Associate Professor Praveen Linga (left) and Dr Gaurav Bhattacharjee (right) holding solidified natural gas pellets. Behind them is a prototype of the machine they used in their patented conversion process. This work was conducted in the Linga Lab @ NUS.
Natural gas is the cleanest of all fossil fuels, but storing it safely and affordably remains a challenge. Now, engineers from NUS have devised a method to convert natural gas into a non-explosive solid that can be easily stored and transported. Using a novel, low-toxicity additive mixture they formulated, the conversion can be completed in just 15 minutes – the fastest time so far.
The NUS team was led by Associate Professor Praveen Linga from NUS Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Their paper was published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science on 27 October 2020.
Fast, safe and portable way to store natural gas
The NUS team worked on a process of converting natural gas into a solid form known as gas hydrates, or combustible ice, which consists of molecules of natural gas trapped in “cages” formed by water molecules. In fact, nature stores natural gas this way, but the process is extremely slow. Other researchers have previously managed to speed it up artificially, but they resorted to using highly toxic additives which are unsafe for both the environment and personnel involved.
The new additive mixture formulated by the NUS researchers contains L-tryptophan, well known as an essential amino acid in people’s diet. This muscle-building amino acid can also greatly speed up the caging of natural gas into solid hydrate. The NUS formulation produces the fastest reaction rate to date – more than twice as fast as existing standards – while being less toxic and safer to handle.
Research Fellow Dr Gaurav Bhattacharjee, who worked on the project, said, “Our breakthrough can really be put into perspective when you consider that it takes millions and millions of years for gas hydrates to form in nature, yet with our correct addition of secret ingredients to the system in small quantities, the same process can be effected in the laboratory in a matter of minutes.”
Moreover, the end-product is very stable and can be stored at -5 degree Celsius and atmospheric pressure, similar to the conditions of a home freezer. This is impressive considering that the natural gas is reduced in volume by close to 90 times. Alternative ways to store natural gas include liquefying it at about -160 degree Celsius or compressing it to almost 250 times atmospheric pressure. These approaches do not work at a large scale because either they are expensive or not so safe to store for long periods.
Scaling up for industrial use
The NUS researchers are now aiming to convert larger volumes of gas into smaller volumes of solid at a pilot-scale of 100 kilogrammes per day. If successful, this will enable the commercial adoption of the solidified natural gas technology and create a solid that is stable to store at atmospheric pressure. They hope to eventually scale it up for industrial use.
Assoc Prof Linga said, “This is especially relevant to natural gas importing countries like Singapore, where 95 per cent of electricity is generated using natural gas. The development of such gas storage technologies would help enhance the country’s energy security.”
This research was funded in part under the Energy Innovation Research Programme (ERIP), which is administrated by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF).
Notably, Assoc Prof Linga’s work was highlighted in the recently released Research Fronts 2020, a joint report by Clarivate and the Chinese Academy of Sciences to identify the top 100 research fronts for the period 2014 to 2019. According to the report, Assoc Prof Linga and his team have published the top three papers with the highest citations in the research front related to gas hydrates for “research progress on gas hydrate accumulation and mining technology”. These papers focused on the latest progress in creating natural gas hydrates, both in the laboratory environment and in mining field experiments, the limitations of the state-of-art natural gas exploration methods, and the challenges of large-scale exploration.
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Solidified natural gas pellets
- Steelmakers have decarbonization options ahead of hydrogen revolution: Lindeon January 24, 2021 at 11:18 pm
Linde’s gas applications technologies can support decarbonization, creating substantial immediate CO2 emission reductions rather than waiting simply on hydrogen to be used, he said at Steel Times ...
- Baker Hughes Foresees Ramp in LNG FIDs, Opportunities in CCUS, Hydrogenon January 22, 2021 at 7:10 am
Global natural gas demand is rising, setting the stage for up to four export projects to be sanctioned this year, the Baker Hughes Co. CEO said Thursday.
- Enviva Partners: This Fast Growing Wood Pellets MLP Is Capitalizing On Booming Demandon January 22, 2021 at 6:42 am
Enviva Partners , the world’s leading maker of utility-grade wood pellets, delivered an impressive performance in 2020 and looks well-positioned to grow further this year. The M ...
- А. Lukashenko: Over the years of independence, the forest area has increased by almost 1 million hectareson January 18, 2021 at 4:00 pm
The position of forestry in the country's economy was not shaken by the pandemic and other challenges of the past year. The results of the industry were discussed today at the Palace of Independence.
- How Union Gas Holdings is firing up growth in the fuel marketon January 18, 2021 at 12:38 pm
Union Gas Holdings has helped individuals and businesses fuel up for over four decades, thanks to meticulous planning and diversification that has helped it grow from a small sundry shop to the ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Solidified natural gas pellets
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Natural gas hydrate
- Hydraulic Fracturing Market 2019 Analysis May Set New Growth Story, Forecast to 2025on January 22, 2021 at 5:14 am
The Global Hydraulic Fracturing Market size is expected to grow at an annual average of 7 3 during 2019 2025 The energy industry has observed the transition from conventional crude oil and natural gas ...
- The fatal consequences of high atmospheric methane levelson January 21, 2021 at 10:25 pm
It is hard to think of a more Orwellian expression than that describing the increase in toxic atmospheric methane gas as “gas-led recovery.” Several of the large mass extinctions of species in the ...
- Timeless Skin Care Launches Facial Kitson January 21, 2021 at 5:42 am
Each kit helps customers re-create the spa experience at home, pampering the skin with scientifically advanced ingredients that energize, hydrate and protect. CEO and Founder Veronica Pedersen ...
- Testing the waters: Analyzing different solid states of water on other planets and moonson January 18, 2021 at 4:00 pm
Aside from the gaseous, liquid, and solid states we are accustomed to, water can form a different type of crystalline solid called clathrate hydrate. Although they look similar to ice, clathrate ...
- We tried Pixi’s new SS21 collection – here’s what we thoughton January 15, 2021 at 5:44 am
With glow tonic being its most famous accolade, the international name focuses on mid-range price points and innovative, natural formulas ... ingredients to hydrate, soothe and revitalise all ...
