22-02-2019

BASF and Linde announce natural gas processing technology collaboration

BASF and The Linde Group’s Engineering Division have agreed on a collaboration to serve natural gas processing applications using BASF’s adsorbent technology and Linde’s adsorption & membrane technology. This collaboration brings together two leading companies in the fields of adsorbents, adsorption and membrane technology. With the combined capabilities of materials expertise from BASF and engineering expertise from Linde, the two companies are well positioned to expand their global leadership position in natural gas applications.

BASF’s innovative Durasorb™ adsorbents will be used to improve Linde’s high-performance membrane processes, which provide stability and selectivity advantages over competitive membrane processes. Membrane technology that can process gas high in CO2 is becoming increasingly important in the natural gas industry. The ability to treat gas high in both heavy hydrocarbons and CO2 will allow BASF and Linde to serve a part of the industry that now must rely on high cost alternatives.

Customers will benefit from a one-stop solution. BASF and Linde will perform the required design work to ensure that the adsorbent is well suited to the membrane. Linde will supply both units to the customer required to process natural gas: the membrane unit and the pretreatment unit located upstream, applying Durasorb™. This arrangement will simplify the technical and the procurement processes for the customer as well as increase the reliability and performance of the membrane process.

BASF, the world’s leading supplier of environmental and process catalysts, and Linde, a world-leading gases and engineering company with its outstanding adsorption and membrane plant technology, join forces and competencies. The collaboration is a strong signal to the natural gas industry and will open access to previously inaccessible gas compositions for treatment. “The partnership leverages the strengths of both companies and expands the market reach of Durasorb™, allowing BASF to serve together with Linde an even greater portion of the fast-growing natural gas industry,” says Detlef Ruff, Senior Vice President Process Catalysts at BASF. “We are enthusiastic to cooperate with BASF in this strategically important market. A proper and sophisticated pretreatment of natural gas is key to deploy the full potential of high-performance membranes,“ says Tobias Keller, Executive Vice President of Linde Engineering’s Product Line Adsorption and Membrane Plants.