1 reply to this topic

[Jacobaum]

Hi everyone,

I’m currently working on my senior chemical engineering design project, which focuses on the production of liquid fuels from biogas via steam reforming.

In short, the process includes the following main sections:

1. Biogas pretreatment – H₂S removal using Fe-EDTA solution and compression;

2. Steam reforming of methane to produce syngas (H₂ + CO);

3. Fischer–Tropsch synthesis, converting syngas into liquid hydrocarbons;

4. Hydrotreating / upgrading to remove residual impurities and improve fuel quality;

5. A distillation or fractionation column to separate gasoline- and diesel-range products.

 

 e10382ef-495e-452e-9151-8f1ffb307d8e.png   200.21KB   0 downloads

I’m attaching my current process flow diagram (From DWSIM) and would really appreciate feedback from those with experience in process design or syngas-to-liquids systems:

• Do you think any important unit operation or process block is missing?

• Does any part of the flowsheet look redundant or unrealistic?

• Are there aspects that could be simplified or better represented?

For simplicity, the liquid products were grouped as gasoline and diesel, following my advisor’s suggestion to keep the system manageable. We also tried to simulate the process in DWSIM, but we couldn’t get the full system to converge properly.

Any technical comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, i'll be glad with any help

 

[Pilesar]

I think you need more pumps. Reflux pumps, liquid transfer between columns, product pumps. While you may plan to pressure liquid from one vessel to another, pumps are usually more reliable. You do not know how far apart the units are at this stage or their elevations. Put the pumps in early and maybe you can take them out later, but getting your equipment count correct will give you better cost estimates and avoid some rework.

  You have several streams feeding the process. Do they need tanks, pumps or compressors also?

Reflux drums are needed, too. Missing equipment is a much larger error than getting the size incorrect.