NLNG presents PIC FUEL business case for Nigeria’s climate agenda

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The new technology introduced by the Nigerian Liquefied Natural gas (NLNG) Limited in its ongoing repositioning campaign for the future also lays regulatory agenda for new emission control standards for industrial and manufacturing operations across sectors in the economy.

The scientific process which won the 2024 Nigerian Prize for Science sponsored by the NLNG Limited is conceived to assist players in the industrial sector capture fumes from industrial exhaust systems, recover useful components of the combustion byproduct for production of synthetic fuels, and then sequester harmful remnants for injection into the ground to keep them from escaping into the atmosphere.

Dr Mshelbila (3rd right) observes presentation of awards to NLNG sponsored Nigerian Prizes

Thus, the 2024 edition of the Nigerian Prize for Science sponsored by NLNG Limited produced a winning work which directly resonates with the prevailing scramble across the globe to accelerate climate action and cut the volume of greenhouse gas emission that puffs into the earth’s atmospheres.

“Process Intensification Technology for Greenhouse Emission Control in Power Generation and Industry for Sustainable Fuel Production (PIC-FUEL),” earned a team of scientists comprising Eni Oko, Olajide Otitoju, and Meihong Wang the $100,000 endowed by the NLNG Limited for the prize in the 2024 contest of Nigeria Prize for Science.

The work by the three varsity professors centers on the novel Pre-Combustion Improved Combustion Fuel also called PIC Fuel. The process, according to scientists aims to minimize emissions across various industries by capturing carbon dioxide emissions, sequestrating and re-injecting the non-reusable components into the ground while using valuable components for production of cleaner secondary fuels.

Eni Oko is an Associate Professor in Chemical Engineering at Newcastle University, United Kingdom (UK); Olajide Otitoju is a Research Associate at the University of Sheffield, U.K; and Meihong Wang is a Professor of Process and Energy Systems Engineering, specializing in Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) at the University of Sheffield, UK.

Professor Wang is having a second bite at the Prize after his first success at winning in the 2019 edition of the contest. He had collaborated with Dr. Mathew Aneke in a work on Carbon Capture, Carbon Utilization, Biomass Gasification and Energy Storage for Power Generation.

The innovative research successes plug directly into the tune of defining the future as the NLNG Limited celebrates it 35 years of incorporation, 25 years of operation, 20 years of sustained sponsorship of the signature Nigerian prizes for science, literature and literary criticism respectively, and introduction of a new corporate logo.

At a Grand Award Night in Lagos where the science prize winners showed up for their awards, the Managing Director of NLNG Limited, Dr Phillip Mshelbila, noted that whereas the future would definitely come, those who desire better future must take actions to that replace fears with hope.

He noted that the problem of emission reduction at oilfields in Nigeria led to business propositions for establishment of the company, stressing that today’s actions would define the future we desire amidst fears of climate change, catastrophic impacts of extreme weather and socio-economic and security crises that come with them.

He hinted that the operations of the company has not only drastically reduced gas flares and associated greenhouse gas emissions at flare sites in the Nigerian petroleum industry, it has also arrested massive resource waste and created economic benefits for all stakeholders.

“Natural gas, being the cleanest fossil fuel will remain vital in the global energy mix during the transition to sustainable alternatives. Between 1999 and 2023, NLNG converted over 80 trillion cubic feet of gas that would have been flared, transforming it into value for Nigeria and our stakeholders,” he told the high profile guests at the event.

While the petroleum industry continues to sanitize and decarbonize the footprints of its operations, scientists believe that greater volumes of greenhouse gas emission continues to puff from industrial, manufacturing and power plants across the globe. This has posed challenges in capturing and stashing away carbon dioxide from industrial plants.

Worldwide, there is growing agreement that eliminating human-caused greenhouse gas emissions is vital to securing a livable climate for humanity. And global industry, which is responsible for roughly one-third of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, is at the heart of the transition safer operating standards.

Industries and power plants puff huge emmissions into the environment

According to Yale Climate Connections, industry is a major emitter and also at the core of developing low-carbon solutions. For instance, manufacturers produce technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines, clean vehicles, and energy-efficient buildings.

“Therefore, industry must transition to zero-carbon processes while continuing to supply transformational technologies and infrastructure,” according to a book published by Senior Director of Energy Innovation, Jeffrey Rissman.

