Monday, 28 November 2011

Artisans FFA Process

Our process can handle up to 30% FFA in the feed and reduce it to less than 1% in a single pass. Our process is a green waterless process, reducing the generation of wastewater common in conventional deodorization processes. There are no chemical additives or treatments in our process, reducing hazardous chemicals and wastes from your plant site. Our process has an ROI of less than 6 months based on only a 5 cent difference in low-cost vs. rendered feed stock prices. Our process will not degrade the product oils. Our process recovers and economizes up to 5 MMBTU/h of heat duty throughout the process. Our key unit operation has been in operation in the fats and oils industry for a better part of the last half century.

In this process, high FFA content crude feedstock is pumped through a feed/bottoms economizer and a trim heater to preheat the feed, while cooling the stripped product oil (bottoms) to its desired temperature. The preheated feed enters a vapor/liquid separator, operating under vacuum where a portion of the FFA as well as any moisture present is flashed off. The remaining liquid falls by gravity into the Artisan Rotothermmechanically aided thin film evaporator where the centrifugal force generated by the spinning rotor maintains a thin film of material on the heated wall, evaporating essentially all the remaining FFA. The product discharges by gravity from the Rototherm into an insulated bottoms accumulator, from which it is pumped through the feed/bottoms economizer before entering the biodiesel process.

The Rototherm is designed with a countercurrent liquid/vapor flow configuration to maximize mass transfer and minimize entrainment. Turbulence created by the rotor blades constantly renews the film, aiding in both heat and mass transfer, enabling nearly complete removal of the FFA, while preserving the quality of the stripped oil. Heat to the Rototherm is provided by heat transfer oil. Nitrogen at very low rates is continuously sparged into the evaporator to aid in stripping. The FFA vapor from the Rototherm combines with the pre flashed vapor, passes through a mesh entrainment separator in the vapor/liquid separator and enters the condensing system.

Biodiesel Purification by Artisan Industries Inc. Waltham MA, U.S.A.

Biodiesel Purification
Thin-film processing enables continuous purification of biodiesel and glycerin
Biodiesel is one of the most common alternative fuels on the market today. Artisans thin/wiped-film technology is ideally suited to purify biodiesel from its chemical by-products downstream of the esterification and/or transesterification reactions. Using Artisans biodiesel purification process eliminates the need for a separate glycerin purification process Use Artisans patented continuous biodiesel purification process (U.S. Patent No.7,528,272 ) to produce water-white biodiesel and technical grade glycerin. After removing solvent and water from crude biodiesel, we codistill methyl ester and glycerin from the salts and heavies.

Solvent Removal and Recovery In the first stage of the process our RotothermEvaporator is used to remove solvent and water from methyl ester, salts, and glycerin. Our process recovers 99.9% of the solvent for recycle back to the reactor. If necessary the solvent and water removed in this step can be vapor fed directly to a distillation column to purify and dehydrate the solvent. Methyl Ester and Glycerin CoDistillation In the second step, a Rototherm is operated at low absolute pressure to vaporize the glycerol and methyl esters plus any remaining traces of light ends. The vapor from the Rototherm flows out through a Vapor/Liquid Separator to knock back any entrained liquid and enters a special large voidspace lowpressure drop condenser using tower water as coolant, where the methyl esters and glycerin condense. The residual solvent and water vapor flow through a direct contact (barometric) condenser to a shared vacuum system, which uses sprays of cool recirculating methyl esters to minimize the loss of ME and glycerin to the vacuum system. The condensed methyl esters and glycerin flow to further processing downstream to separate the phases and remove any remaining free glycerin from the fuel.

