CONVERSION OF METHANE TO METHANOL AND GASOLINE

THE TARGET OF THE PROPOSED PROCESS IS TO CONVERT NATURAL GASFROM SMALLER OR LARGER NATURAL GAS SOURCES (INCLUDING SMALL OUTLYING GAS WELLS OR CO-PRODUCED GAS OUT OF A CRUDE OIL PRODUCING WELL) INTO CRUDE METHANOL AND HYDROCARBONS, AND CENTRALLY CONVERT THESE CRUDE LIQUIDS FURTHER INTO COMPONENTS FOR GASOLINE USE. A LOW-COST PROCESS FOR THESE CONVERSIONS HAS BEEN INVENTED BY DR. VAN DIJK AND MR. FRALEY. ANALYSIS OF APPLICATION OF THIS PROCESS TO THE PROBLEM AS DEFINED IN TOPIC 4, SUBTOPIC D, MERITS FURTHER STUDY, WHICH IS THE DRIVING FORCE FOR THE PRESENT REQUEST. THE PRODUCT YIELD FOR THE PROCESS IS EXPECTED TO BE BETWEEN 65 AND 70%, CARBON ON CARBON. SOME OF THE MODERN METHANOL PROCESSES, STARTING FROM PRESSURIZED METHANE, HAVE HIGHER YIELDS, LIKE OVER 80 % CARBON ON CARBON. SUCH HIGHER YIELDSTHEN CAN COMBINE WITH THE MOBIL PROCESS TO ATTAIN 80 % OVERALL YIELDS TO HYDROCARBONS FOR FUEL USE, AS CLAIMED BY HALDOR-TOPSOE FOR THE TIGAS PROCESS. THESE HIGHER YIELDS, HOWEVER, CAN NOT BE OBTAINED AT ACCEPTABLE CAPITAL COSTS, BECAUSE THE STARTING METHANOL PLANTS CAN NOT BE BUILT AT EXTREMELY LOW CAPITAL COSTS, WHICH IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE PROJECTED USE. NOTWITHSTANDING THE SOMEWHAT LOWER YIELD, THE PRESENT PROCESS PROMISES TO PROVIDE AN ECONOMICALLY ATTRACTIVE CONVERSION FOR METHANE TO FUEL STREAMS. THE STUDY WILL AIM AT FINDING THE PROPER EQUIPMENT, COMBINED WITH OPTIMIZED FLOWSHEET CONDITIONS FOR THAT EQUIPMENT, FOR DIFFERENT STARTING METHANE FLOWS AND ASSUMING DIFFERENT PRESSURES AT SOURCE. THE AIM IS TO OBTAIN AVAILABILITY OF PROPER EQUIPMENT FOR HIGHLY VARIED CONDITIONS (AT LEAST FIVE, POSSIBLY MORE, DIFFERENT CONDITIONS WILL BE STUDIED), SO THAT A SPECTRUM OF SITUATIONS CAN BE ACCOMMODATED WITH THE NEW PROCESS.