Methane emissions are among the top causes of global warming
Oil and gas companies flare more than $10.6 billion in natural gas (methane) every year. The MRU technology eliminates the flaring, venting and leaking of abandoned wells by capturing the waste methane gas and converting it to a usable fuel.
our gas flaring solution
Our patent integrates the micro-refinery unit (MRU) with existing oil facilities that already have trained personnel.
The technology to convert methane (and coal) to fuel was first developed by Fischer and Tropsch in the 1920s. Germany used this technology in World War II as they had no petroleum. The first step to produce fuels is to make syngas – a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. In the second step, (Fischer-Tropsch synthesis), the CO and H2 react to long chain hydrocarbons, waxes, and light gases.
The problem with gas-to-liquid technology is CAPEX and OPEX. Small scale units are uneconomic, especially if you only build one. Operators cost as much as $2 million per year for specialty chemical plants. However, if you build hundreds, costs can come down exponentially – The patent application we filed address both CAPEX and OPEX.
The MRU technology applies a catalytic partial oxidation (CPOX) step in a milli-second reactor. This compact reactor costs a fraction of steam methane reforming (SMR) because it is exothermic rather than endothermic and so heat management is much simpler.
The first step in addressing cost is to train operators that are already there. Second, integrating the MRU with existing facilities means that there are fewer unit operations to invest in: flare, oil storage, water treatment. All these facilities already exist and so this could reduce the cost of an MRU by a factor of 2.
The third element is reducing CAPEX by building mass manufacturing capability.
The Mobile refining Unit(MRU)
Traditionally, the petroleum industry has constructed large-scale refineries at centralized locations, supplying them with crude oil and gas condensate via pipeline and transport truck. The majority of new hydrocarbon discoveries by industry majors and large independents occur in areas where there is limited or no available infrastructure for transporting the hydrocarbons, so to construct a new refinery at a location near the production site can take several years. Our Mobile Refining Unit can be delivered and installed that will process crude from the oil battery.
The MRU can produce diesel or desired distillate for local consumption. The refined grades of products are subsequently transported from the MRU to consumer markets, primarily by transport truck. Manufactured MRU's will be capable of processing from 10 BOPD. Multiple product streams can be drawn from the distillation process yielding kerosene /jet fuel, diesel and residual fuel oil. Each MRU is trailer mounted, mobile in design and transportable to the source of crude production. System commissioning at the site can be complete within 48 hours after arrival at the desired site.
These units are easily relocated with a minimum amount of field construction. Refined products produced from a MRU can be sold to local markets or supplied as a feedstock for further processing. MRUs are particularly effective in areas where there is a ready supply of crude but limited product distribution or refining capacity such as remote areas.