Analysis of Gas Stream Heating Value

Sandia National Laboratories has developed a microfabricated device for analyzing the chemical constituents and quantifying the heating value of natural gas. Sandia is seeking partnerships with parties interested in commercializing this and associated sensor technology which is described in part in US Patent 7,708,943: Microfabricated Fuel Heating Value Monitoring Device. This device could be used to monitor natural gas pipelines and metering stations, allowing for more accurate accounting of natural gas volumes and BTU content, in turn allowing for better management and faster, more accurate billing. This analyzer could also be used to monitor the input gas stream for gas turbines or any industrial situation where the composition of a combustible input gas stream needs to be known. This device performs analyses accurately and rapidly for continuous calorimetric determinations. Because these sensors are microfabricated, they can be produced in quantities allowing a low per-unit cost, opening the possibility mobile applications and greater natural gas pipeline security through distributed sensing of America's natural gas infrastructure. The analyzer contains a fast injection valve that uses a carrier gas such as air to send a fuel sample through a microfabricated gas chromatography column which divides the sample into its components. The stream then enters a microcalorimeter where the components are burned over a catalyst-coated hotplate which records the combustion. The microcalorimeter measures only those components of the gas sample which contribute to the fuel heating value. Partnerships to commercialize this technology may take the form of Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) or commercial licenses. Commercial licensees will have the option to obtain, up to and including, an exclusive license to the intellectual property in a pre-negotiated, defined field of use for reasonable consideration. Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under Contract DE-AC04-94AL85000. For further information, contact Dan Allen at Sandia National Laboratories by email, [email protected], phone, 505-284-6752, or FAX, 505-844-8011. Keywords: natural gas, pipelines, gas turbines, chromatography, calorimetry, MEMS, measurement, monitoring, gas streams