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Top 3 areas in midstream to consider for energy savings
Plant owners have historically preferred more robust and dependable facilities over efficient processes with more stringent operating constraints.
In today’s environment, the supply and demand pressure of feedstock gas supply, as well as worldwide pressure to reduce greenhouse gases throughout industrial facilities and improve energy efficiency and flexibility within liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants, has become a major focus for plant owners and operators.
As such, to streamline these needs, there are several points to consider for more adaptability and flexibility – the top three being: infrastructure improvements, changes in process designs for more adaptable energy uses and the ability to be useful during Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS).
When processes are designed with sustainability in mind, safety, cost savings and profitability all follow.
Consider these three areas for a relatively quick return on investment within the LNG plant operations, whether they are new or mature plants.
Top 3 areas in midstream to consider for energy savings
Corrosion Retardant Solution (CRS) is a water-based, sustainable anti-corrosion treatment that penetrates and encapsulates tightly adhered rust to create a primed surface for other coatings. CRS then bonds via adhesion to the metal below, stopping corrosion from spreading. Due to its sustainable nature, application is at least 75% quicker than conventional applications allowing an additional 10 years of product lifetime.
Infrastructure improvements:
With the expected future expansion of the nation’s midstream infrastructure, there is a need for improved critical components including pipelines, compression systems and/or controls to reduce CO2, CH4 and other emissions.
Compressor stations are the largest sources of gas consumption and losses from the natural gas system, accounting for approximately 86% of gas that is lost in the transmission and distribution network1.
Cost-effective and safe technologies must be used to allow pipelines and their critical components to be easily inspected and repaired without methane emissions, while allowing more uptime.
Leak detection and real-time monitoring of the entire system including vapor emissions, pressure, and flow to ensure continued operations within the required parameters. Cloud-based data capture and measurement trends easily allow remote access for key people to provide critical insight into the operations to make quick decisions for prevention of leaks.
Additionally, corrosion on pipelines and other key components should be eliminated altogether. Corrosion is one of the two most prevalent causes of pipeline failures, most often manifesting as leaks or seeps. For the five-year period of 2013-2017, approximately 17% of reported incidents on gas transmission, gas gathering, and hazardous liquid pipelines were caused by corrosion2.
Innovative and sustainable proven corrosion treatments are now available that penetrate and neutralize the metal to cure corrosion issues and stop rust from forming.
Such an increase in operational efficiency would potentially increase the capacity for in-pipe gas storage, which would provide a better response to quickly changing gas demand profiles.
The need for alternative fuels
Decarbonization policies have been proposed or introduced in several parts of North America to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon world. These policies rely on a range of actions, such as implementing standards for renewables and establishing clean energy standards that are net carbon neutral.
The use of alternative fuels such as Renewable Natural Gases (RNG), Bio-Methane, Hydrogen, and Methanol is being developed in an effort to reduce greenhouse gases and keep the carbon emissions at net zero.
The mixing of H2 with natural gas can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions since the combustion of H2 produces no greenhouse gases; it reduces carbon oxides (COx), sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter emissions.
BTU Content of H2 allows a blend of 5%-10% into natural gas for optimum heating value.
Methanol also has several advantages as a carbon-neutral fuel. It can be produced using only renewable resources. It can be manufactured from a variety of domestic carbon-based feedstocks, such as biomass, natural gas, and coal, which aids in the reuse of carbon-based products.
Finally, it can meet the stringent Tier III NOx emissions requirement3.
Areas of Carbon Capture, Utilization and Sequestration that have proven to be economically feasible. Each point requires measurement and management for re-purpose and re-use.
Methanol can be handled and transported under normal temperatures and pressure, and it’s been used for decades as a base chemical in many industries – which means that its storage and handling properties are all known and documented. In fact, the only issues holding back its use, for example, as a fuel in cars, are toxicity and corrosiveness.
Other RNGs are pipeline-quality gases that are fully interchangeable with conventional natural gas and thus can be used in natural gas vehicles. RNG is essentially biogas (the gaseous product of the decomposition of organic matter) that has been processed to purity standards. Like conventional natural gas, RNG can be used as a transportation fuel in the form of compressed natural gas (CNG) or LNG.
For the production and use of these alternative fuels to be sustainable over the long-term, several key factors must be considered during the transitions.
- Measurement and control of the gas blends throughout all the manufacturing processes for safety, homogeneity of phases and accuracy of the blends. Obtaining trending data to manage these processes is also very useful both for quality, quantity and ensuring product integrity and process functionality.
- Material compatibility selection to ensure there is no added risk to corrosion, or H2 embrittlement with the use of these new gas mixtures
Carbon capture
Beyond tax credits, the energy industry is increasingly adopting carbon-management strategies amid pressures from stakeholders. In addition, bills in Congress and many state legislatures may create CO2 reduction targets and marketplaces for carbon credits.
At this time, there are more than 50 individual CO2 pipelines with a combined length of 4,500 miles in North America4.
Transporting CO2 for sequestration and use into other areas, such as Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), commercial greenhouses, chemical production, dry ice, food and beverages, or building materials are already proving to be economically feasible.
That being said, the focus on repurposing existing pipelines for CO2 transmission is also under consideration but will require some tweaking.
CO2 is not usually transported as a gas through pipelines. It is transported as a “supercritical fluid,” which means the carbon dioxide is under such high pressures that it actually behaves like a liquid.
CO2 therefore needs to be transported at pipeline pressures between 1,200 and 2,200 psi., while crude pipelines operate at 600 psi to 1,000 psi and natural gas pipeline pressures range from 500 psi to 1,400 psi for example. This means the pipeline walls must be thicker than other types of pipelines, resulting in significant upgrades, which will present its own challenges.
In this case, measurement of pressures, flows and CO2 injection rates, as well as leak testing will be needed to assure proper usage with no leaks or emissions.
As the industry is facing new challenges to stay robust as well as energy efficient and sustainable, there are many points along the LNG process that can easily be enhanced for a quick return on investment. Elementale Enterprises will help you select the best technical and economical solutions to these challenges to optimize all points along the LNG Process – from infrastructure to fuel blending and CO2 capture and use for CCUS – to stay safe, competitive and ensure proper product quality control—sustainably.
For more information on how to enhance your overall plant efficiency, ensure proper operations and safeguard product quality, visit Elementale Enterprises.
2: PHMSA: Stakeholder Communications - Corrosion (dot.gov); 2018
3: Biofuels: Biomethane, Diesel Substitutes, Gasoline Substitutes (ca.gov)
4. National Energy Technical Laboratory, Dept of Energy , ESPA Authoring Template (energy.gov) 2015
