Gas To Liquids Technology By Valerie Sage

Gas to Liquids Technology (GTL) – Australia’s
Fuel Future?

Valérie Sage
CSIRO Petroleum Resources – Gas Processing and Conversion
SPE – Engineering Australia Seminar – 07.09.2009

Outline

• What is GTL ?

• What is the current transport fuels situation?

• Why using GTL technology to transform natural gas?

• GTL Challenges

• CSIRO GTL Research

• Conclusion

CSIRO GTL - SPE - Engineering Australia Seminar - 07.09.2009

What is GTL ?

The Chemistry Behind GTL


Background – GTL process

Hydrocarbon Syngas Hydrocarbon Product
feedstock production production targeting

Air Separation

30%
Oxygen

Reformer /
Natural Gas Fischer Tropsch Product upgrade
Partial Oxidation

30% Syngas 30% 10%
CO + H2
Coal
Gasification
Biomass

-(CH2)-n
Hydrocarbon Light HCs
+ steam, CO + H2 Waxes -(CH2)-n
CO2, O2 Water
CO2
CSIRO GTL - SPE - Engineering Australia Seminar - 07.09.2009 Oxygenates

Syngas Production

• Syngas Production
• Steam reforming CH4 + H2O → CO + 3H2
• Dry reforming CH4 + CO2 → 2CO + 2H2
• Partial oxidation CH4 + ½O2 → CO + 2H2

• Fischer-Tropsch synthesis
• n CO + 2n H2 → -(CH2)n + H2O
• Conditions
• Optimum H2:CO = 2:1
• Transition metal-based catalyst – Fe, Co, Ni, or Ru
• High temperature (> 300 °C, Fe catalysts)
• Low temperature (~ 200 °C, Co catalysts)
• Pressure > 2 MPa


GTL Products

• GTL base oil
• Lubricant for vehicle engines, gearboxes and transmissions

• GTL gas oil
• Use in conventional diesel engine
• Cleaner burning and lower emissions

• GTL kerosene
• Cooking, lighting and dry-cleaning fuel
• Higher energy density and lower emissions
• Tested as a jet fuel in an Airbus A380 flight

• GTL normal paraffin
• Virtually identical to oil-derived paraffin

• GTL naphtha
• Higher paraffin content


The Current Situation

Transport Fuels Sources


Fossil Fuels

• Oil, Gas, and Coal

• Upside • Downside
• Convenient and versatile • Finite resource
• High energy density • Major GHG source
• Well established global • Impact on ecosystems
infrastructure • Large capital investments, long
• ‘Easy’ to transport pay-out times
• ‘Easy’ and ‘Safe’ handling • Used as a geopolitical ‘weapon’
• May get too expensive (Oil)


Oil – Peak time?

• The median forecast is calculated from 14 models that are predicting a peak before 2020
• 95% of the predictions sees a production peak between 2008 and 2010 at 77.5 - 85.0 mbpd
Source: The Oil Drum; http://www.theoildrum.com/story/2006/11/13/225447/79


Energy from Renewable

• Hydrogen
• Can be made from a range of sources (water, coal, gas,
biomass, nuclear, wind and solar)
• Issues
• Production costs, especially if produced from renewable
• Carbon dioxide co-production
• Distribution, delivery, and storage

• Solar / Wind
• Renewable, clean, safe, and ‘unlimited’
• Issues
• Intermittent
• ‘Low energy density’
• Land required
• Impact on ecosystem ?
• Grid infrastructure not ready


Alternative / Renewable Feedstock

• Biomass
• Renewable
• Home-grown
• CO2-’neutral’ ?
• Issues
• Energy and GHG balance is precarious
• Low energy density
• Limited output because of land requirements
• Fuels vs. Food ?
• Harvest failure
• Soil exhaustion (danger of monocultures)
• Deforestation
• Water requirements


The Alternative Route to Fuels

• Alternative Feedstock • Products

• Natural Gas GTL
• Transport Fuels
• Coal XTL
CTL
• Chemicals
• Biomass BTL


XTL Processes

Process Gas to Liquid Coal to Liquid Biomass to
(GTL) (CTL) Liquid
(BTL)

Supply Abundant reserves, Large reserves Supply might be an
especially in WA issue