Sunday, 27 November 2011

Palm fatty acid distillate biodiesel: Next-generation palm biodiesel

Two years ago we looked at the challenges faced by the biodiesel industry (Building plants for biodiesel and co-products, inform 19:302305, 2008) and also examined the co-products that could improve the economic viability of the industry. In the interval, the situation for the biodiesel industry has not improved, with the high cost of feedstocks continuing to be the bane of biodiesel producers. The promise of alternative low-cost non-food feedstocks such as jatropha has yet to materialize, and there seems to be, at the current moment, no light at the end of the tunnel in the search for low-cost feedstock alternatives. Most biodiesel plants use the conventional sodium hydroxide/sodium methoxide-based transesterification process, which requires highly priced refined oil feedstock. Although palm oil is one of the more competitive feedstocks for biodiesel production, it can be expensive because its price is linked to that of crude petroleum (Fry, 2010). However, during the refining of palm oil, a lower-value by-product known as palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) is generated in the fatty acid stripping and deodorization stages. PFAD is potentially a valuable, low-cost feedstock for the production of biodiesel. It also makes the much-debated food vs. fuel argument a non-issue as PFAD is generally sold as a source of industrial fatty acids for non-food applications. It has also been used as a fuel in power plants and industrial boilers. Malaysia and Indonesia are the largest producers of palm oil. In 2009, Malaysia and Indonesia produced about 17.5 and 20.9 million metric tons of crude palm oil, respectively (Mielke, 2010). In Malaysia, most of the crude palm oil is refined locally for export to overseas markets, mainly for food applications. Almost 700,000 metric tons (MT) of PFAD were produced in Malaysia as a by-product of the refining process (MPOB, 2010).

PFADTHE LOW-COST FEEDSTOCK FOR BIODIESEL The amount of readily available PFAD is not insignificant, and it presents biodiesel producers with excellent access to a low-cost, non-food source of feedstock. PFAD is always traded at a discount to crude or refined, bleached, and deodorized (RBD) palm oil (Fig.1). Before October 2009, the discount typically exceeded $200/MT, and it was as high as $680/MT in May 2008. However, since November 2009, the price differential between PFAD and RBD palm oil has narrowed. In early 2010 the discount of PFAD over RBD palm oil was less than $100 per ton (Fig. 2). PFAD BIODIESEL PLANTS Although the basic process for the conversion of high-acid oil feedstock to biodiesel is well known, it has been carried out mainly in small-scale batch-type processes. A breakthrough came in October 2009 with the successful operation of the worlds first continuous large-scale 200 MT/day PFAD biodiesel plant (in Sumatra, Indonesia). In this plant, owned by a large Asianbased multinational palm oil group, fresh PFAD from the refineries is sent directly to the PFAD biodiesel plant for conversion to biodiesel. The benefits of a continuous PFAD biodiesel process include single person control room operations and a fully automated and tightly controlled management of all process parameters for consistent biodiesel product quality. The biodiesel yield from this plant approaches 100%, and it fully meets EN (European Standards) specifications. After distillation, the PFAD biodiesel also passes the ASTM Cold Soak Filtration Test, introduced in 2008. Two more PFAD biodiesel plants using the above process technology will be operational in Pasir Gudang, Malaysia, and Kalimantan, Indonesia by May 2010. These plants can also operate using refined oil feedstocks. NEW GENERATION MULTIPLE FEEDSTOCK BIODIESEL PLANTS By incorporating a continuous esterification section, a biodiesel producer with a conventional sodium hydroxide/sodium methoxide-based transesterification process now has the opportunity to possess a new, truly multiple feedstock plant able to handle different raw materials including PFAD. By using the above processes, combined with pretreatment and other processes, the variety of feedstock can be further expanded to include low-quality and high free-fatty-acid (FFA) oils, thereby ensuring that a very wide range of low-cost feedstocks are available to the biodiesel processor, thus ensuring the profitability of the plant. PHYTOCHEMICALS FROM PFAD PFAD also provides a source of value-added co-products for the biodiesel producer. PFAD contains 72.792.6% FFA, with a small amount of unsaponifiable components (12.5%) and the remainder neutral oil. The general characteristics of Malaysian PFAD are shown in Table 1. Modern palm oil refineries consistently produce PFAD with FFA content higher than 88%, and crude palm oil also contains nonglyceride minor components that have been associated with health benefits, some of which are distilled off together with the FFA as unsaponifiable components. The unsaponifiable materials of PFAD have long been considered a potential source of highly valuable phytochemicals (Gapor, 2000). Vitamin E, phytosterols, and squalene are of particular interest, and their beneficial effects are well documented. In fact, tocotrienol from PFAD is being produced commercially. The vitamin E profile of Malaysian PFAD is 10.3 wt% -tocopherol, 18.7 wt% -tocotrienol, 49.8 wt% -tocotrienol, and 14.6 wt% -tocotrienol (Bonnie and Mohtar, 2009). Depending on the feedstock and processing conditions, some samples of PFAD can have as much as 0.5% vitamin E, 0.4% phytosterols, and 0.8% squalene. These high-value co-products further improve the profitability of PFAD biodiesel plants.

