Gas to Liquids (GTL).

Technology and Economics

Dr. Widodo W, Purwanto, Dr. Asep H Saputraa,b

Sustainable Energy Research Group
Departemen Teknik Kimia (Gas dan Petrokimia)
Fakultas Teknik Universitas Indonesia
a

Pengkajian Energi (Center for Energy Studies)

Universitas Indonesia
b

PEUI -2006

Outline

What is GTL

The GTL Process

Key Technical Issues

Syngas Production

FT synthesis

Product Upgrading

GTL Economics

Product Quality & Market

GTL Projects

The Future
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Future Fuel Supply

CTL/

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Source:APEC

Natural gas transportation

Pipeline
Liquefied natural gas (LNG)
Compressed natural gas (CNG)
SUPPLY

Gas to Solid (GTS)

Gas to Liquids (GTL)

MARKETS

Gas to Chemicals (GTC)

Gas to Wire (GTW)

Physical conversion

: pipeline, CNG, LNG, GTS

Chemical conversion

: GTL, GTC, GTW

 PEUI -2006

What is GTL?
Professor Franz Fischer .. and
Dr Hans Tropsch, the
inventors of a process to
create liquid hydrocarbons
from carbon monoxide gas
and hydrogen using metal
catalyst
Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) fuels can be produced from natural gas using a FischerTropsch chemical reaction process. The liquids produced include diesel,
naphtha, and chemical feedstocks. GTL diesel can be used neat or blended
with todays diesel fuel and used in existing diesel engines and infrastructure.
These fuels provide an opportunity to reduce dependence on petroleum-based
fuels and reduce tailpipe emissions. GTL fuel has virtually no sulfur,
aromatics, or toxics. It can be blended with non-complying diesel fuel to make
the fuel cleaner so it will comply with new diesel fuel standards.
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FT-Diesel

Why Synthetic fuels?

Substitute

to petroleum fuels
Infrastructure using petroleum based fuels
Ultra-clean fuels: near-zero sulfur and
aromatic, high centane number

but
Need chemical conversion
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Diesel Quality Regulation

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Source: Sasol

The GTL Process

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Feedstock
H/C 1

0.1

H/C= 2

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Source: Sasol, modified

Indirect process conversion

Biomassa

Synthetic fuels

XTL

H2/CO

FT

Syngas
(H2+CO)
SMR (CH4+H2O)

Source: widodo, 2004

NH
3

IGC
C

Sy
nt
he
si
s

ells

Electricity
Olefins
NH3

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MeOH

O
MT

Combined Ref.

MeOH Synthesis
Fue
lC

POX (CH4+O2)
CO2R (CH4+CO2)

DME

s
thesi
n
y
S
DME

Coal

Gas

Fue
l Ce
ll

Gasification
Feed + O2 + H2O

si
e
th
n
Sy

Direct process conversion

Pyrolisis

Coal

Synfuels (liquid/gas)

Hydrogenation

Ethylene

Heat

Combustion
e
tiv
a
id
Ox

ng
i
l
up
Co

tion
a
d
i
l Ox
a
i
t
r
Pa

Methanol
Formaldehyde

CH4
Methane C
Me
tha
ne

Source: widodo, 2004

PEUI -2006

cra

onversion

cki
ng

Aromatics

Hydrogen
nanocarbon

GTL Flow Diagram

Electricity

H2S, CO2, H2O

Natural
Gas

CH4
Desulphurizer
Unit

Syngas
Production Unit
O2

Air

Air Separation
Unit

Cogeneration
Unit

H2,CO

Tail
Gas

Polybed PSA
Unit
H2/CO=2

N2

FT Synthesis
Unit

H2

Light
Ends

Upgrading
Unit

Catalyst
Separation
Syncrude
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Naphtha,
Diesel

Source: widodo, 2004

Key Technical Issues

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Carbon and Energy Efficiency

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Source: Foster Wheeler

Carbon and Energy Efficiency

Fuel Losses (CO2)
23 Btu
23 Carbon

GAS FEED
100 Btu
100 Carbon

GTL plant

HC Product
60 Btu
77 Carbon
Water Make
17 Btu
0 Carbon

EE: 60%
CE: 77%

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Source: Foster Wheeler

Carbon and Energy Efficiency

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Source: widodo, 2004

Product-Feeds-Technology

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Source: Sasol

Poly-generation
(Fuels, Chemicals & Power)

Natural gas composition: CO2 content

Syngas production technologies: H2/CO, Energy

- SMR: H2/CO >, E++

- CO2R: H2/CO <, E ++
- POX: H2/CO ~, E- Combined (SMR+POX=ATR) H2/CO ~, E~

FT synthesis: H2/CO, catalyst type, temperature

Excess light ends & steam: Electricity
Excess of H2 or CO: chemicals as co-products

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Heat Integration

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Source: Foster Wheeler

Syngas Production

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Syngas reaction
Steam Reforming of Methane (SRM)

