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Fig. 2 - VESTA pilot tests the plant operation, as well as the catalyst
plant in Nanjing, performance, has been perfectly in line with the
China, and pilot plant expected data. The VESTA pilot plant and reactors are
methanation reactors
shown in figure 2.
VESTA technology is based only on well-proven
equipment, i.e. fixed bed reactors and shell and tube
heat exchangers, and the catalyst, which is a nickel-
based catalyst, has already been extensively tested by
Clariant, which has significant experience with the
production of many commercial nickel-based catalysts.
The chemistry of this catalyst has been optimised to
meet the high quality standards demanded by the new
application. The methanation catalyst used in the
VESTA process proven in Nanjing is a newly developed
catalyst and exclusively available for the Wood/Clariant
VESTA cooperation and its Customers [8].
Plants based on VESTA technology allow the
production, in a single train, of 2 billion Nm /year of
3
SNG, which is the standard commercial size plant for
the Chinese market.

Biomass-to-SNG
supplier, and Wison Engineering to build a pilot plant in The ever-increasing demand for alternative fuels, also
China demonstrating the VESTA SNG technology [7]. boosted by local and European regulations, has added
The pilot plant, erected in Nanjing, is designed for a value to the multipurpose and multiscale applicability of
production capacity of 100 Nm /h of SNG and includes VESTA technology in the low carbon economy. The
3
all the reactors and control system in order to renewable Green-SNG production can help in reducing
completely reproduce the features of an industrial the carbon impact of systems like residential heating
plant. Two test campaigns were successfully carried and also transportation by using compressed SNG,
Fig. 3 - Biomass out in 2014 and 2015/2016 to demonstrate a which is a clean and low carbon alternative to
Gasification to SNG continuous operation at 100% SNG production conventional natural gas and can be transported and
block flow diagram achieving the Chinese natural gas grid specification, distributed using the same grid infrastructure.
and to test different operating parameters. In all the As well as in all methanation processes, syngas (mainly

IndustrIal Plants - May 2018
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