Calumet to expand Pennsylvania specialty site with modular gas-to-liquids plant
Calumet Specialty Products plans to expand its Karns City specialty products facility in Pennsylvania to include a nominal 1,000 bpd gas-to-liquids plant, the company said on Thursday.
Calumet has commissioned Ventech Engineers, specialists in modular petroleum processing plants, to design and deliver the GTL plant utilizing an autothermal reformer (ATR) from Haldor Topsoe and Fischer-Tropsch technology from Velocys.
Haldor Topsoe’s ATR is an established technology for reforming natural gas into synthesis gas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide.
In the GTL plant, this synthesis gas will be routed through the Velocys FT process for conversion into long chain hydrocarbons.
Velocys is a leading developer of microchannel process technology for synthetic fuels production.
The entire plant will be constructed as truckable modules at Ventech's fabrication facility in Pasadena, Texas, and then transported to Calumet's site in Karns City for rapid installation and interconnection with the existing refining facility.
The plant design is expected to be completed by late 2012, followed by site-specific engineering and a decision to commence fabrication in the first half of 2013.
Production is currently expected to begin in the second half of 2014.
“Converting natural gas into ultra-high quality feedstock through GTL will reduce our costs, increase security of supply and improve product quality. We are excited to be considering this project for our Karns City facility because it will help us further utilize our current specialty product assets,” said Calumet CEO Bill Grube.
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