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News Release
Greenhouse Gas Technology Center Completes Verification of NATCO's Licensed THIOPAQ Gas Purification TechnologyRelease date: 01/25/2005 Contact: Jane Ice (513) 569-7311 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASERESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. (January 25, 2005) – The Greenhouse Gas Technology Center today announced it has independently verified the performance of the THIOPAQ gas purification system, developed by Paques of the Netherlands for processing renewable biogas and sour gas. The technology is distributed under license by National Tank Company, a NATCO Group, Inc. subsidiary headquartered in Houston, TX. The technology meets regulatory requirements for hydrogen sulfide (H2S) levels and helps reduce operating costs. The THIOPAQ system is designed to safely and efficiently remove H2S from biogas and other sour gases while minimizing the generation of harmful emissions or effluents. The process is suitable to applications where the processed gas can be used as fuel. The system also allows regeneration and recycling of caustic solution and the production of elemental sulfur for potential subsequent sale or use. A variation of this technology is Shell Global Solution and Paques’ Shell-Paques system, which operates on the same principles as THIOPAQ, but includes system components that can process low-, medium-, and high-pressure natural gas to treat sour gas and Claus tail gas. The performance verification was conducted on a THIOPAQ system installed and operating at a midwestern water pollution control facility that handles large volumes of industrial and municipal waste. Test results show that the system removed 99.8 percent of the H2S from the raw biogas, emitted very low levels of H2S from the bioreactor, and produced minimal liquid and solid waste discharges. "While this technology uses traditional caustic scrubbing techniques to remove H2S from biogas, the innovative bioreactor component of THIOPAQ technology results in significant operational and environmental benefits," said Tim Hansen, deputy director of the Greenhouse Gas Technology Center at Southern Research Institute (SRI). "The system’s aerobic bioreactor allows for regeneration of a large portion of the caustic solution after gas processing, which eliminates a large liquid waste stream and at the same time produces a potentially useful product as elemental sulfur." "When equipment suppliers offer new technologies to their clients, this third party verification proves the credibility of the data," said Robert Curcio, senior vice president of product development for the NATCO Group. "The ETV verification, supported by the EPA, assures users that the technology offered will help them in meeting their environmental goals." The Greenhouse Gas Technology Center is a public-private partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Birmingham, AL-based SRI, operating under the EPA’s Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program. The center looks for promising greenhouse gas mitigation technologies, subjects them to independent third-party performance testing, and provides performance results to the public free of charge. To date, the center has verified, or is in the process of verifying, 36 different environmental and energy technologies that can significantly impact greenhouse gas and other emissions. Verifications generally involve the measurement of energy conversion efficiency, air pollution emission rates, secondary environmental impacts, operational performance, cost performance, and other variables of interest to purchasers and other stakeholders. Technology performance verifications are accomplished using measurement and analysis methods that have been reviewed and approved by independent expert stakeholder panels. Since 1997, the Greenhouse Gas Technology Center has verified commercial-ready technologies in advanced energy production and transportation systems, solid waste management, oil and gas production and distribution, greenhouse gas monitoring, agricultural waste management systems, and advanced refrigeration systems. Like the THIOPAQ gas processing system, technologies typically evaluated by the center offer the promise of multiple benefits to users and the environment. SRI is an independent, not-for-profit organization that conducts scientific research at facilities in Birmingham, AL, Frederick, MD, and Research Triangle Park, NC. SRI provides contract research in the fields of engineering, automotive research and testing, chemical and biological defense, homeland security, environmental and energy-related research, and pre-clinical drug discovery and development. The institute is affiliated with the University of Alabama at Birmingham. See Southern Research Companies interested in verification testing of their environmental technologies can download the Application for Testing Form SRI media contact: Rhonda Jung (205) 581-2317 See AlsoEnvironmental Technology Verification Report, NATCO Group, Inc. – Paques THIOPAQ Gas Purification Technology (PDF) (34 pp, 708 KB) September 2004 Verification Statement (PDF) (5 pp, 100 KB) ### |
