Chemical Engineering May 2021 - 13

design and catalysts that combine
the hydrotreating and isomerization
functions into a single reactor system
operating in a sour environment with
sulfur, nitrogen, water and carbon
oxides, " Owens explains. " The new
highly selective catalysts remove sulfur
and nitrogen from the feeds and
isomerize the oils to raise cetane values, "
he says, " minimizing cracking
and maximizing isomerization to deliver
high yields of renewable diesel. "
A single-stage Ecofining system
can subsequently expand into a full
two-stage Ecofining process, if desired
by the refinery, UOP says. Currently,
single-stage Eco-fining setups
are in the design phase at several
petroleum refineries. UOP invented
the original Ecofining jointly with Eni
Sp.A. 10 years ago.
Co-processing
Another strategy related to renewable
diesel
is co-processing biologically
derived feedstock alongside
conventional petroleum-based feedstock.
An example of this comes
from MOL Group (Budapest, Hungary;
www.molgroup.info), a petroleum
refiner with facilities in Hungary,
Slovakia and Croatia. MOL is moving
into biofuels production as it looks to
the future of vehicle fuels markets. In
March, MOL announced an initiative
to co-process vegetable oils along
with crude oil to make diesel fuel
with higher renewable content.
" Bio-feedstock will be co-processed
together with fossil materials,
increasing the renewable share
of fuels and reducing up to 200,000
ton/yr CO2 emissions without negatively
affecting fuel quality, " says MOL
Group Executive Vice President of
Downstream Gabriel Szabó. " This
is in line with our 'Shape Tomorrow'
strategy, where we plan to produce
100,000 ton/yr of advanced biofuels
by 2030. " The co-processing
unit has been operating successfully
since last year (Figure 2).
MOL R&D over the past several
years has overcome several chalMOL
Group
FIGURE 2. The photo shows the reactors for
co-processing renewable feedstock for diesel
production
lenges associated with co-processing
bio-based materials. " The main
problems are that the feed is nonhomogeneous,
so you need catalysts
that won't lose activity, and you
need an efficient logistics system to
NEED TO ENSURE PUREST PRODUCTS,
SAFETY, AND NON-STOP PERFORMANCE?
ASK YOUR SEPARATION SPECIALIST
DECADE-LONG EXPERIENCE WITH NO
ROOM FOR COMPROMISE
Therefore, major chemical producers as well
as local refineries, contractors, and plastics
processors have trusted ANDRITZ to provide
tailor-made solutions from our comprehensive
portfolio, covering dewatering, drying, service,
and automation solutions. This portfolio
enables us to recommend and optimize the
right solution for each process step - from
solvent recovery to solidification, cooling, and
more - to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and
ensure continuous performance for the lifetime
of every investment. Our experience and knowhow
gained over decades of operating in
this sector and combined with the new Metris
addIQ control systems - part of the ANDRITZ
digital solutions offered under the Metris
technology brand - will help you to meet or
even exceed throughput and quality targets.
ANDRITZ AG ⁄ Stattegger Strasse 18 ⁄ 8045 Graz ⁄ Austria / separation@andritz.com / andritz.com/separation
For details visit adlinks.chemengonline.com/80069-01
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM MAY 2021
13

http://www.molgroup.info http://www.andritz.com/separation http://adlinks.chemengonline.com/80069-01 http://WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM

Chemical Engineering May 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering May 2021