Potential to develop carbon nanotubes from CO2-rich natural gas resources in Vietnam

Abstract

The Vietnam Petroleum Institute (VPI) has successfully synthesised carbon natotubes (CNTs) from CO2-rich natural gas using CVD technology with metallic thin-film plates as catalysts. The obtained products are multi-walled CNTs (2 - 6 layers) with high yield (CNTs content ~100%). CNTs can be prepared on thin-film plate catalysts from raw materials containing up to 30% CO2. The presence of heavier hydrocarbons (C2+) and H2S in the raw material mainly affects the morphology and structure of the formed CNTs, in which, H2S has the most impact and need to be controlled to ensure their desired properties and homogeneity.  According to preliminary calculation, CNTs market in Vietnam by 2030 is estimated of nearly 3,700 tons/year with gas demand of 13.5 million m3/year (net hydrocarbon); the production cost of CNTs from CO2-rich gas sources in Vietnam is about 0.5 USD/g, lower than the current cost in the domestic market (about 5 - 7 USD/g). Producing CNTs is potentially the way to effectively exploit and use Vietnam's CO2-rich natural gas resources, especially those from the Block B and Ca Voi Xanh gas fields.