(597a) Sustainable Chemicals Program Leveraging Stranded and Underutilized Natural Gas As Feedstocks

Daniel Haynes¹, Jared Ciferno²

¹National Energy Technology Lab, 3610 Collins Ferry Rd. Morgantown, WV 26505

²U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave., Washington D.C. 20585

In the pursuit of addressing the climate crisis, the Department of Energy has aligned its initiatives with the Nations aggressive emissions targets needed to reach Net-Zero emissions by 2050. Included in this are the bold action strategies that support the pillars of decarbonization which include the development of transformational technologies that can lead to game changing innovations and their demonstrations to ensure market readiness and adoption. The viability of these new technologies rests on their ability to provide reductions in decarbonization through improved energy efficiencies, electrification, sustainable feedstocks and energy sources, as well as CO2 capture, sequestration, and storage.

In this light the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Managements Methane Mitigation Division supports the broader DOE initiatives by addressing methane emissions from the hydrocarbon fuel sector, with efforts to improve emissions detection, quantification and mitigation capabilities over the production, transport, and storage these fuels.

One of the most significant sources of hydrocarbon emissions is associated gas flaring. To exemplify the extent of this problem, between 2011 and 2021 almost 3.5 trillion cubic feed of natural gas was vented or flared across the United States alone and produced 356 million metric tons of CO2 [1]. While there are many reasons for flaring, it is primarily done for economic reasons due to limited pipeline takeaway capacity in the remote areas the wells are located (e.g., Permian and Bakken regions). Recognizing the environmental and economic benefits, the Division of Methane Mitigation Technologies has identified these wasted resources as an opportunity to be converted into industrially relevant value-added chemicals and fuels.

The United States chemical sector produces roughly 274 million metric tons of CO₂ per year and is expected to grow as this is considered one of the hardest sectors to decarbonize because of wide assortment of processes and operations [2]. The Division of Methane Mitigation sees the ability to reduce the chemical sectors emissions by converting these underutilized natural gas resources into high-value, high-demand, and low carbon foot-print chemicals such as ammonia, ethylene, propylene, and methanol. Our analysis suggests that advanced conversion technologies could lead to a reduction in national green house gas emissions from ammonia production by 48%, ethylene production by 12.5%, or from methanol production by 100% respectively (assuming all underutilized gas is being used to produce either of these chemicals).

The Division of Methane Mitigation Technologies is seeking to expand its Natural Gas Conversion Program into a Stranded and Underutilized Natural Gas Conversion More Sustainable Chemicals sub-Program. This program will lead research efforts to develop modular technical solutions to convert waste underutilized gas into sustainable chemicals that offer advanced net-zero pathways. The program will have major themes that include waste feedstock utilization, innovative carbon-efficient chemical conversion processes, and demonstration of advanced processes with a cross-cutting theme of understanding sustainability implications. The themes of this program support align with DOEs Clean Fuels and Products Shot^TM to meet the goal of 50% carbon-based chemicals3.

References:

[1] IEA, "Direct CO2 combustion emissions from flaring and flaring intensity in the Net Zero Scenario, 2010-2030," International Energy Agency, 10 July 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/direct-co2-combustion-emi.... (Accessed 2024)

[2] Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap (energy.gov) (Accessed 2024)

[3] Clean Fuels & Products Shotâ„¢: Alternative Sources for Carbon-based Products | Department of Energy (Accessed 2024)