design 1: energy production in an organic Rankine cycle and Design 2: energy reduction in an air separation unit (ASU). In Design 1, LNG cold energy is converted into power and supplied to the nitrogen compression stage for synthesizing ammonia. In Design 2, LNG cold energy is directly provided to the ASU to reduce the outlet temperature of nitrogen, which is sent to the compression stage, and the compression energy is consequently reduced. Through thermodynamic analysis, the process of LNG cold energy recovery is determined, and the energy consumption in each design is compared. Techno-economic analysis presents the cost reduction in the levelized cost of ammonia (LCOA). Compared with the base case, the energy consumption and LCOA in Design 2 are reduced by 11.54 and 23.02%, respectively.

Numerical study on cyclic driving force of enhanced refrigeration wave rotor based on optimized passage structure

Gas wave refrigeration technology is a new type of technical means to realize cold energy recovery by utilizing shock wave propagation characteristics. As the principal place for energy transfer, the shape of the oscillating tube directly determines the energy efficiency expression of the refrigeration equipment. In this paper, the differences in flow characteristics and loss patterns due to different passage shapes are numerically simulated. The optimized passage can not only improve the guiding effect of the wall on the gas flow but also bring about the self-excited ability of the circulating exhaust process, significantly reducing the external driving force demand. The shape of the rotor passage directly determines the expression of the pressure energy in the oscillating tube. The inclination angle of the high-temperature side represents the availability of static pressure energy, and the static pressure is more sensitive to the change of the high-pressure inclination angle. The calculation results show that reasonable passage length and intermediate radius will broaden the expansion depth and static pressure conversion rate and comprehensively improve the efficiency of the gas wave refrigeration system.

Retrofit of the acid gas sweetening process for the refinery based on exergy analysis method

Although the acid gas sweetening process in the petrochemical and natural gas industries has continually improved over the past few decades, the energy consumption and process optimization remain a challenge. In this study, based on the process simulation and exergy analysis, the bottlenecks of a typical acid gas sweetening process for the refinery was analyzed using Aspen HYSYS, and the optimization strategies were discussed and proposed. First, a novel low temperature absorption with a lean solvent temperature of 15 °C was developed coupled with the recovery of cold energy of sweet gas, which improved the absorption efficiency and reduced the circulation rate of lean solvent. Then a modified heat pump distillation combining split flow feeding technology was developed. After optimization of the novel process developed, the results indicated that operating cost and overall energy consumption was dramatically reduced by 14% and 22% for the absorption process respectively, and combined with the modified regeneration process, the energy recovery efficiency was further improved. The operating cost, the comprehensive energy consumption and the TAC were totally reduced by 19.3%, 30%, and 13.1%, respectively. Finally, the primary investment analysis indicates that the retrofits are feasible, which provides an alternative for the acid gas sweetening.

Simulation Analysis of Novel Integrated LNG Regasification-Organic Rankine Cycle and Anti-Sublimation Process to Generate Clean Energy

Recently, the depletion of fossil fuel reserves and the harmful environmental effects caused by burning fossil fuels have signified the supreme importance of utilizing sustainable energy reserves such as geothermal and solar energies. The advancement of the Organic Rankine Cycle as a clean energy generation path by researchers has gained momentous demand for its commercialization. The sole Organic Rankine Cycle can produce a large amount of energy in contrast to other power production cycles. To make this clean energy recovery sustainable, liquefied natural gas cold energy can be utilized through regasification to integrate the Organic Rankine Cycle with the anti-sublimation carbon dioxide capture process, merging the biogas setup. Liquefied natural gas cold energy recovery has paramount importance with aspects of energy economy and environment preservation. Liquefied natural gas regasification in shell and tube heat exchangers poses a minimal freezing risk and is high duty. Anti-sublimation of biogas is an energy-intensive process. It can be materialized from liquefied natural gas cold energy implementation through the Organic Rankine Cycle by maintaining cryogenic temperatures there. In this situation, greenhouse gas emissions can be minimized. The simulation analysis is performed based on thermodynamic and techno-economic assessments of the poly-generation energy systems. It is proved to be useful in conducting by regulating different working fluids. The optimum electric power generated is 2492 MW. While the optimum net present value, energy efficiency, and exergy efficiency of this proposed energy system are 19.5, 57.13%, and 76.20%, respectively. The governmental authorities and environmental protection can benefit from this scientific research work to create an environmentally friendly atmosphere and energy for contemporary society.

