Gasification Technologies | Stock Discussion Forums

SiliconInvestor

register

Sponsor

register

Gold/Mining/Energy | Gasification Technologies

Previous 10 | Next 10

To: A.J. Mullen who wrote (1637)	6/10/2011 6:58:29 AM
From: Dennis Roth	1 Recommendation of 1731

Shell’s Pearl Project Could Change Global Energy Landscape by Tony D’Altorio, Investment U Research Thursday, June 9, 2011 dailymarkets.com Something big is happening in the desert of Qatar. A huge structure is taking shape. It’s a structure that may help change the global energy landscape. It’s called Pearl and it’s a gas-to-liquids plant being built by Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) and partner Qatar Petroleum with the help of more than 52,000 workers. This huge mass of concrete, steel and cables is the single largest investment made by Shell, with a development cost of about $19 billion. The plant will turn natural gas, piped in from Qatar’s North Field sixty kilometers offshore, into high-quality, cleaner-burning fuels and lubricants. A Pearl of a Project for Shell During the next few weeks, Shell will build up the stock of gasoil in its tanks on site. Then the company will be able to sell its first cargo of liquid fuels sometime later this month. It’ll be a crucial moment for the company. Pearl is one of 20 major projects that Shell has invested heavily in over the past few years. And make no mistake, Pearl is a major project. * Pearl will be a significant participant on the world petroleum stage. * Once fully operational by the middle of next year, it will generate eight percent of Shell’s total energy production. * Making this the company’s main engine of growth in 2012. The Pearl project also represents a big bet by Shell on natural gas. It’s a bet that will see Shell produce more gas than oil starting next year. And it’s not the only bet on natural gas by Shell, as ably pointed out by my colleague, David Fessler. The reasoning behind this bet on gas was explained by Shell’s CEO, Peter Voser. He said the company expects gas demand to rise by 50 percent up to 2030 and to grow “much faster than oil.” The key to Pearl’s success will be its ability to turn lower-value natural gas into higher-value products, which are based on oil prices, such as diesel. In the past, similar projects haven’t been economical. But higher oil prices have helped change the outlook for Pearl. Pearl, together with the Qatargas 4 LNG plant that will produce liquefied natural gas, will generate $4 billion of cash a year at $70-per-barrel oil prices. Not bad for a project that’s based on “old” technology. Shell is commercializing on a grand scale and cashing in on gas-to-liquids technology first developed in the 1920s! Pearl’s Industry-Wide Ramifications The industry is watching closely how Shell’s technology performs at Pearl. If it all goes according to plan, it could have implications for the market. Other gas-to-liquids plants may be planned. How well Pearl does will also add to the debate currently going on in the industry about the relative merits of gas-to-liquids technology versus liquefied natural gas technology. Frank Harris, the Head of Global LNG Consulting at Wood Mackenzie, doubts whether Shell would begin a project like Pearl today. He said the capital costs are too high and the prices for LNG have changed greatly since 2006 when Shell decided to go ahead with the Pearl project. Mr. Harris is on to something. Today, with the market for LNG in Asia so strong, the economics are very different from five years ago. For companies owning rich gas fields today, most would probably opt to turn it into liquefied natural gas rather than using gas-to-liquids technology to turn it into fuels like diesel. Even Shell may not build another Pearl. Its CEO does not rule it out, but says he wants to see Pearl up and running before making any such decisions. Either way, Shell does have one Pearl of a moneymaker on its hands. Good investing, Tony D’Altorio ------ >> If it were left to the market, there'd be no CTL in the US. GTL is cheaper << (A.J. Mullen) I agree. Most of the CTL and SNG (synthetic natural gas) projects that were proposed were born 7 years ago when we were facing 'peak gas' in North America and we were desperately trying to build as many LNG import facilities as possible to avoid shortages. Double digit natural gas prices are now a distant memory and seem like a bad dream. They don't seem to be on the horizon so long as Josh Fox doesn't get his most fervent wish. Peak oil is here (or at least peak cheap oil is) and GTL looks like a good way to supply liquid fuels. It will look even better on the global scene if the bondage of LNG to oil prices is broken.

