Butane fuel processor

Another sub-watt power system was also developed by researchers from Batelle [34] as an alternative to conventional battery technology. The microscale fuel processor system for liquid fuels such as methanol and butane consisted of an integrated vaporizer, steam reformer and combustor. The system generated 10-500 mWe power output with a reactor volume of less than 5 mm. The energy density of the system operated with methanol was stated to be at least an order of magnitude greater than that of lithium ion batteries. 

Large quantities of butane are shipped under contract standards rather than under national or worldwide specifications. Most of the petrochemical feedstock materials are sold at purity specifications of 95—99.5 mol %. Butane and butane—petroleum mixtures intended for fuel use are sold worldwide under specifications defined by the Gas Processors Association, and the specifications and test methods have been pubHshed (28). Butanes may be readily detected by gas chromatography. Butanes commonly are stored in caverns (29) or refrigerated tanks. 

The bulk of the propane and butanes which are produced as refinery liquids are sold as fuel in the form of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Detailed specifications for these materials have been published by the Natural Gas Processors Association (NGPA). These specifications cover many aspects of product quality and composition, many of which are outside the control or influence of the distillation portion of the total manufacturing process. For both propane and butane, two variables are defined which are composition dependent and w hich are used as bases for separations in towers yielding these products. 

To put the volume of C4 s used in chemical manufacture in perspective with the amount used for fuel, one finds that approximately 6 percent of the butanes and about 11 percent of the butylenes were used as chemical raw materials. The trends that affect availability of C4 hydrocarbons for chemical and energy end uses are determined by the natural gas processors, petroleum refiners, and, to a growing extent, ethylene manufacture. 

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