GHG Emissions Comparable to oil Higher than oil Most promising
refining refining technology for GHG
Reduction through Significant reduction emission reduction
technology improvement through CCS
Technology Industrially proven but Industrially proven Further R&D
further R&D required but further R&D required
required
Status Industrial units already in Large scale Pilot plant only
operation industrial units
already in operation

Future Commercial plants under Large plants Prototype plant
construction planned planned


Well to Wheel GHG Emissions (syn-diesel)

From “ASFE Position Paper: Emissions from Synthetic Fuels”, Alliance for Synthetic Fuels in Europe (ASFE), January
2007 (http://www.synthetic-fuels.org/documents/20070221124435_ASFE%20Position%20Paper%20on%20Emissions.pdf)


Is GTL the Answer?


Gas Reserves in Australia


Australia’s Future Alternative resources

• Australia’s unique situation and individual problems
need Australian individual solution

• Australia specific problems
• Liquid poor but gas rich
• Reliance on other countries for oil import
• Distances

• Abundant coal and gas reserves
• Potential of large scale synfuel production

• Natural gas represents one of the best feedstock for
synthetic fuels production
• Large natural gas reserves in Australia, especially in WA
• Reduced GHG emissions


Australian Situation

• Government's Energy White Paper
• GTL
• CTL
• Other alternative fuels

• CTL
• Linc Energy project
• Underground coal gasification (UCG)
• In-situ conversion of coal to a Syngas (heat, pressure steam)
• Syngas converted into Synfuel in FT reactor
• Prospects for carbon capture and sequestration

• GTL
• No facility as yet
• Focus on production of GTL middle distillate (diesel and jet
fuel)


Benefits of GLT

• Security of supply
• Available in increasing volumes

• Fuel source self sufficiency

• Environmental performance – local emissions
• Cleaner products (middle distillates)
• GTL Fuels
• Lower emissions
• Virtually sulphur and aromatic free diesel
• Reduction in particulate (PM-10) and hydrocarbons emissions when
used in diesel engines
• Higher cetane number (75-80)


Benefits of GLT (cont’)

• Compatibility
• Can be used in existing engines and refuelling infrastructure
• No need for complete replacement of vehicles, refineries and
distribution systems

• Cost effectiveness
• Existing infrastructure
• Local production
• Reduction in crude oil import

• Diversification
• Stranded and associated gas reserves use
• BTL and CTL applications


Economics

• Economic viability
• Required selling price of the fuel produced through GTL have to
be above the break even mark by a significant amount

• Large scale GTL plant in the middle east
• Without CCS
• Expected to be competitive with oil down to approximately $20
per barrel

• Recent advances by the oil company Shell have seen
synthetic fuels start to become profitable.
• GTL plant in Qatar
• Claims that process will remain competitive with traditional
diesel unless the price of crude falls below $20 per barrel


Other Alternatives to GTL for Gas Transformation

• Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
• Deep refrigeration required (-162 °C)
• Energy density: 60% of that of diesel fuel
• Special ships for transport
• Large investments for liquefaction and re-gasification terminals
• Long term contracts required

• Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)
• Pressurisation (200-220 bar)
• Special ships for transport
• Less expensive than LNG
• Lower energy density than LNG (42%) or conventional diesel (25%)
• Competitive only for small distance and volume

• In both cases, the receiving end product is still gas

The GTL Answer

• GTL represents one of the best alternative to produce
synthetic / transport fuels
• Use of remote, stranded and off-shore Australian gas reserves


• Cost effective synfuel production


GTL Around the World

• Existing large scale commercial GTL - FT process plants

• Sasol (South Africa) - Mossgas • Shell (Malaysia) - Bintulu
• Coal and natural gas as feedstock • Natural gas as feedstock
• Variety of synthetic petroleum products • low-sulphur diesel fuels products
• Synthol reactors (fluidized bed): 45,000 • Multitubular fixed-bed reactor
bbl/day for GTL • Co based catalysts
• Slurry bubble reactor: 2,500 bbl/day • 15,000 bbl/day

• Sasol/Chevron (Qatar) - Oryx
• Natural gas feedstock
• Variety of synthetic petroleum products
• Slurry bubble reactor
• 34,000 bbl/day


