Pilot Plants for Alternative Energy R&D Applications

New challenges call for innovative solutions

MT. PROSPECT, Ill.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Unitel Technologies, Inc. announced that the company has established a task force to address the unique requirements of the emerging alternative energy industry. “The primary mission of our team is to help clients think smarter, look outside the proverbial ‘box’ and avoid the pitfalls that abound,” notes Serge Randhava, CEO of Unitel. “The alternative energy sector offers unprecedented opportunities, but the field is crowded with players and only a few will succeed.”

“Many promoters have tried to directly extrapolate seemingly promising lab- or bench-scale data into a commercial project, and they all failed”

Some alternative fuel options that are currently being pursued include:

• Dimethylether (DME) – a clean burning diesel replacement and LPG substitute;
• Cellulosic methanol, ethanol and butanol by fermentation or thermochemical conversion;
• Fischer-Tropsch products;
• Bio-ammonia from biomass;
• Biodiesels, biolubricants and bio jet fuels with emphasis on utilization of unrefined high free fatty acid non-edible oils.

Based upon recent project activity, Unitel has determined that alternative energy applications require special consideration of certain process issues and design features such as:

• Pressurized oxy-blown gasifiers, product gas clean-up and removal of volatiles, proportioning hydrogen and carbon monoxide, syngas compression, separation and purification of gas components, fluidized bed reactors, heat removal;
• Catalytic distillation;
• Catalytic reforming, steam and CO₂ reforming;
• Recycling of gas and liquid products, separation of by-products and parasitic products;
• Ranging in terms of process parameters, operational flexibility, designing for “unknown” conditions;
• Higher pressures and temperatures, supercritical fluids, special metallurgy;
• Hydrogen separation and purification.

According to Serge Randhava, the most serious single mistake that an alternative energy developer can make is to bypass the pilot plant phase. “Many promoters have tried to directly extrapolate seemingly promising lab- or bench-scale data into a commercial project, and they all failed,” he warns. “It’s easy to become enamored with a single facet of a technology and not look at the total picture. The demonstrated operation of a well designed pilot plant is the best way to overcome the inventor’s syndrome.

“In a rush to make profits, don’t use an outdated process design just because it’s readily available. The technology may not be cost-effective today and your plant could be a utility ‘hog.’ Many of the recent failures in the corn ethanol and biodiesel sectors can be attributed to this practice.”