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Partnership invests in membranes with ionic liquids to improve efficiency and stability in separating CO² from natural gas
Partnership between Petrobras and Coppe/UFRJ promises to revolutionize the separation of CO² into pre-salt platforms, with an investment in national technology that could be a milestone for gas industry.
In a significant step towards the oil and gas industry, Petrobras and the Center of Excellence in Natural Gas (CEGN) of the Alberto Luiz Coimbra Institute for Postgraduate Studies and Research in Engineering (Coppe/UFRJ) are working together on the development of innovative membranes.
These membranes, which use ionic liquids, their objective is to separate carbon dioxide from natural gas extracted from pre-salt oil platforms.
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A new milestone in the gas industry
According to professor Cristiano Borges, from Coppe/UFRJ, technology is crucial so that natural gas can be transferred from offshore platforms to the mainland. Currently, it is necessary to reduce the concentration of CO² in natural gas to around 3%. The development of these membranes comes to meet this need, with the difference of having superior performance and stability, already proven on a laboratory scale.
“The capture of CO² in hydrocarbon streams, in particular natural gas, continues to be a priority for the oil and gas industry,” says Borges. The partnership, then, aims to face the challenge of high CO² levels, which can reach up to 70% in pre-salt sources.
Nationalism and innovation
Petrobras has always sought to improve process control through national technology. Currently, few international suppliers offer polymeric membranes for this purpose. Therefore, the partnership with Coppe/UFRJ comes at a good time, providing a more efficient and autonomous solution to the problem.
“It’s a question of space. During the extraction of gas in reservoirs 5 meters deep, as it is transported to the surface, it depressurizes. At very high pressures, there is an increase in the volume of the polymer that forms the membrane and it loses mechanical strength and separation efficiency”, explains the professor.
Ionic liquids, due to their low volatility and good thermal stability, are the protagonists in this new separation method. According to Borges, “some protic ionic liquids, based on ethanolamines and carboxylic acids, showed high selectivities for CO² absorption.”
Contribution to decarbonization
Besides the technological progress, the new technology can significantly contribute to reducing carbon emissions in the offshore oil extraction process. “One way to reduce CO² emissions is to remove it from natural gas and reinject it into the reservoir”, concludes Borges.
With information from Coppe/UFRJ.
