American Gas - May 2013 - (Page 14)

DIGEST Continued from page 11 CNG and LNG will grow to fuel between 5 percent and 30 percent of U.S. longdistance trucking over the next 10 years, FedEx Chairman and CEO Frederick Smith predicted in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal. FedEx is testing four trucks—two using LNG and two using CNG—and may move more of its 90,000 motorized vehicles to the fuel, Smith said. He said that the decreasing cost of NGVs and the rise in CNG and LNG fueling stations is making the decision to switch easier for large fleets. New Jersey-based Honeywell’s UOP division has launched an advanced membrane element called Separex Select that it says more efficiently removes contaminants such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and water vapor from natural gas during processing. According to Honeywell UOP, Separex Select offers an increase in membrane selectivity compared with existing cellulose acetate membrane elements, driving significantly higher recovery of valuable methane and natural gas liquids while simultaneously reducing hydrocarbon emissions. 3M has completed certification of its first CNG tank, designed for corporate fleets and light- to medium-duty trucks. Addressing the single most expensive component on a CNG vehicle, the new “nanosilica”-based tank is 30 percent lighter and holds 10 percent more fuel than the leading tank, the company says. It’s also 6 percent stronger, 30 percent more impact-resistant, and 50 percent longer-lasting than CNG tanks made with conventional materials. The tank was developed in collaboration with Chesapeake Energy. 14 AMERICAN GAS MAY 2013 Under the Sea: The deposits typically occur at depths of 1,000 feet or more wherever there’s sufficient methane and water in sediments. JOGMEC’s test production was intended to gather data on the behavior of methane hydrates under the sea floor and on the impact of production on the surrounding environment. The test represents the first offshore production of methane hydrates. In 2008, Japan and Canada collaborated on a test of onshore production. Full-scale commercial production isn’t expected for another five years. Successful production would ease reliance on fossil-fuel imports for Japan, which is the world’s biggest importer of LNG. It could also buoy Japan’s NGV industry. Several large Japanese companies already field sizable NGV fleets. —E.S. NEED TO KNOW Corrosion Cavalry New coatings and inspection methods aim to help improve pipeline integrity T he oil and gas industry spends $7 billion annually in corrosion-related expenditures to monitor, maintain, and replace the nation’s transmission and gathering pipelines, according to NACE International, an association of corrosion engineers. So any new anticorrosion weapon is a welcome addition to the arsenal. Several corrosion-fighting innovations were recently introduced by Battelle, a global R&D entity backed by the nonprofit Battelle Memorial Institute. One is a set of corrosion-resistant ferrate compounds intended for use in militarystandard primer coatings. The compounds are designed to replace traditional coatings based on hexavalent chromium and other toxic metals that are now restricted. Battelle is now testing the performance of the new compounds. It reports that after three years of continuous exposure, the ferrate compounds are performing as well as hexavalent chromium and better than other replacements. The organization has licensed the basic technology to Ferratec LLC and told American Gas that coatings makers have expressed interest. It predicts a solution will reach the market in two to five years. Another innovation is a “smart” coating that features self-healing and damage-indicator properties. For self-healing, the coating includes microcapsules of thermoplastic resin. When the coating is damaged—say, if it cracks—the microcapsules break, and the resin flows out to fill the damaged area. Unlike traditional self-healing coatings, the resin doesn’t require a catalyst, so the coating is more stable and versatile. Battelle told American Gas that it’s in talks with a commercial partner about making the microcapsules, which could then be incorporated into coatings from several manufacturers. It anticipates a marketable solution in two to four years. For damage indication, the coating incorporates specialized molecules called 8-hydroxyquinoline, or 8-HQ. When a steel or aluminum pipe corrodes, metal ions form a bond with the 8-HQ. That chemical complex glows under ultraviolet light, making the corrosion visible by inspection with a handheld UV lamp. Battelle is also developing an inspection method based on terahertz (THz) imaging. THz imaging uses electromagnetic waves to identify corrosion hidden under intact coatings. Because many coatings are transparent to THz radiation while the metal beneath them reflects the signal, the THz imaging can reveal unseen corrosion. The technique has been demonstrated in coatings on aircraft, but it needs to be optimized for use on pipelines, Battelle said. It expects commercialization to take two to three years. —E.S.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Gas - May 2013

American Gas - May 2013
Contents
President’s Message
Subject Index
Sandy Coins Say Thanks
Digest
Issues
Update
Need to Know
By the Numbers
Places
Need to Know
Taking a Bite out of Food Truck Pollution
Canada
Capitol Hill
State House
City Hal
Safety: Getting Employees Invested
The Rails
Profile
AGA Ops Conference Preview
Procurement
Jobs
Buyer’s Guide
Marketplace
Headway

American Gas - May 2013