Progress 09/01/09 to 08/31/13
Outputs
Target Audience: The attractiveness of the modular plant design developed for the GTL market has stimulated interest for biomass and waste-to-liquids using FT to make synthetic fuels. On July 3, 2012 the announcement was made that the Velocys microreactor technology was selected by Solena Fuels Corporation (“Solena”) to supply their GreenSky London waste-biomass to jet fuel project, whose leading partner is British Airways. GreenSky London has been established to create Europe’s first commercial scale sustainable jet fuel facility. After a formal evaluation of available technologies performed by Fluor Corporation on behalf of Solena, the Velocys technology was selected by Solena as the sole supplier of Fischer-Tropsch (“FT”) technology for GreenSky London and entered into an understanding for further supply of Velocys units to its future Biomass to Liquids (“BTL”) projects with many of the world’s leading airlines and shipping companies, including GreenSky California, Rome and Stockholm. British Airways is working with Solena to establish Europe's first sustainable jet fuel plant, GreenSky London, and intends to use the low-carbon fuel to power part of its fleet as of 2015. Successful implementation of the GreenSky London project and receipt of the order will generate revenues to Velocys in excess of $30 million (during the construction phase to 2015), and additional ongoing revenues of more than $50 million over the first fifteen years of the plant’s operation. On July 10, 2013, the Velocys FT microchannel reactor technology was been selected for use in the design and possible construction of a commercial Biomass-to-Liquids (BTL) plant in the USA. The proposed BTL facility, led by Red Rock Biofuels, a subsidiary of the Fort Collins, Colorado, US-based company IR1 Group LLC, will be located in Oregon. The plant will be designed to convert around 170,000 tons per year of forestry derived biomass into approximately 1,100 barrels per day (bpd) of liquid transportation fuels. The Red Rock Biofuels BTL project was recently awarded a $4.1 million grant from the US Department of Defense (under the Defense Production Act Title III Advanced Drop-in Biofuel Production Project) to help to fund a detailed engineering and design study for the facility. The preliminary engineering is complete. Now, with the aid of this grant, Red Rock Biofuels is expected to progress through detailed engineering and design over the course of nine months. Following successful completion of the detailed design phase, IR1 Group will have an opportunity to apply for a further grant of up to $70 million to support construction of the proposed plant, and expects to do so. Changes/Problems: A scope change was granted January 21, 2012. This was requested to address technology concerns that were raised by potential commercial partners or customers, and to simplify and improve our economic analysis. 1-year extension granted April 23, 2012. This was required in order that the new end date coincide with the end date of our grant “Microchannel Hydroprocessing for Upgrading Biofuels, Petroleum Feedstock, and Chemical Intermediates” (TECH 10-000) funded by the State of Ohio which has been conducted by Velocys as an integrated project with the present contract. Ending this integrated project concurrently would provide USDA with a better view of the overall final results and potential for commercial application of Velocys’ work in this area. Furthermore, the extension will allow us more time to address technical barriers to commercialization that were identified from market feedback including selection of a commercially-attractive capacity for a microchannel reactor, catalyst loading/unloading, reactor mechanical integrity and accurate techno-economics. We are pleased with the technical progress achieved on the project, and continue to leverage the funding under this program with funding from the state of Ohio. We are planning to use the results from this program in a 1 barrel per day demonstration of the technology at our facility at the conclusion of this program. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? During the period of this funding, Velocys communicated progress and results to the BTL community primarily by presenting at several technical meetings and conferences. The following lists three such presentations: “Smaller scale FT enables biomass-to-liquids” presented at the Gasification Technologies Council meeting in Colorado Springs, USA, 13-16 October 2013 “Velocys FT Update for Biomass Deployment Consortium” presented at the Bioenergy Deployment Consortium (BDC), April 2013. “The Microchannel Advantage: Enabling the Pioneering Projects” presented at the Bioenergy Deployment Consortium (BDC), October 2011. