Biomethanol plant - Netherlands
Lowest NOx emissions realized for Biomethanol plant
The challenge
Superheated steam at a temperature between 320˚C and 515˚C is needed for a new glycerol reforming plant. To meet this need, Stork engineered and supplied two direct-fired superheaters in which saturated steam is superheated to the required temperature. Availability and turn-down ratio are very high.
Customer profile
The customer is the first company in the world to produce and sell industrial quantities of high-quality biomethanol, a new-generation biofuel. The process converts crude glycerine, a residue from biodiesel production, into biomethanol.
Solution
The system uses a natural gas-fired superheater equipped with a 15 MW Stork Ultra Low NOx Impulse burner combined with a flue-gas recirculation system. To improve system efficiency the combustion air is preheated to 400˚C, increasing the efficiency by approximately 20% compared with a system without air preheating. Even under these difficult conditions the emissions are kept to an absolute minimum. Stork completed this turnkey project including execution with engineering, procurement, in-house production site erection and commissioning of:
- Stork OEM superheaters
- Stork OEM Impulse burners
- Air preheater
- Auxiliary equipment
- Control system
Results & benefits
- Steam flow of 100 t/hr
- Continuous temperature adjustment between 320˚C and 515˚C
- High reliability and availability
- Turndown ratio of 1:50
- NOx < 40 mg/Nm3, even at an air temperature of 400˚C
- CO < 5 mg/Nm3