BASF and Linde team up to serve natural gas processes

Linde

BASF and The Linde Group’s Engineering Division have announced a collaboration to serve natural gas processing applications. Work is expected to enable treatment of previously inaccessible gas compositions.

Membrane technology that can process gas with a high CO₂ content is becoming more important in the natural gas industry. Together, major supplier of environmental and process catalysts, BASF, and gases and engineering company, Linde, could develop technology to treat gas high in both heavy hydrocarbons and CO₂. Currently, industry relies on high-cost alternatives.

The companies will use BASF’s innovative Durasorb adsorbents, employed in the purification of natural gas streams, to improve Linde’s high-performance membrane processes. Linde’s processes provide stability and selectivity over competitive membrane processes.

The companies will perform design work to ensure BASF’s adsorbent is well-suited to the membrane. Linde will supply customers with the units required for natural gas processing; the membrane unit and the upstream pretreatment unit which applies Durasorb. This could provide customers with a process that has simplified technical and procurement processes, as well as increased reliability and performance.

Detlef Ruff, Senior Vice President Process Catalysts at BASF, said: “The partnership leverages the strengths of both companies and expands the market reach of Durasorb, allowing BASF to serve together with Linde an even greater portion of the fast-growing natural gas industry.”

Tobias Keller, Executive Vice President of Linde Engineering’s Product Line Adsorption and Membrane Plants, said: “We are enthusiastic to cooperate with BASF in this strategically important market. A proper and sophisticated pretreatment of natural gas is key to deploy the full potential of high-performance membranes.”