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The goal of the project was to develop novel cost-effective hydroprocessing reactor technology, a key unit operation in the production of high quality biofuels and biobased chemicals. Several subtasks herein were conducted using commercial scale FT reactors as a proxy, because commercial scale HC reactors have not yet been constructed, and because another program paid to construct the commercial scale FT reactors. One significant result of this work included the successful demonstration of the developed catalyst loading protocols on a commercial scale. A 3-core reactor, of nominally 125 bpd capacity, was loaded by our commercial partner, Mourik, to show ease-of-use in the field. Another milestone achieved was that the Velocys commercial FT reactor was declared “Fit for Service” by TWI, following an extensive engineering assessment of the robustness and manufacturability of Velocys’ commercial microchannel reactor design and operability of the Velocys reactors for the FT process. The economics of BTL and GTL plant estimates developed in conjunction with Ventech during this project formed the basis for site-specific estimates that are being developed for several potential U.S. GTL customers. There has been recent interest for biomass and waste-to-liquids using FT to make synthetic fuels. On July 3, 2012, the announcement was made that the Velocys microreactor technology was selected by Solena Fuels Corporation (“Solena”) to supply their GreenSky London waste-biomass to jet fuel project, whose leading partner is British Airways. On July 10, 2013, the Velocys FT microchannel reactor technology was again selected by Red Rock Biofuels, for use in the design and possible construction of a commercial Biomass-to-Liquids (BTL) plant in the USA. Task 1 Catalyst Optimization: To develop an FT wax hydrocracking catalyst which complements the high heat and mass transfer capabilities of the microchannel technology. An Albemarle catalyst was loaded into a multi-channel FT Hydrocracking Reactor for testing for our next stage of development. The results provided a basis for a 0.5 BPD scale demonstration of FT wax upgrading in Q2 2013 in an integrated project that ran concurrently, funded by the State of Ohio (“Microchannel Hydroprocessing for Upgrading Biofuels, Petroleum Feedstock, and Chemical Intermediates”; TECH 10-000). Task 2 Reactor Modeling and Design: To create a mechanical design which achieves flow stability in the axial direction for a multi-phase, reacting system within microchannel reactors. A full-scale single channel reactor designed for hydrocracking of FT products was successfully operated. It was determined that commercial interest for microchannel hydrocracking technology lies primarily for integrated mild-hydrocracking in an overall Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) process to upgrade FT wax. Further work on pyrolysis oil was terminated per the scope modification approved January 31, 2012. Task 3 Fabricate and Test Scaled-Up Reactor: To develop a multi-channel reactor design to deliver the performance of a demonstration scale reactor, including the hydrogen and FT wax distribution and mixing. A microchannel based multi-channel reactor that can be used for demonstration of hydrocracking FT feedstocks was completed. The scaled-up reactor design was used to fabricate a 0.5 BPD scale reactor to demonstrate upgrading FT wax in Q2 2013 in the integrated project funded by the TECH 10-000 grant. The scope change added Subtask 3.5.1 and 3.5.2 to address key technology risks raised by potential customers as a result of business development. SubTask 3.5.1 Develop Catalyst Loading/Unloading Protocols: Velocys engaged with Mourik International, a world leader in catalyst handling, especially for conventional commercial reactors used in petroleum refining and GTL plants, to develop and optimize protocols for loading and unloading particulate catalysts into commercial-scale microchannel reactors. This task was conducted using commercial scale FT reactors as a proxy. The resulting procedures can be used for customer acceptance for loading future commercial scale HC reactors. Catalyst had been loaded successfully into several commercial scale Velocys Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reactors: a single core reactor of nominal capacity of 25 barrels/day (BPD) of FT synthetic fuel and a three-core reactor of 125 PBD. Velocys and Mourik have developed the framework for an agreement for Mourik to provide this catalyst loading/unloading service to Velocys customers of microchannel reactors SubTask 3.5.2 Reactor Destructive Testing and Refurbishment Assessment: By working with TWI, the global leader in material joining, manufacturing, structural integrity, structural testing, inspection and failure investigation, key risks of mechanical integrity using the Velocys commercial scale FT reactor were addressed. TWI performed an engineering assessment of the robustness and manufacturability of Velocys’ commercial microchannel reactor design and operability of the Velocys reactors for the FT process. Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) and Destructive inspection of a commercial scale reactor was successfully completed. TWI deemed the reactor and design to be fit for service. This allows for projecting the life of our reactors in the field and developing reactor Fitness-for-Service and refurbishment protocols. Long-term operability and robustness of the coolant microchannels is a significant concern that has been raised by several of Velocys’ commercial partners and potential clients. Testing of microchannel coolant channels is needed to assess the resistance of the manifold and channel design to fouling and corrosion under difficult conditions that simulate the partial boiling environment the channels will experience in an operating FT reactor. These results are used to justify the filter specification required for a sufficiently robust process, but an economic sensitivity analysis is needed to determine whether this is commercially viable. Task 4 Evaluate Other Hydroprocessing Opportunities: This task was eliminated per the scope modification approved January 31, 2012 and replaced with new subtasks and milestones for Tasks 3 and 5. Task 5 Systems Analysis and Process Economics: to account for all life-cycle costs and environment impacts of installing and operating a microchannel hydroprocessing unit in conjunction with an FT based and a PO biofuel facility. Under the new scope, Velocys prepared base case cost estimates for producing FT-based products using conventional synthesis gas generation as a best-case scenario, rather than gasification. The analysis was based on a scale-of-production of around 500 BPD of synthetic fuel in order to address the scale that would be of interest for biomass feedstocks. Velocys partnered with Ventech Engineers, a highly-regarded provider of modular process operating units for the petroleum industry, to prepare plant economics for supply of synthetic fuels via the FT processing of syngas using Velocys technology. Capital and Operating costs have been estimated for a “base case” consistent with producing 1,000-1,500 BPD of synthetic fuels.
Publications
|
Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Task 1 Catalyst Optimization: A Velocys formulation and two Albemarle formulations tested previously were deemed sufficient for our next stage of development. One of the Albemarle catalysts was loaded into a multi-channel FT Hydrocracking Reactor for further testing. Task 2 Reactor Modeling and Design: Successful operation of a full-scale single channel reactor designed for hydrocracking of FT products has been completed. Task 3 Fabricate and Test Scaled-Up Reactor: A microchannel based multi-channel reactor that can be used for demonstration of hydrocracking FT feedstocks was completed. SubTask 3.5.1 Develop Catalyst Loading/Unloading Protocols: Velocys has engaged with Mourik International, a world leader in catalyst handling, especially for conventional commercial reactors used in petroleum refining and GTL plants, to develop and optimize protocols for loading and unloading particulate catalysts into commercial-scale microchannel reactors. Working with Mourik, catalyst was loaded successfully into several commercial scale Velocys Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reactors with a nominal capacity to produce 25 barrels/day (BPD) of FT synthetic fuel, including a demonstration reactor that was operated in collaboration with an industrial partner. SubTask 3.5.2 Reactor Destructive Testing and Refurbishment Assessment: In December 2011 Velocys became an Industrial Member of TWI, the global leader in material joining, manufacturing, structural integrity, structural testing, inspection and failure investigation. TWI performed an engineering assessment of the robustness and manufacturability of Velocys' commercial microchannel reactor design and operability of the Velocys reactors for the FT process. A detailed plan was developed to perform both Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) and Destructive inspection of a commercial scale reactor. While TWI indicated several regions of concern at the interface of the process outlet header with the coolant outlet manifold and the adjacent side, they did not report any serious defects and endorsed our plan for the pressure cycling tests. Long-term operability and robustness of the coolant microchannels is a significant concern that has been raised by several of Velocys' commercial partners and potential clients. A long-term microchannel fouling test program was developed based on consultation with corrosion and fouling experts. In 2012 Q2, tests were performed to explore the