7 March 2005 Smarter and cleaner processing of raw natural gas on the horizon The Centre for Energy and Greenhouse Technologies has invested in the development of a new cryogenic gas sweetening technology, which safely removes carbon dioxide contaminants without harming the environment. The carbon dioxide is removed in a liquid form making it available for geo-sequestration or other uses instead of being released into the atmosphere as a vapour. The sweetened (clean) gas is then available for transport via pipelines or converted into liquefied natural gas for transport over land or sea. Jan Dekker, Managing Director of the Centre said “this new technology offers many advantages over current gas cleaning processes. It reduces greenhouse gas emissions, is lower cost and can be scaled to meet a range of applications. “As an Australian invention, the development of the technology offers a significant win-win; for business and the environment, with the capacity for national and international applications� he said. Under the agreement the Centre for Energy and Greenhouse Technologies will invest an initial $200k with a priority option for further investment in Cool Energy Pty Ltd, the company developing and commercialising the technology. Cool Energy is currently preparing for the installation of its first pilot plant with the development plan aiming to establish subsequent pilot plants in Victoria. The Centre’s funds will be strongly leveraged via an R&D Start Grant of $1.92 million along with $3 million from private investors including CEGT for this first demonstration of the technology. Most Australians will be unaware that the natural gas, or methane, piped to their homes for heating and cooking is not the same as when it’s extracted from the ground. Raw natural gas is made up of around 85% methane together with other heavier hydrocarbons and ‘acid gases� such as carbon dioxide. This step in gas processing is called “sweetening� by the industry. Traditional gas sweetening processes using chemical and solvents release carbon dioxide and some methane into the atmosphere. Both are greenhouse gases – now agreed by the world’s scientific community as being the cause of global warming and climate change. The new gas sweetening technology has been proven at small scale in the laboratory and with the assistance of the Centre’s investment can now be developed to a full scale commercial pilot plant. Not only is it environmentally friendly, it is also cost effective which means gas fields which were previously avoided because they were too small, too remote or too contaminated, can now be considered for production. The technology, at a larger scale, may be a perfect replacement for conventional gas pretreatment and could be installed at onshore and offshore gas wells and processing plants. At the smaller scale the technology can be used to process “fugitive� gas released from coal seam mining and other mining operations, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The cleaned natural gas could then be used to run gas turbines to generate on-site electricity. Centre for Energy and Greenhouse Technologies Media Release energy co2- investing The technology could also be used on oil rigs to process the excess gas that is currently ‘flared’ (burned) producing liquid natural gas that can be used as an energy source on the oil rig, and potentially eliminating the substantial related greenhouse gas emissions. The added advantage of removing the carbon dioxide in liquid form is that it can be captured for environmentally friendly uses or injected underground (geo-sequestered) more efficiently. The Centre is pursuing discussions with relevant bodies to determine suitability for a proposed geo-sequestration pilot in Victoria. Every state and territory in Australia (except Tasmania and NSW/ACT) has natural gas production indicating that the potential Australian applications and benefits of this technology are significant. With the increased use of natural gas around the world the market for a smarter gas processing technologies is substantial. The Centre for Energy and Greenhouse Technologies Pty Ltd is a private company established as an initiative of the Victorian Government to invest in the development and demonstration of new sustainable energy and greenhouse gas reduction technologies. For further information: Hans de Zwart Centre for Energy and Greenhouse Technologies 50 Northways Road, Churchill Vic. 3842 Tel: (03) 5122 1941 Fax: (03) 5122 1248 Email: [email protected] Website: www.cegt.com.au
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