Since shortly after crude was refined into petroleum fractions, governments, research organizations, and corporations have been searching for an economical method to convert natural gas, often stranded in remote locations, or copiously associated with produced oil, into liquid products. Many routes have been discovered to transform this gas or also shale gas into a product that is liquid at atmospheric conditions. All too often the processes proposed fail economically because they must handle great quantities of gas. Reactors, gas heat exchangers and compression require enormous equipment, and reaction thermodynamic requirements often cripple the value of the overall process unless designed at large refinery type scales capacities.
Small Scale Land Based GTL involves conversion of methane to high molecular weight hydrocarbons from LPG to waxy paraffins utilizing the principle of process intensification. The process itself consists mainly of three steps including syngas production through steam or autothermal reforming of natural gas, In this report, we investigate the use of microchannel Fischer-Tropsch synthesis designs with one or two stage reactor configurations using cobalt catalysts, followed by product upgrading though mild hydrocracking to convert high molecular weight waxes to LPG, naphtha, jet fuel, and diesel. This intensified process is a small scale hydrid that starts at the current complexity limit for parallel “numbering up” parallel microchannel reactor vessel designs, and calls for important system utilities like steam (and oxygen), high temperature heat transfer fluid systems, vacuum systems, wastewater treatment, and internal power generation.
This report highlights all major aspects of production of diesel, and/or aviation fuel as a liquid transportable product via Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. In addition to presenting our traditional techno-economic analyses we look at the current technology to produce transportation fuels from stranded or shale gas and compare the autothermal syngas generation and steam-methane reforming routes to produce synthesis gas, combined with single and dual stage Fischer-Tropsch synthesis configurations using Velocys microchannel reactor technology to convert synthesis gas to syncrude, Syncrude production is followed by product upgrading into a slate of fuel products including jet fuel and diesel.
Our snap-shop economic findings show that both routes for conversion of associated or shale gas using Velocys microchannel F-T technology followed by upgrading syncrude to transportation products are currently viable.

