NOVEL COMPOSITE MEMBRANES AND PROCESS FOR NATURAL GAS UPGRADING

The first phase of this project involved the development of a high performance composite membranes for the treatment of natural gas. The objective of the second phase is to demonstrate the commercial potential of a full-size membrane module in a pilot scale field test. This phase is undertaken jointly with our commercial partner, UOP LLC. At the conclusion of Phase I, two composite membrane products had been developed for the enrichment (sweetening) of natural gas. The one was a low pressure membrane with a high CO{sub 2}/CH{sub 4} separation factor that falls within the target range of 25-30 (at 50 C) set for the program. This is a significant improvement over current commercial membranes that have separation factors of around 18-19. The second membrane had excellent high pressure capability and good contamination resistance, with a separation factor of 20-22. Based on the performance and the economic evaluation of the newly developed membranes, and with the input of UOP and DOE, it was decided to devote the demonstration phase of the program to the field testing and commercial evaluation of natural gas dehydration membranes. Due to the events of September 11, the program was also extended by 6 months until June 30, 2002. In Phase II, UOP has essentially completed preparation of the field test site. Site preparation included the re-design of the test system, purchase and installation of analytical equipment, and making the necessary piping and other hardware changes. IMS has produced two commercial sized dehydration membrane modules for the field tests. These have been successfully tested up to pressures expected in the field tests, and the modules have been shipped to the test site. The remainder of the program will comprise performance testing of the membrane modules, evaluation of the results and submission of the final report with recommendations