Waste heat recovery in the potash industry is now possible thanks to the availability or robust and reliable heat pipe heat exchangers (HPHEs). Igor Makarenko , Solex Thermal Science, explains how HPHE technology can help potash producers reduce their primary energy consumption and cut their CO 2 emissions.
The implementation of WSA technology to recover sulphur as sulphuric acid from lean sulphurous off-gases offers significant environmental benefits. These include waste reduction, resource efficiency and reduced overall CO2 e footprint, while also producing profitable sulphuric acid. By embracing such practices, industries can ensure improved or better consumption and production patterns and foster a more sustainable and responsible future. J. Feddersen and S. S. Johansson of Topsoe illustrate these benefits using three distinct industrial applications where WSA technology provides a smarter way to treat sulphurous off-gases. It is not only waste stream management in the three cases, but also reduced transportation of chemicals, reduced opex and reduced CO2 e footprint.
We review potash mining and mineral processing methods. Advances in equipment technology and major project investments are highlighted.
Maire Group subsidiary MyRechemical has been awarded a feasibility study for the integration of its proprietary waste-tosyngas technology in a large-scale conversion plant that would transform solid municipal waste into 120,000 t/a of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). MyRechemical would provide the gasification unit to transform solid waste streams into synthesis gas, which would then be converted into low carbon ethanol and then to SAF.
The nickel market has been through a period of unprecedented change over the past few years due to demand for batteries for electric vehicles, with Indonesia becoming a centre for production via high pressure acid leaching.
Steinmüller Engineering shares its experiences of applying CFD to re-design the waste heat boiler downstream of the secondary reformer to successfully achieve the desired uniform cross flow across the tube bundle.
Honeywell UOP’s nViro Hydro process provides an alternative solution to conventional hydroprocessing waste treatment utilising a sulphur recovery unit and tail gas treating unit. Janet Ruettiger of Honeywell UOP discusses the benefits of nViro Hydro which include improved operational efficiency, creating a new revenue stream and reduced capital outlays, operating expenses and water use.
SunGas Renewables Inc. has formed a new subsidiary, Beaver Lake Renewable Energy, LLC (BLRE), to construct a new green methanol production facility in central Louisiana. The project will have a capacity of 400,000 t/a of green methanol, using gasified biomass, specifically wood fibre from local, sustainably-managed forests as feedstock. The methanol will have a negative carbon intensity through sequestration of the nearly 1.0 million t/a of carbon dioxide produced by the project, which will be executed by Denbury Carbon Solutions. The methanol will then be used as a clean marine fuel by A.P. Moller–Maersk, which is building a fleet of methanol-powered container vessels.
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is increasingly seen as a vital tool in the aviation sector’s transition to net zero. These drop-in fuels, which can be derived from bio and renewable-derived syngas, are used to dilute the fossil-derived components of fuel and are fully compatible with existing fuel infrastructure. This positions SAF as a convenient and rapid route towards decarbonisation. However, questions remain around its ultimate viability at scale and whether it really can be the ‘silver bullet’ aviation leaders are looking for. We spoke to Paul Ticehurst from Johnson Matthey (JM) to shed some light on SAF and the future role of syngas in aviation.
Ag Growth International (AGI) is a leading manufacturer of fertilizer blending systems. Robert Fitzpatrick, AGI’s product segment manager, highlights the latest innovations in fertilizer blending equipment and explains how these contribute to operational efficiency and agricultural productivity.