EARLY ENTRANCE COPRODUCTION PLANT

Abstract

The overall objective of this project is the three phase development of an Early Entrance Coproduction Plant (EECP) which produces at least one product from at least two of the following three categories: (1) electric power (or heat), (2) fuels, and (3) chemicals using petroleum coke and ChevronTexaco's proprietary gasification technology. The objective of Phase I was to determine the feasibility and define the concept for the EECP located at a specific site; develop a Research, Development, and Testing (RD&T) Plan to mitigate technical risks and barriers; and prepare a Preliminary Project Financing Plan. The objective of Phase II is to implement the work as outlined in the Phase I RD&T Plan to enhance the development and commercial acceptance of coproduction technology. The objective of Phase III is to develop an engineering design package and a financing and testing plan for an EECP located at a specific site. The project's intended result is to provide the necessary technical, economic, and environmental information needed by industry to move the EECP forward to detailed design, construction, and operation. The partners in this project are Texaco Energy Systems LLC. (a subsidiary of ChevronTexaco), General Electric (GE), Praxair, and Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) in addition to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). ChevronTexaco is providing gasification technology and Fischer-Tropsch technology developed by Rentech, GE is providing combustion turbine technology, Praxair is providing air separation technology and KBR is providing engineering. Each of the EECP subsystems were assessed for technical risks and barriers. A plan was identified to mitigate the identified risks (Phase II RD&T Plan, October 2000). The RD&T Plan identified F-T reactor scale-up as a potential technical risk. The objective of Task 2.3 was to confirm engineering models that allow scale-up to commercial slurry phase bubble column (SPBC) reactors operating in the churn-turbulent flow regime. In developmental work outside the scope of this project, historical data, literature references, and a scale-up from a 1 1/2-in. (3.8 cm) to 6-ft (1.8 m) SPBC reactor have been reviewed. This review formed the background for developing scale-up models for a SPBC reactor operating in the churn-turbulent flow regime. The necessary fundamental physical parameters have been measured and incorporated into the mathematical catalyst/kinetic model developed from the SPBC and CSTR work outside the scope of this EECP project. The mathematical catalyst/kinetic model was used to compare to experimental data obtained at Rentech during the EECP Fischer-Tropsch Confirmation Run (Task 2.1; reported separately). The prediction of carbon monoxide (CO) conversion as a function of days on stream compares quite closely to the experimental data.