1. Introduction 1

Report Overview 1

Report Focus 3

Purpose of this Report 4

2. Summary 5

Overview 5

Markets 5

Water Requirements 7

Technology 8

Syngas Generation and Cleaning 9

Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis 10

Water Management Approaches 10

Economics 11

      Cost Estimates 11

      Capital Costs 12

      Economics Summary 12

Conclusion 13

Industry status 14

3. Introduction 14

Small Scale GTL Projects – Velocys 15

      New Projects Under Development 15

      Calumet Specialty Products 16

      Pinto Energy 16

      GreenSky London 16

      Red Rock Biofuels (DOD) 17

      Waste Management JV 18

Small Scale GTL Projects – CompactGTL 18

      New Projects Under Development 19

      Kazakhstan 20

Component and Engineering Services Suppliers for Small Scale GTL Plants 21

Technology Licensors - Velocys and Haldor Topsoe 21

      F-T Reactor and Catalyst Technology Suppliers 21

      Engineering, Procurement & Construction 22

      Technology Licensors – Compact GTL 23

4. Technology review 25

      Spot Gas 34

      Stockpile Gains 34

Natural gas cleaning 37

      Sulfur 38

      Sulfur Removal 39

      Chlorine 40

      Arsenic and Mercury 41

Synthesis gas production technology 42

      Steam Methane Reforming 44

      Adiabatic Prereforming 53

      Partial Oxidation 56

      Autothermal Reforming 61

      ATR Chemistry 64

      ATR Reactor Design 65

      Autothermal Reforming Processes 68

      Fluidized Bed Autothermal Reforming 70

      Steam Methane Reforming + Autothermal Reforming 71

      Gas Heated Reforming 72

      Combined Reforming 81

      Compact Reformer 83

Syngas technology comparisons 89

      Catalytic Membrane Reactors 94

      Microchannel Autothermal Reforming 98

      Radial Microchannel Reactors (RMRs) for Compact Steam Reforming 99

Fischer-Tropsch synthesis technologies 102

      Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis Process Chemistry 102

      Fischer-Tropsch Reaction Engineering 105

      Conventional FTS Reactor Configurations 109

      Circulating Fluidized Bed Reactors 114

      Fixed Fluidized Bed Reactor 116

      Slurry Bed Reactor 118

      Monolith Reactor 123

      Tank Reactor 125

      Tubular Loop Reactor 127

      Small Scale Microchannel Reactor 128

      Fischer-Tropsch Syncrude Primary Products 129

      Pretreatment of Fischer-Tropsch Primary Products 129

      Fischer-Tropsch Syncrude Compositions 130

Primary Separation of Fischer-Tropsch Syncrude 133

      Gaseous and Liquid Hydrocarbons 136

      Waxes 137

      Organic Phase Oxygenates 137

      Aqueous Phase Oxygenates 138

      Deactivation of Co-LTFT Catalysts 138

Comparison of Fischer-Tropsch Syncrude with Conventional Crude Oil 140

      Conventional Crude Oil Refining 142

      Chemicals and Lubricant Refining 143

Fischer-Tropsch Based Petrochemical Refining 145

      Lubricants 145

      Alkane Based Refining 146

      Aromatics Production 147

      Alkene and Oxygenate Recovery 148

      Fuels and chemicals co-production 148

      Production of Linear α-Olefins 149

      Synthetic transportation fuels 151

      Motor Gasoline 151

      Jet Fuel 152

      Diesel Fuel 153

      Fischer Tropsch Gas Loop Configurations 154

      Open Loop Design 155

      Closed Loop Design 155

      Diesel Fuel Additives Affect Refinery Design 157

      Gas Loop for HTFT Synthesis with a Sasol-Lurgi Gasifier 158

      Gas Loop for HTFT Synthesis with a Natural Gas Feed 160

      Gas Loop for Co Catalyzed LTFT 160

      Eni Gas Loop Integration 161

Fischer-Tropsch refining technology selection 167

      1. Fischer-Tropsch syncrude compatibility 167

      2. Waste generation 168

      3. Chemical addition 168

      4. Energy requirements 168

Small Scale FTS Syncrude Product Upgrading 170

      Aqueous FTS Product Treatment 173

      Technology Selection for Diesel Fuel Refining 176

      Co-refining 177

Small scale GTL – Velocys 183

Small scale GTL – compactGTL 185

Conclusions 187

5. Velocys small scale GTL Single F-T microchannel reactor set with tail gas recycle 190

Introduction 190

Autothermal Reforming 193

Microchannel Autothermal Reforming 194

Microchannel Fischer-Tropsch Reactors 197

Velocys microchannel reactors 198

      Microchannel Steam Methane Reforming 200

      Fischer-Tropsch Microchannel Reactors 200

      Small Scale Fischer-Tropsch GTL Technology 204

      Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis 205

      Alternative Microchannel F-T GTL Reactor Systems 208

Microchannel Fischer-Tropsch Catalysts 212

Microchannel reactor module components 217

Overview of the small scale F-T process 217

      Fuels from Fischer-Tropsch Syncrude 219

      Fischer-Tropsch Diesel 220

      Fischer-Tropsch Jet Fuel 220

      Naphtha 222

      Fischer-Tropsch GTL Process 223

Basis for estimates and evaluation 228

Process description 231

      Section 100 - Syngas Generation 232

      Section 200 - Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis 233

      Section 300 - Refinery Upgrading 234

Process discussion 247

      Gas Pretreatment 247

      Natural Gas Reforming 249

      Operating pressure 251

      Syngas composition 251

      F-T catalyst type 252

      F-T operating conditions 253

      F-T reactor type 254

      Fischer – Tropsch reactor microchannel heat exchange fouling 254

      Product recovery 254

      Product refining 255

      Olefin oligomerization 255

      Wax hydrocracking 255

      Conclusion 256

Cost estimates 256

      Capital costs 256

      Production costs 257

6. Velocys small scale GTL two stage F-T microchannel reactor set 262

Introduction 262

      Microchannel steam methane reforming 262

      Fischer-Tropsch Microchannel Reactors 264

      Small Scale Fischer-Tropsch GTL Technology 264

      Fischer-Tropsch Two Stage GTL Process 265

Basis for estimates and evaluation 266

      Steam Reforming Catalysts 269

Process description 269

      Section 100 - Syngas Generation 270

      Section 200 Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis 271

      Section 300 Refinery Upgrading 271

Process discussion 286

      Conclusion 287

Cost estimates 288

      Capital Costs 288

      Production Costs 288

Appendix A: Patent Summaries 293

Appendix B: Design and cost bases 307

Design conditions 307

Cost bases 307

Capital investment 307

Production costs 308

      Effect of operating level on production costs 309

Appendix C: Bibliographic citations 310

Appendix D: Patents by assignee 320

Appendix E: Process flow diagrams 323

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