Hybrid Anti-Fouling Membrane System for Natural Gas Separation

78243S Substantial amounts of natural gas reserves contain large amounts of non-methane gases, such as carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide, which make them uneconomical to market. While commercially available membranes offer the potential to remove these gases and produce pipeline grade natural gas, these membranes have limited separation capability or have failed due to unanticipated poisoning by heavier hydrocarbons or water vapor. This project will develop robust separation membranes that will enhance the economics of natural gas upgrading and provide a system that presents separation, flow, reliability, and retrofit benefits while resolving the issues associated with membrane fouling. Phase I will develop and evaluate natural gas upgrading in a pilot operation. Preparation of high-selectivity and robust membranes will be followed by a demonstration of enhanced performance. Both severe and representative conditions will be evaluated. An engineering analysis of the membrane system will be conducted, and the ability to achieve target goals (20% cost savings in natural gas processing operations and three fold improvement in reliability) will be assessed. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The high-selectivity and robust membranes should economically enhance the 30% of natural gas wells in the United States that are in need of upgrading to remove impurities. This represents 62 quads of energy. Additionally, this technology should have application to enhanced carbon monoxide and methane separation in oil recovery operations.