Energy advantage of cold energy recovery system using water- and air-side free cooling technologies in semiconductor fabrication plant in summer

The semiconductor industry requires large amounts of energy. Of the total energy, semiconductor manufacturing facilities consume the most electricity, where 21–29% of the total energy is used to maintain a clean room environment at a constant temperature and humidity. The energy required for constant temperature and humidity has been developed and applied in various ways, e.g., waste heat recovery technology without a boiler. However, it is highly difficult to obtain the energy required for cooling without operating a chiller unless there is a climatic advantage. Therefore, with the perspective of introducing cold energy recovery system into outdoor air-conditioner, this paper suggests the analysis of the energy-saving effect of the recovery system which recovers wasted cold energy of the exhaust gas from the semiconductor fabrication plant located in high-temperature and humid region. Two systems have been proposed: a water-side free cooling system that recovers cold energy by connecting a cooling tower to exhaust gas, and an air-side free cooling system that recovers cold energy by connecting a membrane energy heat exchanger. When applied to the conventional outdoor air-conditioner after cold energy recovery in both systems, the energy-saving effect was estimated by a simulation program (i.e., engineer equation solver) using a theoretical calculation model. The result showed that the cooling load of the outdoor air-conditioner decreased by 10.2–13.1% and 8.5–11.2% when the water-side free cooling system and air-side free cooling system, respectively, were applied at an exhaust gas temperature of 24–28 °C and a humidity ratio of 0.00733 kg/kg’. However, with the consideration of the power consumed by the cold energy recovery system (i.e., water/air-side free cooling system), actual energy-saving rate was low. Consequently, the head and static pressure designs of the fluid transfer equipment (i.e., pumps and fans) of the cold energy recovery system should be considered with caution when the cold energy recovery system is applied.

Research on a Novel Combined Cooling and Power Scheme for LNG-Powered Ship

Cold energy recovery in LNG-powered vessels can not only improve the utilization efficiency of energy, but also benefit environmental protection. This paper put forward a new cascade scheme for utilizing flue gas waste heat and LNG cold energy comprehensively. The scheme was integrated by a dual organic Rankine circulation system (ORC), a high- and low-temperature cold storage system (TCS), an air conditioning system (ACS) and a seawater desalination system (SDS). The working medium of the dual ORC system was firstly determined by considering exergy efficiency and economic index simultaneously. On this basis, the adaptive weighted particle swarm optimization algorithm was employed to enhance thermodynamic performance of the scheme with the net output power as the optimization objective. The maximum net power and annual net interest rate can reach 725.78 kW and $115,300, respectively. Furthermore, the economic benefit of the scheme was analyzed by referring to the running track and the operation condition of the target ship. The results showed that the proposed scheme is a potential large-scale cryogenic technology and can bring considerable economic benefits to ship navigation.

Exergoeconomic, exergoenvironmental analysis and multi-objective optimization of a novel combined cooling, heating and power system for liquefied natural gas cold energy recovery

This paper designs and investigates a novel combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) system for effectively utilizing liquefied natural gas (LNG) cold energy and waste heat of exhaust gas based on thermodynamic, exergoeconomic and exergoenvironmental analysis. The effects of the mass flow rate of the ORC-I’s working fluid, turbine 1 inlet temperature, compressor and pump outlet pressure and the turbines’ isentropic efficiency on the system performance were investigated. In addition, the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) and the particle swarm optimization (PSO) were employed to optimize the CCHP system with multiple objectives, respectively, to find the optimal operating conditions of the system. The optimization results showed PSO was superior for the multi-objective optimization of this novel CCHP system compared to NSGA-II, showing the exergy efficiency, product unit cost and product unit environmental impact of 70.20%, 21.50 $/GJ and 57.91 mPts/GJ, respectively.

