Joint innovation by MOL, SZTE, Videoton and Hilase recognized by the 19th Hungarian Innovation Grand Prix

3-4-2013 — /europawire.eu/ — The curators of the 19th Hungarian Innovation Grand Prix granted a special prize to the application jointly developed by MOL, the Szeged University of Sciences (SZTE), Videoton Holding Zrt. and Hilase Kft. in the topic of a laser-based photo acoustic instrument for measuring the hydrogen sulphide and water vapour content in natural gas.

Hydrogen sulphide and water vapour content in natural gas is a key quality parameter of natural gas and strict regulations define its limits when gas is sold. There are several arguments behind these regulations: for example excessive hydrogen sulphide content in natural gas may cause pollution to the environment, or too high water vapour may cause freezing in the gas transmission pipelines during winter season.

In the field of natural gas production we are measuring these parameters with instruments that are quite complicated even to-date and that function not with fully reliability. As production operations are quite often implemented under extreme weather and natural circumstances it makes the process more difficult, as methods applied until now quite frequently fail to function.

To resolve this problem in 1996 experts of MOL and SZTE came out with a brand new and revolutionary concept. They applied a photo acoustic technology, which had not been used before in the oil and gas industry and began measuring the hydrogen sulphide and water vapour content in natural gas. The essential feature of the light and sound-based technology is that a laser beam is crossing the natural gas sample, and this generates a noise effect, and based on this effect the quantity of the said components can be reliably determined.

The instrument was finalised as a result of a nearly 20-year long efforts and its main benefit is that it can produce significantly more accurate results of measurement that any other equip-ment applied until then in the oil and gas industry, and it can be operated in a significantly simpler manner, and it can be easily applied even under quite difficult conditions, like e.g. an off-shore platform.

Videoton Holding Zrt. purchased the right of utilisation of the joint patent developed by MOL and SZTE in 2004, and later, when Hilase Kft was established, it started manufacturing the laser-based photo acoustic measurement instruments from 2005. The instrument has been extremely successful in international markets, and MOL is also using more-and-more such equipments.

MOL Group performs its research and development activities along the entire value chain starting from the exploration and production through crude oil procession and ending at petrochemicals. During the research efforts the Group cooperates with seven prestigious scientific research institutes and ten institutes if higher learning (e.g. Hungarian Academy of Sciences MTA, Budapest University of Technical Sciences BME, University of Miskolc, Eötvös Loránd University of Sciences ELTE, SZTE). The Hungarian Innovation Association has granted several prizes and awards in the past 20 years to MOL Group projects and innovations; including 1 Grand Prix, 8 Special Awards and (2 Extraordinary Prizes (including this year).