Kurt M. Vanden Bussche

Oxidative desulfurization of hydrocarbon fuels

A process and apparatus for the desulfurization of hydrocarbon fuels is presented. The apparatus and process use an inorganic metal peroxide and catalyst to oxidize the sulfur compounds. The oxidized sulfur compounds are then adsorbed on an adsorbent.New requirements for very low sulfur content (10 ppm) in liquid motor fuels demand novel approaches for ultra-deep desulfurization. For production of near-zero-sulfur diesel and low-sulfur fuel oil, removal of refractory sulfur compounds, like 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene and other alkyl-substituted thiophene derivatives, is necessary. Elimination of these compounds by hydrodesulfurization (HDS) requires high hydrogen consumption, high pressure equipment, and new catalysts. Various oxidative desulfurization processes, including recent advances in this field for diesel fuels, and the drawbacks of this technology in comparison with HDS are examined and discussed. It is shown that the oxidation of sulfur compounds to sulfones with hydrogen peroxide allows for production of diesel fuels with a sulfur content of 10 ppmw or lower at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. The gas phase oxidative desulfurization of sulfur compounds with air or oxygen is feasible at atmospheric pressure and higher temperatures: 90–300 °С and offers better economic solutions and incentives.

Generalized reactor model: An object oriented approach to reactor modeling

Publisher Summary Industrial reactors differ from each other in many aspects, such as geometry, hydrodynamics, and reaction kinetics. This chapter focuses on the development of a generalized modeling tool that can accommodate these variations and help in the analysis, design, and synthesis of more novel reactor configurations. An object-oriented framework has been used for the reactor modeling and analysis. In the proposed framework, the design was accomplished by deconstructing the reactor model into simpler objects, such as reactor geometry, reaction network, and reaction kinetics, and then defining the state and behavior of these objects as well as their interrelationships. The implementation of the generalized model has been done in a Microsoft Component Object Model (COM) framework that allows the model to be used by any application or programming language that can function as a COM client. Case studies, involving industrially significant applications, have demonstrated the potential of the framework to solve reactor design and synthesis problems effectively.

Intensification in Microstructured Unit Operations Performance Comparison Between Mega and Micro Scale

Process intensification refers to technologies and strategies that enable the physical sizes of conventional unit operations to be significantly reduced. The concept was pioneered by ICI in the late 1970s, when the primary goal was to reduce the capital cost of a production system. The motivation behind this approach was the recognition that the main plant items involved in the process (i.e. reactors, heat exchangers, separators etc.) only contribute to around 20% of the cost of a given plant. The balance is incurred by installation costs that involve pipe-work, structural support, civil engineering and so on. A major reduction of equipment size, coupled preferably with a degree of “telescoping” of equipment function — for example reactor/heat exchangers or combined condenser/distillation/re-boilers — could generate very significant cost savings by eliminating support structure, expensive column foundations and long pipe runs. Process intensification has the potential to deliver major benefits to the process industry, and many other sectors, by accelerating the response to market changes, facilitating scale-up and providing the basis for rapid development of new products and processes.