He declared in the book that eliminating greenhouse gases from global industry is very achievable with well-designed investments in existing and new technologies. And this daunting task of investing in innovative technologies is led in Nigeria and Africa by the Nigerian LNG Limited through its annual Nigerian Prize for Science.

Whereas Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a tested technology that captures carbon emissions from industrial sources and stores them underground in effort at achieving carbon neutrality; the PIC-FUEL technology mirrors the NLNG model of converting waste to wealth. It comes with the premium of achieving similar goals while generating a new kind of clean fuel from exhaust fumes.

The PIC-FUEL technology also plugs directly into the prevailing fuel diversification programmes in the country as the government battles high cost of traditional fuels with introduction greener alternatives through gas processing.

The advisory board recruited by the NLNG to regulate quality and integrity of the annual $100,000 Nigerian Prize for Science determined that the PIC-FUEL invention highlighted the importance of the mandate handed by the company in 2024 competition which focused on “Innovations and Technologies for Reducing the Effect of Climate Change.”

The Oracle Today reports that the PIC-FUEL technology has not only helped amplify the growing list of forward-looking innovations championed by the Nigerian LNG Limited in harnessing global expertise in solving Nigeria’s local problems; it also comes with the potential to help the country in its prevailing fuel diversification programmes in a manner that simultaneously advances the country’s global sustainability goals in full adherence to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

At an earlier ceremony to declare the 2024 Nigerian Science Prize winners in Lagos, the Advisory Committee noted that whereas the focus of the PIC-FUEL technology centers on capturing industrial fumes from mainly manufacturing and power generation industries, its application can also be useful in recycling fumes from oilfield operations gas flares.

Former Minister of Science and Technology and Chairman of the committee, Prof Barth Nnaji, stated that the PIC-FUEL technology is now one of the promising solutions for industries and power production plants across the country to cut their adverse impact on the environment.

Explaining the significance of the groundbreaking work by the three scientists, Prof. Nnaji stated that the PIC-FUEL technology works by capturing carbon dioxide emissions directly from industrial sources such as power plants, cement factories, and refineries. He explained that the emissions are passed through the Rotating Packed Bed (RPB) unit, where carbon dioxide is absorbed using a solvent before being converted into methanol through a reaction with hydrogen in an electrolyser machine.

The methanol can then be directly blended with diesel or sold as a product, he noted.

“Imagine if every time a factory or power plant released carbon dioxide, instead of harmful gases escaping into the atmosphere, those gases were captured, transformed, and repurposed into cleaner, more sustainable fuels. That is exactly what PIC-FUEL does.

“This revolutionary approach could cut emissions by 40%, significantly reducing Nigeria’s carbon footprint and helping the country achieve its 2060 net-zero goals without expensive government subsidies. PIC-FUEL implementation will fully decarbonize the power and industrial sectors and deliver up to 20% decarbonization of diesel-fueled transportation and electricity generators for household and small businesses through the supply of cleaner diesel.

“The technology doesn’t just ensure cleaner air; it also offers significant economic benefits. It could reduce the cost of cutting down emissions by 30-40%, translating to considerable reductions in the national budgetary requirement for implementing the Nigerian Energy Transition Plan, equivalent to $120-140 billion, and achieving the 2060 net zero targets.

“Additionally, by producing cleaner diesel locally, the country could save up to $500 million annually in foreign exchange, strengthening the local economy and stabilizing the Naira,” Professor Nnaji pointed out, adding that the proof of concept of the winning work has been established in the U.K. and Norway.

Interestingly, introduction of the new emission-arresting technology in Nigeria coincides with reports of devastating impacts of extreme weather in cities and provinces across the globe.

In the first three quarters of 2024 alone, there have been numerous reported cases of drought, heat waves and fierce flooding across the world’s biggest cities, manifesting in extreme incidents at places naturally made vulnerable by geological and geographical factors. Dense forests suffered devastating wildfires, arid regions faced heat waves and coastal locations suffered brutal invasion of raging hurricanes and storms.

Flood in Malaysia

In the prevailing flood instances, the increasing frequency and severity of flood disasters in places like North Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Nigeria, the United States and several other countries of the world underline the overall impact of global warming.

Currently in the United States, Hurricane Helene, which caused ferocious winds and historic flooding, left over 200 dead and 600 people unaccounted. The hurricane had hit the coastal residents with 140-mph winds, dumped 30 inches of rain, propelled 15-foot storm surge, and triggered over 20 reported tornadoes. American authorities declared the volume of flood that devastated coastal North Carolina equaled the total hydro-volume of Lake Tahoe!

