Queen's University included on IChemE roll of honour

Queen’s University Belfast has been named on the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) roll of honour for 2013. The chemists have been recognised for their work in removing harmful mercury from natural gas.

The award of the IChemE Nicklin Medal is the latest accolade for the University’s partnership with Malaysian oil and gas giant Petronas, which has developed an environmentally friendly and safer gas production process.

The Nicklin Medal has been awarded jointly to Queen’s Ionic Liquid Laboratories (QUILL) and Petronas for the mercury removal project, which was also won three awards at the global IChemE Awards in November 2013.

The technology is being used to remove mercury from natural gas at two Petronas plants in Malaysia. Professor Martin Atkins from QUILL said: “Mercury is one of the biggest threats to downstream processing in the oil and gas exploration industries, so it is a huge problem for companies like Petronas. It contaminates natural gas, corrodes processing equipment, and compromises the safety of processing plants and the quality of the end product. The amount of mercury present can vary considerably, which makes it incredibly difficult to manage.

“We developed a new ionic liquid based formulation which completely removes mercury from natural gas and is capable of handling the unpredictable surges of mercury in the gas stream. The result is a robust technology, providing a cost-effective and sustainable production process. It is a cutting-edge development, and we are delighted that it has been recognised yet again by IChemE.

Adapted from press release by Callum O'Reilly

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