Page 35 - Industrial Plants

development and deployment. this chemical process can be “In addition to the available
As the availability of bio-derived SAF is limited, since carried out in very small technologies, ‘Short contact
agricultural areas should be dedicated to food reactors having a very high time catalytic partial oxidation’
production, the main contribution to SAF/e-fuel flexibility towards reactant (SCT-CPO) represents the most
production in the future will have to come from the types and flow variations. innovative one, based on a
production of synthetic fuels, which is processed in It has also been found that very fast catalytic reaction
two-steps: several hydrocarbon that allows contact times
• the generation of synthesis gas, possibly from feedstocks, even containing between reagents 10,000 –
low-carbon feedstocks (like methane, waste sulphur and aromatic 50,000 times shorter than
gases, etc.) integrating also renewable hydrogen compounds, can be fed to a the ones of traditional
and captured CO ; 2 SCT-CPO reactor for catalytic processes for
• a fuel synthesis section, where synthesis gas is producing synthesis gas. the production of hydrogen
transformed into a synthetic liquid fuel, equivalent A long-term R&D effort is
to traditional fossil fuels; Liquid methanol from driving towards the
methanol synthesis (2) and Liquid hydrocarbons industrialization phase of a technology whose main
from Fischer-Tropsch synthesis are the main advantages concern:
options. • Reduction of investment costs and energy
Currently, SAF production is energy and capital consumption;
intensive and to support the required learning curve for • Reduction of overall CO production and
2
the 2050 targets, it is necessary to invest in scaling up possibility of an almost complete CO capture for
2
production technologies to industrial maturity that may the generation of Blue Hydrogen;
leverage on largely available feedstocks with high • Flexibility towards feedstock composition &
efficiency and minimum CO emission. production capacity.
2
“Several hydrocarbon feedstocks,
even containing sulphur and aromatic
SCT-CPO: an innovative, compounds, can be fed to a SCT-CPO
scalable and low carbon reactor for producing synthesis gas

emission process Leveraging on multidisciplinary engineering capabilities
and 30 years of experience in integrating technologies
The most utilized synthesis gas production processes and systems in compact layout and robust design for
are: offshore operations, Fores Engineering (Fores) has
• Steam reforming (SR); contributed to the industrial scale-up of the innovative
• Partial oxidation (Pox); CPO technology with 3 different plant references
• Autothermal reforming (ATR). (designed, built and commissioned), each one
In addition to the available listed technologies, “Short addressing different challenges:
contact time catalytic partial oxidation” (SCT-CPO) • Small dimensions with technical and operational
represents the most innovative one, based on a very simplicity;
fast catalytic reaction that allows contact times • Possibility of modular construction of prefabricated
between reagents (hydrocarbon, steam, air/oxygen) and skid-mounted units;
10.000 – 50.000 times shorter than the ones of • Specific tailor-made design solutions (Mega
traditional catalytic processes for the production of Syngascooler) on large industrial scale
hydrogen. The fast and selective chemistry of the applications.
process is confined inside a thin (<1 mm) solid–gas
inter-phase zone surrounding the catalyst particles;
here, the gas molecules spend a limited time (10-6
seconds) at temperatures variable between 600 – The first pilot plant with SCT-CPO
1200° C, while avoiding the propagation of reactions technology for the production of
into the gas phase, that has to remain at a “relatively
low” temperature. hydrogen (Milazzo 2004/ 2005)
This condition favours the formation of primary reaction
products (namely CO and H2) inhibiting chain reactions. Fores has successfully accomplished the design and
Moreover, the very high catalytic surface temperatures construction of a first pilot plant through a Lump Sum
inhibit its deactivation phenomena related to chemical Turnkey (LSTK) contract, starting from a conceptual
poisoning effects. For these and other related reasons, engineering developed by ENI (client & IP owner of the

IndustrIal Plants - May 2024
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