Novel process design for waste energy recovery of LNG power plants for CO2 capture and storage

In an liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant, the amine scrubbing and CO2 liquefaction process are generally employed for CO2 capture and storage (CCS) because it is suitable for large-scale plants. However, a large amount of hot and cold energy is required for CO2 absorption, regeneration and liquefaction. As a solution, the waste LNG cold energy from the LNG regasification process and waste hot energy from natural gas combined cycle (NGCC), which are generally disposed into the seawater, can be recovered and utilized for the abovementioned purposes. Hence, this study suggested a novel process for waste hot and cold energy recovery of the LNG power plants for CCS. The suggested process model consists of the following four steps: LNG regasification, natural gas combined cycle, CO2 capture and regeneration and CO2 liquefaction. In the process model, the waste LNG cold energy is recovered at the lean amine cooler in the CO2 capture process and each heat exchanger in the CO2 liquefaction process. Furthermore, for CO2 regeneration, the waste hot energy from NGCC is recovered at the stripper reboiler. The exergy and economic analyses were addressed to evaluate the economic feasibility of energy conversion of the proposed process. As a result, compared to the base process, the net power generation and exergy efficiency of the proposed process increased by 16% and 8%, respectively. In addition, the net profit of the proposed process increased by 75%, indicating high economic feasibility. The overall energy efficiency and economic feasibility using waste cold and hot energy were observed to increase, which resulted in decreased fuel usage. Therefore, we believe that the proposed approach can contribute significantly to the economic improvements and environmental protection efforts.

Exergy assessment and energy integration of a novel solar-driven liquid carbon dioxide and liquefied natural gas cogeneration system using liquid air cold energy recovery

Exergy assessment and energy integration of a novel solar-driven liquid carbon dioxide and liquefied natural gas cogeneration system using liquid air cold energy recovery

Performance enhancement of horizontal extension and thermal energy storage to an abandoned exploitation well and satellite LNG station integrated ORC system

• Combined LNG cold to utilize the low-grade heat from abandoned exploitation wells. • Included the horizontal extension in the well heat exchanger model to extract higher grade heat. • Analyzed the influence of various well parameters and working conditions. • Designed thermal energy storage systems for the varying energy supply profiles. • Demonstrated thermal energy storage can increase the off-design power production. Tens of millions of abandoned exploitation wells (AEW) exist throughout the world, posing a threat to the environment and costing extra investment for decommissioning. Revitalization of the AEW offers a cost-effective solution for geothermal energy exploitation by saving the high costs of decommissioning and drilling. However, the thermal resources from AEW are usually of low and medium grade. Measures should be taken to increase the efficiency of AEW geothermal power plants. Meanwhile, the regasification process of satellite liquified natural gas (LNG) stations worldwide suffer from a loss of high-grade cold energy. Various studies have used geothermal heat and LNG cold to produce electricity, yet the horizontal extension of the AEW that may increase the recovered temperature, and the fluctuation of the LNG flow that may reduce the power output, were not discussed. This study proposes and evaluates a novel integrated organic Rankine cycle (ORC) system that uses the geothermal heat from the AEWs and waste LNG cold energy from satellite LNG stations, focusing on the performance enhancement of horizontal extension to increase the geothermal temperature and thermal energy storage to stabilize the LNG cold energy supply. A numerical model is developed that considers the horizontal extension in the AEW, and the horizontal extension is found to significantly increase the geothermal fluid temperature. A machine learning-based predictive model is built to assess the AEW outlet temperature under given parameters and working conditions. Cold thermal energy storage (CTES) modules are designed and optimized to stabilize the waste cold energy recovery when exposed to highly fluctuating LNG supply during off-design operation. CTES increased the ORC efficiency by 38.5% and has the potential to significantly shorten the payback period. Therefore, by utilizing the horizontal extension of the AEW and combining the power generation with LNG cold through thermal energy storage, the zero-emission geothermal and waste cold energy-based system can be a viable solution for future AEW revitalization and LNG waste cold energy utilization.

Optimal design of dual-stage combined cycles to recover LNG cold energy and low-temperature waste thermal energy for sustainable power generation

To overcome the shortcomings of the low net power output of a single power generation cycle for LNG cold energy recovery, investigating dual-stage combined cycles with different cycle configurations under the same heat and cold source conditions is mandatory. Hence, this study proposes 12 dual-stage combined power generation cycles to utilize LNG cold energy and low-temperature (below 200 °C ) waste thermal energy. The developed method adopts an organic Rankine cycle and Brayton cycle as the bottoming cycle and the organic Rankine cycle, Brayton cycle, and supercritical carbon dioxide power cycle as the topping cycle with parallel and serial configurations. The optimization results show that the thermodynamic and economic performance are compared quantitatively. The optimally combined cycle is a dual-stage serial organic Rankine cycle with the highest specific net power output of 202.15 kJ/kg and lowest levelized cost of electricity of 0.11 $/kWh. Regarding the parallel configuration, it can enhance thermal and exergy efficiency via its internal heat integration. Moreover, the evaporation and condensation pressure of the bottoming cycle has a more significant influence on the optimally combined cycle than the topping cycle. Overall, this study paves the way to design economics-efficient dual-stage combined cycles for sustainable power generation by utilizing LNG cold energy and low-temperature waste thermal energy.