Share	Recommend \| Keep \| Reply \| Mark as Last Read \| Read Replies (1)

To: Dennis Roth who wrote (1484)	6/14/2011 2:09:51 PM
From: Dennis Roth	of 1731

Orissa to have two mega CTL projects from Tata and Jindal at an investment of Rs 90,000 crore 14 Jun, 2011, 08.29PM IST, Nageshwar Patnaik,ET Bureau economictimes.indiatimes.com BHUBANESWAR: Tata Steel and Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. (JSPL) have taken the lead in the country to utilize this huge inferior coal deposits to produce ultra clean liquid fuels like diesel and naphtha ensuring energy security and foreign exchange outgo from the country. India, not blessed with adequate oil and natural gas reserves, has 4th largest coal reserve in the world. Jindal Synfuels limited (JSFL), a JSPL group company plans to set up a CTL (Coal to Liquid) plant with a capacity of 80,000 barrels per day (bpd) equivalent of key oil products such as Diesel, Naphtha, and LPG while Tata Steel in joint venture with South Africa based Sasol Synfuels (Pty) Ltd will set up a 3.6-million-tonne per annum Coal to Liquid (CTL) plant in Orissa. These two CTL plants, at an estimated cost of Rs 90,000 crore, are expected to come up by 2016 are first of its kind in the country. Both the mega projects envisage adoption of state of the art Clean Coal Technology so that the carbon footprint will be drastically lower. The CTL overall process consists of three main sections namely Coal Gasification, Fischers-Tropsch synthesis (liquefaction), and Product Up-gradation. President of CTL project of JSPL, Dev Anand Tripathy , o Tuesday told "The ET" that various emissions, effluents and solid wastes of CTL project would be very much below the stipulated statutory limits as per stringent World Bank Norms and Indian Pollution Control & Environment agencies. The process waste water would be suitably treated with full recycle ensuring Zero Liquid Discharge, in the process ensuring minimum water consumption. The project would envisage CO2 Capture/Storage & Sequestration in nearby underground Geological Formations & Aquifers, he added. 'The CTL Diesel is ultra pure and smoke less compared to conventional diesel therefore more eco friendly', Mr Tripathy said adding that CTL project does not envisage to acquire fertile and irrigated Land. JSFL has undertaken detailed global technology search to select the most appropriate technology suitable for utilization of inferior grade (high Ash) Indian coal with emphasis on minimum Carbon Footprints. The final technology selection would be completed shortly. The government of India has already allocated Ramchandi coal block in Talcher coal field in favor of to set-up the proposed CTL project. The coal block has a potential reserve of around 1500 million tons of low grade coal. The proposed CTL Project has recently received the necessary clearances and approval of Orissa government to go ahead with the Project. This project will require 30 MTPA washed coal for 80,000 barrels per day and the middlings & rejects will be used for generating 1350 MW power. Similarly, the coal ministry has allocated coal block at north of Arakhpur coal mines near Talcher to the joint venture company Strategic Energy Technology Systems ( SETSL )) - 50:50 joint venture between Tata Sons and South Africa-based Sasol Synfuels International Both the projects, targetted to be commissioned in 2018, require about 3,000-3500 acre of land for its main plant, additional land would be required for setting up coal mine, beneficiation plant, coal handling plant, water reservoir, power plant and township. Besides superior diesel, the plant would also generate naptha and LPG with by-products like tar, phenol, sulpher and amonia, they said adding that 24 gallon of water per day would be required to run the plants Both the projects are big ticket investment in the state where world's two largest steel makers ArcellorMittal and Posco have committed to invest over 1-lakh crore to set mega steel plants. "About 70,000 people will get direct and indirect employment in the both coal-to-liquid (CTL) plants to be set up in the state," industries minister Raghunath Mohanty said here. The proposed plants, billed as the first of its kind in the country, would help in meeting country's fuel requirement, Mr Mohanty said, adding South Africa's 40% of fuel requirement was being met by the Coal-to-Liquid diesel. Some 22 companies including Reliance Industries Ltd , Reliance Infrastructure , SAIL, GAIL , Indian Oil, GMR Infra and Vedanta submitted their applications to the ministry for this CTL project.

