CHEMENTATOR Aone-step process for extracting oil from algae... eee re ‘oil for fuels and various chemical prod- ucts (CE, September 2008, pp. 22-25), but the extraction of ol from the algae cells is an energy-intensive process that involves dew- atering and drying the biomass, followed by solvent extraction. Now, a one-step method that breaks the algae cells and liberates the oil without the need for dewatering or solvents has been developed by OriginOil, Tne. (Los Angeles; wwworiginoil.com). Riggs Eckelberry, the company president, says the process promises to cut energy costs by 90%, plus “substantial savings” in capital costs for solvent extraction. Tn the new method, algae ready for har- vesting are pumped into an extraction tank through a static mixer, which induces cavita- tion in the water. Simultaneously, alow-power, pulsed electromagnetic field is applied to the algae-laden stream, and CO, is introduced to lower the pH. The combination of these mea- sures ruptures the cell walls and releases the oil, which rises to the surface in the tank while the biomass sinks, The final separation is achieved in a clarification tank. OriginOil devised the separation method as part of its process to produce biofuels from algae, which is still under develop- ‘ment, However, the company is in early dis- cussions to market the separation process through a partnership with Desmet Ball- estra (Zaventum, Belgium), which installs process systems for algae producers and other oil and fat processors. ... and a gasification process enifuel Corp. (Salt Lake City, Utah; www. Jgenifuel.com)has taken a different route to producing fuel from algae (see previous item). ‘The company has licensed a “eatalytie hydro- thermal gasification” process from DOE's Pa- cific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL, Richland Wash.; www.pal.gov) and is using it to convert algae to natural gas. ‘An aqueous slurry containing about 20% i i into the bot- converted to natural gas at about 350°C and 3,000 psi, using a ruthenium catalyst. The conversion is better than 99%, says Genifuel president Jim Oyler, and the product gas consists of about 97% methane, plus eth- ane, propane and hydrogen. The product gas that gets methane from algae exits the top of the reactor along with steam, which is used to preheat the feed, then con- densed and recycled to the algae ponds, PNNL has tested the process with ter- restrial plants, kelp and water hyacinths, as well as algae, but Oyler says algae is an ideal feed because it is easy to convert to slurry form, so preprocessing is relatively inexpensive. Also, essentially all the heat in the steam is recovered. He adds that the process operates at about half the tempera- ture of other gasification methods that don’t use a catalyst. The present reactor produces about 100 9/4 of natural gas, but Oyler plans to work next with a reactor that is about four times larger. He says the process can be readily sealed up. ‘STEELMAKING FURNACES (Continued from p. 11) at the beginning of the melting eyele. During the process, the fluxes absorb silica, alumina and other impurities, forming a slag on top of the melt. Simultaneously, natural gas, granu- lar coke and oxygen are injected via sidewall burners to supply additional energy, increase the scrap-melting rate and to create a foamy slag. The latter improves melting efficiency by submerging the electrode tips and helps protect the electrodes and furnace sidewalls, says Stewart Robinson, technical manager for Carbide Industries. 12 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWWCHE.COM Ideally, the slag should have a chemistry and viscosity suitable for foaming through- out the melt cycle, he says, but in practice there is usually too much lime at the begin- ning and too little at the end of the cycle, as the chemistry of the slag changes dur- ing the process. The innovation minimizes this problem by injecting calcium carbide at intervals, along with other fluxing ma- terials. The added CaC» reacts with the slag’s FeO exothermically, thereby adding energy to the process as well as promoting slag foaming, JUNE 2008 Anew H,S0, process ‘Now being commissioned at lead smelter operated by Berzelius in Stolberg, Ger- many, is a new sulfur trioxide process developed by Bayer ‘Technology Services (BTS: Leverkusen, Germany; www. bbayertechnology.com). Con- ventional adiabatic contact ‘or double contact conversion (of $0, to SO, cannot handle ‘S02 concentrations above about 13% because the cata- lyst imits reactor outlet tem- peratures to around 620°C. At ‘Achema last month, project manager Torsten Weber of BTS explained that the new Baygik process uses an iso- thermal tubular reactor, allow- ing inlet SO, concentrations ‘of up to 50%. The process is suitable for new facilities, he says, but should be especially valuable as a retrofit to existing contact plants in the metal- lurgical industry. At Stolbera, Baygik exhaust gas is mixed with raw gas to reduce its SO, level to 9%, Batch manufacturing Last month, Performicine (Houston, Tex; ww perfor rmixinc.com) launched the MES Next Generation Usor Interface (UI fo plant oor operator execution. Designed with Rich Intarnet Apptiction (RIA) technology and the lx ibility 1 intograte data from exc isting business systems, plant floor devices and the xMES solution, this Yrst-o-a-kind™ interlace fora manufacturing execution systems (MES) so- lution provides manuilacturers with a more efficient process for viewing and executing (Continues on p. 15)