Process Economics Program Report 247A
Published: Oct. 2006
Previous PEP reports on gas-to-liquid (GTL) technologies—PEP 135C, Opportunities for Gas-to-Liquid Technologies (February 2000)
and PEP 247, Gas to Liquids Update (December 2002)—presented technoeconomic
evaluations of the GTL technologies of Sasol, Shell, Syntroleum, ConocoPhillips
and British Petroleum. The analyses in those reports were based upon the
development status of the technologies in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In
the past five or six years, more technological advancements have taken place,
which have improved the economic position of GTL products with respect to
conventional fuels. Indeed, the high oil prices of recent years have played a very
significant part in escalating GTL to prominence.
The
areas that received the most attention in the way of studies and R&D
work include reactor design and Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) catalysts. Past industrial
experience on GTL plants also extended the learning curve. The result of
the above is: increased productivity, higher selectivity, and enhanced working
life of F-T catalysts; larger sizes and more efficient designs of F-T reactors;
higher production-train capacities; more efficient use of process waste-energy;
and plant integration capabilities. Based upon recent catalysts properties
and F-T reactor design parameters described in patents and other information
sources, this new report evaluates the following technologies:
- Syntroleum slurry-reactor based technology. The previous report presented
Syntroleum fixed-bed technology that was current in the late 1990s. That
technology is no longer in use. This report presents a slurry-reactor based
technology, that is especially well suited to offshore barge- or platform-mounted plants (although the technology is good for landbased plants as well).
- Syntroleum slurry-reactor based technology
(with power block). This is an enhanced or advanced version of GTL technology
in which a (land-based) conceptual model of the Syntroleum GTL plant is
integrated with an electric power generation facility.
- ExxonMobil AGC-21
technology. This part contains our interpretation of the design and process
economics of the ExxonMobil AGC 21 GTL technology.
Our evaluation indicates
that fixed capital cost and production cost for the Syntroleum GTL plant
are about 10% lower than those for the ExxonMobil GTL plant. The Syntroleum plant (with
power block) has the lowest production cost but the highest product value.
by Syed Naqvi
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