Increasing amounts of natural gas throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic are creating quite a stir. Regionally, many view this resource as a great opportunity for economic growth.
A valuable molecule contained within natural gas is ethane, the element that is “cracked” into ethylene, a component used for numerous plastics and other end products.
Currently, the plants that process ethane into ethylene exist on the Gulf Coast. But efforts are underway to establish local infrastructure and related job creation.
Given the tremendous volume of projected natural gas availability, it makes sense to build processing and production facilities in our own community.
A Scalable Solution
Enter Aither Chemicals, a company focused on building new ethylene-based chemical plants, using a proprietary technology invented in South Charleston, W. Va.
Aither’s science can be used to build a series of smaller chemical plants. Also, our catalytic “cracking” technology can be scaled-up into larger plants as more ethane becomes available. So, whether small or large amounts of ethane are on hand, Aither offers a flexible solution.
According to independent analysis, when compared with traditional steam cracking facilities, our demonstrated technology would require less capital investment and lower operating costs, at any scale.
This process also utilizes considerably less energy and emits significantly less carbon dioxide than traditional cracking technologies, thus, being more environmentally friendly.
Aither has received financial investment from the West Virginia Jobs Investment Trust and TechConnectWV. The company was started by and continues to receive support from the Mid-Atlantic Technology, Research & Innovation Center (MATRIC). Aither is currently negotiating additional investments and arrangements to build chemical plants in the Marcellus Shale region.
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This is exactly the type of research that can be successful. West Virginia has been lucky enough to have found an enormous energy resource, and although methane is the primary component, the presence of other gases such as ethane offer potential for creating value added products. I hope others in our state can appreciate what MATRIC research means for this state and the entire country.