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Title:
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HEX-reactor applications in The Netherlands
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Author(s):
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Published by:
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Publication date:
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ECN
Energy Efficiency in Industry
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1-1-2003
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ECN report number:
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Document type:
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ECN-C--03-015
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ECN publication
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Number of pages:
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Full text:
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31
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Download PDF
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Abstract:
The HEX reactor (heat exchanger reactor), which combines a chemicalreactor and heat exchanger in one compact unit, has not found significant
application in industry, despite many potential advantages including
energy savings. In the current project the objectives were:
?h To identify two promising applications for demonstration projects
in the short term.
?h To make a broad inventory of applications covering all types of processes
from which two will be selected for longer-term development.
The search for a demonstration project was focussed on processes with
exothermic liquid-phase reactions without heterogeneous catalysis. Energy
savings for this application are probably 2-8 PJ/y (in the Netherlands).
Detailed evaluations were made for two promising processes, which were
selected: a polymerisation and an oxidation process. Application of
HEX reactors to the selected polymerisation process was judged to be
not suitable for a short-term demonstration project, and the potential
savings were estimated to be less than about 0.25 PJ/y (in NL). For
the selected oxidation process, simulations of one plant showed potential
energy savings of about 0.6 PJ/y as well as other advantages, such as
improved product yield. In view of the high repetition potential for
other oxidation processes, this could be an interesting demonstration
project.
In the broad inventory, twenty-two HEX-reactor applications were identified,
with total energy savings, which could amount to 20 PJ/y (in NL). Detailed
evaluations were done for two large-scale processes with heterogeneously
catalysed gas-phase reactions. For the first process, energy savings
are estimated to amount to about 2 PJ/y (in NL), but the commercial
potential is judged to be small. For the second process, energy savings
are up to 4.2 PJ/y (in NL), possibly together with cost savings, and
this could be of interest for long-term development.
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