NAMS Presentation 20b NAMS 2019 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania May 14, - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

NAMS Presentation 20b NAMS 2019 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania May 14, 2019

NAMS 2019 Paper 20b Hybrid Distillation and Facilitated Transport Membrane Processes for C 3 Splitter Debottlenecking Kenneth Pennisi, Christine Parrish, Sudip Majumdar Compact Membrane Systems 2

Today’s Agenda • Overview of Optiperm TM Technology • Basis of the economic analysis and process background • Simulation and Economic Analysis Results 3

Overview of Optiperm TM Technology 4

Latest technology focuses on olefin-paraffin separation OLEFINS CRUDE OIL PARAFFINS NGL’s Petrochemical Fuels raw material 5

Distillation is incumbent technology and current workhorse LARGE CAPEX ENERGY INTENSIVE FIXED, INFLEXIBLE 6

Optiperm™ membrane is a disruptive technology for O-P separations Olefin Paraffin Silver (Ag+) carrier Custom fluoropoly mer and Ag+ Adapted from Cussler E.L.: Facilitated Transport. In: Membrane Separation Systems, vol. 2, US DOE Report, DOE/ER/30133-H1 (1990) 7

Implications of facilitated transport membrane • Humidity is required • Permeance and selectivity are not constant • Permeance decreases with increasing pressure • CMS membranes are fluoropolymer based so they can withstand harsh chemical environment 8

Basis of Analysis and Process Background 9

Goals • Unload the column by introducing membranes • The olefin rich product held fixed at polymer grade propylene • The bottoms product held fixed at HD-5 propane • Simulate membrane behavior to determine the optimum place for membrane installation • Understand how much increased capacity could be gained by using a hybrid system 10

Basis of Analysis • Debottleneck base case distillation processing 388,000 tons per year of feed • Feed stream contains 70% propylene and is saturated with water • The process was modeled using Symmetry integrated with CMS proprietary membrane models • Internal rates of return calculated from incremental costs and incremental production rates 11

Typical high pressure distillation 150 trays • Reported corresponding reflux ratio is 20 • Symmetry distillation model agrees within 10% • Top product at 240 psia, 103° F • Bottom product 250 psia, 122° F • 12

Distillation/Membrane Hybrid Processes Evaluated Configuration 1: Membrane at top Permeate Enriched olefin product Membrane feed from distillate Retentate Mixed O/P Feed Paraffin rich recycle Permeate is the product (Polymer-grade propylene) • Unload the column by decreasing the olefin concentration • at the top and using the membrane to take the product to polymer grade propylene Still making HD-5 propane at the bottom • 13

Configuration 2: Membrane at bottom Olefin rich recycle Mixed O/P Feed Membrane Permeate feed from bottom Retentate Enriched paraffin product Retentate is the product (HD5 propane) • Unload the column by decreasing the paraffin • concentration at the bottom and using the membrane to take the product to HD-5 propane Still making polymer grade propylene at the distillate (top) • 14

Simulation and Economic Analysis Results 15

Configuration 1 Membrane at the top (Distillate) 16

Below a certain distillate composition, cost and recycle rate increase dramatically for membrane at column top Base Case Column Ratio of Molar Recycle Flow to Baseline Molar Feed Flow 18 18 Distillate 16 16 14 14 12 12 Total Annual Cost (MM$) TAC 20 alpha TAC 10 alpha 10 10 8 8 6 6 4 4 Flow 20 alpha 2 2 Flow 10 alpha 0 0 0.90 0.91 0.92 0.93 0.94 0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1.00 Membrane Feed Propylene Mole Fraction (Distillate propylene mole fraction) 17 Total annual cost (TAC) = Opex + amortized capex

IRR has maximum point for membrane at column top depending on membrane selectivity 160% 140% IRR Alpha 20 IRR Alpha 10 120% IRR and Capacity Gain 100% 80% 60% 40% Capacity Gain Alpha 20 Capacity Gain Alpha 10 20% 0% 0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1 Membrane Feed Propylene Mole Fraction 18

Configuration 2 Membrane at the bottom 19

Cost and recycle rate increase as bottoms propylene composition increases for membrane at column bottom 0.40 16 Ratio of Molar Recycle Flow to Molar Baseline Feed Flow Base Case Column TAC 10 alpha Bottom Product 0.35 14 0.30 12 Flow 10 alpha Total Annual Cost (MM$) 0.25 10 0.20 8 0.15 6 TAC 20 alpha 0.10 4 0.05 2 Flow 20 alpha 0.00 0 0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 Membrane Feed Propylene Mole Fraction (Bottoms propylene mole fraction) 20 Total annual cost (TAC) = Opex + amortized capex

IRR decreases for membrane at column bottom as propylene in bottom product increases 90% 80% IRR Alpha 20 70% IRR and Capacity Gain 60% IRR Alpha 10 50% 40% 30% 20% Capacity Gain Alpha 20 10% Capacity Gain Alpha 10 0% 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 Membrane Feed Propylene Mole Fraction 21

Comparison of the configurations 22

Comparison of achievable capacity gains and IRRs for two distillation/membrane hybrid configurations 160% 40% Expected membrane selectivity is 10 Expected membrane selectivity is 20 140% 35% 120% 30% Capacity Gain 100% 25% IRR 80% 20% 60% 15% 40% 10% 20% 5% 0% 0% 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 Column Distillate Feed to Membrane Column Bottoms Feed to Membrane Configuration 2 Configuration 1 Propylene Mole Fraction in Membrane Feed 23

Membrane retrofit requires less capital investment than column replacement and provides superior returns New Column IRR Membrane at Top IRR Membrane at Bottom IRR New Column CAPEX Membrane at Top CAPEX Membrane at Bottom CAPEX 150% 50 Regime 1: Low investment, put membrane at bottom for up to 13% capacity 120% 40 gain Installed Capital Cost (MM$) Internal Rate of Return 90% 30 60% 20 30% 10 Regime 2: Moderate Regime 3: Large investment, put investment, new membrane at top for up column, membranes to 28% capacity gain are not yet practical 0% 0 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% Capacity Gain 24

Concluding remarks • Optiperm TM membranes are a cost effective means of increasing C3 splitter capacity up to about 28%. • For capacity increases in the range of 13% to 28%, the membranes should be installed at the column top. • For capacity increases up to 13%, the membranes should be installed at the bottom of the column. Possible future work: Membrane expansion at both top and bottom of column • 25

Thank you for Attending! Questions? Acknowledgement The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the US Department of Energy through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Awards 26