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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PICOGC (Market introduction of a revolutionary lab-on-a-chip Micro-Gas-Chromatograph for a cost-effective management of natural gas)

Teaser

Summary

Natural Gas industry is worldwide demanding for accurate and cost-efficient analytical technology to control internal processes along the whole supply chain. In particular, operators require analytical devices for gas chromatography able to ensure the strict safety and quality standards enforced by regulators. This industry is moving towards the use of MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) for process control, as these microchips can integrate miniaturized laboratory functions using extremely small fluid volumes, thus increasing accuracy while reducing energy consumption and analysis time.

The Natural Gas network along the European continent is very complex and natural gas is coming from different sources and have different calorific values. Therefore, upcoming results from picoGC project might be a great opportunity to spread the fiscal metering principle along the transmission and distribution networks, allowing EU people to pay for the energy they are really consuming, not only based on estimations.

Pollution is working in the development of a new MEMS-based micro-gaschromatograph to integrate in a unique layout capable to obtain the best analytical performances of the market. This technology, named picoGC, will be capable to face current limitations in MicroGC performances and manufacturing process. On the one hand, picoGC will increase sensitivity and linearity in analysis compared to current MicroGC, being capable to perform standardized measurements in less time and at a lower price. On the other hand, picoGC manufacturing process will be more automated and compatible with current processing technologies.
Pollution has partnered with Micronit GmbH for the future mass production of the microchips, which will be further integrated by Pollution and commercialized as a single and robust analytical device. During this project, Pollution, Micronit and subcontractors CNR-IMM, MEGA, Toro Ventures and CPL Concordia will integrate the tested analytical devices into a complete MEMS-prototype and validate the first batch of picoGC pre-series. Pollution will launch into the market a complete MEMS-based MicroGC range of analysers for natural gas analysis in three commercial applications: control of odorants, analysis of gas composition and measurement of the heating value of natural gas.

Work performed

PicoGC project is divided into six work packages. Four of them are technical focused and two of them regard the Commercialization/Dissemination/Communication and project management activities.

According to the project goals described, the main objectives in which the consortium of picoGC have been focused on during the first half of the project are mainly related to the definition and development of the analytical layout of picoGC technology for the different industrial applications. Moreover, the first batch of MEMS devices has been produced and a new testing system fully MEMS-based has been completed to test different MEMS configurations. The first technological transfer from laboratory to industry facilities has been also successfully accomplished. Regarding commercialization and dissemination activities, the first obtained results have been presented in national and international events, awaking many interest among numerous potential final customers. Finally, many efforts have been put in the coordination of all the activities regarding financial, administrative and technical issues because of the different partners and subcontractors directly involved in picoGC project.

Final results

The best value of picoGC is its high performance in analysis at the lowest cost; picoGC will be a revolutionary â€œlab-on-a-chipâ€ with multiple applications (e.g. process control, environmental monitoring, or quality check) for several industrial sectors. The new technology will be based on a cost-effective production process (more automated and with lower consumption of energy and materials), and will offer the following key benefits for end-users:

- Best performances in target market due to the lower â€˜dead volumesâ€™. Sensitivity and linearity will increase thanks to the high-performance columns and excellent overall engineering.
- Production costs reduced up to due to the unicity of having column in MEMS: Manufacturing will be more automated and optimized, so less components and less labour force will be required.
- Reduced cost-of-ownership due to minor power-gas use (lower temperatures and volumes of carrier gases), energy consumption, and helium consumption (it stays remotely functioning for longer without maintenance).
- Analysis times reduced due to the thinner and shorter column.
- On-site analysis in harsh places will be possible, minimizing the times for sample transfer, process times and plant operating costs.

PicoGC technology can have different market applications depending on its final configuration. With picoGC we will sell a product with minimal error in analysis and very competitive in prices. Using picoGC for continuous monitoring will give the operator a much better remote control to optimize the odorant distribution system in real-time along all the pipeline network. Furthermore, gas pipelines operators will be able to use the results of internal control for the mandatory reporting, as picoGC will comply with ISO and EN standards. In addition, distribution and transmission companies will reduce operational costs, as visits and transport to perform standardized measurements will not be necessary, and also because unjustified â€˜calls for smellâ€™ will be eliminated (citizens will not perceive excessive odour) avoiding unnecessary inspections.

The Consortium between Pollution and Micronit enacts the productive capacity required to meet with the targeted volumes and qualities. The flexibility offered by Micronit is a clear added value for Pollution, as they can manufacture both large and small batches of silicon wafers, modulating production according to the market demand.