Alternative Fuel Center
Hydroprocessing pilot plant
The Chemical Engineering Department of Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) operates a fuel processing center that includes a hydroprocessing pilot plant and two continuous vacuum-distillation columns. Other unit operations are available including:
- Filtration
- Wiped-film evaporation
- Partial oxidation
- Blending
To accommodate a wide variety of feedstocks, from heavy raw shale oil to vegetable oils, the hydroprocessing facility is designed to operate at conditions up to 3250 psig and 1000°F in the reaction section and can recirculate 250 SCFH of hydrogen.
The configuration of the pilot plant equipment can be modified to meet the project needs for:
- Hydrogenation
- Hydrocracking
- Hydroisomerization
- Other fixed-bed reactor processing
Feed rates of up to five gallons per hour allow economical processing of fuel R&D test quantities of up to 5,000 gallons.
Example work at the SwRI Alternative Fuel Center includes:
- Conversion of raw shale oil to ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) and jet fuel
- Conversion of chicken fat to jet fuel
- Processing of beef tallow and soybean oil to “drop-in” diesel fuel
- Production of high purity octadecane from canola and soybean oils
Biodiesel development
Fuel processing center
Coal liquefaction pilot plant
Related Terminology
biodiesel development • pilot plant integration • fuel processing • coal liquefaction • hydroprocessing pilot plant • fuel processing • fuel blending • hydrogenation • hydrocracking • hydroisomerization • fixed-bed reactor processing • alternative fuel
