Systems and method for retrofitting brownfield plants
AssigneeNiquan Energy LLC
InventorAinsley Gill
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention modernizes abandoned or inefficient petrochemical plants for the production of jet fuel, diesel, naphtha, drilling fuels and wax. It utilizes an amine system shifted in a brownfield situation and a PRISM unit to cleanse incoming syngas and obtain an optimal H2:CO ratio for conversion. The refit and repurposing introduces novel heat transfer elements to a Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reactor and embarks a proprietary FT catalyst for the production of GTL products. It also incorporates unique FT analyzers to monitor hydrocarbon streams and aid production and Coriolis flow meters for precise measurements of liquid wax flow, unaffected by wax congestion or vibration. Feedstocks include numerous sources such as Natural gas, Biomass, etc
Claims27
A fuel production plant, comprising:
- a carbon dioxide removal system, the carbon dioxide removal system comprising at least one of an amine system and an amine gas analyzer;
- a steam methane reformer, the steam methane reformer comprising a carbon dioxide pump connected to at least one output from the carbon dioxide removal system;
- a hydrogen removal system, the hydrogen removal system comprising a PRISM separator and at least one of a mist eliminator and a PRISM gas analyzer;
- a Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reactor, the FT reactor comprising a buffer wax tank, a gtl wax catalyst, a plurality of separator drums, a FT heating unit and at least one of:
- a plurality of FT thermocouples, a plurality of FT analyzers, a set of katie springs, a catalyst regeneration unit, a plurality of heat transfer elements, and a plurality of capillary tubes;
- and
- a control and safety system, the control and safety system comprising at least one of a safety instrumented system (SIS), an analyzer interface, and a flare system.
A method for refitting a brownfield plant, comprising the steps of:
- obtaining a fuel production plant, wherein said fuel production plant may be an ammonia or methanol plant, or a petrochemical plant in a brownfield environment;
- modifying a feed treatment system by adding at least one of a pre-reformer, an analyzer, and a naphtha fresh feed;
- modifying a steam methane reformer by repurposing a CO2 compressor, improving heat capture at the flue, and modifying fans;
- modifying heat exchangers in syngas compression systems;
- adding or modifying an amine system for syngas compression and heat recovery;
- adding a PRISM system for adjusting the ratio of H2 and CO;
- modifying a Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reactor by adding thermocouples, heat transfer elements, analyzers, and modifying buffer wax tanks, catalysts, regeneration units, separation units, and heating units;
- modifying a hydrocracker/stripper by adding thermocouples, modifying the stripper column, adding a hydrogen makeup compressor, adding heaters, modifying specialized flow meters, and adding improved analyzers;
- modifying a product fractionation system by updating internals to modify the capability of the product fractionation system to separate different grades of Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) wax along with water;
- and
- modifying a control system and Safety Instrumented System (SIS) by modifying communication ability between analyzers and the control system, modifying the flare systems, and providing a modified effluent control system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.