Flood in United States

Almost simultaneously, more than 500 people, including 35 children, were killed and dozens are missing after heavy rains triggered flash floods and landslides across Nepal, UN humanitarians declared on October 1. The situation in the country has since worsened.

The UN stated that the Nepal rains began on 27 September and lasted more than 72 hours, causing extensive damage in 44 of Nepal’s 77 districts where many areas are cut off, with bridges and roads swept away and powerlines and telecommunication networks disrupted.

The report stated that security forces and volunteers rescued some 4,500 people from over 7,600 families in informal settlements that have washed away. Also, pipes and cropland have been damaged, with access to water and food and their affordability becoming a major challenge.

In Malaysia, authorities have evacuated around 8,000 people to dozens of relief centers across the state.

Earlier in North Korean, government moved some 15,400 people including mothers, children, older adults and disabled soldiers from flood hit regions to facilities in the capital, Pyongyang, North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency reported in August.

Flood in North Korea

According to Yale Connections, torrential rains during July, August, and September unleashed catastrophic floods in West and Central Africa, affecting over 4 million people in 14 countries including Nigeria.

The U.N. World Food Program declared that the floods have exacerbated a regional hunger crisis that was already affecting 55 million people, adding that some 1,096 people have been killed in five of the countries.

The report stated that climate change is increasing the severity of deadly African weather disasters, adding that the African continent has suffered an unprecedented number of deadly weather-related disasters over the past two years

Coming home, floods in different parts of Nigeria reached all time volumes in the year with cities and riverine villages all regions of the country nearly submerged. An outstanding incident occurred when the Alau Dam in Borno State caved in under intense flooding, killed about 40 people and sacked residents of nearly submerged nearby towns and villages from their homes into refugee camps.

According to UNICEF, another 58 persons were injured in the flood incident while the numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who registered in one of some 30 camps increased to about 400,000 people within just a week.

According to C40 Cities, co-chaired by the Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, “Failure to reduce carbon emissions in line with the targets of the Paris Agreement could fuel migration of 8 million people to 10 cities in the developing world by 2050.”

It is therefore no longer debatable that the upshots of climate change are spread across the world. And developing nations often bear the brunt due to limited resources and infrastructure to mitigate the damage.

The spread of impact across all known locations of the world form urgent reminder that climate change is not localized incident. It is an acknowledged global crisis. And the escalating situation has engaged industries and governments worldwide with developing and implementing policies that significantly reduce carbon emissions.

At the 2024 Strategic International Conference hosted by the Energy Correspondents Association of Nigeria (NAEC) in Lagos, the Executive Vice President in charge of Oando Clean Energy Limited, Admola Ogunbanjo, declared that climate change does not apportion impacts according to emission responsibility.

The collective vulnerability, he noted, has mad collective response to emission reduction imperative.

To prevent further climate-related disasters, therefore, experts insist that a multi-faceted approach involving technological innovation, huge financial investments, practical process implementation and systemic policy changes have become urgent.

Whereas there is a global consensus for governments and businesses to implement the environment, social and governance (ESG) principles, some committed corporate giants lead the charge. The need for environmental responsibility laid the business case for the establishment of the NLNG Limited, Dr Mshelbila reiterates.

Thus, the overall need to align Nigeria with the global ambition to cut emission at production sites, optimize resource value and evolve cleaner options to dirty fuels have formed actionable agenda for NLNG Limited. And the mandate of the company as an environmental vanguard comes with a separate sense of purpose and commitment to national aspirations from the company’s management.

Beyond the PIC-FUEL innovation which is just one of the bests in the heaps of good scientific research jobs submitted across years of the Nigeria Prize for Science; the NLNG Limited has through its business operations, investments in environmental conservation and interventions in the domestic fuel market led actions on reduction of carbon footprints in the country’s petroleum industry. Therefore, the PIC-FUEL technology can only expand carbon erasure in the consumption side of the chain.

With six gas liquefaction trains with combined capacity to produce 22 million tons per annum of LNG for the global gas market, the NLNG Limited mops up significant 3.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day (Bcf/d) from flare sites at Nigerian oilfields. The volume of rich gas harnessed from oilfields is expected to proportionately jump when the company activates its seventh process train which is currently under project stages.

