Methane to Gasoline Unit project

1. S
Methane to Gasoline
Unit
ACADEMIC YEAR 2013/2014
1

2. Host University: University of California, Davis
Responsible to University: Nael El-FARRA
INSAT responsible: Faouzi BOUACHIR
2

3. UC DAVIS
S Located at California, United States of America
S Ranked among the top 10 in the nation
S 1st for the environment and ecology field in USA
S 1st for agriculture and forestry in the world (World
University Rankings 2014)
S Tied first with UC Berkley as top producers of US
Fulbright scholars
3

4. What is the main purpose of
this project ?
4

5. Project’s Motivation
Ecological Motivation
S Use the new abundant resource of shale gas (gas de
schiste) rather than flared or released into the air
S Natural gas burns much more cleanly than oil
S The resulting greenhouse-gas emissions are a major
contributor to climate change
5

6. Project’s Motivation
Economic Motivation
S Shale gas is between two and six times more abundant
than oil
S To upgrade natural gas into more valuable and useful
chemicals and fuels could finally mean a cheap
replacement for petroleum
6

7. Project’s Motivation
Financial Motivation
S The goal is to make cheap gasoline from natural gas
S Natural gas price has fallen dramatically now that
technologies like cracking and horizontal drilling
S Oil costs around $100 a barrel, natural gas sells in the
U.S. for the equivalent of $20 a barrel.
7

8. Software
8

9. How does this Unit work ?
9

10. SIMULATION APPROACH
Syngas Section
Step 1: Crude Syngas Production
10

11. SIMULATION APPROACH
Syngas Section
CH4 + 2O2  CO2 + 2H2O
CH4 + H2O  CO + 3H2
CO + H2O  CO2 + H2
11

12. SIMULATION APPROACH
Syngas Section
Sensitivity analysis
Sensitivity results curve for
REAC2, Temperature
The temperature in REAC2 is
fixed at 1200°C
Sensitivity REAC2 Results curve,
Pressure
The pressure is fixed at 1.5 bar
12

13. SIMULATION APPROACH
Syngas Section
Step 2: First Separation, water knockout
13

14. SIMULATION APPROACH
Syngas Section
Sensitivity analysis
Sensitivity VESSEL Results
curve, Temperature
The temperature in
VESSEL is fixed at 10°C
14

15. SIMULATION APPROACH
Syngas Section
Step 2: Second Separation, refinery section
15

16. SIMULATION APPROACH
Syngas Section
16

17. SIMULATION APPROACH
Methanol Section
S Equation (1)
CO + 2H2 ↔ CH3OH, ΔH298 = −90.55 kJ mol−1
17

18. SIMULATION APPROACH
Methanol Section
18

19. SIMULATION APPROACH
Methanol Section
optimizer analysis
19

20. SIMULATION APPROACH
MTG Section
First part of the MTG plant (Unit 300)
20

21. SIMULATION APPROACH
MTG Section
Sensitivity analysis
Curves representing the pressure
results from sensitivity analysis
model
Curves representing the temperature
results from sensitivity analysis
The temperature is fixed at 900°C
The pressure is fixed at 7.5 bar for now
until
the optimization
21

22. SIMULATION APPROACH
MTG Section
Optimization model
22

23. SIMULATION APPROACH
MTG Section
3-phase separator
23

24. SIMULATION APPROACH
MTG Section
Second part of the MTG plant (Unit 300):
24

25. SIMULATION APPROACH
Isomerization Section
25

26. SIMULATION APPROACH
Isomerization Section
Sensitivity analysis
Profile result representing the variation of the temperature for (OCT, BUT,
HEXANE, HEPTANE, NBUTANE, NPENTANE, TOLUENE, BENZENE,
CIS, TRANS, OXYL, Paraxlyene) into the ISOMERIZATION reactor
The temperature is almost the same value, thus the temperature into our
reactor will be fixed at 350°C
26

27. SIMULATION APPROACH
Isomerization Section
Sensitivity analysis
curves result representing the variation of the pressure for (OCT, BUT,
HEXANE, HEPTANE, NBUTANE, NPENTANE, TOLUENE, BENZENE, CIS,
TRANS, OXYL, Paraxlyene) into the ISOMERIZATION reactor
The pressure into our reactor will be fixed at 20 bar, then the value toward a
high octane rating will be reached.
27

28. ECONOMIC EVALUATION
APPROCH
Operating cost summary of the SYNGAS
Section
28

29. ECONOMIC EVALUATION
APPROCH
Operating cost summary of the METHANOL Section
29

30. ECONOMIC EVALUATION
APPROCH
Operating cost summary of the MTG Section
30

31. ECONOMIC EVALUATION
APPROCH
Operating cost summary of the Isomerization Section
31

32. ECONOMIC EVALUATION
APPROCH
Operating cost summary of the whole unit
32

33. ECONOMIC EVALUATION
APPROCH
S First high temperatures are required to break methane
down into carbon monoxide and hydrogen, creating what
is called syngas
S It is costly to refine and separate into products.
S The costs are so high largely because the process is
complex and consumes a lot of energy
33

34. ECONOMIC EVALUATION
APPROCH
New Approaches
S The white pellets are a catalyst developed by the Silicon
Valley startup Siluria, Mountain View, San Jose, CA
 the company could produce gasoline from natural gas at
about half the cost of making it from crude oil
S Siluria is planning to build two larger demonstration
plants—one across San Francisco Bay in Hayward,
California, that will make gasoline, and one in Houston
that will only make ethylene
34

35. CONCLUSION
S A new replacement for the petroleum has been
discovered, this simulation is a feasibility proof
S High costs of this process is being discussed,
researchers are figuring out how to optimize it
S Turning this process on a commercial scale in the years
coming will be having a huge impact on the international
industry
35

36. Thank You For Your Attention
36