The initial step in the extraction of phytochemicals from PFAD is conversion of the fatty acids into a methyl ester, that is, biodiesel. The methyl ester is then distilled in a short-path evaporator where the phytochemicals are concentrated in the residues. The residues are further processed to produce the highvalue added phytochemicals. The distilled methyl ester is a high-quality biodiesel that will meet all biodiesel EN and ASTM specifications, including the Cold Soak Filtration Test. Furthermore, other parameters such as mono-, di-, and triglycerides content are reduced significantly, further enhancing the fuel properties of the biodiesel. CONCLUSIONS The challenge for biodiesel producers is to remain profitable, and one solution is to operate a newgeneration biodiesel plant that is truly multiple-feedstock capable. PFAD is one alternative low-cost feedstock that is available today. PFAD also gives a producer the ability to produce high-value coproducts. Going one step further, these new-generation truly multiple-feedstock biodiesel plants can be designed to accept low-quality and high-FFA oil feedstocks using proven process technologies that are already operational in several plants today. Noncatalytic cracking of triglycerides

A new generation of renewable fuels is on the horizon Wayne Seames

A new generation of technologies to generate renewable fuels is nearing commercialization. Some of these are focused on producing ethanol and other alcohols from cellulosic biomass using fermentation technologies. These alcohol-based fuels can be used as a substitute for gasoline. Another group of technologies is focused on producing fuels that replace kerosene and diesel fuels. These technologies take advantage of the chemical composition of crop oils, such as camelina, to generate organic chemical mixtures that are more similar to existing kerosene (jet fuel) and diesel products than current biofuels such as biodiesel. Crop oils contain a group of chemicals known as triacylglycerides (TG). A TG molecule consists of three carbon chains ending in a carboxylic acid group, with each carbon chain (known as a fatty acid) connected to a glycerol backbone.Advertisement Plants and animals naturally synthesize TG as a means to store energy, as do some algae and bacteria. Two process schemes are nearing commercialization for the production of fuels to replace kerosene and diesel: hydrotreating and noncatalytic cracking. Both process schemes manipulate TG oils to generate renewable fuels and by-products. Hydrotreating As the name implies, hydrotreating involves the reaction of TG oils with hydrogen. The TG oil and hydrogen are fed into a reactor where a combination of heat, pressure, and time induce chemical reactions that will (i) remove the fatty acids from the glycerol backbone and (ii) replace the carboxylic acid group on the fatty acids with a hydrogen atom, producing hydrocarbons.Advertisement A catalyst is typically used to increase the efficiency of the hydrotreating reactions. Some versions of the hydrotreating process also use a catalyst to induce some of the fatty acids/hydrocarbons to rearrange to introduce side chains onto the base carbon chain, a process known as isomerization. The catalyst formulation is also used to encourage any double bond-connected carbon pairs to transform into single bond-connected carbon pairs. After hydrotreating/isomerization, the reactor outlet mixture is separated into product fractions. In some versions, reactions to cleave some of the carbon bonds are performed during or interspersed with the purification steps to decrease the average carbon chain length of the fuel. This carbon bond cleavage process is known as cracking. Hydrotreating processes typically produce diesel, kerosene, propane, and syngas products. Recently, a kerosene product known as synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPK, a renewable kerosene product with limited aromatics content) was produced from camelina oil and used by the US Air Force and Navy in full-scale performance tests. The SPK was mixed 50:50 with petroleum-derived military specification-grade JP-8 jet fuel, then tested in current military aircraft. Based on the success of these tests, a number of commercial airlines have begun testing 50:50 SPK blended fuels in their aircraft (see inform 22:497499, 2011). Commercial production facilities based on hydrotreating process technology are likely to be in service within the next couple of years. These fuels will supplement existing petroleum sources without requiring substantial changes in the infrastructure supporting current fuel generation, storage, and supply systems. Noncatalytic cracking The other process that is nearing commercialization is the University of North Dakotas noncatalytic cracking process (patents pending). In this process (Fig. 1), TG oil is fed into a reactor where heat, pressure, and time are used to induce cracking reactions in the TG molecules. This generates a complicated mixtureweve identified more than 250 separate chemical compounds in the reactor productsthat is dominated by short-chain fatty acids, paraffins (hydrocarbons with all single-