susceptibility of the current coolant channel design to plugging by suspended (insoluble) solids. Task 4 Evaluate Other Hydroprocessing Opportunities: This task was eliminated per the scope modification approved January 31, 2012 and replaced with new subtasks and milestones for Tasks 3 and 5. Task 5 Systems Analysis and Process Economics. SubTask 5.1 FT Based Processes and Process Economics: We partnered with Ventech Engineers, a highly-regarded provider of modular process operating units for the petroleum industry, to prepare plant economics for supply of synthetic fuels via the FT processing of syngas using Velocys technology. Capital and Operating costs have been estimated for a "base case" consistent with producing 1,000-1,500 BPD of synthetic fuels. PARTICIPANTS: Velocys key personnel: Dr. David Kilanowski - Project Director, Interim Engineering Manager; Laura Silva - Director, IP, Legal and Licensing; Dr. Steve Perry - Process/Development Engineer: data analysis and flowsheet development; Dr. Steve LeViness - Product Manager, Fischer-Tropsch: FT Process and Operability analysis; Dr. Sean Fitzgerald - Development Engineer: fluid systems design and data analysis; Tom Yuschak - Manager, Reactor Design; Bob Litt - Senior Process Engineer: process flowsheet design and economic analysis; Luke Schrader - Manager of Experimental Operations & Catalyst Testing; Paul Kennedy - Senior Process Engineer: process flowsheet design and economic analysis; Bob Luzenski - Senior Development Engineer: Design-for-Manufacturing and QA/QC systems development; Jeff Slane - Senior Quality Technician: equipment operability and QA/QC testing; Paul Neagle - Mechanical Engineer: reactor design and mechanical integrity analysis; Ravi Arora - Manager, Thermal Fluidics: reactor design and fluid flow/pressure rating data analysis; Christy Burton - Chemist: experimental testing system design and data analysis; JJ Faubel - Testing Operator. Two-Partner Organizations: Albemarle Catalyst Company, Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Albemarle provided the catalyst that will be used in the 0.5 BPD scale hydrocracking reactor to demonstrate FT wax upgrading in the integrated project funded by the TECH 10-000 grant. This completed their activity on the project. TARGET AUDIENCES: The attractiveness of the modular plant design developed for the GTL market has stimulated interest for biomass and waste-to-liquids using FT to make synthetic fuels. On July 3, the announcement was made that the Velocys microreactor technology was selected by Solena Fuels Corporation ("Solena") to supply their GreenSky London waste-biomass to jet fuel project, whose leading partner is British Airways. GreenSky London has been established to create Europe's first commercial scale sustainable jet fuel facility. After a formal evaluation of available technologies performed by Fluor Corporation on behalf of Solena, the Velocys technology was selected by Solena as the sole supplier of Fischer-Tropsch ("FT") technology for GreenSky London and entered into an understanding for further supply of Velocys units to its future Biomass to Liquids ("BTL") projects with many of the world's leading airlines and shipping companies, including GreenSky California, Rome and Stockholm. British Airways is working with Solena to establish Europe's first sustainable jet fuel plant, GreenSky London, and intends to use the low-carbon fuel to power part of its fleet as of 2015. Successful implementation of the GreenSky London project and receipt of the order will generate revenues to Velocys in excess of $30 million (during the construction phase to 2015), and additional ongoing revenues of more than $50 million over the first fifteen years of the plant's operation. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Scope change granted January 21, 2012. This was requested to address technology concerns that were raised by potential commercial partners or customers, and to simplify and improve our economic analysis. 1-year extension granted April 23, 2012. This was required in order that the new end date coincide with the end date of our grant "Microchannel Hydroprocessing for Upgrading Biofuels, Petroleum Feedstock, and Chemical Intermediates" (TECH 10-000) funded by the State of Ohio which has been conducted by Velocys as an integrated project with the present contract. Ending this integrated project concurrently would provide USDA with a better view of the overall final results and potential for commercial application of Velocys' work in this area. Furthermore, the extension will allow us more time to address technical barriers to commercialization that were identified from market feedback including selection of a commercially-attractive capacity for a microchannel reactor, catalyst loading/unloading, reactor mechanical integrity and accurate techno-economics.
