Scott Can

THERMCAT Catalytic Gas Infrared Explosion Proof Heaters

PTAC Green ToolboxSeptember 29-30, 2003

Peter HowieScott-Can Industries Ltd

Scott Can

About Scott-Can Industries Ltd. Based in Edmonton Supplier and manufacturer of Catalytic Units

A reputation for innovation Provide Catalytic Heaters for:

Oil and Gas heating in Hazardous AreasPowder paint curing ovensDomestic radiant heaters

Allied with Infragas of Turin, ItalyA world leader in catalytic equipment

Scott CanInfrared Catalytic Heater

Basics Developed to allow safe and efficient heating

in the presence of hydrocarbon vapoursCatalyst reduces the temperature of

methane oxidation below the ignition temperature

Heaters produce flameless infrared radiant energy to safely heat hazardous areas

98% fuel efficientNo NOx or CO generated

Scott CanCatalytic Heaters - Oil & Gas

Industry Over 200,000 heaters in service in western

Canada’s oil and gas industry todaySpace heating for well site buildings, meter stations, dehydrators, compressor sites and oil batteries.

Pipeline installation of shrink coating Familiar to most field operators

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The Need

An economic solution to maximize the use and mitigation of methane emissions

Ideal Solutions should: Generate an economic benefit Be low capital cost and easy

maintenance Not cause other problems – high

reliability Reduce GHG equivalent emissions

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The Catalytic Solutions

Based on off the shelf catalytic heater components Heaters already in use for building heat Well suited for remote/isolated locations Low cost and safe compared to other options Provide other economic and intangible benefits GHG emissions reduction of 21tCO2eq/tCH4

reduction for fuel replacement

Scott CanGreen Roles for Catalytic

Heaters Small Vent Streams in Isolated Facilities

Standard Catalytic Building HeatersUse vent gas to back out fuel

Small Variable Vent StreamsCatalytic Converter Prototype AvailableConverts methane to CO2 for Supplemental Process Heat or GHG Reductions

Dilute Fugitive StreamsReduce Methane in Building Exhaust Air

Scott Can

Case 1 - Winterization Heaters

Catalytic Heater Winterization Systems installed on three well sites in Husky’s Saskatchewan heavy oil operations (Fall 2000)

All with underground fuel lines to tank burners

Winterization achieved by heating gas to keep ground and piping system from freezing

Combined with insulating above ground lines

Scott Can

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Scott CanWinterization Heater Results

-40

-30

-20

-10

0

10

20

Feb 16 - Apr 6, 2000

Tem

p (d

eg C

)

Ambient T

Gas Riser Temp

Ground Warm Up Maintain Gas TemperatureWith THERMCAT

Scott CanWinterization Heaters – Lessons

Learned Based on field trials

Units have operated reliably through –25 degrees and blizzards

Systems can be started up in winter; fall start-up is better to build up heat in the ground

Use vent gas for both catalytic heaters and tank heaters

Best application – Sites with buried fuel lines to tanks

Scott CanKey Benefits of Catalytic

Winterization Reduce operating costs by 30-70 % Rapid economic payout

<3-4 months if propane backed out<1 yr if purchased natural gas backed out

Low Cost Alternative for Freeze Protection Easily Retrofitted High Operability and Low Maintenance GHG equivalent emissions reductions

achieved

Scott Can

Case 2 – Line Heater

Designed to prove ability of catalytic heaters to run on low pressure gas (under ½ psig) where backpressure is undesirable

Also tested benefits of heating the production upstream of the tank vs. in the storage tanks

Skid mounted, portable unit designed to be retrofitted into existing production lines

Scott Can

Scott CanProduction Line Heater Results

(Tout = Pipewall Temperature at Heater Outlet)(Tin = Pipewall Temperature at Heater Inlet)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

May 17 - June 1, 2000

Te

mp

(d

eg

C)

ToutTin

Well Down

Scott CanTout (pipewall) vs Production

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0 10 20 30 40 50

Production Rate (m3/d)

To

ut

(de

g C

)

Tout vs Production

Linear (Tout vs Production)

Scott CanNext Steps for Line Heater

Systems They work and are ready for wider use

Improved foam breakdown and oil/water/sand separation in the tanks

Consume Vent Gas rather than venting it Additional work required to quantify:

Overall efficiency vs. fire tubes in tanksQuantify impacts on tank treating effectiveness

Equipment Price Range $13,300-$15,000 For 120,000 BTU/hr line heaters

Scott CanExpanding Catalytic Heater

Uses Use Instrument or Power Gas to provide

building heatUse existing building heatersREUSE instrument or power gasBest where heating load profile generally matches the vent gas supply profile

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Reuse Gas in Building Heaters

Actuator Vents or Chemical Pumps

Volume BottleCapacity - 1-2 ft3

Catalytic Building Heater

2-6 scfph/ft2 of heater

Safety Shutoff Valve& Restriction Orifice

SOV

Set at 3”w.c.

Make-up gas regulatorSet at 5”w.c.

Scott Can

New Concepts in Development Concentrated Stream Converter

Small & variable vents mainly methane (<50 m3/d)

To handle small variable flows where flaring and other solutions are not practical

Waste Heat Supported ReactorCollect and convert fugitives in building ventsUse hot exhaust streams to maintain reactionEliminate traces of methane at low cost

Scott Can

Years to Payout (100% Utilization) vs. Cost of Unit(Example unit converts 50-55 m3/d of methane)

$-

$10.00

$20.00

$30.00

$40.00

$50.00

$60.00

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Years to Payout

Va

lue

of

GH

G O

ffs

et

(CD

N$

/tC

O2e

q)

$10,000/unit

$5,000/unit

Target Payout Range

Credit Value Cap?

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Summary There already are catalytic options available

for small concentrated vent streamsTHERMCAT is ready to go

We are also developing new catalytic options

Targeting economic or low cost systems Catalytic solutions can meet the need

Competitively vs. other options

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Acknowledgements

Husky Oil for their funding support for initial and on-going work

BP and Nexen for their interest in field testing new concepts

New Paradigm Engineering for suggesting new concepts and supporting field testing

Dr. Bob Hayes for COURSE and NSERC funded work on new concepts

PTAC for Project launches and workshops

Scott Can

Contact Information

ScottCan Industries Ltd.

8220 Davies Road

Edmonton, Alberta T6E 4N2

Tel: (780) 463-5505

Fax: (780) 463-2273

Toll Free: 1-877-213-7832

Email: info@scottcan.com