Green Diesel from Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil Process Design Study

A systematic approach was applied to study the process of hydrotreating vegetable oils. During the three phases of conceptual, detailed, and final design, unit operations were designed and sized. Modeling of the process was performed with UniSim Design®. Producing green diesel and jet fuel from vege...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chemical engineering & technology 2015-04, Vol.38 (4), p.651-657
Main Authors: Hilbers, Tim J., Sprakel, Lisette M. J., van den Enk, Leon B. J., Zaalberg, Bart, van den Berg, Henk, van der Ham, Louis G. J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbon
Chemical engineering
Design engineering
Diesel
Diesel fuels
Economics
Green diesel
Hydrotreating
Jet fuels
Plant design
Process design
Process flexibility
Vegetable oils
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Summary:A systematic approach was applied to study the process of hydrotreating vegetable oils. During the three phases of conceptual, detailed, and final design, unit operations were designed and sized. Modeling of the process was performed with UniSim Design®. Producing green diesel and jet fuel from vegetable oils was found to be technically possible via a flexible process of hydrotreatment. The resulting mass and energy balances indicated high carbon atom and energy yield. An economic evaluation proved that the operational expenses mainly depend on the cost of raw materials. Currently, the margin between crude palm oil and the retail diesel price is too low to operate an economically viable process. However, production and utilization of biofuels is required by international regulations. The process of hydrotreating vegetable oils is a promising alternative to the production of conventional biodiesel, because it can be integrated into existing refining infrastructure. The process flexibility with respect to the type of feedstock as well as the controllability of the product mix of jet fuel and diesel was included in this detailed design study, covering all aspects of process plant design.
ISSN:0930-7516
1521-4125
DOI:10.1002/ceat.201400648