Hydrotreatment Process for Bio-Derived Hydrocarbon Purification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods struggle to effectively process organic materials of biological origin with high impurities such as nitrogen, silicon, chloride, and phosphorus compounds, which can deactivate catalysts and lower the quality of hydrocarbon products, particularly for diesel engines.
Innovation Solution
A multi-step process involving pre-treatment, pre-hydrotreatment, hydrotreatment, isomerization, and distillation to purify and convert organic materials into hydrocarbons suitable for diesel engines, including steps like heat treatment, evaporation, and use of catalysts like NiMo on alumina carriers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional pre-treatment methods (degumming, bleaching) are used on feedstock with high impurities, then processing simplicity is maintained, but catalyst deactivation occurs and product quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The hydrotreatment process is divided into two distinct stages: pre-hydrotreatment followed by main hydrotreatment. The pre-hydrotreatment stage specifically targets impurity removal (nitrogen, silicon, chloride, phosphorus) to protect the main catalyst, while the main hydrotreatment stage focuses on hydrocarbon production. This segmentation allows each stage to be optimized for its specific function, resolving the contradiction between catalyst protection and process simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The pre-hydrotreatment step is performed before the main hydrotreatment to remove harmful impurities in advance. This preliminary action prevents catalyst deactivation before it occurs, allowing the use of sensitive catalysts in the main stage while processing challenging feedstock that would otherwise be unsuitable.
2Adaptability or versatility
If challenging feedstock with high impurities is processed, then renewable fuel production is expanded, but catalyst deactivation and product quality loss occur
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the hydrotreatment into pre-hydrotreatment and main hydrotreatment stages, the system can handle diverse challenging feedstocks (crude tall oil, brown grease, used cooking oil) while maintaining consistent product quality. The pre-stage removes variable impurities, allowing the main stage to produce uniform hydrocarbon products regardless of feedstock variation.
Solution Approach 2:
The process uses different operating parameters for pre-hydrotreatment versus main hydrotreatment. Pre-hydrotreatment operates under conditions optimized for impurity removal, while main hydrotreatment uses parameters optimized for hydrocarbon production. This parameter differentiation enables high product quality from variable impurity-containing feedstocks.
3Quantity of substance
If regular pre-treatment methods are used, then process simplicity is maintained, but impurity removal efficiency is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The impurity removal function is segmented into the pre-hydrotreatment stage, which specifically targets nitrogen, silicon, chloride, and phosphorus removal. This dedicated pre-stage achieves high impurity removal efficiency that regular pre-treatment cannot attain, while the added process stage is justified by the significant improvement in catalyst protection and product quality.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The process significantly reduces impurities, producing high-quality hydrocarbons suitable for diesel engines with improved catalyst stability and efficiency, overcoming the limitations of conventional methods.
Implementation Method 1
subjecting said purified feedstock to pre-hydrotreatment to obtain a stream of partly hydrotreated feed
Implementation Method 2
subjecting the stream of hydrocarbons to isomerisation to obtain an isomerised stream of hydrocarbons
Implementation Method 3
distilling the isomerised stream of hydrocarbons to obtain at least two fractions, a first heavy bottom fraction and a second middle fraction
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to producing hydrocarbons from a feedstock containing organic material of biological origin. An exemplary process includes providing a feedstock including organic material of biological origin; pre-treating the feedstock in one or more pre-treatment stages to obtain a purified feedstock; subjecting the purified feedstock to pre-hydrotreatment to obtain a stream of partly hydrotreated feed; subjecting the stream of partly hydrotreated feed to hydrotreatment to obtain a stream of hydrocarbons; subjecting the stream of hydrocarbons to isomerisation to obtain an isomerised stream of hydrocarbons; and distilling the isomerised stream of hydrocarbons to obtain at least two fractions, a first heavy bottom fraction and a second middle fraction, at least one of which is collected as a product of hydrocarbons.