Title: Nanomaterials hold promise in natural gas industry

Authors: Saeid Mokhatab, Brian F. Towler

Addresses: Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department, University of Wyoming, 3295, 1000 E University Ave, Laramie, WY, USA. ' Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department, University of Wyoming, 3295, 1000 E University Ave, Laramie, WY, USA

Abstract: The gas industry represents a major prospect for substantial, near-term adoption of nanoscale technologies with sustained benefits. Importantly, the gas industry employs materials and processes particularly suited to improvement through application of nanoscale technologies. Designing and creating materials at the nanoscale often leads to products that achieve exceptional performance – possibly enabling more efficient and less expensive manufacturing processes. The commercialisation of new nanomaterials promises to have a profound effect on multiple industries in the coming decades. Depending on the application, nanomaterials are incorporated into a wide variety of hydrocarbon extraction, gas separations, solid-state gas sensors for air pollution monitoring, nanoadsorbent materials for environmental separations, and corrosion inhibitors that are used in a broad range of gas industry markets. In this paper, recent advances in nanomaterial-derived technologies are presented as examples of how nanomaterials might be used to create new developments in the natural gas industry.

Keywords: nanoscale technologies; nanomaterials; natural gas; hydrocarbon extraction; gas separation; nanotechnology; solid-state gas sensors; air pollution monitoring; nanoadsorbent materials; environmental separations; corrosion inhibitors.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNT.2007.015463

International Journal of Nanotechnology, 2007 Vol.4 No.6, pp.680 - 690

Published online: 18 Oct 2007 *

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