bond carbon-pair connections), and aromatics (compounds containing a six-carbon ring with three double-bond carbon-pair connections). The reactor product stream is then separated into intermediate product fractions and further processed into a final suite of fuels and by-products. The noncatalytic cracking process typically produces diesel, kerosene, naphtha, light hydrocarbon fuels, and syngas. Another by-product stream is a suite of very heavy, viscous compounds, typically labeled as tars. These are long-carbon-chain chemicals that are formed when multiple fatty acid fragments, produced during cracking, combine. These tars can be recovered and converted into purified carbon products such as high-purity granulated carbon for spark plug rods and carbon nanotubes or into a mesophase pitch that can be spun into carbon fibers. There are some advantages in noncatalytic cracking. First, an external hydrogen source is not required. The cracking process generates hydrogen as it produces aromatic compounds. This hydrogen can be recovered from the syngas and used to convert the carboxylic acid groups in fatty acids into hydrocarbons, where required. Second, the first step in the processcrackingdoes not use a catalyst. Because of this, the process can tolerate more impurities in the feedstock TG oil than processes that use a catalyst, such as hydrotreating processes. This is not a concern for edible crops, such as soybeans or corn, since these sources will likely treat their TG oils for human consumption. But this can substantially reduce the costs for extraction and treatment of nonedible crops such as camelina. This feature also means that noncatalytic cracking facilities will be feedstock flexible, capable of changing or blending TG oil feedstocks in response to market conditions. Third, the noncatalytic cracking process produces fuel products that contain aromatics in concentrations that are similar to those contained in petroleum jet and diesel fuel products. For example, a complete Jet A commercial jet fuel can be produced solely from this process. There is no requirement to mix this renewable jet fuel with petroleum jet fuel, as with SPK. Thus, these fuels can completely replace or be indiscriminately blended with existing petroleum fuels without impacting the infrastructure supporting the generation, storage, and transportation of existing fuels. One of the challenges for renewable fuel producers is the low gross profit margins that can be realized in the fuels market. Petroleum refining is extremely efficient, and fuel sales prices can be sustained at levels that are challenging for renewable alternatives. The noncatalytic cracking process provides greater flexibility to generate higher margin by-products than many other processes. For example, instead of converting all of the short-chain fatty acids generated during cracking into hydrocarbons, they can be extracted from the cracking reactor product, purified, and sold as separate chemical products. As with hydrotreating, commercial facilities are expected within the next few years. Both noncatalytic cracking and hydrotreating processes will initially use crop oils such as camelina as their feedstocks. Technologies to produce TG oils from other sources of TG oils, such as microbe- and algae-derived oils, are expected to evolve to allow high volumes of oil to be cost effectively produced. When this occurs, both noncatalytic cracking and hydrotreating pathways will be able to accommodate these feedstocks as well. Other technologies Researchers are pursuing a number of other strategies for the generation of renewable fuels. One pathway is often labeled the thermochemical pathway. Biomass material is reacted under specific conditions of heat, pressure, and time to break down the TG oil through pyrolysis or gasification. These reaction processes are similar to cracking. The gasification versions generate a syngas that is then fed to catalytic reaction steps that induce the recombination of the syngas molecules into larger molecules to generate liquid transportation fuels. Another strategy is to use yeasts, microbes, or algae to directly synthesize hydrocarbons that can be purified into fuels.

