ISSN: 2578-4846
Authors: Ekejiuba AIB*
Petroleum was used in its raw state for various purposes in different parts of the world before the discovery of the overwhelming uses of the refined products following the first distillation of lamp oil/ illuminating fuel (kerosene age, 1859-1900) and the development of the internal combustion engines using gasoline or diesel (for vehicles, trucks and ships), the rise in commercial aviation (airplanes and rockets) and other devices, near the beginning of the twentieth century. The burning/combustion of petroleum fuels release greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide (CO2), which creates environmental problems such as global warming, acid rain from sulfur and nitrogen oxide emissions. This rise in CO2 / temperature “global warming” in turn causes other environmental problems such as flooding of coastlines due to melting of the glaciers (polar ice cap melting); disrupted weather patterns i.e. change in wind and rainfall patterns as well as soil moisture; etc., hence the strong quest for an alternative source. On the other hand, apart from serving the aforementioned traditional purposes (transportation fuels), the other petroleum refined products are now the chief source of raw materials (primary petrochemicals such as methanol, ethylene, propylene, butadiene, benzene, toluene and xylene) for the manufacture of chemicals especially organic chemicals, such as textiles, artificial fibers, and plastics of all descriptions, rubber, nitrogen fertilizers, dyestuffs, detergents, pharmaceuticals, medicines, furniture, appliances, solar panels, PVC pipes, bulletproof vests, consumer electronics, wind turbines and automobile parts. Simply put, the use of fossil petroleum refined products goes beyond transportation fuels; it is virtually everything to mankind development. In contrast, synthetic liquid fuels (Synfuels) are liquid fuels (such as gasoline, kerosene, diesel, et cetera) which are produced from substitute/synthetic natural gas (S.N.G.) otherwise known as syngas {derived from virtually any hydrocarbon feedstock, by reaction with steam or oxygen or by reforming of natural gas i.e. methane} and application of the FT-GTL process technique. The appeal of these liquid products (from the FT-GTL process technique) is that they are free from sulfur, aromatics, metals and out performs crude oil petroleum refined products, for instance the diesel will have a very high Octane number and can be a premium blending product while the naphtha would be low in Octane and represents a good petrochemical feedstock. In general, the most significant breakthrough is in syngas for other chemical processes and industries (it is the building block for many petrochemicals, i.e. methanol, ammonia or urea etc.). The theoretical background and basic concepts of the synergy of the existing petroleum crude oil refining technique and the FT-GTL process technique is presented in sufficient detail to tackle the global dual energy challenges (i.e. energy security and climate change goals) or more broadly the challenge to produce more of the affordable energy that society needs and the challenge to produce energy that’s less carbon intensive (i.e. carbon neutral-zero carbon dioxide emissions). Operationally, the overall products from the crude oil petroleum refining operation is reformed to syngas (CO + H2 mixture) “synthesis gas or synthetic gas” via steam reforming or dry reforming or bi-reforming and subsequently converted to Synfuel “Synthetic liquid fuels” using the FT-GTL Fischer-Tropsch (FT) Technology a.k.a. FT-GTL synthesis process. The super heated steam (H2O), CO2 and waste heat produced during the FT- process is used directly in a chemical reactor to further generate CO/H2 mixture instead of embarking on carbon capture (for CO production) and water electrolysis (for H2 production). The high purity oxygen (O2) and heat produced in the chemical reactor is also directly used in the partial oxidation (POX) or autothermal reforming (ATR), units for additional production of CO/H2 mixture. Furthermore fraction of the CO2 and steam/ H2O generated in the FT process unit can be used for dry reforming or bi-reforming of a fraction of the conventional crude oil refinery products into syngas (CO + H2 mixture). Ultimately, this synergy of refining technique will help refiners to meet new guidelines for very low sulfur fuels and general environmental standards as well as enable the continued use of the fossil petroleum energy resources to help the growing demand in energy and worldwide concern towards alternatives to the use of fossil fuel for energy production. This means that, the world will never stop using fossil energy resource. That is no transition/phase out of crude oil and natural gas, rather there will be transition away from emissions i.e. producing these products in a way that has lower and lower emissions. Even the enthusiast of zero emission vehicles will need roads to drive the cars, which means that we need to produce bitumen. Similarly, the enthusiast for alternative electricity via wind turbines and solar panel (photovoltaic and thermal, PV/T collectors) will need lubricants for the gearboxes and generators mounted inside the turbines and various petrochemical products to fabricate panels and inverters, as well as their installation and connection cables, batteries, and other gadgets. Thus, if we can produce bitumen, lubricants and other petrochemicals with lower and lower emission it will be a win situation for everybody. Win for the environment, win for the economy, and win for the affordability and a win for the environmentalist.
Keywords: Petroleum fuels; Synthetic liquid fuels; FT-GTL process; Energy challenges; Synergy of refining technique; Carbon neutral; Climate change goals
