Hybrid. T Biodiesel Technology

RPS offers an updated Traditional Biodiesel Production Process catered specific to the production facilities that intend to produce low Biodiesel production volumes ranging from 4 to 15 million gallons per year (40 to 150 TPD). This technology provides tremendous advantages compared to any other existing technology. This technology combines the advantages of traditional and supercritical processing methods to be able to offer a next generation technology.

Advantages of Renewable Process Solutions Hybrid.T Biodiesel Production Process versus any existing technology:

• Process can handle up to 20% Fatty Acid
• Lowest processing cost in the Industry.
• Methanol usage (1/4th) compared to Traditional Esterification Process.
• Catalyst Sodium Methylate usage (1/4th) compared to Traditional Trans-esterification Process.
• No use of Acid Catalyst such as Sulfuric Acid, Resins, Enzymes what so ever.
• Higher yield compared to Traditional Production process.
• Lower Capital Cost compared to any other existing process.
• No salt deposits, corrosion and high maintenance due to none use of Sulfuric Acid.
• Distilled Biodiesel that exceeds ASTM-6751 standards.
• Plant is delivered to the site in 8 to 10 months.
• Lower energy consumption compared to Traditional/Supercritical Method.
• Smaller footprint compared to Traditional/Supercritical Method.

Process Flow Diagram

Process Description:

Feedstock Filtration
Oils & Fats go through a degumming process to remove moisture, insoluble, unsaponifiables, gums, phospholipids, metals and protein. It is a continuous filtration process that involves drying and clay filtration. This step is very critical for continuous and efficient operation of the Biodiesel production facility. The feedstock filtration step for Hybrid.T pathway have some added features compared to a traditional/supercritical pathway. These added features maintain certain key feedstock parameters below the limit for uninterrupted operations of the Hybrid.T system.

Fat Stripping Column
Fat Stripping Column is a well developed technology, been used by the oils and fats industry for decades. RPS has refined the technology by improving the column design to be able to operate efficiently with high efficiency packed and tray beds. The de-gummed high fatty acid feedstock is introduced into the Fat Stripping Column to strip the fatty acid from the feedstock to less than 0.5% wt. FFA. The collected Free Fatty Acid is sent to the Supercritical Process and the low FFA feedstock is sent to the Trans-esterification process for further processing. The Fat Stripping Column uses less energy than esterification and the supercritical process. Also, there is not use of methanol in this step.

Trans-esterification System
Tran-esterification process is a well established simple process. We have improved this process for better reaction rates through efficient reactor design and two stage process. Our design allows less use of methanol, catalyst and energy. Also, the reaction rates are above 98.7%. When low FFA Feedstock stream is introduced into the RPS Trans-esterification system. It allows the operators to feed constant rate of methanol and catalyst feed. Also, help eliminate continuously monitoring and input requirement to maintain reaction rates. The Methyl Ester produced from the Supercritical Process is introduced into the Trans-esterification system to improve yields and reduce soap formation. This unique methodology is only offered by RPS. Through the above process methodology any feedstock that contains FFA up to 20% can be processed without esterification. Also, the above process uses less methanol, no acid catalyst and less energy compared to esterification and supercritical process.

Supercritical System
RPS applied the Supercritical Method to process the Fatty Acid stream recovered from the Fat Stripping Column to Methyl Ester. This allowed RPS to avoid Esterfication process altogether. The Supercritical Process operates at low temperature and pressure, which allows lower energy usage compared to the standard Esterification and Supercritical Process due to the feed stream properties and methanol use. Also, the methanol consumption is reduced by 1/3rd to a standard Supercritical Process and reduced 1/4th to the Esterification Process. The total feed stream handled by the Supercritical Process in the Hybrid.T method is only 1/10th compared to the Esterification and Supercritical Process, this allows a smaller unit at lower capital cost and small footprint. The Methyl Ester produced through the above method is re-introduced into the Trans-esterification System for further processing.

Water Washing
RPS offers Biodiesel Washing units for Hybrid.T Biodiesel production pathway. Washing the Biodiesel is necessary to remove trace quantities of free glycerin present in the methyl ester (Biodiesel) to meet the ASTM-6751 specification. RPS offers two methods to handle the washing step, one is through the centrifuge step and the other is through liquid-liquid counter current column. Both are efficient systems that have their own unique advantages and disadvantages. Both units bring down the free glycerin content in the methyl ester to less than 200 ppm. RPS manufactures its own liquid-liquid columns and is partnered with GEA Westfalia for its centrifuge needs. RPS considers GEA Westfalia systems are well suited for methyl ester applications due to its design and capabilities. RPS packages the centrifuges with dosing system, drop vessels and associated automation to be cost effective and to provide a robust solution.

Biodiesel Distillation
RPS offers Biodiesel Distillation Column for Hybrid.T production pathway. Biodiesel Distillation is necessary in todays Biodiesel industry to eliminate any trace impurity to meet and exceed ASTM-6751 specification and to produce distilled product that is colorless. Our Biodiesel Distillation Columns are capable of fractionating distilled Biodiesel, if needed to meet customer cloud point requirements. RPS manufactures its own column, internals, trays and packing. Our columns are highly energy efficient and our equipment is far superior to any other competitor in the market. The accumulated bottoms in a traditional method is sent to the storage for sale, whereas the bottoms accumulated in the supercritical method is recycled back into the production facility with trace quantity being stored for sale as feedstock with high color.

Glycerin Drying & Neutralization
In a Hybrid.T Biodiesel Production method, the accumulated crude glycerin contains solvent, less soaps and other impurities. RPS offer a falling film or forced circulation evaporators to recover methanol and concentrate crude glycerin to avoid product degradation and produce high concentration glycerin. The crude glycerin is neutralized to recover fatty acids and recycle back into the production facility. All the above process is done continuously and energy is recovered through economizers to be energy efficient.

Methanol Distillation
RPS offers Methanol Distillation units for Hybrid.T Biodiesel production pathway. It is very critical to recover and produce high purity solvent to be able to reuse back into the production facility. We are the leader in the industry for solvent distillation units. Our units are capable of producing less than 500 ppm moisture solvents with the lowest reflux ratios and energy usage. Our distillation units are made of high quality workmanship that are comparable to none other. RPS produces its own distillation trays, packing material and column internals. It maintains high quality manufacturing standards at every stage of manufacturing process. We invite interested clients to visit our facility, to know more about our manufacturing capabilities.