Renewable Feedstock Pretreatment for Hydroprocessing Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pretreatment processes for renewable diesel feedstocks are labor and capital intensive, fail to address high oxygen content, and result in high hydrogen demand and catalyst deactivation in hydroprocessing reactors, leading to productivity issues and greenhouse gas emissions.
Innovation Solution
A treatment process that uses a high-temperature, catalyst-free reactor system to remove oxygen, metals, and contaminants from renewable feedstocks, reducing gum and resin content and lowering hydrogen requirements, thereby improving reactor efficiency and reducing emissions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional pretreatment processes (centrifugation, acid wash, bleaching) are used to remove gums and resins, then gum and resin content is reduced, but the process becomes labor and capital intensive with high operational complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the harmful gums and resins from the feedstock through a simplified process that eliminates the need for multiple complex stages of centrifugation, acid wash, and bleaching. The system directly separates these contaminants without requiring the conventional multi-step pretreatment infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical and chemical pretreatment system (centrifuges, acid wash equipment, bleaching adsorbents) with an alternative approach that does not rely on these complex mechanical and chemical processes, thereby reducing device complexity and operational burden.
2Reliability
If conventional pretreatment and hydrotreating processes are used, then gum and resin content is reduced, but oxygen content remains high leading to high hydrogen demand
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary removal of oxygen-containing compounds from the feedstock before hydrotreating. By addressing the oxygen content in advance through the novel treatment process, the subsequent hydrotreating step requires significantly less hydrogen to react with residual oxygen, thereby reducing overall hydrogen demand.
3Reliability
If conventional hydrotreating is used on high oxygen feedstocks, then some contaminants are removed, but water is formed that deactivates the catalyst and reduces productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary anti-action by removing oxygen-containing compounds before hydrotreating. This prevents the formation of water during the hydroprocessing step, thereby protecting the catalyst from deactivation and maintaining high productivity throughout the hydroprocessing unit's operation.
4Productivity
If severe operating conditions (high pressure 900 psi or more) are used in renewable diesel units, then hydroprocessing efficiency is improved, but construction costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary treatment of the feedstock to remove contaminants and oxygen-containing compounds before hydroprocessing. This preparation allows the hydroprocessing unit to operate at lower pressures while maintaining efficiency, thereby reducing the need for expensive high-pressure equipment and lowering overall plant construction costs.
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 the oxygen and metal content in feedstocks, decreases hydrogen consumption, and lowers greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in a more efficient and environmentally friendly production of renewable diesel.
Implementation Method 1
A treatment process that uses a high-temperature, catalyst-free reactor system to remove oxygen, metals, and contaminants from renewable feedstocks
Implementation Method 2
The process significantly reduces the oxygen and metal content in feedstocks
Data Source
AI summary
A non-petroleum or renewable feedstock containing oxygen and contaminants of metals, gums, and resins is treated by introducing the feedstock into a reactor at a flow velocity of at least 20 ft/sec. The feedstock is heated within the reactor and cooled to form a reduced-temperature reactor product. At least a portion of the reduced-temperature reactor product is feed into a hydroprocessing reactor containing a hydroprocessing catalyst to form a hydroprocessed product. The hydroprocessed product is cooled and non-condensable gases, metals and water are separated and removed to form a final product. The final product has an oxygen content that is 60% or less of that of the feedstock, and wherein the final product comprises 25 wt % or less any triglycerides, monoglycerides, diglycerides, free fatty acids, phosphatides, sterols, tocopherols, tocotrienols, or fatty alcohols, from 5 wt % to 30 wt % naphtha, and 50 wt % or more diesel.