Digital twin driven life-cycle operation optimization for combined cooling heating and power-cold energy recovery (CCHP-CER) system

Natural gas is expected to be the dominant fossil fuel in the coming decades. Improving the sustainability of natural gas usage is imperative to achieving a low-carbon society. This study proposes a combined cooling, heating, and power incorporating cold energy recovery (CCHP-CER) system to utilize both heat and cold energies of liquified natural gas (LNG) in a cascade way. The system is comprised of four subsystems, namely, gas turbine, water-lithium bromide absorption chiller, hot water heat exchanger, and cold energy recovery unit. A digital twin approach is applied to this system for real-time and life-cycle operational optimization. The cascade forward neural network (CFNN) is employed to construct the virtual representation while a parameter-free intelligent algorithm is adopted to seek the optimal operating parameters. Key results from this study revealed that incorporating the cold energy recovery (CER) unit produces additional electricity and cooling effect, bringing a 0.72 % improvement in the average daily primary energy saving rate (PESR). The digital twin-based optimization process updates the optimal operation parameters in time when the system suffers degradation. Consequently, the degradation performance is alleviated by the living parameters. Compared to static model-based optimization, the digital twin-based optimization improves the daily PESR by 2.23 %, 0.35 %, and 1.53 % during respective winter, summer, and transition days, particularly when the compressor and turbine of the gas turbine suffer degraded efficiency of −2 %.

H2-rich gas production from steam gasification of a winery waste and its blends with industrial wastes. Effect of operating parameters on gas quality and efficiency

A winery waste and its blends with industrial wastes were gasified by steam via a two-step process, employing a fixed bed reactor and a thermal analysis-mass spectrometer unit. Solid materials were characterized in terms of elemental analysis, heating value, internal structure and chemical functional groups, whereas bio-oil, pyrolysis gas and syngas were quantitatively analysed. The effect of temperature, steam-to-biomass ratio and fuel composition on carbon conversion, cold gas efficiency, energy recovery, reaction rate, gas composition and quality were determined and kinetic analysis was performed. When industrial wastes waste wood shavings and refused derived fuel were blended with grape husks and curls at ratios 30:70, upgraded fuels were produced. At 850 °C organic matter was almost completely converted to syngas upon steam gasification. A first-order kinetic model fitted the experimental results successfully, with activation energy values ranging between 54.3 kJ/mol and 143.5 kJ/mol. An increase in steam-to-biomass ratio from 0.5 to 3 resulted in a higher concentration of hydrogen in product gas, while excess steam enhanced hydrogen yield up to 74%. Energy recovery from all fuels was high, cold gas efficiency reached a value of 66% and the higher heating value of syngas ranged between 9.6 and 11.4 MJ/m3.

Theoretical analysis of liquefied natural gas cold energy recovery using thermoelectric generators

This paper presents a complex thermo-electric analysis of liquefied natural gas (LNG) cold energy recovery system using thermoelectric generators (TEG). The modeling uses the concept of effective thermal conductivity. In addition, it includes not only heat transfer and electric phenomena in TEG module but also all other secondary heat transfer processes: boiling of liquefied natural gas, conduction through walls, thermal contacts at both side of TEG and convection at the water side. Analysis is firstly made for commercial TEGs which are designed for operation at different temperatures. Next part of the analysis aims to optimize the geometry of TEG to temperature specific for liquefied natural gas. It is shown that the optimization of TEGs geometry for LNG conditions can lead to 50% increase of electric power generation. Moreover, for assumed filling factor of between 0.4 to 0.6, the length of TEG module should be between 0.4 mm to 0.7 mm. The conducted analysis provides important information on the possibility of recovering the cold energy of LNG using TEG modules.

