Honeywell UOP Research Articles

Impact of feed variability on cesium removal with multiple actual waste samples from the Hanford site

ABSTRACT The Tank Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) system, under development by Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), will send initial low-activity Hanford waste tank supernate feeds to the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility. In addition to entrained solids removal from the supernate, the primary goal of TSCR is to remove cesium-137 (137Cs) by ion exchange, allowing contact handling of the liquid effluent product at WTP. Crystalline silicotitanate (CST) ion exchange media, manufactured by Honeywell UOP (product IONSIV™ R9140-B), was selected as the ion exchange media at TSCR. This lot of material was found to have superior performance in comparison to historic batches of CST. Ion exchange column and batch contact testing with supernate from Hanford tanks AP-105, AP-107 and AW-102 was performed to assess the impact of feed variability on system performance. These tests demonstrated that batch contact measurements provide a reasonable prediction of column capacities with some deviation in performance attributed to column dynamics. In addition, the variability in CST capacity for cesium in the various actual waste samples does not track with historical understanding of the competing cations, suggesting that tank waste samples contain other components that may significantly impact cesium loading.

Alkylation with ionic liquids spreads

Honeywell UOP says a second US refinery is adopting ionic liquid-based alkylation. Big West Oil will install the technology, developed by Chevron and licensed by Honeywell, at its North Salt Lake City, Utah, refinery to replace alkylation based on hydrofluoric acid. Earlier this year , Chevron became the first company to use the process, also in a Utah refinery. Honeywell says the ionic liquid-based process offers safety advantages over acid-based processes.

Insight into ion exchange column dynamics through application of an analytical model of system performance

ABSTRACT The Direct Feed Low-Activity Waste flowsheet provides for the early production of immobilized low-activity waste (LAW) by feeding waste directly from Hanford tank farms to the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) for vitrification. Prior to the transfer of feed to the WTP LAW Vitrification Facility, tank waste supernatant will be pretreated by the Tank Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) system to meet the WTP LAW waste acceptance criteria (<3.18E-5 Ci 137Cs/mole of Na). This pretreatment will remove cesium from the waste stream using ion exchange (IX). The selected media for IX is crystalline silicotitanate (CST), product number IONSIV-R9140-B, manufactured by Honeywell UOP LLC (Des Plaines, IL). Testing was conducted to improve the understanding of the parameters that impact dynamic ion-exchange performance and to better define IX processing using Low-Activity Waste Pretreatment System (LAWPS) prototypic IX unit operations. Column testing at full height scale was conducted to gain insight into ion-exchange column dynamics and evaluate the application of an analytical model on system performance. Nominal process conditions used 5.6 M Na simulant processed in a lead/lag column format containing 1.15 L 18 × 15 mesh CST in 2.54-cm-diameter columns, 226 cm tall CST beds. Two process flowrates were tested: 1.30 and 1.82 bed volumes (BV) per hour. This work demonstrated that an analytical method can provide a reasonable estimate of the expected performance within the bounds of the assumptions employed for the analytical solution.

Pertamina to use Honeywell UOP technology for advanced fuels

Pertamina to use Honeywell UOP technology for advanced fuels

Total to use Honeywell UOP technology to produce renewable jet fuel and diesel at its zero-crude platform in France.

Total to use Honeywell UOP technology to produce renewable jet fuel and diesel at its zero-crude platform in France.

Honeywell UOP's Isoalky technology chosen for Sinochem Hongrun's Chinese refinery

Honeywell UOP's Isoalky technology chosen for Sinochem Hongrun's Chinese refinery

Petron to use Honeywell UOP technologies to increase Limay aromatics production

The ionic liquids (ILs) have been widely studied as potential replacements of conventional solvents in the extraction of aromatic hydrocarbons from alkanes. However, most of the literature is focused in obtaining liquid-liquid equilibria experimental data without studying the complete extraction and IL regeneration process. In this paper, a computer-aided methodology combining COSMO-based molecular simulations and Aspen Plus process simulations has been used to study the extraction process of aromatic hydrocarbons from pyrolysis gasoline employing a binary mixture of 1-ethyl-4-methylpyridinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([4empy][NTf2]) and the 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide ([emim][DCA]) ILs as solvent. An extensive comparison (more than 600 points) between experimental data and the predictions obtained by the COSMO-based thermodynamic model of liquid–liquid and vapor–liquid equilibria and ILs physical properties was made for validation purposes. Process simulations were performed in three system configurations: with one, two, or three flash distillations in the IL recovery section. The potential advantage of using binary IL-IL mixture as extracting solvent was studied in the whole range of composition. The configuration with three flash distillations and the binary IL-IL mixture with a 75% of [4empy][NTf2] were selected as the optimal conditions to increase aromatic recovery and purity, improving the separation performance respect to the neat ILs.

