In progress
A modular system for solving the waste methane issue.
Turning waste methane into valuable products.
The Crucible is a modular methane conversion system being developed by Leviathan Laboratories to address a major challenge in oil and gas operations: what to do with methane when capturing, transporting, or processing it is not economically practical.
Oil and gas operations frequently produce methane in locations where the infrastructure needed to utilize it does not exist.
Pipeline capacity may be unavailable, gathering systems may be too far away, or the cost of building new infrastructure may exceed the value of the gas itself.
This can leave operators with limited options:
The result is both an environmental and economic problem. A valuable resource is lost while operators face increasing pressure to reduce methane emissions and routine flaring.
The Crucible takes a different approach.
Instead of treating methane solely as an emission that needs to be captured, transported, or destroyed, the Crucible treats it as a feedstock.
Through a controlled thermochemical conversion process, the system is being developed to convert methane rich waste gas into useful products including:
This allows methane to be transformed into physical products that can be stored, transported, and potentially sold rather than simply being burned or moved elsewhere.
Most methane mitigation solutions represent an additional operating cost.
The Crucible is being developed around a different model: reduce emissions while creating economic value from the methane being treated.
Carbon black is an industrial material used across applications including:
The water produced through the conversion process creates an additional potentially useful resource depending on the operating environment and application.
By producing valuable outputs, the Crucible is designed to make methane mitigation economically attractive rather than simply another compliance expense.
One of the largest challenges associated with stranded methane is infrastructure.
Many producing sites are remote, temporary, or located far from existing processing and transportation networks.
The Crucible is being developed as a modular field deployable system intended to operate at or near the location where methane is produced.
Instead of requiring methane to be transported to a centralized facility, the conversion system is brought directly to the source.
This approach is intended to reduce dependence on permanent infrastructure and provide operators with a flexible option for stranded and otherwise uneconomic gas.
The idea behind the Crucible is simple:
Methane does not have to remain a waste product.
Rather than simply moving or destroying the methane, the Crucible is being developed to transform it into useful products.
By doing so, the system has the potential to align emissions reduction, resource recovery, and economic incentive within a single platform.
The Crucible is currently under development at Leviathan Laboratories.
Current work is focused on:
The underlying reactor architecture, operating conditions, control methods, materials, and implementation technologies remain proprietary to Leviathan Laboratories.
Our goal is to provide operators with another option for stranded methane.
Not simply capturing it.
Not simply transporting it.
Not simply burning it.
Turning it into something valuable.