Battery-Site Natural Gas Refining for Small-Scale Flare Conversion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gas-to-liquid (GTL) technologies are economically unviable for small-scale natural gas conversion at remote oil production facilities due to high investment costs, labor expenses, and stringent emission regulations, limiting the conversion of flared natural gas into valuable liquid fuels.
Innovation Solution
A natural gas refining unit integrated at an oil production battery site, comprising a vapor-liquid separator and reactors, such as oxidative coupling or methane reformers, to convert natural gas into refined products, utilizing existing infrastructure and reducing capital and operational costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional GTL facilities are built to convert natural gas into liquid fuels, then valuable liquid products can be produced, but investment costs and labor expenses become prohibitively high for small-scale operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the GTL conversion system into modular functional units including vaporization modules, reaction modules, and separation modules that can be independently configured and scaled. This segmentation allows small-scale deployment at remote facilities while maintaining conversion efficiency, directly addressing the contradiction between productivity and manufacturing cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention integrates multiple processing functions within nested modular components where smaller functional units are contained within larger integrated systems. This nesting approach reduces overall facility footprint and capital expenditure while preserving the complete gas-to-liquid conversion capability, resolving the cost-prohibitive nature of conventional GTL facilities.
2Ease of operation
If natural gas is flared at remote oil production facilities, then operational simplicity is maintained, but CO2 emissions and environmental harm increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system utilizes waste heat from the exothermic reaction processes to maintain operational temperatures and power auxiliary functions, making the facility self-sufficient without requiring external energy inputs or complex operational interventions. This self-service capability maintains operational simplicity while eliminating the need for flaring, thus reducing CO2 emissions.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention converts the previously harmful practice of flaring natural gas into a beneficial process by capturing and utilizing the gas for synthetic fuel production. The exothermic reactions that were sources of waste heat and emissions are now harnessed to drive the conversion process, transforming environmental harm into economic and environmental benefit.
3Productivity
If endothermic processes like steam reforming are used to produce syngas, then natural gas can be converted, but energy consumption becomes excessive in remote locations
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs periodic alternating between exothermic and endothermic reaction phases, where exothermic reactions generate heat that is stored and then utilized to drive subsequent endothermic reforming processes. This periodic action eliminates the need for continuous external energy input, dramatically reducing energy consumption while maintaining syngas production productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes phase transitions and thermal energy storage mechanisms where heat from exothermic reactions is captured and stored, then released to drive endothermic processes. This thermal phase management allows the system to operate autonomously without continuous external energy supply, resolving the contradiction between syngas production and energy consumption in remote locations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The integration enables efficient conversion of natural gas into refined products like liquid fuels, reducing CO2 emissions and flaring, with a gross margin of 200,000 CAD per unit, and lowering capital expenditures by a factor of five.
Implementation Method 1
a first vapor-liquid separator in fluid communication with the pipeline, the first vapor-liquid separator being configured to separate the oil-water emulsion from the pipeline into a gas phase comprising natural gas and a liquid phase
Implementation Method 2
a reactor, or a plurality of reactors connected in series, in fluid communication with the first vapor-liquid separator or, when the first vapor-liquid separator is absent, with the treater, the reactor or the plurality of reactors being configured to convert the natural gas
Implementation Method 3
reactors, such as oxidative coupling or methane reformers, to convert natural gas into refined products
Implementation Method 4
Considering catalytic partial oxidation (CPOX) as an exothermic reaction to produce syngas
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a natural gas refining unit and a method for converting natural gas into a refined product at a battery site of an oil production facility. The refining unit comprises an optional vapor-liquid separator configured to separate an oil-water emulsion from a pipeline of the battery site into a liquid phase and a gas phase comprising natural gas, and a reactor, or a plurality of reactors connected in series, configured to convert natural gas from the vapor-liquid separator or, when the vapor-liquid separator is absent, from a treater of the battery site into the refined product. The method comprises the steps of collecting the natural gas at the battery site and feeding the natural gas to a natural gas refining unit.