Share	Recommend \| Keep \| Reply \| Mark as Last Read

To: jrzy who wrote (1625)	6/15/2011 3:08:52 PM
From: Dennis Roth	of 1731

Celanese seeks incentives for ethanol from natural gas By SIMONE SEBASTIAN HOUSTON CHRONICLE June 14, 2011, 10:30PM chron.com Dallas-based chemical company Celanese Corp. has engineered a process to produce ethanol from natural gas and wants the federal government to give it some of the same incentives afforded corn-based fuel. The company is promoting its technology, called Celanese TCX, as the answer to problems of corn-based ethanol — unpopular subsidies and itscompetition for a food crop, contributing to rising food prices. By using the prolific domestic natural gas supply to produce the gasoline additive, the nation can ease demand for corn crops with a petroleum product that doesn't have to be imported, said Steven Sterin, Celanese chief financial officer and head of advanced fuel technologies. Pressure on food prices "It allows us to alleviate some of the pressure on food prices, and we can do it without subsidies, using American-based resources," Sterin said. "It provides solutions to all those problems that are facing our country." On Tuesday the U.S. Senate debated, but rejected, a measure to repeal corn ethanol tax subsidies, a benefit worth billions of dollars annually. Ethanol also benefits from the Renewable Fuel Standard, a federal mandate requiring a national increase in the level of renewable energy blended into the transportation fuel supply from about 14 billion gallons this year to 36 billion gallons by 2022. It calls for increased use of ethanol and other biofuels produced from renewable sources like wood, landfill gas, animal waste and other organic materials. Celanese executives want to see natural gas-based ethanol on the list of gasoline additives allowed under the Renewable Fuels Standard. The product is chemically identical to corn-based ethanol and has the same low-emission properties. Celanese executives want to see natural gas-based ethanol on the list of gasoline additives allowed under the Renewable Fuels Standard. The product is chemically identical to corn-based ethanol and has the same low-emission properties. The problem is that natural gas isn't renewable. "That absolutely is not going to be qualifying as a biofuel under the Renewable Fuel Standard, and there's no way around that," said Paul Niznik, biofuels manager for Hart Energy, a consulting and publishing company for the energy industry. "Ethanol that's not from a renewable source would not have any incentives on it to be used as a transportation fuel." Niznik noted that the Celanese technology could have industrial uses. Ethanol is also used in the manufacture of paints, antiseptics and other alcohol-based products. Sterin said the company is weighing those opportunities. But transportation fuel remains its primary focus. Cheaper than corn? He said Celanese has been encouraging legislators to introduce laws that will make natural gas-to-ethanol a preferred additive. He said Celanese can produce it more cheaply than the corn-based version, at the equivalent of $60 a barrel, about $1.50 a gallon. Ethanol futures traded Tuesday at $2.75 a gallon. The Celanese TCX technology, developed at a facility in Pasadena, puts hydrocarbons through a thermochemical process to produce ethanol. Celanese is building a coal-to-ethanol plant in China to produce ethanol for manufacturing paints, antiseptics and pharmaceuticals. The company expects the technology will eventually be able to produce ethanol from organic materials. Sterin said the company conducted a poll of 606 likely Texas voters and found 75 percent supported using domestic natural gas as a base for ethanol fuel. And 65 percent supported changing the Renewable Fuels Standard to allow the fossil fuel technology, the poll found. A mandate Michael McAdams, president of the Advanced Biofuels Association, called the technology interesting. But whether the market will take to it as a fuel for vehicles is questionable, he said, because it is not supported as an additive by the Renewable Fuels Standard. "If it's cheaper, the refiners are going to use it. But the problem they are going to have is the refiners have a mandate in place" to use renewable fuel, McAdams said. "You can't just use natural gas and receive any consideration under RFS. It is excluded by definition." simone.sebastian@chron.com

Share	Recommend \| Keep \| Reply \| Mark as Last Read

To: jrzy who wrote (1625)	6/15/2011 3:08:54 PM
From: Dennis Roth	1 Recommendation of 1731