Future Large GTL Projects

• Pearl GTL project - Qatar
• Shell and Qatar petroleum joint venture
• Expected production of 140,000 barrels per day of Fischer
Tropsch petroleum liquids starting in 2010 (first train) and 2011
(second train)

• Escravos GTL Project – Nigeria
• Sasol Chevron
• Expected to production of 34,000 barrels per day of Fischer
Tropsch synthetic fuel in 2011


GTL Challenges


GTL Challenges

• GTL Plant
• Large plants
• Oxygen generation unit
• Reformer
• Fischer-Tropsch reactor
• Post-treatment unit
• High capital investment and operating cost

• GTL Process
• Exothermic and endothermic reaction
• Side reactions
• Large range of product
• Poor selectivity


Relationship to external environment

• FT process still not very selective to desired products

Natural Gas

Coal Syngas production Synfuel production Product upgrade

Biomass 30% 10%
30%

Oxygen 30%

Steam

Carbon
dioxide

Solar


Relationship to external environment

Remove the need for product upgrading step:

Courtesy JOGMEC / Nippon GTL


GTL Opportunities

• Reduce costs (capital and operational)

• Reduce plant footprint
• Plant usable for small operations
• Associated gas (on or off-shore)
• Stranded gas reserves (on or off-shore)

• Novel GTL processes
• Enhanced Fischer Tropsch processes
• Direct liquid production
• High-value targets
• Minimise emissions
• CO2 Sequestration


GTL Strategy @ CSIRO


Description and Objectives

Stream Objective
Provide technologies that enable coal and gas derived low
emissions transport fuels to reduce significantly Australia’s
reliance on imported oil for transportation

• Project Objectives • Project Outcomes
• Synthetic liquid fuel • Security of supply of
production from natural Synfuels
gas / syngas • Cost effective production of
• Modification/improvement Synfuels
of the Fischer-Tropsch • Valorisation of Australia’s
(FT) process stranded natural gas
• Capability building reserves
• Diversification to other
feedstock (biomass, coal)


Gas Processing & Conversion Group

LNG pre-liquefaction
gas separations

H2 production Fischer-Tropsch
Synthetic fuel production synthesis

Natural gas
Methanol
Synthesis gas production Product upgrade
Coal synthesis
Biomass

Non-conventional
GTL

Pre-sequestration
gas separations


GTL Research Strategy

• Catalysis design
• Co based catalysts more resistant than Fe based catalyst
• Ru based supported slurry catalysts

• Reactor design
• Shift from fixed-bed reactor to slurry phase process
• Improved heat removal – efficient mixing
• Gas recycling
• Reduced plant footprint and capital cost

• Process optimisation
• Reaction conditions
• Use of additives

• Production of industrially significant data
• Long runs without interruption (several months)

Purpose of GTL Research

• No such facility in Australia

• Capability building

• Improvement of the GTL process
• Selectivity

• Mechanism

• Plant footprint


Conclusion


Overall

• Objectives of 20% energy production from renewable
resources by 2020

• Fossil and Synthetic Transport Fuels are going to be
with us for a long time

• Need other sources of energy – diversification

• Australia has real individual issues that chemists and
chemical engineers have to meet

• Security of Supply

• There is a real need to focus on these to ensure a fuel
supply for the future


GTL benefits


• Valorisation of stranded and off-shore gas reserves

• Use of existing infrastructure

• Develop a cost effective production of synthetic fuels

• High performance fuels
• Decrease of pollutant emissions

• Build capability

• Diversification
• Platform for Biomass to Liquids (BTL) and Coal to Liquids
(CTL) products development
• Production of other products such as oxygenates

CSIRO Petroleum Resources
Dr Valérie Sage
Research Scientist
Gas Processing and Conversion Group

Phone: 08 6436 8836
Email: valerie.sage@csiro.au
Web: www.csiro.au/science/Fischer-Tropsch-Process.html
www.csiro.au/science/Gas-Conversion-Processing-Fuel-
Future.html

Thank you

Contact Us
Phone: 1300 363 400 or +61 3 9545 2176
Email: Enquiries@csiro.au Web: www.csiro.au

Gas To Liquids Technology By Valerie Sage

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