Thermally self-sufficient heat pump-assisted azeotropic dividing-wall column for biofuels recovery from isopropanol-butanol-ethanol fermentation

Isopropanol-butanol-ethanol (IBE) fermentation is a superior biofuel production technology as compared to acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation due to the better fuel properties of the obtained products. However, low product concentrations, thermodynamic constraints and the presence of microorganisms lead to complex downstream processing...

Enhanced downstream processing of NGL using intensified fluid separation technologies

Downstream processing of natural gas liquids (NGL) provides feedstock needed for plastic production, upgraded fuels and heating, but it is one of the largest high-pressure and energy intensive processes. This original study is the first to integrate novel process intensification options from a holistic viewpoint for the full process covering...

Operating windows for early evaluation of the applicability of advanced reactive distillation technologies

Advanced reactive distillation technologies (ARDT) are often overlooked during process synthesis due to their complexity. This work proposes the use of operating windows with additional features to identify suitable operating limits for ARDT. Data needed to construct the operating windows are thermodynamic properties, kinetic parameters,...

Industrial experience in using cyclic distillation columns for food grade alcohol purification

This study provides novel details about the industrial use of cyclic distillation in the production of food-grade alcohol, which confirmed the theoretical predictions of increasing separation efficiency. Increasing the profitability of the production of ethanol food grade is primarily associated with an increase in product quality and...

New type of basket stationary bed reactor for heterogeneous biocatalysis

Effectiveness of catalytic processes using heterogeneous biocatalysts depends not only on the activity of the enzyme, but also on the efficiency of the used reactor. In this paper, we present a novel design of a basket reactor with a stationary catalyst bed (StatBioChem). The developed design was compared to a commercially available rotating...

Novel intensified process for ethanolamines production using reactive distillation and dividing-wall column technologies

Monoethanolamine is an essential chemical used as feedstock in the production of detergents, emulsifiers, pharmaceuticals, polishes, corrosion inhibitors, and chemical intermediates. It is produced industrially by treating ethylene oxide with aqueous ammonia, but the reaction also leads to di- and tri-ethanolamine as less desired by-products....

Continuous-flow CvFAP photodecarboxylation of palmitic acid under environmentally friendly conditions

The fatty acid photodecarboxylase from Chlorella variabilis NC64A (CvFAP) promotes the elimination of CO₂ from fatty acids (C_n) producing the corresponding hydrocarbon (_Cn-1). Therefore, this enzyme is of great biotechnological interest since it can be used in alternative biofuel production routes matching the...

Enhanced process for energy efficient extraction of 1,3-butadiene from a crude C4 cut

1,3-butadiene is an essential platform chemical for producing rubberlike polymers, which is extracted from C₄ hydrocarbons that are produced through steam cracking. The current state-of-the-art technology is the BASF process that uses thermally coupled extractive distillation (ED) followed by two distillation columns. However, the...

Microwave heating in heterogeneous catalysis: Modelling and design of rectangular traveling-wave microwave reactor

Microwave irradiation can intensify catalytic chemistry by selective and controlled microwave-catalytic packed-bed interaction. However, turning it to reality from laboratory to practical applications is hindered by challenges in the reactor design and scale-up. Here, we present a novel, rectangular traveling-wave microwave reactor (RTMR) and...

Process intensification education contributes to sustainable development goals. Part 2

Achieving the United Nations sustainable development goals requires industry and society to develop tools and processes that work at all scales, enabling goods delivery, services, and technology to large conglomerates and remote regions. Process Intensification (PI) is a technological advance that promises to deliver means to reach these...

Structured catalysts and reactors – Perspectives for demanding applications

In this perspective paper a brief overview is given of the past developments in the field of structured catalysts and reactors, the potential for process intensification, energy and materials efficiency. Current exciting new developments for demanding processes are highlighted and directions indicated that contribute to a future sustainable...

Design of a process to generate power from natural gas, using catalyzed decomposition and fuel cells