By
Greentech Lead Team: Carbon Sciences has filed two provisional patent
applications related to its steam reforming catalyst technology. The patents
are designed to provide protection for its global intellectual property
portfolio.
The
new patent applications complement the company’s dry reforming catalyst patent previously
issued in 2011.
In
January 2012, Carbon Sciences announced its plan to focus the commercialization
effort of its catalyst technology on steam reforming applications. Steam
reforming of natural gas is the primary method for producing hydrogen, methanol
and other large volume chemicals.
Hydrogen
is a growing market and currently exceeds $150 billion per year.
The
low-coking characteristic of the company’s catalyst will enable steam reforming
processes to operate at a substantially lower steam to methane ratio, resulting
in lower operating costs, lower capital costs, lower carbon footprint, and
increased production.
“These
patent applications speak directly to the near term commercial feasibility of
our technology. We recently announced the acceleration of the development of
our steam reforming catalyst as a drop-in replacement for catalysts used in
existing plants worldwide. These patents will provide the coverage and
protection we need to move forward,” said Byron Elton, CEO of Carbon Sciences.
A
new composition of matter application was filed to address the characteristics
of the catalyst required to operate in a steam atmosphere, including constant
activity without the formation of coke, increased thermal stability and
improved mechanical properties necessary for commercial reformers.
The
second application discloses a low steam to methane ratio reforming process.
The combination of a new process patent and a new catalyst patent provides
broad intellectual property coverage to support the company’s technology
development business model.
Gas-to-liquids
(GTL) technology is still developing and represents the company’s most
significant long-term market opportunity.
Carbon
Sciences is targeting this market segment as a drop-in replacement opportunity
for its steam-reforming catalyst. By reducing the cost of the steam reforming
section, the most cost intensive part of a GTL system, the company intends to
significantly reduce the cost of producing gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and
other GTL products from natural gas.