New Delhi: India’s Energy Maharatna Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited’s (ONGC) Uran Plant in Navi Mumbai has signed a research & development (R&D) agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) to develop an innovative gas sweetening process using nano-fluids.

The project aims to use nano-fluids in the amine solvent of the Gas Sweetening Unit (GSU) to reduce the amount of solution required for absorption, thereby resulting in significant savings of material and steam.

The gas sweetening process is crucial for ONGC’s Uran Plant, which receives natural gas from the Arabian Sea. Since its commissioning, it has been a constant endeavor of the Uran Plant to explore and adopt new cutting-edge technologies. This partnership is in continuation of this endeavor, with IIT-Bombay being eminent in the field of R&D.

The typical process involves sweetening of natural gas in Gas Sweetening Units (GSU) before sending it to LPG units. This process entails reaction of tertiary amine solvent with natural gas, which leads to lot of energy consumption.

The ONGC-IITB partnership will pave the path to carry out experiments on absorption and desorption in an integrated manner with the potential to significantly reduce energy consumption, and save on material, energy and steam, resulting in cost-effective benefits for the plant operations. The project could also open avenues for novel innovation in gas sweetening processes, bringing significant benefits for the national energy industry.