PFI-RP: Advanced Membrane-Contact Reactor for Fuel Alcohol Productions from Distributed Resources

Power Environmental Energy Research Institute, Covina CA

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnership for Innovation – Research Partnership (PFI-RP) project is an efficient small-scale gas-to-liquid (GTL) conversion technology for use with distributed waste biomass and “stranded gas” resources. The conversion of "nuisance" or noxious gases emitted as waste to valuable liquids is not presently available in the marketplace. Today, most of the natural gas produced during the production of crude oil, also known as “associated gas”, has to be flared. The flaring process destroys this potentially important energy resource, while contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and increasing public health concerns. Gasification of biomass with the goal of producing liquid fuels/chemicals offers an opportunity for effective utilization of this abundant and readily available renewable energy resource. The current lack of advanced small-scale conversion technology has become a bottleneck to continuous biomass utilization. Developing a small and profitable gas conversion unit also offers an opportunity to produce methanol and other value-added chemicals from alternative and renewable resources. The proposed project seeks to develop a highly-efficient methanol production process from synthetic gas by employing a sweep liquid-facilitated membrane contact reactor (MCR) system in which both the reaction heat and the produced methanol are removed in situ. This process may lead to a higher one-path conversion rate that overcomes inherent equilibrium limitations. With excellent heat management features and enhanced single-pass conversion rate, the proposed process may not require the energy-demanding and technically-complex recycle step of un-reacted syngas, making it beneficial for the utilization of distributed biomass and untapped natural gas resources. The use of the MCR system avoids the direct contact of the sweep solvents with catalysts, overcoming a key challenge related to industrial applications of competitive reactive separation processes. In addition, the MCR configuration of the system, which is equivalent to a “tube-and-shell” heat exchanger reactor, allows for the effective removal of heat from the reactor environment via the solvent sweep. Such a MCR-based methanol production process may have potential for expanding the application of GTL technology to a growing class of distributed-type applications. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.