Petrobras and Coppe/UFRJ Are Developing Innovative Technology for Carbon Dioxide Separation in the Pre-Salt

Written by Bruno Teles

Published on 02/10/2023 at 15:10

Updated on 02/10/2023 at 15:13

Parceria entre Petrobras e Coppe/UFRJ (Imagem / Reprodução: Coppe/UFRJ)

Seja o primeiro a reagir!

Partnership Invests in Ion Liquid Membranes to Improve Efficiency and Stability in CO² Separation from Natural Gas

Partnership between Petrobras and Coppe/UFRJ promises to revolutionize CO² separation in pre-salt platforms, with an investment in national technology that could be a milestone for the gas industry.

In a significant step for the oil and gas industry, Petrobras and the Center for Excellence in Natural Gas (CEGN) of the Alberto Luiz Coimbra Institute of Graduate Studies and Research in Engineering (Coppe/UFRJ) are working together on the development of innovative membranes.

These membranes, which use ionic liquids, aim to separate carbon dioxide from natural gas extracted from oil platforms in the pre-salt.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

A New Milestone in the Gas Industry

According to Professor Cristiano Borges from Coppe/UFRJ, the technology is crucial for natural gas to be transferred from offshore platforms to the mainland. Currently, it is necessary to reduce the concentration of CO² in natural gas to about 3%. The development of these membranes addresses this need, with the advantage of having superior performance and stability, already proven on a laboratory scale.

“CO² capture in hydrocarbon streams, particularly from natural gas, remains a priority for the oil and gas industry”, Borges states. The partnership aims to tackle the challenge of high CO² levels, which can reach up to 70% in pre-salt sources.

Nationalism and Innovation

Petrobras has always sought to enhance 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 matter of space. During gas extraction from reservoirs at 5,000 meters deep, as it is transported to the surface, it undergoes depressurization. At very high pressures, there is an increase in the volume of the polymer that forms the membrane, and it loses mechanical resistance and separation efficiency”, explains the professor.

Ion 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, have shown high selectivities for CO² absorption.”

Contribution to Decarbonization

In addition to the technological advancement, 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.

Information from Coppe/UFRJ.

Petrobras and Coppe/UFRJ Are Developing Innovative Technology for Carbon Dioxide Separation in the Pre-Salt

Partnership Invests in Ion Liquid Membranes to Improve Efficiency and Stability in CO² Separation from Natural Gas

A New Milestone in the Gas Industry

Nationalism and Innovation

Contribution to Decarbonization

Seen from space, an image taken by an astronaut shows an unlikely oasis in the Saudi Arabian desert, protected by a terrain that slows the advance of sand, surrounded by green circles, remnants of an extinct lake and nearly 10,000 years of preserved history.

While the U.S. still faces limitations in deep space, China is developing unprecedented technology with strategic satellites that maintain communication with the far side of the Moon and aims for dominance by 2030.

With 7.4 trillion tons of artificial snow pumped in 10 years, an extreme operation could stabilize the West Antarctic ice sheet and prevent a sea level rise of more than 3 meters, but it would require snow cannons, ocean water, and energy on an almost industrial scale at the end of the world.

The Blood Falls of Antarctica hide a living ecosystem trapped under the ice for over 2 million years, where microbes survive without light, without oxygen, and without ever having seen the Sun.

In the Saudi Arabian desert, the world’s largest green hydrogen plant is 80% complete and will use 4 gigawatts of solar and wind energy to produce 600 tons of clean fuel per day when it opens in 2027.

The CEO of Honor in Spain says that smartphones will change with AI, foldables, and even robot phones; the component crisis is making cheap models more expensive in 2026 and shifting the focus to premium.

Federal Institute will pay you R$ 300 for a free course: IFSP calls women for 320 in-person vacancies in 8 cities, with 60 hours of training and registrations open until April 21, 2026.

Senar opens more than 3,000 vacancies in free technical courses for 2026 with 9 programs in agriculture, hybrid education EAD + in-person, registrations until May 26 and simplified selection without exams throughout Brazil.