Impacts
Task 1: Results with one of the Albemarle catalysts provide a basis for a 0.5 BPD scale demonstration of FT wax upgrading in Q1 2013 in an integrated project that is running concurrently and is funded by the State of Ohio ("Microchannel Hydroprocessing for Upgrading Biofuels, Petroleum Feedstock, and Chemical Intermediates"; TECH 10-000). Task 2: It was determined that commercial interest for microchannel hydrocracking technology lies primarily for integrated mild-hydrocracking in an overall Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) process to upgrade FT wax. Further work on pyrolysis oil was terminated per the scope modification approved January 31, 2012. Task 3: The scaled-up reactor design was used to fabricate a 0.5 BPD scale reactor to demonstrate upgrading FT wax in Q1 2013 in the integrated project funded by the TECH 10-000 grant. Task 3.5.1: The work with Mourik led to a draft protocol for loading and unloading catalyst in commercial reactors. This forms the basis for further effort to ensure that loading procedures and equipment will be easy to use in the field and establish cycle times and cost estimates for handling catalyst in the field. Velocys and Mourik have developed the framework for an agreement for Mourik to provide this catalyst loading/unloading service to Velocys customers of microchannel reactors. Task 3.5.2: TWI's conclusions from NDT inspection will be combined with results of the reactor pressure/thermal cycle tests to finalize the destructive testing program. This will allow projecting the life of our reactors in the field and developing reactor Fitness-for-Service and refurbishment protocols. Further testing of microchannel coolant channels is planned to assess the resistance of the manifold and channel design to fouling and corrosion under difficult conditions that simulate the partial boiling environment the channels will experience in an operating FT reactor. These results are used to justify the filter specification required for a sufficiently robust process, but an economic sensitivity analysis is needed to determine whether this is commercially viable. Task 4: Per the scope modification approved January 31, 2012 Task 4 was replaced with new subtasks and milestones for Tasks 3 and 5. Task 5.1: The GTL plant estimate developed in conjunction with Ventech is the basis for site-specific estimates that are being developed for three potential U.S. GTL customers. The assumptions and engineering calculations used to generate these estimates will be validated with performance data from the integrated pilot plant demonstration being funded by the TECH 10-000 grant. The attractiveness of the modular plant design developed for the GTL market has stimulated interest for biomass and waste-to-liquids using FT to make synthetic fuels. On July 3, the announcement was made that the Velocys microreactor technology was selected by Solena Fuels Corporation ("Solena") to supply their GreenSky London waste-biomass to jet fuel project, whose leading partner is British Airways.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|
Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Task 1 Catalyst Optimization Outputs: Catalyst formulations developed and tested in the previous year were used for further testing of process conditions and scale-up for the other tasks. Additionally, the Velocys hydrocracking catalyst (Pt on silica alumina) was used to prepare a catalyst-coated substrate to test the potential advantages of using a wall-coated catalyst to further improve mass transport for FT wax hydrocracking. Initial results from these testing show promise, and further work is planned for next year. Task 2 Reactor Modeling and Design: Additional activities for alternative feedstocks were conducted. See reporting for Task 4. Task 3 Fabricate and Test Scaled-Up Reactor Outputs. A multi-channel scaled-up reactor with a gas-liquid manifold designed for hydrocracking was design, fabricated, and