According to the World Bank's Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership, thousands of gas flares at oil production sites around the globe burn approximately 140 billion m3 of natural gas annually, causing more than 300 million tonnes of CO2 to be emitted to the atmosphere.
Oil production generates significant amounts of associated gas which is, wherever possible, used as an energy source. However, a considerable amount of the gas is flared because of economical or technical challenges and the associated gas is often very heavy, hydrocarbon rich and cannot be used at the well head.
Evonik’s PuraMem VOC membrane separation technology offers a safe and efficient way to process such heavy gas with low operating costs. The membrane separates heavy hydrocarbons as natural gas liquids (NGL), water and hydrogen sulphide and generates a clean gas stream that can be used to generate power without flaring. The recovered NGL can be converted to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
PuraMem VOC is a robust, spiral-wound membrane which is based on Evonik’s high-performance polymer. It features a stable performance over long time periods under challenging operating conditions. PuraMem VOC has been specially designed with the flexibility to be seamlessly retrofitted in the existing infrastructure. The standard dimension of an 8 in diameter and the flexible adapter system makes it possible for PuraMem VOC to easily plug-in as a drop-in replacement to the existing system installations.
