Chemical Engineering May 2022 - 6

premises in Desteldonk,
Belgium to validate technology
developed in the
recently completed Afterlife
project. In the project,
a research team of 14
partners from seven European
countries demonstrated
the recovery of
compounds from wastewater
while converting
the remaining organic
matter into bio-based
polyhydroxyalkanoates
(PHAs), a biodegradable
plastic used in food
packaging. The four pilot
lines processed 1 m3/d
of wastewaters from:
the confectionery industry,
cheese manufacturing,
and two citrus-fruit
processing lines, one of
which extracted essential
oils and phenolic compounds
that can be used
in food products.
PDH TECHNOLOGY
KBR, Inc. (Houston;
www.kbr.com) and ExxonMobil
Catalysts and
Licensing LLC (Spring,
Tex.; www.exxon
mobilchemical.com) are
collaborating to advance
next-generation propane
dehydrogenation (PDH)
technology. Under the
collaboration,
ExxonMobil's
new proprietary
catalyst technology will
be combined with KBR's
proprietary K-PRO PDH
technology to convert
propane into propylene.
Enabled by the superior
performance of ExxonMobil's
new catalyst, the
combined technology
solution could offer financial
savings compared
to PDH technologies
currently available, says
KBR. Potential benefits
to existing K-PRO users
include increased capacity
and reduced operating
expenses by upgrading
to the new catalyst, the
company says.
NEW FCC CATALYST
BASF SE (Ludwigshafen,
Germany; www.basf.
com) recently launched
Fourtitude, a new fluid
catalytic cracking (FCC)
(Continues on p. 7)
6
Catalyst-coated membrane reduces
electrolyzer stack cost for H2 production
A
new catalyst-coated membrane
(CCM) technology for hydrogen production,
developed by Honeywell
UOP (Des Plaines, Ill.; uop.honeywell.com),
is undergoing performance validation
testing in partnership with manufacturers
of proton-exchange membrane (PEM)
and anion-exchange membrane (AEM) electrolyzers.
Made from both proprietary UOP
materials and commercially available materials,
the CCM technology is said to achieve
higher electrolyzer efficiency and higher current
density than currently available CCMs.
UOP employs several methods to apply
its proprietary catalysts onto a specially designed
membrane to produce the new CCM.
With unique composition, structure and morphology,
the CCM increases catalyst activity
and ionic conductivity, allowing for higher
efficiency. The efficiency improvement enables
" higher current density that will provide
a greater hydrogen production rate, " says
Amanda Copperthite, Honeywell's Global
Head of Strategy, Consultancy and Marketing
for STS (Sustainable Technology Solutions).
Honeywell says the CCM can achieve
an estimated 25% reduction in electrolyzer
stack cost, based on a PEM water electrolysis
system using renewable power to
produce 2,300 metric tons of H2/yr with
5,000 operating hours per year. " Because
of the efficiency improvements, the PEM
Honeywell UOP
electrolyzer system operates with an elevated
current density for the same voltage,
which reduces the electrolyzer stack size,
and therefore reduces the electrolyzer stack
cost, " explains Copperthite.
Honeywell UOP is now working on scaling
up the CCM technology and is also working
with partners on long-term performance
validation of the CCM.
Commercial debut for a process that makes
'green' pig iron
L
ast month, Vale S.A. (Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil; www.vale.com) began
construction on the first commercial
plant to use its Tecnored process,
which produces pig iron with biomass instead
of metallurgical coal (coke). Located in
Marabá, in the southeast of Pará, Brazil, the
new unit will have an initial capacity to produce
250,000 ton/yr of " green " pig iron, with
the possibility of reaching 500,000 ton/yr
in the future. The start-up is scheduled for
2025 with an estimated investment of approximately
BRL1.6 billion ($341 million).
Developed over 35 years by Tecnored
Desenvolvimento Tecnológico S.A. (Pindamonhangaba,
SP, Brazil; www.tecnored.
com.br), which Vale acquired in 2014, the
Tecnored process eliminates the need for
coke ovens and sintering, which are process
steps used by traditional blast furnaces.
As a result, investment and operating
costs are reduced by about 15%. By
replacing metallurgical coke by biomass,
the net CO2 emissions are reduced by up
to 100%, which is said to be an important
step in contributing to the decarbonization
of the steel industry.
The Tecnored furnace is much smaller in
size than a traditional steel blast furnace
and is quite flexible in the use of its raw
materials, which can range from iron ore
fines and steel residues to dam sludge.
For fuel, the furnace can be fed by carbonized
biomass, such as sugarcane bagasse
and eucalyptus. Both are first transformed
into briquettes (small compact blocks) and
then deposited into the furnace, generating
green pig iron.
Initially, fossil fuel will be used to evaluate
the performance of the plant, as this
will be the first large-scale operation of the
technology. " Gradually, we are going to replace
coal with carbonized biomass until
we reach the goal of 100% biomass " , explains
Leonardo Caputo, Tecnored's CEO.
Currently, Vale maintains a 75,000-ton/yr
demonstration plant that started up in 2011
in Pindamonhangaba, where tests were carried
out to develop the technology and its
technical and economic feasibility.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM MAY 2022
https://uop.honeywell.com/en https://uop.honeywell.com/en http://www.kbr.com https://www.exxonmobilchemical.com/en/ https://www.exxonmobilchemical.com/en/ http://www.vale.com http://www.tecnored.com.br http://www.tecnored.com.br http://www.basf.com http://www.basf.com http://WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
Chemical Engineering May 2022

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