EcoMax developed the revolutionary EcoMax Chemical Pump to help its energy-sector customers increase efficiency and reduce operating costs and greenhouse gas emissions at their natural gas installations.

Developed by our highly skilled and experienced managers and engineers and tested in the field with the cooperation of one of our major customers, the EcoMax Chemical Pump is proven reliable and to provide natural gas producers significant economic and environmental benefits.

EcoMax holds a United States patent on the EcoMax Chemical Pump proprietary drive system. The pump is patent pending in Canada.

Why pump?

In the production of natural gas, any pressure drop can cause hydrates to form - at the wellhead, in pipelines and in gas gathering, compression and transmission facilities. Once formed, the hydrates can plug or 'freeze' wells and pipelines and significantly affect production operations.

Gas producers inject chemicals - specifically, methanol - into the wellhead to prevent hydrates from forming and freezing off their wells and pipelines.

Traditional pumping methods

Traditionally, gas producers have most typically used gas-driven plunger pumps to inject the methanol. Typical gas-driven pumps exhaust wellhead gas, fuel gas or propane to the atmosphere. If "sweet " wellhead gas is used, it is vented to atmosphere and is lost to the revenue stream. "Sour" gas (H2S present) must be sent to a flare stack, so it too is lost to the revenue stream. If a producer has to use either propane or electricity to power their pumps, this results in higher costs of operation and, in the case of propane, may also need to be flared.

Such traditional pumping methods not only reduce production and increase operating costs, but also are harmful to the environment.

How the EcoMax Chemical Pump works

The EcoMax Chemical Pump represents a significant change for natural gas producers in that it makes them more efficient, increases their revenues, lowers their operational costs and eliminates the environmental footprint caused by traditional pumping methods.

Using leading-edge technology, the EcoMax Pump is highly energy efficient:

• The pump is driven by a low differential pressure that is typically available between the wellhead and the pipeline.
• The pump uses gas from the wellhead or other sources (separator, dehydrator, etc.) with zero emissions exhausting to atmosphere.
• The pump returns the exhaust gas to the sales/flow line or other gas gathering systems.

By using the EcoMax Chemical Pump, natural gas operators:

• can sell gas that they would have otherwise emitted to the atmosphere from sweet gas facilities;
• can eliminate the need for propane or fuel gas at sour gas facilities; and
• may accumulate Kyoto Accord-related carbon credits for eliminating greenhouse gas emissions.

The EcoMax pump if also highly versatile. Operators can use the same pump to inject other liquids, such as corrosion inhibitors in sour gas wells. The pump's regulating valves provide operators total control over the cycle speed of the pump, making the injection of chemicals more efficient.

Moreover, by eliminating harmful emissions, the EcoMax Pump enhances safety at the well site, as well as landowner relations.

Future applications

EcoMax is at present researching other applications for the proprietary drive system it has developed for the EcoMax Chemical Pump that will expand its uses in the oil and gas and other industries.

Download the Ecomax Chemical Pump brochure (.pdf - 210KB)