Thicker walls become a thermal solution in Brazil by reducing internal heat by up to 30% without air conditioning, using thermal inertia, double walls with air, adobe, and roofs that can cut heating by up to 10°C.

The Artemis II fire alarm goes off a day before returning to Earth, revealing a tense moment experienced by astronauts on NASA’s historic mission after more than 50 years.

Redmi K Pad 2 debuts as the world’s first tablet with Bose sound, featuring an 8.8″ OLED display with 165 Hz, a 9,100 mAh battery, a vapor chamber of 15,300 mm², and a 540 Hz touch response for extreme gaming.

Petrobras and Coppe/UFRJ Are Developing Innovative Technology for Carbon Dioxide Separation in the Pre-Salt

Partnership Invests in Ion Liquid Membranes to Improve Efficiency and Stability in CO² Separation from Natural Gas

A New Milestone in the Gas Industry

Nationalism and Innovation

Contribution to Decarbonization

Seen from space, an image taken by an astronaut shows an unlikely oasis in the Saudi Arabian desert, protected by a terrain that slows the advance of sand, surrounded by green circles, remnants of an extinct lake and nearly 10,000 years of preserved history.

While the U.S. still faces limitations in deep space, China is developing unprecedented technology with strategic satellites that maintain communication with the far side of the Moon and aims for dominance by 2030.

With 7.4 trillion tons of artificial snow pumped in 10 years, an extreme operation could stabilize the West Antarctic ice sheet and prevent a sea level rise of more than 3 meters, but it would require snow cannons, ocean water, and energy on an almost industrial scale at the end of the world.

The Blood Falls of Antarctica hide a living ecosystem trapped under the ice for over 2 million years, where microbes survive without light, without oxygen, and without ever having seen the Sun.

In the Saudi Arabian desert, the world’s largest green hydrogen plant is 80% complete and will use 4 gigawatts of solar and wind energy to produce 600 tons of clean fuel per day when it opens in 2027.

The CEO of Honor in Spain says that smartphones will change with AI, foldables, and even robot phones; the component crisis is making cheap models more expensive in 2026 and shifting the focus to premium.

Redmi K Pad 2 debuts as the world’s first tablet with Bose sound, featuring an 8.8″ OLED display with 165 Hz, a 9,100 mAh battery, a vapor chamber of 15,300 mm², and a 540 Hz touch response for extreme gaming.

Hairdresser with days numbered: Xiaomi comes up with a smart hair clipper that allows for haircuts at home even in the shower, featuring 19 settings, 2 speeds, a 3-hour battery, and a professional kit with titanium blades.

Goodbye to the traditional outlet: new technology arrives in homes promising to cut invisible waste, consume only 0.5 to 1.5 watts in standby, monitor consumption in kWh in real time, and automate devices that weigh most on the electricity bill.

A 183-million-year-old fossil shines like gold inside black rock in Germany, but a microscope revealed that the golden shine is not pyrite as everyone believed for decades: it is phosphate, and the difference changes everything.

NASA scientist discovers 282 meteors that reveal the existence of an unknown asteroid near Earth that is breaking apart near the Sun and has created a meteor shower that no one knew existed until now.

Federal Institute will pay you R$ 300 for a free course: IFSP calls women for 320 in-person vacancies in 8 cities, with 60 hours of training and registrations open until April 21, 2026.

Senar opens more than 3,000 vacancies in free technical courses for 2026 with 9 programs in agriculture, hybrid education EAD + in-person, registrations until May 26 and simplified selection without exams throughout Brazil.

Thicker walls become a thermal solution in Brazil by reducing internal heat by up to 30% without air conditioning, using thermal inertia, double walls with air, adobe, and roofs that can cut heating by up to 10°C.

The Artemis II fire alarm goes off a day before returning to Earth, revealing a tense moment experienced by astronauts on NASA’s historic mission after more than 50 years.

Redmi K Pad 2 debuts as the world’s first tablet with Bose sound, featuring an 8.8″ OLED display with 165 Hz, a 9,100 mAh battery, a vapor chamber of 15,300 mm², and a 540 Hz touch response for extreme gaming.