Friday, 25 November 2011

New & Advanced Biodiesel technologies by Transbiodiesel

http://www.transbiodiesel.com Labels: Biodiesel by Enzymatic Process

Edible Oil Refinery/Biodiesel Refinery Manager

SREENIVASA RAO. K
D-Block, Flat no: 407; Shivaji Nagar, Near Kurmanna Palem, Visakhapatnam, A.P, INDIA E-Mail: anveshraovani@gmail.com

Hand Phone: +91 96 760 33 102

PROFILE: A professional Manager with 16+ years of experience in Edible oils, fats, Oleochemicals like Biodiesel and glycerol processing industry, and trust worthy leader with a focus on safety and quality as the keys for a successful operation. Reliable, committed, and adaptable with a proven record of success in assuming increasing levels of responsibility. Builds excellent rapport with superiors, and subordinates through strong communications and a bias for team building. A dedicated leader with a decision making style that is based on the big picture and the impact on the business.

HIGHLIGHTS

OF PROCESS

EXPOSURE &

SKILLS

Demonstrated expertise in edible oil and Biodiesel processing including: DEGUMMING & PHYSICAL REFINING OF OILS/ FATS METHANOL CH EM ICAL REFIN IN G OF OIL S/ FATS BLEACHING &
FATS DEODORIZATION OF OILS RECTIFICATION

SOLVENT EXTRACTION OF OILS AND FATS FILTERATION, EVOPORATION CRYSTALLIZATION ENVIRONMENT HEALTH

&

& (EHS)

WINTERIZATION

OF OILS AND FATS

&

SAFETY

FATTY ACID ESTERIFICATION OF HIGH FFA OILS TRANSESTERIFICATION OF OILS

MANINTENANCE OF OIL/BIODIESEL REFINERY

( BIODIESEL )
BIODIESEL PURIFICATION AND DISTILLATION GLYCERIN PURIFICATION AND DISTILLATION

QUALITY CONTROL

&

ASSURANCE

EXPOSURE

TO

SIX SIGMA ENVIRONMENT

VENDOR MANAGEMENT

EXPERIENCE SOUTHERN ONLINE BIOTECHNOLOGIES LTD; 04-SEP-06; TILL DATE : Sr. PLANT MANAGER

Job Responsibilities: (Reporting to: Technical Director)

Looking after the all technical matters of 30 & 250 TPD Vegetable Oil, Biodiesel & Glycerol Refinery. Responsible for managing & overseeing the production in the Bio-diesel manufacturing complex Plan & schedule Bio-diesel production to meet marketing dept goals in the most efficient way. Monitor and continually improve quality control in all aspects of Bio-diesel operation. Accountable for hiring of employees, consulting, process change approvals, lab setup, training of new employees. Reporting directly to the Project & Technical Director of SBT and responsible for all operations at refinery site including quality control, safety and maintenance, Human Resources, materials/ equipment procurement.

ELITE AGRO SPECIALITIES: 01-OCT-04 TO SEPT-06, PROJECT MANAGER. Job Responsibilities: (Reporting to Chief Executive Officer)
Project Feasibility study and setting up the plant for Virgin Coconut oil Production. Day to day operations of complete production unit. Product development of Various Specialty oils based on Virgin coconut oil.

National Flourmills, Edible oil Refinery, Jebel Ali, Dubai. UAE. June 2000 March 2004: EDIBLE OIL REFINERY PROCESS SUPERVISOR Job Responsibilities: (Reporting to Edible Oil Refinery Plant Manager)
To collect monthly plant production & operation and operating data evaluates units effectiveness by relating chemicals and prepares reports with comments. Undertake Engineering functions such as yield enhancement, quality improvement.

 Monitoring and controlling the operation of 450 tpd Edible Oil refinery and 4000 TPD Solvent extraction Unit Responsible for the day to day safe operations for one of three shifts including the off-shift lab. Supervised 18 operators, and 7 lab technicians.

1995- 2000 June: EDIBLE OIL REFINERY/SHIFT IN-CHARGE. Good Health Agro Tech LTD, Hyderabad, India. Job Responsibilities: (Reporting to Edible Oil Refinery Sr. Production Manager)
1. Production planning & controlling the process operations to get quality standards. 2. Conducting various Lab trials to optimize the process. 3. Preparation of Production plans & review on weekly basis to meet the targets. 4. Responsible for the production and plant maintenance schedule .

