Like most other industries, the chemical business is under increasing pressure to adopt more environmentally sustainable solutions. A key component in this transition is a combustible mixture mainly unknown to the public; here’s how G2L plant owners can profit from the valuable high-quality product, naphtha.

Establishing a G2L plant provides investors and natural reserve owners an open path to lucrative markets where certification, infrastructure, and demand are already in place.

For instance, a G2L operation can be set up to produce high-quality jet fuel, diesel, or both. Regardless of the product mix a G2L plant owner chooses, the plant will produce some naphtha, a byproduct of all gas-to-liquids (GTL) operations.

Far from constituting waste, naphtha is a valuable product that’s in rising demand globally. This article discusses the commercial opportunities, applications, and benefits of this lesser-known product.

Commercializing naphtha

Rising demands notwithstanding, not all naphtha is commercialized, as several refiners utilize it in their own operations. Either to decarbonize fuels or as a dilutant of heavy crude oil, an application in which naphtha is exceptionally well-suited.

Plant owners who choose to sell off their naphtha to chemical industries are looking into a well-established market. Naphtha produced from sustainability-focused GTL facilities is projected to be a key ingredient in the chemical industries green transformation.

To understand why GTL naphtha is in line to claim this position, let’s take a brief look at how the product is utilized in the process of producing plastics.

GTL naphtha is highly paraffinic which makes it an ideal feedstock for naphtha crackers. This petrochemical process produces light hydrocarbons ethylene and propylene, which are key building blocks in the production of plastic and various chemicals.

The benefits of using naphtha from GTL plants are many. In terms of product quality and consistency, the product is well ahead of any competitor in its class: GTL naphtha is 98% paraffinic, and has no aromatics, or sulfur or metallic contaminants. This results in a far lower coking rates of furnace tubes during cracking which prolongs run times.

In addition, GTL naphtha has higher product yields than other naphtha types, which translates directly to higher profits for operation owners. Furthermore, GTL naphtha allows certifying a portion of products as environmentally sustainable if produced from sustainable feedstocks.

Even so, the technologies in and around a G2L plant can be combined and tailored to maximize the utilization of renewable energy and captured CO2 to produce carbon neutral synthetic fuels and green naphtha. The G2L eFuels solution opens several commercial opportunities, with a product slate that can be tailored to market needs.