Project Synopsis
Provide process engineering services for a plant upgrade at a catalytic extraction waste thermal treatment unit to increase capacity and broaden the spectrum of waste streams that could be processed through the facility.
Project Summary
CATALYTIC EXTRACTION SYSTEM UPGRADE PROCESS ENGINEERING
The client owns and operates a catalytic extraction waste thermal treatment system at a Syngas manufacturing facility and desired to add/replace operations for the purpose of upgrading system capacity as well as broaden the spectrum of waste streams that could be processed through the facility. To this end, Process Engineering Associates, LLC (PROCESS) was contracted to perform the following tasks:
- Execute an alternatives technical and economic evaluation for the purpose of identifying the best reactor system for meeting the system upgrade goals
- Execute an alternatives evaluation for the purpose of selecting the best interface/transport system between the low-pressure new upgrade reactor and the high-pressure existing catalytic extraction reactor
- Perform a detailed process design for the new upgraded process
- Perform a HAZOP of the upgrade system process design.
For the upgrade reactor alternatives evaluation, PROCESS considered the following technologies:
- Rotary furnace
- Molten glass reactor
- Molten metal furnace
- Plasma arc centrifugal treatment (PACT) reactor
- Infrared conveyor furnace
- Electric pyrolyzer
- Steam reformer
- Molten salt reactor.
Based on technical and economic considerations, the PACT reactor was selected for the upgrade application.
For the reactor interface alternatives evaluation, the following alternatives were considered:
- Compression
- Fractionation/compression
- Amine absorption / compression
- Adsorption/compression.
Fractionation, absorption, and adsorption were considered for the purpose of removing inerts introduced in the new upgrade reactor and thereby increasing system capacity. Based primarily on technical considerations, amine absorption / compression was selected for the reactor interface system.
PROCESS then executed a detailed process design for the selected system and performed a HAZOP of the process design.
Industry Type
- Waste Processing
Utilized Skills
- Front end engineering design (FEED)
- Reactor design
- Technology alternatives evaluation
- Detailed process design
- HAZOP