Des Plaines’ UOP membrane to improve natural gas processing in Texas

Des Plaines-based Honeywell’s UOP Separex Flux+ membrane elements have been selected by Kinder Morgan Energy Partners to increase natural gas processing capacity at the Yates Gas Plant in western Texas.

Honeywell’s UOP Separex Flux+ membrane elements will be used to remove contaminants such as acid gas and water from natural gas. These contaminants must be removed before natural gas can be transported by pipeline for commercial use. Compared with existing technology, UOP’s Separex Flux+ membrane elements are designed to help natural gas producers process more gas, resulting in higher revenue while reducing costs during processing.

U.S. natural gas resources are estimated to be enough to provide 100 years of domestic supply, with approximately 30 percent of those resources located along the Gulf Coast, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. U.S. natural gas production is expected to increase more than 40 percent over the next 30 years.

“The shift toward natural gas as one of the world’s top energy sources increases the need to continually improve gas processing technologies to enable processors to cost-effectively monetize natural gas resources,” said Rebecca Liebert, senior vice president and general manager of Honeywell’s UOP Gas Processing and Hydrogen business unit. “Technology such as UOP’s Separex Flux+ membrane elements, which efficiently remove contaminants and recover valuable products, can help meet this need worldwide.”

Honeywell’s UOP Separex Flux+ membrane elements were introduced this year as the next-generation membrane element for Separex membrane systems. In addition to increasing the amount of gas that can be processed in the system, the membrane element removes more carbon dioxide per unit membrane area than existing membrane products. This helps debottleneck downstream processing units, potentially lowering overall operating costs for gas producers.