Majari Magazine

Nanotechnology and the Natural Gas Industry

by Dinda Elefani on 15/11/07 at 2:58 am | 8 Comments | Print article | Email article

In a wake-up call for the natural gas industry, Saeid Mokhatab and Brian Towler of the University of Wyoming warn that ignoring the potential of nanotechnology to revolutionize the business could be an enormous missed opportunity.

First, let we discuss about nanotechnology itself.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Nanotechnology is the science of the very small, of the properties of structures and materials at the molecular level. Nanotechnology refers broadly to a field of applied science and technology whose unifying theme is the control of matter on the atomic and molecular scale, normally 1 to 100 nanometers, and the fabrication of devices within that size range. It is a highly multidisciplinary field, drawing from fields such as applied physics, materials science, interface and colloid science, device physics, supramolecular chemistry, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering.

How could nanotechnology revolutionize the natural gas industry?

Nanotechnology could revolutionize the natural gas industry across the whole lifecycle from extraction to pollution reduction or be an enormous missed opportunity, claim two industry experts writing in nanotechnology could revolutionize the natural gas industry. They suggest that nanotechnology could help us extract more fuel and feedstock hydrocarbons from dwindling resources. However, they recognize that the oil and gas exploration and production industry is not very innovative. If the sector doesn’t accept the idea that nanotechnologies can help them to face their increasing technical challenges, this could represent a missed opportunity to improve the industry, both for exploration and production.

They said that the industry had been slow to understand the potential benefits offered by the wide range of nanostructured materials developed over the past decade. In their study, the researchers complain the industry’s lack of innovation in exploration and production coupled with a perception of high costs, new risks and a general lack of awareness of the benefits of nanotechnology.

So what would be the benefits of using nanotechnologies during the exploration process?

They point out that nanomaterials, such as nanotubes or engineered porous minerals, might be used in gas fields or other sources to improve the efficiency of extraction of a wide variety of hydrocarbon fuel compounds and chemical feedstocks. Nanomaterials could be used to develop new absorbents and membranes to assist in the separation and capture of carbon dioxide and other contaminants such as hydrogen sulphide and nitrogen from natural gas. Sensors based on certain nanomaterials could be used to detect leaks in natural gas plant, while adding another kind of nanomaterials to mud would help to maintain the stability of well bores during drilling for gas.

What about the production of natural gas?

Similarly, related nanomaterials might be used to improve purification and storage of hydrocarbons, while yet other nanomaterials might be used in environmental remediation, allowing contaminated sites to be cleaned up of harmful pollutants. Nanomaterials might even be developed as corrosion inhibitors for equipment and at the same time, more sophisticated nanotechnology could be developed as solid-state gas sensors for air pollution monitoring.

How about the future use of nanotechnology by the natural gas industry?

Yeah,, the researchers are quite enthusiastic about that. Why? Because, the past decade has seen explosive growth worldwide in the synthesis and study of a wide range of nanostructured materials, the building blocks of nanotechnology. Investigations of mechanical, chemical, electrical, magnetic, and optical behavior of nanostructured materials have demonstrated the possibilities to engineer the properties of these new materials for a wide range of applications.

Well,, it’s a challenge for us as a chemical engineer.. Hope that nanotechnology really could revolutionize the natural gas industry..

Anyway, since we are talking about nanotechnology, let’s get into the main idea of nanotechnology. Do you believe that nanomachinery will be exist in the future? Imagine tools and equipments within nanometer sizes.. and even the whole chemical plant will be in nanometer.. a nanoplant?

Reference(s): Wikipedia, Nanorex Inc., crnano.org