Carl Mesters is Shell Group's Chief Scientist for Chemistry and Catalysis, and one of a team of experts driving investment by Shell in technology and innovation. Here, he explains the importance of continuous innovation to unlock new hydrocarbon resources.
Alternative feedstocks
'Easy oil' is no longer readily available and so we need to focus on the new challenges of unlocking alternative hydrocarbon resources and utilising more unconventional petrochemical feedstocks.
This is a challenging area, which can't be solved overnight. We have already made significant progress in developing our capability to use unconventional cracker feedstocks, including hydrowax and butane.
We are also ahead of the game in some fundamental new processes, such as Gas to Liquids (GTL) and Coal to Liquids that could open new process routes to chemicals.
The Shell GTL process
- step 1 - natural gas is converted into synthesis gas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide
- step 2 - the synthesis gas can be reacted in a number of ways using catalysts
- step 3 - these reactions produce liquid products including diesel fuels, naphtha and kerosene, but could also produce chemicals including solvents, alcohols and even lower olefins
Shell’s gasification technology can be also be used to produce synthesis gas from coal
Shell has been developing GTL technology for over 30 years, gaining understanding of the chemistry at the molecular level and operational experience with the world's first commercial GTL plant. We stayed in this arena when others stopped or pulled out and are currently involved in the building of the world's largest GTL plant in Qatar in the Middle East.
The technology is already capable of producing alcohols and solvents but it even has the potential to produce primary petrochemical building blocks such as ethylene, propylene and aromatics.
Abundant resource
The principle behind the GTL process – production and conversion of synthesis gas - can also be applied to coal using another Shell technology.
Coal is still the world's most abundant fossil fuel – accounting for more than oil and gas combined. Shell's gasification technology, where pulverised coal is mixed with oxygen and steam at 1,500°C, can be used to turn virtually any coal - even the lowest grades - into purified synthesis gas.
We have taken the first big steps in the development of these two technologies but breaking down synthesis gas into smaller molecules like chemicals requires further research and development.
This feature was added to the Innovations section in December 2007
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