Fuji Oil using new Honeywell UOP catalyst to increase production of aromatics

Fuji Oil using new Honeywell UOP catalyst to increase production of aromatics

Jizzakh Petroleum to build new refinery in Uzbekistan with technology from Honeywell UOP

The first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) report in Brazil occurs by the end of February, and 4 months later, there was more than 1 million infected patients and 54,971 deaths.The health-care system in Brazil is universal, meaning that all inhabitants are covered by the Unified Health Care System, and 20% of Brazilian citizens are covered by private health-care insurances. In this scenario, the government adopted some actions to combat the pandemics, including guidelines for COVID-19 prevention and management, allocation of funds to support primary care, extension of medical services in primary health units, increase in the number of health-care professionals, distribution of COVID-19 tests, use of telemedicine to monitor patients with flu-like symptoms, and teleconsulting with psychiatrist and psychologists.Since the pandemic offers a unique opportunity for research and management in Brazil, a coalition initiative conducted several therapeutic trials in search of safe treatments for patients with COVID-19. Other issue in this field was the organization of health system, both in private and public organizations.

Fuji Oil using new Honeywell UOP catalyst to increase production of aromatics

The chemical looping strategy for hydrogen production (CLH2) offers a potentially viable option for efficient fuel conversion to hydrogen with the simultaneous capture of CO2. Typically, this process uses an iron-based composite as an oxygen carrier and syngas or methane as a fuel. The environmental and economic concerns motivate the use of abundant by-product iron oxide and the industrial off-gas for CLH2. Here we showed that H2 could be simply recovered from the industrial off-gas in a circulating fluidized bed with a mixture of the inexpensive raw material of by-product iron oxide and sand particle. The fluidization of the by-product iron oxide powder, which showed poor fluidization behavior, is improved by adding 60 vol% of sand particle. The industrial off-gas was completely converted to CO2 and H2O in a two-stage fluidized mode with a solid reactant of Fe2O3 of the binary particles, and then H2 was produced by oxidizing the reduced by-product iron oxide powder with steam. The binary particles showed consistent catalytic activity under multiple redox cycles by providing macropores with a size of ∼5 μm which facilitated gas diffusion. These findings provided valuable information for the future development of CLH2 based on by-products.

Hierarchical Porous Silicon and Porous Silicon Nanowires Produced with Regenerative Electroless Etching (ReEtching) and Metal Assisted Catalytic Etching (MACE)

Regenerative electroless etching (ReEtching) [1] is a method of producing nanostructured semiconductors in which, e.g., dissolved V2O5 is used as a catalytic agent to facilitate etching between Si and H2O2. H2O2 regenerates dissolved V in a 5+ oxidation state, which is capable of initiating etching by injecting holes into the Si valence band. The enhanced control over the extent of reaction (controlled by the amount of H2O2 added) and the rate of reaction (controlled by the rate at which H2O2 is pumped into the etchant solution) allows us to porosify Si substrates of arbitrary size, shape and doping, including wafers, single-crystal powders, polycrystalline powders, metallurgical grade powder, Si nanowires (SiNW), Si pillars and Si powders that have been textured with metal assisted catalytic etching (MACE). The use of acetic acid as a surfactant during ReEtching greatly enhances the product yield, reduces foaming and improves homogeneity. Hierarchical Si nanostructures containing pores within pores are produced by etching porous Si powder made by pulverization of an anodized wafer or Si nanowires. We call this material ReEtched anodized porous silicon or RaPSi. ReEtching of metallurgical grade powder represents an inexpensive method of producing porous silicon powders with tortuous ~3 nm pores that is scalable to large quantities for use in applications such as lithium ion batteries (LIB) and drug delivery. Mesoporous Si or SiNW that were nonluminescent after formation can be ReEtched to produce brilliantly photoluminescent powder with extremely high specific surface area. We measured specific surface areas over 400 m2 g–1 from metallurgical grade powder and as high as 888 m2 g–1 when ReEtching anodized porous powder. ReEtching allowed the etching of porous layers > 20 µm thick. Depending on the etching and drying conditions, such layers can result in the formation of amorphous silicon pillars that are > 1 µm in height. PL bands from blue to red have been observed. PL in the red to near IR is extremely long lived, exhibiting multi-exponential decay with lifetime components in excess of 100 µs. Such long-lived PL from Si nanoparticles is promising for bioimaging applications in which image acquisition is delayed after the initial photoexcitation. We have developed a model to describe the crystallographic dependence of MACE. This model allows us to estimate the temperature dependence of the MACE etch rate, formation energy of a pore and, by extension, the preferred structure of SiNW produced by MACE. Calculations of electrostatic and van der Waals forces reveal that a strong attractive force pins the catalytic nanoparticle to the Si surface throughout the etch process. *E-mail: kkolasinski@wcupa.edu ‡Current address: Advanced Characterization Dept., Honeywell UOP, Des Plaines, IL 60017 [1] K. W. Kolasinski, N. J. Gimbar, H. Yu, M. Aindow, E. Mäkilä, J. Salonen, Regenerative Electroless Etching of Silicon, Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. Engl. 2017, 55, 624-627. Figure 1 (a) Secondary electron (SE) scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image of focused ion beam (FIB)-sectioned ~4 μm powder etched in V2O5 + H2O2 + HF reveals that the particle is porosified to the core. Selected area diffraction pattern (inset) reveals the porosified region to be crystalline. (b) Bright field transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image of ReEtched anodized porous Si (RaPSi) powder reveals that highly tortuous ~3 nm pores have been introduced into the walls of 17 nm mesopores. (c) TEM image reveals that a SiNW cleaved by sonication from a MACE etched metallurgical grade Si powder particle is mesoporous with pore diameters up to ~15 nm prior to ReEtching. ReEtching transforms such mesoporous SiNW into a strongly visibly luminescent material. Figure 1