CH4 + H2O CO + 3 H2 Endo

Partial Oxidation (POX)

CH4 + O2 CO + 2 H2 Exo

CO2 Reforming (CO2R)

CH4 + CO2 2CO + 2 H2 Endo

Syngas quality is ratio of H/C

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Syngas Reformer

Tubular Reactor

HE Reactor

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Fixed Bed

FT Synthesis

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FT Reactions
Main Reactions
Paraffin
: (2n+1) H2 + n CO CnH2n+2 + n H2O
Olefin
: 2n H2 + n CO
CnH2n + n H2O
Alcohols
: 2n H2 + n CO
CnH2n+2O + (n-1)H2O
Side Reactions
Water gas shift
Surface carbonaceous material
Dis-proporsionation Boudouard
Oxidation-reduction of catalyst
Carbide formation
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: H2O + CO CO2 + H2
: (x+(y/2)) H2 + x CO CxHy + x H2O
: CO + CO CO2 + C
: y H2O + x M MxOy + y H2
y CO2 + x M Mxoy + y CO
: y C + x M MxOy + y CO

Reaction Performances
Conversion: reactant converted/initial reactant
Product Selectivity:
AndersonFlorySchulz kinetics
log (Wn/n) = n log + log [(1-)2/]
with a growth chance , carbon number n, Wn mass fraction
=0.8 premium/gasoline
>0.9 diesel

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 PEUI -2006

Parameter Impacts
Nilai tinggi, produk mengarah diesel
Katalis. Nilai yang tinggi diperoleh dari:
Pemilihan logam : Co > Ru > Fe
Penyangga
: TiO2 > AL2O3 > SiO2
Promotor
: K2O, V2O5, ZrO2, Cr2O3 menaikkan
nilai
Konsentrasi logam : loading lebih tinggi, nilai naik
Ukuran partikel
: ukuran lebih kecil, nilai naik
Kondisi Proses.
Rasio H2/CO
: rasio H2/CO naik, nilai turun
Suhu (T)
: suhu naik, nilai turun
Tekanan (P)
: tekanan naik, nilai naik
Reaktor :
Fixed bed
Fluidized bed
Slurry

Kontrol suhu
: hot spot menurunkan nilai
: suhu tinggi, nilai rendah
: suhu rendah, nilai tinggi
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Catalyst Comparison
Fe

Co

Pembuatan

Presipitasi

Presipitasi

Penyangga

TiO2, Al2O3,SiO2, MgO

Daya tahan

Rendah

Tinggi

Syngas H2/CO

0.7 2

2 (tanpa reaksi shift)

Fasa aktif

Fe Fe3C Fe5C2

Co

Selektifitas

Lebih bersifat olifinik

Lebih bersifat parafinik

Produk

rendah

lebih tinggi

Produk samping >>CO2

>>H2O

Fleksibilitas

Luas tergantung
kondisi

Terbatas (tanpa reaktor

Shift)

Umur

Pendek (orde minggu) Panjang (orde tahun)

Regenerasi

Tidak/Jarang
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Ya

Typical FT Reactor

Fixed Bed

Circulating Bed
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Slurry Bed

FT Reactor Characteristics
Fixed Bed

Circulating
Bed

Slurry Bed

Transfer panas
terbatas

Transfer panas
baik

Transfer panas baik/

uniform

Disain sederhana

Dapat mengganti
katalis selama
proses

Dapat mengganti
katalis selama
proses

Problem hot spot,

pressure drop

Problem dimensi
reaktor besar

Problem Separasi
wax/katalis

Produk fraksi
berat/diesel

Produk fraksi
ringan/nafta,
gasoline

Produk fraksi
berat/diesel

1,500 5,000 bpd

1,600 6,500 bpd

10,000 17,000 bpd

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Sasol FT Reactor types

High
temperature
(350oC)

Synthol

Advanced
Synthol

Gasoline &
olefins

Low
temperature
(250oC)

Arge

Slurry

Waxes &
diesel
Conventional technology
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Advanced technology
Source: Sasol

FT Reactor Capacity

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Source: Sasol

Fuel Losses (CO2)

Biomass
378 MW
BTL plant

EE: 45%
CE: %

Water Make
0 Carbon

FTDiesel
244 MW
4,115 BPD
316 TPD (diesel)
162 TPD (naphtha)

Pilot Slurry Phase Reactor (SPD)

1 m diameter x 20 m high
demonstration reactor:
Hydrodynamic and
Engineering Data

PEUI -2006

Source: Sasol

Slurry Phase Reactor (SPD)

Commercially proven
Designed, developed, operated and
licensed by Sasol
2500 bbl/day unit operated since
1993 first run - 7 months
5 years commercial operation
98% availability
Uses high efficiency catalyst
Designed for integration with steps 1
& 3 on a scale of 15 000 bbl/day

