Environmental Issues related to Flaring of Natural Gas Flare Gas Volumes and Composi on
• Each year, 260 billion cubic meters of Bakken Oil Fields, ND flare gas is burned in an effort to Numerous wells within a 100 reduce costs as well as increase miles Calculated 3.650 million cubic efficiency of the well feet flared / year / well • Emits pollutants such as mar culate Flare Gas Alterna ves: Assumed flare gas chemical ma er, ash, SOx, and NOx composi on: • Produces 4.9 billion tons of CO2 Animal Feed Through Methane emissions annually Methane 95.00% Ethane 2.50%
• Heat damage to ecosystems and Oxida on Propane 0.20% agriculture Butane 0.60% Input Chemical Composition • Numerous effects on human health Goal: To create the most efficient and High Alkanes (C5, C10) 0.02% Max Orenstein ‘15 • Flare gas represents a wasted energy Nitrogen 1.60% cost effec ve flare gas mi ga on system Paul Burgess ’15 Carbon Dioxide 0.70% source that has economic value Hydrogen Sulfide Trace through the growth and treatment of Ilhan Savut ‘15 Water Trace methanotrophs. Dr. Emily Klein | Dr. Josiah Knight
Types of Methane Oxida on Growth and Treatment Dietary Impacts Environmental Benefits from • Bacteria v. Archaea: anaerobic and aerobic methane oxida on POSITIVE OUTCOMES Feed Replacement • Aerobic oxida on is more well known • Improved diges bility of amino acids and lean-fat Soybean Meal: • • Three types of aerobic methanotrophs: I, II, X GROWTH: one kilogram of dry biomass using 2 ra o in broiler chickens Freshwater and groundwater • Methylococcus Capsulatus (Type X, cubic meters of methane • Increased weight gain in salmon and broiler contamina on Gammaproteobacteria) chickens • Conversion of natural flora and This species has “shown high efficiency in produc on of bacterial protein Custom loop fermenter (Overland) • Improved pig meat storage quality from methane” (Bothe) Ammonia, oxygen, and a mineral solu on fauna • M. capsulatus cannot survive in pure natural gas • The following percentages of bacterial meal • Soil erosion and contamina on • 80% 19% 0.3% 0.5% addi ves Mixed culture of MC, DB3, DB4, and DB5 replacing dietary protein (soybean meal and • Threat to food security • Heterotrophic strains of that remove acidic contaminants fishmeal) showed no impairment in animal growth • Water intensive TREATMENT: centrifuge, ultra-filtered, heat performance: inac vated, spray dried • Pigs 41%, Broiler Chickens 15%, *Mink 20%, *Blue Fish Meal: Fox 30%, *Atlan c Salmon 52%, *Rainbow Trout • Unsustainable harvest levels 38%, *Atlan c Halibut 13% (‘*’ Carnivorous) (overfishing) • Marine habitat destruc on CONSIDERATIONS and NEEDED RESEARCH • Seawater contamina on • Produc on efficiency • • Improved nutri onal quality Energy intensive • Altera ons for specific animal preferences • Scarce raw material • Spoilage
Why Animal Feed? Economic Analysis Conclusions • • Formaldehyde Produc on Transport CNG from local well heads to a North Dakota Industrial Commission - Harves ng formaldehyde as an centralized biological processing plant Goals: intermediary of the RuMP/serine cycles • Sell bacterial meal to farmers for less than the • Cut flaring to 5-10% of produc on - Too hard to isolate and produce at cost of soybean meal and fishmeal volumes by Q4 2020 from current appreciable amounts Global Commodity Prices (10/2014) ~22% • Soybean Meal: 459$/mt • Improve communica on between • Biomass Fuel • Fishmeal: 1689$/mt producers and midstream companies - Using dried bacteria pellets as fuel source Equity IRR • Require detailed gas capture plans to Corresponding Input Value Output Value Percent - Ac ve dehydra on too energy intensive to Hig Swin >0% IRR given other obtain drilling permits Input Variable Low Output Base Case High Output Low Base Swing^2 h g bases be feasible Number of References: 10 30 500 -15% -4% 30% 45% 47.9% 44 Sites Gas • Bothe H, Jensen KM, Mergel A, Larsen J, Jørgensen C, Bothe H, Jørgensen L. 2002. Heterotrophic bacteria growing in Plant $88,000,000 $30,000,000 $1,000,000 -15% -4% 30% 45% 46.1% $20,452,202 associa on with Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) in a single cell protein produc on process. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. Contract • Bioplas cs 10 15 30 -14% -4% 2% 16% 5.9% 59:33–39. Period 21.00 • Chistoserdova L, Vorholt JA, Lidstrom ME. 2005. A genomic view of methane oxida on by aerobic bacteria and anaerobic Cost of gallon $ $ archaea $2.00 -4% -4% -4% 0% 0.0% N/A - Cul va ng methanotrophs for of diesel 4.50 2.68 • Clay, Jason, and World Wildlife Fund Staff. World Agriculture and the Environment : A Commodity-by-Commodity Guide to Impacts and Prac ces. Washington DC, USA: Island Press, 2003. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 8 April 2015. polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) produc on • Food and Agricultural Organiza on, Torry Research Sta on (2001). Fish Meal. Torry Advisory Note No 40. Retrieved from Equity IRR using Bacterial Feed at Fishmeal Price Level h p://www.fao.org/wairdocs/tan/x5926e/x5926e01.htm#TopOfPage - Will become feasible once an appropriate • Francois, B. et al., (n.d.). Soya Bean Meal and Its Extensive Use in Livestock Feeding and Nutri on. Number of Sites Gas Collected 10 500 • NDIC Oil and Gas Server • Overland M, Tauson AH, Shearer K, Skrede A. 2010. Evalua on of methane-u lising bacteria products as feed ingredients biocatalyst is developed Plant 88,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 for monogastric animals. Contract Period 10 30 • UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2006). SCP Evidence Base: Sustainable Commodi es Case Studies: FISHMEAL. Cost of gallon of diesel $4.50 $2.00 • World Bank: h p://databank.worldbank.org/data/views/reports/tableview.aspx
-25% -20% -15% -10% -5% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% We would like to acknowledge the informa on shared with and help received from the other two Feasible Alterna ves for Equity IRR Flare gas sub-teams