Honeywell UOP opens production line for coal-to-chemicals catalysts in China

Honeywell UOP opens production line for coal-to-chemicals catalysts in China

Jiangsu Sailboat accepts world's largest single-train coal-to-chemicals plant from Honeywell UOP

Jiangsu Sailboat accepts world's largest single-train coal-to-chemicals plant from Honeywell UOP

Honeywell UOP starts production in China at new MTO catalysts production line

Objective: In the glucagon stimulation test (GST), the occurrence of peak growth hormone (GH) levels at typical times is an indication of normal secretion. This has not been studied for the clonidine stimulation test (CST). The 120-minute time is rarely the peak, and previous reports suggest it can be omitted. This study aimed to evaluate the meaning and utility of peak time in the CST and the significance of shortening the test.Methods: CSTs performed on 250 consecutive subjects in a single center were evaluated for results (GH sufficient or deficient) and result of confirmatory GST with respect to the peak time of the CST.Results: Peak GH occurred typically at 30, 60, and 90 minutes (91.6% of tests, versus 60% expected) (P<.001). A total of 132 of 155 (85.15%) sufficient tests occurred at typical times, versus 66 of 97 (68%) deficient tests (P<.05). Typicality of timing did not follow in the confirmatory GST and did not predict the final result of testing. Removal of the 120-minute sample affected the final result in 0.4% of evaluations.Conclusion: The timing of the GH peak is not useful when interpreting the CST. The CST is equally effective when terminated at 90 minutes from stimulation.Abbreviations:AST = arginine stimulation testCST = clonidine stimulation testGH = growth hormoneGST = glucagon stimulation test

Honeywell UOP providing hydrotreating catalysts to produce ultra-low sulfur diesel in Ukraine

A growing dependence on heavy feedstocks has emerged as a result of continuing decreasing availability of conventional crude oil. Refiners must, therefore, continue to remove substantial portions of sulfur from the lighter products so that the final products meet specifications. However, heavy feedstocks, heavy crude oil, and tar sand bitumen pose a particularly difficult problem in terms of the propensity of these feedstocks to form coke and to shorten catalyst life. Catalytic hydrotreating is also seeing increasing use prior to catalytic cracking to reduce sulfur and improve product yields and to upgrade middle-distillate petroleum fractions into finished kerosene, diesel fuel, and heating fuel oils.This chapter introduces the reader to the concept of hydrotreating of heavy feedstocks, which requires considerably different catalysts and process flows, depending on the specific operation so that efficient hydroconversion through uniform distribution of liquid, hydrogen-rich gas, and catalyst across the reactor is assured.

Honeywell UOP to help ENAP refinery in Chile produce cleaner-burning fuels

Honeywell UOP to help ENAP refinery in Chile produce cleaner-burning fuels

Honeywell UOP plans new centre in China for research, development & engineering

Honeywell UOP plans new centre in China for research, development & engineering

Wison Engineering to collaborate with Honeywell UOP on international methanol to olefins projects

Wison Engineering to collaborate with Honeywell UOP on international methanol to olefins projects

China's Yantai Wanhua opts for Honeywell UOP's technology for propane dehydrogenation unit

China's Yantai Wanhua opts for Honeywell UOP's technology for propane dehydrogenation unit

HPCL to use Honeywell UOP technology to meet rising domestic demand for clean fuels

HPCL to use Honeywell UOP technology to meet rising domestic demand for clean fuels