Micro-GTL
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
micro-GTL refers to a technology that converts natural gas and other methanogenic gas streams directly into a synthetic diesel fuel. "GTL" refers to the gas to liquids conversion process originally developed in Germany early in the last century, and referred to as the Fischer-Tropsch process.
Two companies provide micro-GTL products. One is Alchem Field Services, Inc.[1] based in Oklahoma City, OK, who manufactures portable, modular, scalable gas-to-liquids technology that processes up to 25 MMcfd (million cubic feet per day). Alchem's micro-GTL plants, called Fuelformers and Dieselators, provide capability to commercialize stranded or wasted methane and tackle both small and medium sized gas fields. Their technology is advantageously able to expand or reduce processing capability as gas production streams grow or decline.
Another company that provides micro-GTL products on a larger scale is The GTL Corporation[2], a Bahamian Domestic Corporation. Their products can process trains of 25 to 60 MMcfd.
As traditional energy resources mature during the next few decades, new technologies are needed to exploit previously unavailable power supplies. There are also a significant number of small methane containing streams. As a greenhouse gas, methane is twenty times more damaging than carbon dioxide: elimination of atmospheric emissions and monetization of the methane is a green side-effect of micro-GTL processing.
Besides natural gas, micro-GTL technology can also convert methane-containing waste gas streams, such as landfill gas, coal bed and coal mine methane, sewage gas, compost, and petrochemical waste streams. It is important to note that micro-GTL processing is not affected by the presence of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, or oxygen. Non-pipeline quality gas that has a high nitrogen or carbon dioxide content is an ideal candidate for micro-GTL conversion into diesel.
By 2004, Alchem Field Services had designed and fielded its first micro-GTL plant, the EXP-1, then known as the "Fuelformer." Successful field tests were conducted in Bristow, Oklahoma on a stranded natural gas well. The EXP-1 produced diesel: a determination that was confirmed by Schlumberger gas chromatography analysis. The second-generation EXP-2, known as the "Dieselator," with enhanced processing capability was released in 2006.
The terms "micro-GTL" and "Dieslator" are trademarked.
