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Sulzer technologies for biofuel applications

In recent years, there have been many advancements in the development of biofuels for the global transportation markets. First generation fuel ethanol plants performed fermentation of grains into high purity ethanol. Further R&D led to the development of biofuels from renewable feed stocks: grains, baggase, switch grass, sugar cane, beets, turnips and wood pulp. These second generation biofuel processes produce high purity methanol, propanol, butanol and other oxygenated hydrocarbons for this emerging market. The development of biofuels has included new technologies for mechanical and thermal processing of biomass, fermentation, and chemical separation processes.

Process Technology
Sulzer offers several technologies for second generation biofuels. Our process design experience includes pressure swing, azeotropic and extractive distillation to separate alcohols from aqueous feed streams. Membranes can be used to perform dehydration and overcome azeotropes to produce high purity alcohol products. The combination of these technologies leads to significantly lower energy demands. Our test center can verify the capabilities of novel processes with pilot plant studies that can then be applied to scale-up to demonstration and industrial plants. Process plant equipment can be delivered as skid-based solutions that include distillation columns and other process equipment, piping and controls. Sulzer Chemtech

Mass Transfer Equipment
Sulzer’s product portfolio has been successfully used in biofuel applications for many years. In first generation fuel ethanol plants, VG AF™ trays have a proven track record of resisting fouling by biomash solids and extending the plants’ operating time. MellapakPlus™ structured packing offers low pressure drop and high capacity for distillation and absorption columns. The KuÌˆhni extraction column with its rotating agitation chambers is applied in liquidliquid extraction applications. Vapor permeation with zeolite membranes is most suitable for bioethanol processes. These membranes can be incorporated into hybrid distillation systems used to dehydrate biofuels.

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Tray designs for extreme fouling applications

Today refiners experience a lot of problems with processing of opportunity or heavy crudes. Such crudes have very high sulfur content and require the addition of amine scavengers before desalting. These amines decompose in the heater and create ammonium chlorides in the presence of water in the top of ...
Anti-fouling trays maximize coker main fractionator profitability

The Coker Main Fractionator is systematically subjected to harsh operating conditions that can lead to deteriorating efficiency and performance due to coking and fouling. Poor reliability results in loss of profitable coking margins for the refinery. The main fractionator vapor feed from the coke drum ...
Improve separation in your column by increasing the number of trays

Refiners often face revamp challenges when trying to improve separation within an existing column. Improving diesel recovery from gas oil, splitting benzene precursors from naphtha reformer charge, or simply minimizing product overlaps after capacity creep can all be difficult when limited by a fi xed ...
Gain 5-10% efficiency with this simple 4-pass tray revamp

The design of 4-pass trays can be complex. It not only requires a close evaluation of the mechanical design but also the process response to that design at various flow rates. The balancing of the fluid flows across the tray can have a substantial effect on the tray performance, namely efficiency. Many ...
Proper design of mass transfer internals in the FCC flue gas scrubber can help reduce PM emissions

The EPA’s New Source Performance Standards (40 C.F.R. §60.100-1-0, subpart Ja) regulates refinery particulate emissions, including the discharge of catalyst fines from the FCCU flue gas scrubber stack. Because refiners have traditionally correlated particulate matter (PM) emissions with FCCU ...
Improve fouling resistance in your wastewater benzene stripper

Benzene stripper columns, built so that refineries can meet the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), operate with several unique conditions – low vapor rates, high liquid loads, and a high tendency toward fouling make designing well-balanced, effective internals difficult. The ...
Important tray design features that improve column operating reliability

How often does Maintenance personnel open a column during a shutdown and find tray panels fallen without any obvious damage? How about tray valves stuck in the bottoms pump suction? While the initial reaction may be to blame faulty installation where the hardware was not properly tightened, the answer ...
Green design practices: focus on efficiency

Green design is more than recycling scrap materials or calculating carbon footprints. It minimizes negative environmental impact through skillful design and operating practices to produce efficient, better-functioning processes. Because green practices reduce resource requirements, in many cases, they ...
4 simple ways to convert turnarounds into profitable tower upgrade opportunities

With planned outages commonly occurring at intervals of 2-5 years, a refinery turnaround is a prime opportunity to replace column and separator internals with the newest available technology. Planning for an outage with a “replacement-in-kind” strategy will address lost performance from refinery ...
Maximizing light cycle oil recovery in the FCC main fractionator

Refiners operating FCCU's have adjusted their operating strategies to maximize light cycle oil production to meet the increased demand for automotive diesel. Catalyst formulations and reactor conditions can alter yields, but the refinery cannot take full advantage of the increased LCO recovery without ...