Thus, the sheer volume of gas recovered from flare booms at oil production sites has helped to reduce gas flaring in Nigeria from 65 to about 20%, the company stated. And this has further protected the environment from multiple onslaughts; including greenhouse gas emission which causes global warming and catastrophic impacts of extreme consumption of firewood on the Nigerian forests.

The company also beats its chest with solid claim to contributing to a healthier Nigeria by displacing dirty kitchen fuels with domestic LPG supply “which has also resulted in reduced expenditure on respiratory health issues.”

Apart from capturing gas at points of flare, displacing dirty fuels from homes with the LPG and creating a local inlet for penetration of LNG to displace dirtier fuel oils from industries; the NLNG Limited is also in the lead of creating natural carbon sinks through its nature conservation initiatives.

While it is okay for the company’s Finima Nature Park to be described as a tourist attraction or a mini safari because of the diversity of flora and fauna, the key focus is to build a conservation of dense vegetation that continuously and naturally absorbs carbon from the atmosphere without leaving any footprint on the environment. The carbon sink, comprising hundreds of thousand trees and shrubs, captures and stores carbon from the air in a process of photosynthesis through which plants produce their food.

Leaders of the company are still relentless in driving policy advocacies that reiterate the need for sustainable operating principles that maintain a healthy balance between industry objectives and environmental health. The advocacies and propositions of the company have found strident expression at local and global podiums of policy debate.

At the 2024 Gas Technology (Gastech) conference hosted in Houston, the United States, Dr. Philip Mshelbila reminded the global industry leaders that tackling climate change requires a holistic investment approach that does not leave any region behind. He maintained that the need for investments in clean energy penetration to all known communities draws from the realization that the impacts of climate change are not limited by location.

He declared that the global campaign for energy transition and decarbonization must recognize the needs for investments in supply infrastructure in order to guarantee accessibility and availability of cleaner energy forms and products in emerging economies.

In a discussion on widening access to natural gas and LNG to support transition to lower-carbon energy system in emerging economies, he told global audience that developing nations like Nigeria would need huge investment in infrastructural development to drive penetration of gas to displace dirtier fuel options and curb emissions.

Dr Mshelbila’s arguments build into already acknowledged requirements for arresting the prevailing fallouts of global warming and climate crisis; which call for sound policies, technological evolution, climate-resilient infrastructure, international cooperation and climate financing.

Unfortunately, poor African nations share both the responsibility for emissions and the vulnerability to climate impacts, but disproportionately. And as floods and other extreme weather events become more frequent, there is an urgent need for global collaboration on building resilience.

As Dr Mshelbila emphasized, international cooperation on climate financing has become very necessary to achieve holistic solutions. This entails that developed nations should collaborate to provide financial and technological support to countries like Nigeria, where climate resilience is often underfunded.

While the battle to arrest the prevailing disasters rages across the globe, substantial efforts are required to mitigate carbon emissions to forestall the frequency of such catastrophic events. And with the PIC-FUEL technology emerging from the NLNG’s Nigerian Prize for Science, the right path to solution is very clear for Nigeria and its industries.

It must be emphasized at this point that evolution of innovative technologies cannot deliver results in isolation. Policies and active regulations need be in place to compel adaptation and implementation of proven strategies.

Therefore, the Nigerian government should impose stringent regulations on industries to adopt and implement all available innovative solutions to emission control. Regulators must now collaborate to set new emissions standards to guarantee low carbon industrial activities in the country. This may involve provision of incentives for adaptation of the PIC-FUEL and similar technologies. With regulations and solutions in place, penal measures might then be necessary to restrain players from exceeding emission limits.

Involvement of government’s regulators in harnessing and enforcing application of new technologies will go a long way in acknowledging, encouraging and justifying the huge investments sunk by world’s biggest companies like the Nigeria LNG Limited in funding evolution of global technologies that resolve Nigerian crises.

Deploying the PIC FUEL technology in the Nigerian industrial sector will help in no small measure in stashing away potential carbon haze from hitting the planet’s environment.

The investment of today may not immediately stop the ravaging floods, the scorching heat waves, withering droughts and associated impacts on food security. But rights taken today will obviously save the future.

In projecting into the future at the Grand Award Night in Lagos, Dr Mshelbila maintains that those who demand better future must be deliberate in the actions they take today for future outcomes.

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