Main content | back to top
Gas to liquids (GTL)
Road transport is one of the greatest causes of smog-generating pollutants in cities. More vehicles on the road and tighter regulations increase the need for fuels with fewer harmful emissions. One answer is Shell’s pioneering gas to liquids (GTL) technology, which produces a cleaner liquid fuel derived from natural gas.
Diesel blended with GTL fuel produces less carbon monoxide and fewer unburnt hydrocarbons and exhaust particles.
GTL products are colourless, odourless, biodegradable and virtually sulphur-free. Used alone or as a blend with diesel, GTL Fuel produces lower local vehicle emissions (particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons) than those from conventional diesel.
In one particular taxi trial in Shanghai, GTL Fuel reduced the amount of carbon monoxide produced and released to the local atmosphere by more than 50% and particulates by around 40%. In 2006, and again in 2007, the first ever diesel engine car won the challenging ‘Le Mans 24 hour’ race fueled on a blend of GTL Fuel and diesel.
GTL products are manufactured in three steps. First, natural gas is partially oxidized at high temperature and pressure to convert it to synthesis gas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The synthesis gas is then chemically converted through Fischer-Tropsch synthesis into a white wax (a synthetic crude). Then the wax is broken down via a process called hydrocracking to a product that can be converted to the GTL fuels as well as base oils, naphtha and normal paraffin.
Building Knowledge
Shell has been at the forefront of GTL technology and production for over 30 years. We built our experience from the laboratory up, leading to our first commercial GTL plant at Bintulu, Malaysia in 1993. From this, we’ve been able to apply our know-how to build the world’s largest GTL plant – Pearl GTL in Qatar. When it comes onstream, Pearl will produce 140,000 barrels of GTL products per day. Our technology development on GTL has not stopped however, and we continue to invest in the research and development of catalysts for use in Qatar to enable even greater productivity.
GTL blended with diesel
Premium diesel containing GTL Fuel is already available to motorists as Shell V-Power Diesel in Europe and Asia. Shell eventually plans to market pure GTL, initially to power bus and taxi fleets in heavily congested cities where the environmental benefits have the greatest impact.
