Gas to Liquids Comes to Scotland; More GTL News

Gas2 has a well developed Syngas reactor design ready for testing and a liquid conversion (Fischer-Tropsch) reactor design at proof of concept stage. These technologies work at low pressure and high conversion rates which offer a lower cost solution through small highly efficient systems operating without the need for an expensive intermediate Syngas compression step. The process is inherently safer than other currently available GTL solutions in the market. _Gas-2.com

Scottish company Gas2 has acquired a further £5.5 million in funding to build a pilot plant to demonstrate its GTL technology.

Aberdeen-based Gas2 is working to develop the next generation of gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology, with an exclusive licence to build on research from the city’s Robert Gordon University.

The firm, which started work to commercialise the technology in 2008, will receive the funds from existing backers including the university and Lime Rock Partners, a private equity firm that initially pumped £10m into the business.

Gas2’s technology allows the conversion of natural gas to liquid more economically and cleanly than has previously been possible. Half of the world’s natural gas is contained in fields that make it either physically or economically unusable, but turning it into liquids could make much of it viable if it can be done cheaply enough. _Scotsman

Meanwhile, Carbon Sciences has filed two provisional patents on its technology to steam reform methane into syngas. The company is pursuing multiple gas to liquids (GTL) approaches, including dry reforming, which uses CO2 rather than steam.

Also, GTL pioneer and giant SASOL is progressing with its plans to enter the North American market. SASOL has plans to build a GTL plant in Louisiana. Shell Oil is also looking into building a GTL plant in the US.

In addition, the makers of "mini-GTL" plants, such as CompactGTL, GasTechno, and Oxford Catalysts/Velocys, continue to develop their technologies while also marketing their technologies to offshore producers and producers of stranded and flared gas.

A great deal depends upon the development of better and cheaper catalysts at all stages of reforming and synthesis. This is true for not only GTL, but for CTL and BTL. Of course, the higher the cost of crude oil, the more economical the substitutes become.