tested. Since the design capacity of the scaled-up reactor would be about one barrel per day of feedstock, the reactor was operated with a diluted catalyst bed and a proportionately decreased flow rate due lack of availability of FT wax feed and in order not exceed the capacity of the existing test stand. Several conditions were tested over a period of more than 200 hours. The results were compared to benchmark runs in a single-channel reactor. The performance of the single-channel and multi-channel reactors were reproducible on a parity plot within +/- 10% on an absolute basis for conversion. A multi-channel device for visualization with cold-flow experiments was tested at the facilities of the company, Coanda, which specializes in various flow evaluation tools. Video of start-up and steady state, under various flow conditions indicates sufficiently uniform flow to validate the gas-liquid manifold design. Task 4 Evaluate Other Hydroprocessing Opportunities: Experiments were conducted to assess the feasibility of upgrading vacuum gas oil (VGO) and pyrolysis oil in microchannel test reactors. For VGO upgrading, it was hypothesized that use of small particulate catalyst would enhance mass transfer and result in enhanced productivity. VGO feedstock and VGO upgrading catalyst were obtained under a secrecy agreement from a company in the industry, and were run for several hundred hours in the Velocys microchannel hydrocracking test stand. These tests indicated onset of coking for flow regimes beyond trickle-bed flow, which was not observed for FT wax upgrading. It appears that there is little productivity enhancement for VGO upgrading using particulate catalyst in microchannel reactors. For pyrolysis oil, initial testing was hampered by coking even prior to the oil reaching the catalyst. Some reactor and process concepts to address these issues are being considered. Task 5 OBIC completed its tasks for assessment of upgrading biomass-derived products. PARTICIPANTS: PARTICIPANTS: Velocys key personnel: Harley Freeman - Co- Project Director, Senior Project Manager; Dr. Ed Rode - Co- Project Director, Senior Program Manager; Laura Silva - Director, IP, Legal, and Licensing, Hydroprocessing Product Manager; Tim Laplante - Test Engineer: test stand design and operation; Scott Rankin - Test Operator: test stand operation and data collection; ; Dr. Steve Perry - Development Engineer; flow-sheet and catalysts data analysis; Dr. Ravi Arora - Development Engineer: oversee hydrodynamics and heat Transfer analysis; Dr. Lee Tonkovich - Vice President, Technology, Manufacturing Development; Dr. Soumitra Deshmukh - Development Engineer: hydrocracking kinetics modeling; Dr. Sean Fitzgerald - Development Engineer: gas-liquid manifold design and analysis; Bob Litt - Process Engineer: process flow-sheet design and economic analysis; Eric Drescher - Test Engineer; Luke Schrader - Testing Engineer; Mike Lamont - Manager of Experimental Operations; Dr. Bin Yang - Development Engineer: reactor design; Thomas Yuschak - Mechanical Engineer: reactor design; Lane Keyes - Mechanical Engineer - reactor design. Two Partner Organizations: 1. Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center ( OBIC) at Ohio State University : Key personnel in this team conducted market surveys and analysis in Task 5 included: Dr. Kirsten Dangaran, Research Scientist; Shannon Hollis, Program Director; Barbara Vieira, Program Director. 2. Albemarle Catalyst Company, Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Key personnel was Leon van den Oetelaar, Group Head Product and Process Research, Alternative Fuel Technologies (AFT) R&D. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: 1 year extension granted. This was required because of delays in completing planned work due to shortage of resources and need to rebuild a test stand after contamination with pyrolysis oil. Changes to the approach to complete this work are under consideration.
