First microchannel gas-to-liquid plant in U.S. to come online later this year

ENVIA Energy completed construction on the first microchannel gas-to-liquid (GTL) plant in the United States two months ago, and is expecting the facility to be commissioned by the end of the year.

GTL plants convert natural gas or gasified solid fuel into higher-valued hydrocarbons – such as liquid fuels, waxes, and chemical feedstocks – and water. Currently, only six large-scale GTL plants are online around the world. Each plant has a capacity from 5,600 barrels per day (b/d) to 140,000 b/d.

ENVIA Energy’s plant, located in Oklahoma, is a joint venture between four companies, and will operate on a smaller scale than the six plants currently running outside the United States. Once it is online, the ENVIA plant will produce 300 b/d.

The smaller capacity of the plant has made it possible for the facility to be constructed at a much lower cost than a large-scale GTL plant, owing to the high construction and maintenance costs of a reaction vessel that can withstand extreme pressure and temperatures. The smaller size of the ENVIA plant also enables the use of microchannel reactors, or reactors with a diameter of 1 millimeter or less.

Small-scale GTL plants can be conveniently built next to isolated sources of methane, such as landfill gas or oilfields that lack natural gas infrastructure, providing a potentially effective alternative to flaring or venting.