The substantial discoveries of shale gas present many opportunities for the chemical, petrochemical, and fuel industries. As in conventional natural gas, shale gas contains primarily methane, but some formations contain significant amounts of higher molecular weight hydrocarbons and inorganic gases such as nitrogen and carbon dioxide. These differences present several technical challenges to incorporating shale gas with the current infrastructure designed to be used with natural gas. This paper is aimed at process synthesis, analysis, and integration of the production of methanol from shale gas. The composition of the shale gas feedstock is assumed to come from the Barnett Shale play located near Fort Worth, Texas, which is currently the most active shale gas play in the United States. Process simulation using ASPEN Plus along with published data were used to construct a base-case scenario. Key performance indicators were assessed. These include overall process targets for mass and energy and economic performance. A sensitivity analysis is carried out to assess the impact of the methanol selling price and shale gas price on the profitability of the process. Energy integration including process cogeneration was carried out to enhance the sustainability and profitability of the process. Finally, a techno-economic analysis was carried out to estimate the price differential for shale gas at the wellhead compared to pipeline quality natural gas.

The abundant supply of natural gas and the increasing reserves due to substantial shale gas discoveries are spurring much interest in gas-to-liquid (GTL) technologies that can provide various liquid transportation fuels. A primary GTL route involves the conversion of natural/shale gas to syngas which is subsequently converted to liquid fuels using the Fischer− Tropsch (FT) chemistry. The FT process is both energy and water intensive and has resulted in substantial efforts aimed at improving the design and operation of large-scale GTL facilities within the context of sustainability. Although the process technologies have been proven commercially, little is known about the heuristics involved in the selection, design, and operation of certain core process units. In specific, the choice of syngas production technology has been heavily debated based on various factors such as cost, hydrogen-to-carbon monoxide ratio, compatibility with the rest of the process through mass and energy integration, environmental impact, safety, reliability, and controllability. Despite the variety of these detailed issues, there exist macroscopic insights that can aid the engineer and or investor in the selection process. This work aims to highlight some of these insights as they pertain to heat and electrical energy as well as water and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Process design and simulation was done for three GTL processes using commercially demonstrated syngas technologies. Heat and mass integration techniques were used to benchmark the process and identify potential for reduced GHG footprint as well as power and water generation.

Recently, significant research has been dedicated to the field of mitigating CO 2 emissions. Chemical sequestration (fixation) of CO 2 into value-added products (e.g., methanol, Fischer−Tropsch liquids, propylene) is an emerging option. The fixation of CO 2 via the dry reforming (DR) of natural gas involves the conversion of two greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and methane) into a useful intermediate (synthesis gas). Synthesis gas can be subsequently converted into various chemicals and fuels. Nevertheless, syngas produced from DR is typically characterized by a H 2 :CO ratio lower than that typically required for conversion into high-value hydrocarbons. In addition, DR catalysts continuously deactivate as a result of extensive coke formation. This paper focuses on quantifying the potential for CO 2 fixation using dry reforming and the integration of different reforming technologies. The results highlight the strong inverse relationship between CO 2 chemical fixation and the required syngas H 2 :CO ratio. Combined reforming involving DR and steam reforming greatly benefits from the presence of waste heat sources because heat generation is the major source of CO 2 generation. A process case study is presented to illustrate the importance of a process viewpoint with respect to DR.

Flaring is a common industrial practice that leads to substantial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, health problems, and economic losses. When the causes, magnitudes, and frequency of flaring are properly understood and incorporated into the design and operation of the industrial plants, significant reduction in flaring can be achieved. In this paper, a process integration approach is presented to retrofit the process design to account for flaring and to consider the use of process cogeneration to mitigate flaring while gaining economic and environmental benefits. It is based on simultaneous design v

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