Market Potential

Natural gas is primarily used for heating, cooking and electricity generation. However, it is also used in large volume to make valuable chemical products that are vital for every day use. The largest chemical use of natural gas is for the production of hydrogen, which in turn is used for crude oil processing (hydrocracking/hydrodesulfurization) and ammonia production, mostly for the fertilizer market. The second largest chemical use of natural gas is for the production of methanol, an important building block for making many industrial products such as resins for use in the manufacture of composite products, acetate solvents, acetate synthetic fibers, lower olefins for the manufacture of polyethylene and polypropylene plastics, and specialty fuels.

The current global market for hydrogen exceeds $150 billion/year with methanol at more than $20 billion/year. Steam reforming of natural gas into syngas (CO + H2) is the most common way to make hydrogen and methanol. In fact, 95% of the hydrogen in the U.S. is produced by steam reforming. The 2,000 existing steam reforming plants in the world usually replace their catalysts every 3-5 years. Many of these catalyst replacements cost as much as $5-$10MM.

Carbon Sciences is developing one version of its proprietary catalyst to be a drop-in replacement for existing steam reforming catalyst. Our catalyst will benefit operators by delivering more output at a lower cost. This is accomplished by reducing the amount of steam required, which directly translates to lower energy costs, lower CO2 emissions, and higher profits from greater processing throughput.