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Source: Sasol

Typical Flow Regime

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Source: Krishna

Reactor photos

Petro SA, Mosselbay, Synthol

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SMDS, Bintulu, Fixed bed

Multitubular

SPD reactor - Qatar

Oryx GTL
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Source: Sasol

Product Upgrading

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Upgrading process
Tail Gas
Gas Sintesis
REAKTOR
FISCHER
TROPSCH

Air

Steam

Gas
Katalis

Wax/Slurry
H2
SEPARASI
KATALIS
& WAX

Nafta
UNIT
HYDRO PROCESSING

Wax

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SEPARASI
PRODUK

Diesel

Upgrading Process

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GTL Economics

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Capacity of Single Train of GTL Plant

Current Single-Train Capacity
ASU

Syngas

3,500 tpd

FT
17,000 BPD

Future Single-Train Capacity

ASU

Syngas

5,000 tpd

FT
25,000 +BPD

Future Integrated Complex Capacity

1 Gas Plant = 3 ASU = 3 Syngas = 3 FT = 1 Upgrade
800-900 MMSCFD

75-90,000 BPD

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Source: Foster Wheeler

Range of capital investment costs

for synthetic fuel plant
( 1000 USD per daily barrel of capacity)

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Source: EIA, DOE

Capex vs. Capacity

CAPEX (1000 US$/ BPD)

100
80
60
40
20
0
0

20

40

60

80

100

Kapasitas Plant GTL (1000 BPD)

Sasol

Other

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Trendline

120

Capital Cost vs. year

Unit Capex (1997 K$/daily barrel)

Capex (Total cost to owner): 20 000 - 30 000US $ / dbbl

80

New
Zealand

70

Historical
Extrapolation

1997 Poll of
Experts

RAND
model

Qatar
(base case)
adjusted to
50 MBPD
($25M/db)
startup in
2005

60
50

Malaysia
South
Africa

40
30
20

Target
Exxon
Qatar

New Petroleum Refineries

10
0
1980

1985

1990

1995
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2000

2005

2010

2015

Source: Sasol, Foster Wheeler

Estimated Production Cost

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Source: IFP

Indicative Capital Cost

Breakdown
20%
30%

Syngas Production
F-T Synthesis
Product Work-up
Other Process units

15%

Utilities

10%

15%

Offsites

10%

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Source: Foster Wheeler

Discounted Cash Flow

Breakdown (25 years)
2%
22%

52%

Gas Price
$0.5/MMBtu
~ $4.5/bbl

Opex
~ $4.5/bbl

Capex

Opex
Capex
~ $9.0/bbl
Feed Costs

Other Costs

24%

Portions of NPV (Discount Rate = IRR)

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$18/bbl
Source: Foster Wheeler

Cost of Product

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Source: Foster Wheeler

Product Cost

Distribution cost = 15% of production cost

Taxes
= 15%
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Source: Sasol, IFP, Foster Wheeler

Product Quality
and Market

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FT diesel properties

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Source: Morita, 2001

Tail-pipe emissions

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Source: Foster Wheeler

FT Diesel Emission Test

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Source: Sasol

Product value
and potential markets

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Source: Sasol

Market Strategy

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Source: Sasol

GTL Project

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Sasol Scheduling GTL Plant

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GTL Project Performance

Improvement
Thermal
Efficiency

Constructed
Cost

Project
Schedule

1996

1996

1996

45-50%

25k - 30k $/Bbl

36 - 42 months

2001

2001

2001

60-65%

17k - 25k $/Bbl

30 - 33 months

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Source: Foster Wheeler

Integrated GTL-Matindok

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GTL Qatar

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Source: Sasol

 PEUI -2006

Source: Sasol

ORYX Progress at Site

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Source: Foster Wheeler

ORYX Progress at Site

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Source: Foster Wheeler

Technology Developers

Syngas

Technology Licensors ( Haldor Topsoe,

Lurgi, others)

FT Synthesis

Oil Companies & Licensors (Sasol, Shell,

Syntroleum, Rentech)

Product Upgrade

Refinery Licensors (UOP,CHEVRON)

Oxygen

Package Vendors (Air Products, BOC)

Integration

Engineering Contractors (Foster Wheeler,

Technip, )

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Source: Foster Wheeler

Technology Providers - Syngas

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Source: Foster Wheeler

The Future
Monetize stranded gas
Substitute petroleum based fuels
Produce ultra-clean fuels
Secure fuels supply

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Thank You

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Sasol Visit, 2003

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Integrated GTL - Scenario 1

(ATR-FT-UREA-POWER)

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Integrated GTL - Scenario 2

(SMR-FT-UREA-POWER)

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Integrated GTL - Scenario 3

(ATR-FT-DME-POWER)

Nat.Gas

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Integrated GTL - Scenario 4

(SDR-FT-ACETIC ACID- POWER)

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Integrated GTL - Scenario 5

(DR-FT-ACETIC ACID-POWER)

Nat.Gas
CO2

PEUI -2006