Grantee Research Project Results

Novel two-layer composite membranes with high water permeance (up to 3,000 gpu), high water/methane selectivity (up to 1,000) and water/hexane selectivity of up to 120 have been reproducibly produced using MTR'’s commercial-scale coating machines. A bench-scale spiral-wound module containing 0.86 m² membrane area was prepared successfully. Parametric tests were conducted on membrane stamps and a test module showed good performance at natural gas processing operating conditions.

 

An analysis of the costs for natural gas dehydration using membrane systems was performed using the Phase I laboratory data. The membrane systems are cost competitive with conventional glycol dehydrators. The membrane process is more attractive if a credit for reduction of VOC emissions is considered.

The Phase I experimental work and the technical and economic analysis have demonstrated the feasibility of using a membrane system to dehydrate natural gas, with essentially zero VOC emissions. The key to moving this technology further towards commercialization is to demonstrate the membrane process in a field setting. The focus of the Phase II work will be to demonstrate the dehydration of natural gas with essentially zero VOC emissions at a natural gas processing plant, using the proposed membrane approach.

 

Commercialization:

 

The potential market for the proposed technology could be large. All natural gas needs to be dehydrated before entering the pipeline delivery system. A low cost and environmentally friendly technology for natural gas dehydration would be attractive to the entire natural gas industry.

 

A recent EPA survey determined that almost 36,000 glycol dehydration units are operating in the United States. More than 90 percent of these systems (34,000) treat natural gas at flow rates averaging less than 10 MMscfd, the range in which a membrane process is more cost effective than glycol dehydration. Assuming that about 1,400 new dehydration systems are installed each year (with an average 25-year equipment life) and that the average selling price of the membrane system is $100,000, the potential market is estimated at $140 million per year. Offshore applications, for which the membrane process offers substantial operational advantages in addition to being less expensive, represent about one-half of this market. Assuming that the membrane process can capture 50 percent of the offshore market and 10 percent of the on-shore market, developing a business with annual sales estimated at $40-45 million seems feasible (400-450 units per year).