Professional Expertise & Selected Achievements:

16 years of experience in Production, Planning & Control of the Edible Oil Refinery. 5+ years of hands on experience in the Bio-diesel industry, PLC automation. Exposure to the latest equipments/Technology such as Self-cleaning centrifuges, Ice-Condensation vacuum Unit supplied by Krupp & Alfa Laval, GMMPfaudler wiped film evaporators.

Achievements:
Successfully Reduced, Operating losses from 2% -1%, in the De-waxing of sunflower & Corn oil processing. Introduced new Process: Initiated, developed and implemented the automatic Shutdown of process sections, which avoids manual Errors, this improved production & quality. Successfully achieved 100% capacity in the Bio-Diesel plant and further enhanced to 120%. Processing cost reduced from 9.2 to 6.9 a kg for Biodiesel Production.

Education:

Education: B. Sc. B. Tech (Oils, Soaps & Detergents)-Passed out 1995;Nagarjuna University.

Main Courses:
Chemistry, Technology and Processing of Edible Oils, Detailed study of Extraction of Oils and Fats, Biochemistry of oils, fats, & Analysis of oils. Material & energy balance, Chemical Engineering. Thermodynamics. Chemical reaction Engineering. Unit operations & chemical Process economics. Industrial. Applied mechanics and Strength of materials.

Computer Skills: Ms-Office, UNIX & C, C++, Lotus notes, Gems Inventory software. Membership: Member of Oil Technologists Association of India. DOB: 14-January-1971 Passport Details: H 9027588

Nationality: Indian
Total Years of Experience: 16+ Notice Period: 30 days Present Location: Visakhapatnam, A.P, INDIA

ATTACHMENT:
Handled successfully the below oils for refining/pretreatment & biodiesel purpose. Various Vegetable Edible Oils handled for Edible Oil Refinery. a) b) c) d) e) f) g) Palm Oil Crude Cotton Seed oil Crude rice bran oil Crude Corn oil Crude Soybean oil Crude groundnut oil Crude sunflower oil

Various non Edible Oils& Fats handled for Biodiesel Production h) i) j) k) l) m) n) o) p) q) r) RBD Palm Stearin (low & High Melting point) Animal tallow Crude Palm acid oil Used/Waste cooking oils Extracted acid oil from Spent bleaching earth. Crude Fish oil Crude Mahua oil Crude Karanja oil Palm Fatty acid Distillate Rice bran fatty acid distillate Rice bran/Soya/sunflower acid oil

Modern Equipments known & handled in the Processing of oils/fats/Biodiesel/Glycerin Refinery

1) Westfalia Self cleaning centrifuges models like: RSE 200 & 60 2) Solid bowl westfalia centrifuges RTA 40 and RTA 50. 3) Alfalaval solid bowl centrifuge: SRG 509 4) Koerting Hannover supplied Ice condensation vacuum unit for Deodorizer/edible oil refinery 5) SABROO Screw ammonia compressor runs by PLC. 6) GE Fanuc PLC and automation. 7) Siemens PLC/Win CC work station 8) Forbes Marshal PLC and field automation by instruments made of ABB, Forbes Marshall. 9) GMMPFAUDLER Wiped film Evaporator for Biodiesel and glycerin distillation. 10) Packed bed deodorizer (Packings: Sulzer make ) for de-acidification of oils and fats

11) Steam jet Vacuum equipments supplied by M/s. Mazda & M/s. Autocon, Mumbai, INDIA. 12) Full lab set up for Edible Oil/Biodiesel refinery in accordance with ASTM 6751 & EN 14214 13) Bloc & fully welded PHEs supplied by M/s. AlfaLaval & M/s. GEA 14) De-Solventisation & drying of crude glycerol by GMM WFE.
15) Batch/Continuous esterification of fatty acids/Acid oil with glycerol for low FFA feed preparation. 16) High temp and high vacuum distillation of Biodiesel & glycerol for high purity premium products. Date: 26-November-11 Place: VIZAG, A.P. India