A novel negative carbon-emission, cooling, and power generation system based on combined LNG regasification and waste heat recovery: Energy, exergy, economic, environmental (4E) evaluations

In this paper, a novel negative carbon-emission, cooling, and power generation (NCCP) system was proposed to improve the energy efficiency of the liquid natural gas (LNG)-powered hydrogen production plant. With LNG cold energy and waste heat recovery, the NCCP system integrated organic Rankine cycle (ORC) power generation, data center cooling, and CO2 capture. The NCCP system could operate under seven scenarios and the system performance evaluations were performed via energy, exergy, economic and environmental (4 E) analysis. It was found that the NCCP system showed the best performance when all subsystems were running simultaneously. The system could produce 31.67 MW of power, 24.92 MW of cooling capacity, and 29.97 t/h of CO2 capture. The levelized energy cost and the payback period of the NCCP system were 0.071 $/kWh and 7.9 years, respectively. LNG cold energy utilization efficiency, system energy efficiency, and exergy efficiency were 43.20%, 19.08%, and 29.28%, respectively. The environmental profits are validated with the negative carbon index of 29.47 t/h. Moreover, the effects of the LNG pressure, flue gas mass flow rate, and the temperature of the medium temperature shift gas on the NCCP system performances were investigated. The results show that the proposed system is a polygeneration system with the advantages of high efficiency, diversified energy output, fast return on investment, and CO2 capture. It is expected to be an energy conversion technology that could be used for reference in practical applications.

Liquid air energy storage with effective recovery, storage and utilization of cold energy from liquid air evaporation

Liquid air energy storage (LAES), as a promising grid-scale energy storage technology, can smooth the intermittency of renewable generation and shift the peak load of grids. In the LAES, liquid air is employed to generate power through expansion; meanwhile cold energy released during liquid air evaporation is recovered, stored and later utilized for air liquefaction enhancement. However, it is challenging for effective cold recovery from liquid air in the evaporator and cold utilization to compressed air in the cold box. The current cold recovery fluids are exergy-inefficient, and thus the most suitable cold recovery fluids should be determined. In this paper, a practically dynamic LAES system with cold/heat storage packed beds is studied from the startup to stability. Some common cold recovery fluids, such as air, propane, and methanol/propane, are investigated and compared in terms of heat transfer characteristics in the heat exchangers (i.e., evaporator and cold box) and cold storage packed bed. Simulation results show that using pressurized air (10 MPa) as cold recovery fluid results in high heat transfer coefficients in the heat exchangers and cold storage packed bed. Compared to other fluids, the pressurized air leads to a larger exergy efficiency of 78.2% in the cold box, and a comparable exergy efficiency of 89.6% in the evaporator. It is found that pressurized air and methanol/propane are both good cold recovery fluids in view of the heat transfer performance in the cold box and evaporator, achieving similar idealistic round trip efficiency of 53%. However, the consideration of exergy destruction in packed beds will decline the round trip efficiency to 43% for pressurized air and 38% for methanol/propane. The cold storage packed beds with methanol/propane as cold recovery fluids are easier to be penetrated by thermoclines at the same size of pebbles, which causes a lower round trip efficiency. This study gives new insights into the effective cold recovery, storage and utilization process of LAES for industrial applications.

Assessment of an intermediate working medium and cold energy storage (IWM-CES) system for LNG cold energy utilization under real regasification case

Owing to the fluctuating liquified natural gas (LNG) regasification rates in receiving terminals, LNG cold energy utilization systems face low recovery rate issue. In this work, an intermediate working medium and cold energy storage (IWM-CES) system is proposed to improve the operational flexibility and recovery rate for LNG cold energy utilization under actual regasification case. The proposed system comprises two modules, namely, cold energy recovery module and cold energy storage module. The cold energy recovery module recovers deep and shallow LNG cold energies using intermediate working mediums. The cold energy storage module acts as a buffer to promote stable cooling output. Key results revealed the maximum stable cooling output of conventional system (without cold energy storage) is constrained by the minimum regasification rate, which causes a relatively low recovery rate. On the contrary, the proposed system realizes a larger stable cooling output and enhances the cold recovery rate from 33.2% to 80.3%. Economically, the proposed system requires the injection of additional capital cost but can achieve better lifecycle profit. Environmental benefits are conducted and ultimately evaluated from users' perspective. Compared to the conventional system, the proposed system achieves the improvement of daily CO2 emissions reduction spanning 75.2 tons/day to 453.8 tons/day.