Integrated Renewable Feed Routing for Flexible Multi-Plant Production
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Solution Overview
Problem
Bio-based production plants face inflexibility due to varying demand and quality issues with feedstocks, particularly with unstable biological fats and oils, which affect product yield and storage stability, and often require costly blending and increased infrastructure to maintain quality.
Innovation Solution
An integrated production plant system with multiple renewable processes (paraffinic fuel, FAAE fuel, base oil, and chemical processes) shares a common feedstock, allowing for flexible feed and product flow redirection to optimize production based on market demand, catalyst efficiency, and waste management, utilizing isotope tagging for renewable carbon identification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional single-plant production systems are used, then process simplicity is maintained, but flexibility and adaptability to varying demand are poor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a multi-plant production system where each plant (paraffinic fuel plant, FAAE fuel plant, base oil plant, chemical plant) can process the same common renewable system feed through different technological routes. This universal feed compatibility allows the system to adapt to varying market demands by redirecting feed flows between plants, thereby improving flexibility without requiring multiple specialized feed storage systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs dynamic feed flow redistribution capabilities where the allocation of common renewable system feed to different plants can be adjusted in real-time based on market demand, product prices, and catalyst efficiency. This dynamic reconfiguration allows the production system to respond flexibly to changing conditions while maintaining a relatively stable physical infrastructure.
2Duration of action of moving object
If bio-based feedstocks are stored for extended periods, then availability is improved, but storage stability deteriorates due to chemical instability
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary processing of the common renewable system feed before it enters various production plants. By pre-treating the feedstock and converting it into more stable intermediate products or directing it to processes that immediately consume the unstable functionalities, the system extends the effective storage duration without compromising composition stability. This preliminary action prevents degradation reactions from occurring during storage.
3Stability of the object's composition
If pretreatment processes are applied to improve storage stability, then stability is improved, but manufacturing precision and desired functionalities are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different processing approaches to different portions of the common renewable system feed based on the specific requirements of each plant. Rather than uniformly pretreating all feedstock, the system directs feed to plants where minimal pretreatment is needed to preserve desired functionalities, while applying more extensive pretreatment only where necessary for stability. This localized quality approach maintains product quality while improving storage stability.
4Stability of the object's composition
If feed quality fluctuations are leveled off by blending, then quality consistency is improved, but device complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a common renewable system feed that can be universally processed by multiple different plant types. This universal compatibility eliminates the need for complex blending equipment to achieve quality consistency, as the feed can be directly routed to appropriate plants based on real-time conditions. The multi-functionality of the feed stream replaces the need for physical blending infrastructure.
Data Source
AI summary
An integrated production plant system includes, at one production site at least two plants of different kinds selected from a renewable paraffinic fuel plant to produce renewable paraffinic fuel in a renewable paraffinic fuel process, a renewable fatty acid alkyl ester (FAAE) fuel plant to produce renewable FAAE fuel in a renewable FAAE process, a renewable base oil plant to produce renewable base oil in a renewable base oil process, and a renewable chemical plant to produce renewable chemical in a renewable chemical process. Each of the processes is provided with a respective renewable feed, where the feed of each of the processes originates from a common renewable system feed, and the feed to at least one of the processes is altered for example by directing at least part of the feed of at least one of the processes to another of the processes.