BlueDiesel Technology

BlueDiesel biodiesel plants comprise:

• A base catalysed high pressure high temperature continuous tubular reactor
• Centrifugal phase separation
• Vacuum flash methanol recovery from biodiesel and glycerine
• A solid resin adsorption ‘wash’ of the biodiesel
• A solid-acid catalysed free fatty acid (FFA) reducing pre-treatment module, if required

BlueDiesel’s proprietary technology specifically relates to the tubular reactor and the associated Pressure Reduction Device. We have overcome the issues normally associated with high pressure high temperature tubular reactors:

• Stratification of immiscible materials in the reactor is prevented by using patented mixing devices throughout the reactor length
• Irreversible emulsification of the products is avoided by using our patented Pressure Reduction Device (PRD) at the outlet of the reactor when the pressure is dropped to atmospheric level.

The benefits of this technology are:

• The capital cost of the plant is considerably reduced. Based on published costs for current conventional plants and our own cost estimates, the CAPEX savings should exceed 50%.
• The operating costs are reduced, due to decreased power requirements. A conventional plant uses more power in mixing alone than our plant uses all-up.
• The inventory of liquids in the reactor is lower, by two orders of magnitude. This is an important safety feature, since the liquids are highly flammable.
• The complexity of the plant is reduced, due to high conversion efficiency in one reaction step.
• The size of the plant is reduced, with container-sized shipping options possible.

Download the detailed white paper on the benefits of the Blue Diesel Technology.

Download the Process Diagrams comparing BlueDiesel’s process with conventional processes.