CAPITALIZING ON THE ABUNDANCE OF ETHANE IN MARCELLUS/UTICA
Presentation for
Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation Contest
Aither Chemicals, LLC
May 22, 2012
The Aither Story - Can an old line business like the
Petrochemical industry suffer a disruptive technology change?
o Union Carbide Engineers proved the efficacy of catalytic cracking
in 1980s
o Pricing for oil based feedstock compared to natural gas failed to
make a compelling case to move to commercialization
o The pricing advantage of natural gas liquids (NGL) as a feedstock
relative to oil has changed everything for the petrochemical
industry
o This sustainable competitive advantage can make Pennsylvania a
world leader in Petrochemical production
o Aither is perfectly positioned to seize this competitive advantage
in our region, and anywhere in the world where NGLs are present
MATRIC/AiTHER
AiTHER
2
Ethane: AiTHER’s Abundant Feedstock
• By 2014, annual ethane
•
•
production is estimated to
be over 11 billion pounds
per year.
There is currently no
outlet/market/use for
ethane in our region!
There are many markets
for ethane-derived
petrochemicals.
MATRIC/AiTHER
Projected Total Pounds of Ethane per Year
12,000,000,000
10,000,000,000
8,000,000,000
6,000,000,000
Total Pounds per Year
4,000,000,000
2,000,000,000
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Projected 2014 Ethane
9%
23%
15%
Dominion
5%
Mark West
Caimen
Equitable
48%
KYWV
AiTHER
4
Competitive Advantage – Why Aither is
Disruptive
• Aither has the lowest capital cost in the industry for the development of
•
•
•
•
a world class cracker – our Catalytic cracker is roughly 25% of the
equivalently sized cost of a traditional steam cracker
Aither has the lowest-cost process to make petrochemicals
Aither’s scalable technology can meet local ethane supply availability,
local market demand for chemical products, and available local land area
and employee resources
Aither can take pure ethane or a mixture of methane and ethane,
simplifying delivery of feedstock
Aither's technical team is the best in the world
MATRIC/AiTHER
AiTHER
5
Aither Technology – Comparing to a Steam
Cracker
– Aither Catalytic Cracking compared to Steam Cracking
(Steam cracking is the old, conventional technology)
o 25% of the capital cost compared to steam cracker
o Significantly less ethane needed for output
o Lower operating cost
o 80% Lower energy input
o 88% Lower CO2 output
o Shorter time to commercial operation possible due to less complexity
o Scalable
– Start small, and grow with ethane production
– Meet local market demand
o Simpler process to produce higher-value products
– Fewer by-products
o No flare due to no unwanted heavy byproducts.
MATRIC/AiTHER
AiTHER
6
AiTHER PROCESS: POLYETHYLENE EXAMPLE
Ethane gas In
Aither Process
Ethane gas
to
Ethylene gas
“Catalytic Cracking”
Ethylene gas
to
Polyethylene solid
“Conversion” to a “Downstream” Chemical
High-Value Polyethylene
Chemicals Out
Beyond Ethylene
MATRIC/AiTHER
AiTHER
7
George Keller, Ph.D.
• More than 40 years of R&D experience (Union Carbide, MATRIC)
– Chemical separations science and technology
– Distillation, pervaporation, membrane separations,
extraction, and adsorption
– Chemical process fundamentals
– Renewable raw materials
– Process heat integration and efficiency improvement
• Commercialization of innovative technology
– Many distillation and related processes
– Most advanced technology for producing oxygen via miniature adsorption
units in the homes of people with severe lung problems
– World’s largest pervaporation facility
• Elected to National Academy of Engineering
• Recently announced on AIChE’s list of 100 Chemical Engineers of the
Modern Era.
Madan Bhasin, Ph.D.
• Expertise in heterogeneous catalysis and surface
•
science, applied and fundamental
More than 45 years of experience
– Senior Research Scientist at Dow Chemical and
Corporate Fellow at Union Carbide
– Member, U.S. National Academy of Engineering
– Recipient of the Dow Chemical Two Highest Awards: H. H. Dow Gold Medal & President’s
Award ( a First for R&D )
– Recipient of “Citation of Recognition“ in Congressional Record of U.S. Senate 1988
• Discovered, developed, led, and assisted in commercialization of eleven
•
•
generations of improved efficiency ethylene oxide catalysts which have
contributed, per year, $30 to $60 million(for 30+ years) income without additional
investment. Reduced CO2 emissions by ~70%.
Developed and applied a variety of surface analytical techniques (Auger, XPS, SIMS,
ISS, High Resolution Scanning Auger) for characterization of various commercial
and developmental catalysts.
Vast experience in other “game-changing” catalytic technologies
Why is Aither’s Technology Important for
Shale Gas?
There are Three Ways to Make More Profit as a Gas Producer
o Decrease lifting costs
o Increase the Price of the Commodity (virtually impossible as a
price-taker)
o Find New Markets for Co-Products
Of the 12 Outstanding Finalists, only 5 innovations increase the
market for products produced by Shale Gas Producers.
only one
Of those 5 products,
feeds into a global business
with total sales in excess of $13 trillion.
MATRIC/AiTHER
AiTHER
10
Aither’s Economic Impact
• Aither will create jobs in Pennsylvania
– 1000 construction jobs
– 200 permanent direct jobs
– >1000 indirect permanent jobs
• Aither will keep value added assets in the Region
– No need to ship ethane to Canada or the Gulf
– Eliminates the need for expensive piping infrastructure
• Aither’s cracker technology can reinvigorate the
petrochemical industry in Pennsylvania.
MATRIC/AiTHER
AiTHER
11
NO OTHER FINALIST, AS OUTSTANDING AS THEY MAY BE, CAN
MAKE THAT CLAIM!
MATRIC/AiTHER
AiTHER
12