Celanese seeks incentives for ethanol from natural gas By SIMONE SEBASTIAN HOUSTON CHRONICLE June 14, 2011, 10:30PM chron.com Dallas-based chemical company Celanese Corp. has engineered a process to produce ethanol from natural gas and wants the federal government to give it some of the same incentives afforded corn-based fuel. The company is promoting its technology, called Celanese TCX, as the answer to problems of corn-based ethanol — unpopular subsidies and its competition for a food crop, contributing to rising food prices. By using the prolific domestic natural gas supply to produce the gasoline additive, the nation can ease demand for corn crops with a petroleum product that doesn't have to be imported, said Steven Sterin, Celanese chief financial officer and head of advanced fuel technologies. Pressure on food prices "It allows us to alleviate some of the pressure on food prices, and we can do it without subsidies, using American-based resources," Sterin said. "It provides solutions to all those problems that are facing our country." On Tuesday the U.S. Senate debated, but rejected, a measure to repeal corn ethanol tax subsidies, a benefit worth billions of dollars annually. Ethanol also benefits from the Renewable Fuel Standard, a federal mandate requiring a national increase in the level of renewable energy blended into the transportation fuel supply from about 14 billion gallons this year to 36 billion gallons by 2022. It calls for increased use of ethanol and other biofuels produced from renewable sources like wood, landfill gas, animal waste and other organic materials. Celanese executives want to see natural gas-based ethanol on the list of gasoline additives allowed under the Renewable Fuels Standard. The product is chemically identical to corn-based ethanol and has the same low-emission properties. Celanese executives want to see natural gas-based ethanol on the list of gasoline additives allowed under the Renewable Fuels Standard. The product is chemically identical to corn-based ethanol and has the same low-emission properties. The problem is that natural gas isn't renewable. "That absolutely is not going to be qualifying as a biofuel under the Renewable Fuel Standard, and there's no way around that," said Paul Niznik, biofuels manager for Hart Energy, a consulting and publishing company for the energy industry. "Ethanol that's not from a renewable source would not have any incentives on it to be used as a transportation fuel." Niznik noted that the Celanese technology could have industrial uses. Ethanol is also used in the manufacture of paints, antiseptics and other alcohol-based products. Sterin said the company is weighing those opportunities. But transportation fuel remains its primary focus. Cheaper than corn? He said Celanese has been encouraging legislators to introduce laws that will make natural gas-to-ethanol a preferred additive. He said Celanese can produce it more cheaply than the corn-based version, at the equivalent of $60 a barrel, about $1.50 a gallon. Ethanol futures traded Tuesday at $2.75 a gallon. The Celanese TCX technology, developed at a facility in Pasadena, puts hydrocarbons through a thermochemical process to produce ethanol. Celanese is building a coal-to-ethanol plant in China to produce ethanol for manufacturing paints, antiseptics and pharmaceuticals. The company expects the technology will eventually be able to produce ethanol from organic materials. Sterin said the company conducted a poll of 606 likely Texas voters and found 75 percent supported using domestic natural gas as a base for ethanol fuel. And 65 percent supported changing the Renewable Fuels Standard to allow the fossil fuel technology, the poll found. A mandate Michael McAdams, president of the Advanced Biofuels Association, called the technology interesting. But whether the market will take to it as a fuel for vehicles is questionable, he said, because it is not supported as an additive by the Renewable Fuels Standard. "If it's cheaper, the refiners are going to use it. But the problem they are going to have is the refiners have a mandate in place" to use renewable fuel, McAdams said. "You can't just use natural gas and receive any consideration under RFS. It is excluded by definition." simone.sebastian@chron.com