Impacts
Outcomes from Task 1: Multiple catalyst formulations, including those from a conventional hydroprocessing supplier, appear to be sufficiently active and selective for the next stage of FT wax upgrading development. Prior to commercialization, the chosen catalyst would need to meet performance criteria for stability, robustness to impurities, and cost. Outcomes from Task 2: See Task 4. Outcomes from Task 3: The scaled-up reactor design is suitable for the next stage of FT wax upgrading development. Further operation of the scaled-up reactor would require sufficient amounts of FT wax feed, catalyst, and feed/product handling capability. Outcome from Task 4: Challenges with using the current reactor design for packed particulate catalysts for hydroprocessing heavy feeds have been identified. Some alternative reactor concepts are being considered for further testing. Outcome from Task 5: While there are a number of early-stage efforts in pyrolysis oil upgrading, there are significant challenges. The market study by OBIC indicates that there may be only a few PO upgrading facilities commercialized in the next five years. The growth in the PO fuels market appears to be much more long term than the market for biomass-derived fuels via Fischer-Tropsch.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|
Progress 09/01/09 to 08/31/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The Outputs are described in alignment with the proposal task list. Task 1 Catalyst Optimization Outputs: Numerous hydrocracking tests were run in a catalyst test stand from 9/09-9/10 on multiple types of reactors and six catalysts. Two replicate catalysts were Velocys formulated and synthesized (silica alumina support; noble metal loading (1wt% Pt)). Four catalysts from an external supplier were ranked in terms of acidity and hydrogenation function, since details were not made available by the supplier. Catalyst performance was quantified by measuring conversion to fuel fraction, isomerization, light gas and naptha production. Temperature, pressure, WHSV, and H2 to wax feed ratio were primary variables studied. Task 2 Reactor Modeling and Design Outputs: To date, this task has only addressed upgrading of FT wax. A full length single channel reactor was designed, constructed and tested for hydrocracking products. Catalysts tested in task 1 were studied in the single channel reactor. A new test stand for the single channel reactor was designed, built, and operated over a range of conditions. Parameters studied and responses measured were similar to those in Task 1. The performance of the single channel reactor was compared to the catalyst test stand results. Multiphase pressure drop correlations under a range of reactive conditions were developed. Task 3 Fabricate & Test Scaled Up Reactor Outputs: Three main outputs were achieved in this task. First the gas-liquid manifold for a scaled up reactor was designed based upon the multiphase pressure drop correlations from task 2. Second, a scaled up reactor was designed which has one layer of process microchannels and approximately one-quarter the full reactor width. Scaling factors will ensure the flow regimes and hydrodynamics along with catalyst performance which will be demonstrated in this reactor remain identical to the full scale reactor. Third output is a conceptual commercial scale reactor design. The reactor design principles for the reactor will include design for manufacturability analysis to identify the appropriate manufacturing process steps. Task 4 Evaluate other Hydroprocessing Opportunities : This work will begin in the second year. Task 5. Systems Analysis and Process Economics Outputs: Ohio BioProduct Innovation Center (OBIC) at the Ohio State University has conducted several surveys to help identify opportunities for hydroprocessing in microchannels , considering biomass products as inputs into the production of synthetic fuels or other products. Thirty-one domestic, imported and alternative oil crops were investigated for hydroprocessing opportunities. Five primary candidates were identified- soybean, corn, cottonseed, camelina, pennycress. Selection criteria were based on volume, availability, hydroprocessing value, fatty acid composition. A market assessment was also performed for pyrolysis oils. PARTICIPANTS: Velocys key personnel: Dr. Ed Rode - Co- Project Director, Senior Program Manager; Dr. Kai Jarosch - Co- Project Director, Manager of Catalysts Integration; Tim Laplante - Test Engineer: test stand design and operation; Scott Rankin - Test Operator: test stand operation and data collection; Dr. Maddalena Fanelli - Development Engineer: catalyst testing and data analysis; Dr. Steve Perry - Development Engineer; flow-sheet and catalysts data analysis; Dr. Ravi Arora - Development Engineer: oversee hydrodynamics and heat Transfer analysis; Dr. Lee Tonkovich - Vice President, Technology, Manufacturing Development; Dr. Soumitra Deshmukh - Development Engineer: hydrocracking kinetics modeling; Dr. Dongming Qiu - Development Engineer: heat transfer analysis; Dr. Sean Fitzgerald - Development Engineer: gas-liquid manifold design and analysis; Bob Litt - Process Engineer: process flow-sheet design and economic analysis; Paul Neagle - Mechanical Engineer: reactor design and stress analysis; Jeffrey Vannest - Facilities; test stand installation; Dr. Bin Yang - Development Engineer: reactor design; Thomas Yuschak - Mechanical Engineer: reactor design. Two Partner Organizations: 1. Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center ( OBIC) at Ohio State University : Key personnel in this team conducted market surveys and analysis in Task 5 included: Dr. Kirsten Dangaran, Research Scientist; Shannon Hollis, Program Director; Barbara Vieira, Program Director. 2. Albemarle Catalyst Company, Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Key personnel was Leon van den Oetelaar, Group Head Product and Process Research, Alternative Fuel Technologies (AFT) R&D. TARGET AUDIENCES: Velocys has presented results from this work at two conferences. These presentations are listed in the Publications section above. In addition, the results have also been shared with 6 or more companies who have interest in hydroprocessing technology. These target companies are potential customers for the technology. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: None to report.
