Economic Feasibility of North Slope Propane Production and Distribution to Select Alaska Communities

Could propane from Alaska’s North Slope reduce energy costs for electric utilities and residential space heating, water heating, and cooking demands? We explored the hypothesis that propane is a viable alternative for fourteen selected communities along the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers, coastal Alaska, and Fairbanks. Our analysis forecasts propane and fuel prices at the wholesale and retail levels by incorporating current transportation margins with recent analysis on Alaska fuel price projections. Annual savings to households associated with converting to propane from fuel oil can be up to $1,700 at$60 per barrel (bbl) of crude oil, and amount to $5,300 at$140 per barrel.1 Fairbanks residents would benefit from switching to propane for all applications at crude oil prices of $60/bbl. Interesting to note is that switching to propane for domestic water heating makes more sense at lower oil prices than conversions for home space heating. Three of the fourteen communities are projected to benefit from switching to propane for home heating at crude oil prices greater than$80 per barrel, and four communities at crude oil prices of more than $110/bbl. On the other hand, nine communities would benefit from conversion to propane for water heating as crude oil prices reach$50 and above. The realized household savings are also sensitive to assumptions surrounding the operating cost of the production facility and barge transportation delivery costs.Alaska Natural Gas Development AuthorityIntroduction / Experimental Methods / Production and Storage / Transportation Costs / Electric Utility Energy Demand Assumptions / Household Energy Demand Assumptions / LImitations/ Extensions / Results and Sensitivity Analysis / Conclusion / References / Appendix: Associated Excel Workbook

Propane from the North Slope: Could It Reduce Energy Costs in the Interior?

Could propane from the North Slope cut energy costs in Fairbanks and other Interior communities that heat buildings or generate electricity with fuel oil or naphtha? The Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority (ANGDA) thinks it could. That’s because a North Slope producer has agreed to sell ANGDA propane for considerably less than what it might otherwise cost, if there were a natural gas pipeline. Propane is a component of North Slope natural gas—and right now there’s no way to get that gas to market.* Naphtha and fuel oil, by comparison, are refined from oil—so their prices are closely tied to the volatile price of crude oil. ANGDA hopes getting a price break on propane could make it cheaper, at least until a pipeline is built—and it asked ISER to analyze the potential effects of one idea.Alaska Natural Gas Development Authorit

Reactions with 1.3 propane sultone for the synthesis of cation-exchange membranes

For several reasons it is interesting for membrane technology to introduce strongly anionic groups in membranes. Therefore the possibilities of 1.3 propane sultone were studied to modify cellulose, cellulose acetate and polyacrylonitrile.\ud \ud The results showed that cellulose and cellulose acetate could be modified by a direct reaction of 1.3 propane sultone with the available hydroxyl groups. The nitrile groups in polyacrylonitrile had to be reacted first with hydrogen sulphide to give reactive thioamide groups, able to react with the sultone. These results give evidence for 1.3 propane sultone being a useful chemical for modification of polymers, its carcinogenic properties will however prevent application

Catalytic coatings on steel for low-temperature propane prereforming to solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) application

Catalyst layers (4–20 lm) of rhodium (1 wt%) supported on alumina, titania, and ceria–zirconia (Ce0.5Zr0.5O2) were coated on stainless-steel corrugated sheets by dip-coating in very stable colloidal dispersions of nanoparticles in water. Catalytic performances were studied for low-temperature (6500 C) steam reforming of propane at a steam to carbon ratio equal to 3 and low contact time (0.01 s). The best catalytic activity for propane steam reforming was observed for titania and ceria–zirconia supports for which propane conversion started at 250 C and was more than three times better at 350 C than conversion measured on alumina catalyst. For all catalysts a first-order kinetics was found with respect to propane at 500 C. Addition of PEG 2000 in titania and ceria–zirconia sols eliminated the film cracking observed without additive with these supports. Besides, the PEG addition strongly expanded the porosity of the layers, so that full catalytic efficiency was maintained when the thickness of the ceria–zirconia and titania films was increased

Deposit formation in hydrocarbon rocket fuels with an evaluation of a propane heat transfer correlation

A high pressure fuel coking testing apparatus was designed and developed and was used to evaluate thermal decomposition limits and carbon decomposition rates in heated copper tubes for hydrocarbon fuels. A commercial propane (90% grade) and chemically pure (CP) propane were tested. Heat transfer to supercritical propane was evaluated at 136 atm, bulk fluid velocities of 6 to 30 m/s, and tube wall temperatures in the range of 422 to 811 K. A forced convection heat transfer correlation developed in a previous test effort verified a prediction of most of the experimental data within a + or - 30% range, with good agreement for the CP propane data. No significant differences were apparent in the predictions derived from the correlation when the carbon resistance was included with the film resistance. A post-test scanning electron microprobe analysis indicated occurrences of migration and interdiffusion of copper into the carbon deposit

TDLAS Detection of propane and butane gas over the near-infrared wavelength range from 1678nm to 1686nm

It is important in the petrochemical industry that there are high sensitivity, high accuracy, low-power consumption and intrinsically safe methods for the detection of propane, butane and their gas mixtures, to provide early warning of potential explosion hazards during both storage and transportation of oil and gas. This paper proposes a 'proof of principle' method for the detection of propane and butane using a Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) technique over the near-infrared wavelength range from 1678nm to 1686nm. This method is relatively inexpensive to implement and is thus more practical, compared with detection methods using wavelengths further into the infra-red, near 3.3μm. The minimum detectable concentration was found to be low as 300ppm for propane or butane. Importantly, the relative measurement errors were all below 3% LEL, which meets the requirements from the petrochemical and oil-gas storage and transportation industries for a field-based system for monitoring of combustible gases

Booster propulsion/vehicle impact study, 2

This is the final report in a study examining the impact of launch vehicles for various boost propulsion design options. These options included: differing boost phase engines using different combinations of fuels and coolants to include RP-1, methane, propane (subcooled and normal boiling point), and hydrogen; variable and high mixture ratio hydrogen engines; translating nozzles on boost phase engines; and cross feeding propellants from the booster to second stage. Vehicles examined included a fully reusable two stage cargo vehicle and a single stage to orbit vehicle. The use of subcooled propane as a fuel generated vehicles with the lowest total vehicle dry mass. Engines with hydrogen cooling generated only slight mass reductions from the reference, all-hydrogen vehicle. Cross feeding propellants generated the most significant mass reductions from the reference two stage vehicle. The use of high mixture ratio or variable mixture ratio hydrogen engines in the boost phase of flight resulted in vehicles with total dry mass 20 percent greater than the reference hydrogen vehicle. Translating nozzles for boost phase engines generated a heavier vehicle. Also examined were the design impacts on the vehicle and ground support subsystems when subcooled propane is used as a fuel. The most significant cost difference between facilities to handle normal boiling point versus subcooled propane is 5 million dollars. Vehicle cost differences were negligible. A significant technical challenge exists for properly conditioning the vehicle propellant on the ground and in flight when subcooled propane is used as fuel