Share	Recommend \| Keep \| Reply \| Mark as Last Read

From: Dennis Roth	6/16/2011 4:27:21 PM
	of 1731

microchannel Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reactors? Oxford Catalysts advances shale gas technology theengineer.co.uk 16 June 2011 \| Updated: 16 June 2011 4:29 pm Oxford, UK – Small scale gas to liquids (GTL) facilities based on the use of microchannel Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reactors and designed for use on offshore platforms are exciting interest as a means to turn associated gas into an energy asset and to make wasteful flaring and expensive re-injection of gas a thing of the past. According to Oxford Catalysts, a major exploration and production company is seriously considering the possibility of incorporating microchannel FT reactors into a planned 5,000 -15,000 barrel per day (bpd) GTL facility onshore in North America designed to convert shale gas into finished synthetic fuels. Microchannel FT reactors developed by US-based Velocys Inc., part of the Oxford Catalysts group, claims to have one of a few technology options earmarked for closer examination for use in the GTL facility. The shortlisted technologies will be subjected to further evaluation as part of a major high-budget engineering study that will last for several months. The results of the study will be used to select the project’s technology providers. Microchannel FT reactors developed by Velocys and using a new highly active FT catalysts developed by Oxford Catalysts exhibit conversion efficiencies in the range of 70% per pass, according to Jeff McDaniel, Oxford Catalysts director of commercialisation. “The high efficiency and modular nature of our microchannel FT reactors makes them particularly useful for this type of application because capacity can be easily increased by simply ’numbering up’ or linking together additional FT reactor modules,” said McDaniel. === Shale Gas Shale gas – natural gas production from hydrocarbon-rich shale formations – is one of the most rapidly expanding trends in onshore oil and gas exploration and production today. Shale gas has become an increasingly important source of natural gas in the United States in recent years and interest has spread to potential gas shales in Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The US Department of Energy estimates that in 2011 the major souce of gas reserves growth will come from unconventional shale gas reservoirs. The growth in shale gas production has been encouraged by a combination of rapid increases in natural gas prices and advances in technologies such as hydraulic fracturing to create extensive artificial fractures around well bores, and horizontal drilling to increase the borehole surface area in contact with the shale. The GTL Process The GTL process involves two operations: steam methane reforming (SMR), followed by Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis and product upgrading, or hydrocracking. In SMR the methane gas is mixed with steam and passed over a catalyst to produce a syngas consisting of hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO). The reaction is highly endothermic, so requires the input of heat. This can be generated by the combustion of the excess H2 and methane. In microchannel SMR reactors the heat-generating combustion and steam methane reforming processes take place in adjacent channels. The high heat transfer properties of the microchannels make the process very efficient. These same heat transfer properties offer different advantages for the highly exothermic FT reaction. Microchannel FT reactors consist of reactor blocks containing thousands of thin process channels filled with FT catalyst, which are interleaved with water-filled coolant channels. As a result they are able to dissipate the heat produced by the FT reaction much more quickly than conventional systems, so more active FT catalysts can be used. Microchannel reactors Microchannel reactors are compact reactors that have channels with diameters in the millimetre range. The small diameter channels dissipate heat more quickly than conventional reactors with larger channel diameters in the 2.5 – 10 cm (1 – 4 inch) range so more active catalysts can be used. Mass and heat transfer limitations reduce the efficiency of the large conventional high pressure reactors used for hydroprocessing. The use of microchannel processing will make it possible to greatly intensify chemical reactions to enable them to occur at rates 10 to 1000 times faster than in conventional systems.

Share	Recommend \| Keep \| Reply \| Mark as Last Read \| Read Replies (1)

From: Dennis Roth	6/17/2011 10:25:28 AM
	of 1731

Australia launches first synthetic fuels research facility in Perth platts.com Sydney (Platts)--9Jun2011/339 am EDT/739 GMT Australia's first synthetic fuels facility was launched Thursday as part of a project being conducted by the government's research arm CSIRO. The A$5 million ($5.3 million) Synfuel and Catalysis Research Facility, known as Syncat, was formally opened at the Australian Resources Research Centre in Perth. The facility, which is a public-private partnership, was launched by Minister for Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson on behalf of Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr. "We have a growing trade deficit in crude oil and refined products," Ferguson said. "At the same time we are seeking new ways to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Synthetic fuels and research into new gas-to-liquid technologies have the potential to both lessen our dependence on imports and provide a cleaner burning transport fuel alternative," he added. "Testing and research at this facility could help us maximize the potential from our abundant gas resources, including the conversion of both on and offshore resources that were previously considered to be uneconomical." The CSIRO is currently undertaking a gas processing and conversion research program, aimed at finding ways to make synthetic fuel from non-oil or non-conventional feedstocks. The Syncat facility will produce synfuels from a range of feedstocks including natural gas, coal, hydrogen and biomass. --Christine Forster, christine_forster@platts.com

Share	Recommend \| Keep \| Reply \| Mark as Last Read

Previous 10 | Next 10

Copyright/IP Policy

Copyright © 1995-2013 Knight Sac Media. All rights reserved.