Impacts
Outcomes from Task 1: Temperature was found to have the greatest impact on performance, with increased temperature leading both to increased cracking and isomerization. Each catalyst has a unique temperature range of operation; reactor temperature is best thought of and used as a direct lever for shifting conversion to the desired level at a given set of operating conditions. WHSV is also a significant parameter, with decreased WHSV leading to increased activity. Lower pressure tends to increase conversion, as well. H2/wax ratio is a fourth parameter of relevance. There is some evidence that operation below thresholds for H2/wax ratio and pressure can have a lasting negative impact on catalyst activity. Recycle operation may lead to a maximum Diesel yield of 81% (mass Diesel/mass of fresh feed) at a per-pass conversion of ~61% and a recycle ratio of ~36% (mass recycle/mass fresh feed). Operation at higher per-pass conversion leads to a decrease in Diesel yield, but lower recycle ratios. A maximum Diesel isomerization level may be achieved at a per-pass conversion between 90 and 95%. Outcomes Task 2: Empirical correlations for hydrodynamic data collected under reactive conditions and cold flow devices were developed and applied in the reactor design process. These correlations provided the basis for design of the demonstration scale reactor. Single Channel and catalyst test results show good agreement in product quality. This demonstration of comparable apparent catalyst activity between the two reactor scales provides confidence in the scale-up procedure as the number of microchannels is increased in Task 3. Outcomes Task 3: The scaled-up reactor design has been completed and the devices will be built and tested at Velocys. During this task, Velocys worked with Wright Patterson Air Force Base -Air Force Research Laboratory (WPAFB-AFRL) to determine whether this scale reactor could be evaluated at the WPAFB-AFRL facility. While the feasibility was demonstrated on paper, Velocys decided to conduct the test at its facility. The testing at WPAFB-AFRL would have been much more expensive, and not cost-effective for the limited data to be collected. Outcomes Task 5: OBIC survey results will enable the selection of feedstocks to be evaluated for Task 4. Pyrolyis oil suppliers have been identified and contacted for work in 2010.
Publications
- Tonkovich, Anna Lee Y. (2010) Microchannel Hydroprocessing For Upgrading Alternative Fuels. Presentation at the 11th International Conference on Microreaction Technology, Kyoto, Japan.
- McDaniel, Jeff. (2010). Incremental Hydrocracking Enabled by Microchannel Technology. Presentation at the ChemInnovations Conference, Houston, TX.
- Oxford Catalysts Group, Press Release, October 27, 2010. ChemInnovations Award Winner. Announced that it has won a 2010 ChemInnovations Award, sponsored by Chemical Engineering Magazine. The award was given in recognition of the OCG technology for hydroprocessing, specifically hydrocracking, of both alternative and conventional fuels.
|
|