2 IRENA (2021), Reaching Zero with Renewables: Biojet fuels , International Renewable Energy Agency, Abu Dhabi. 3 Brelsford R, Oil & Gas JouRDal , May 24, 2024. www.ogj.com/ refining-processing/refining/operations/article/55039051/vertex-piv - oting-mobile-refinery-hydrocracker-back-to-conventional-from-re - newable-service LIFESPAN™, ASIT™ Asphaltene Stability Index Test, LSCI™ Lifespan Concern Index, and LIFESPAN™ blending model are marks of Baker Hughes. 4 Bousso R, Reuters, July 2, 2024. www.reuters.com/business/ energy/shell-pause-construction-dutch-biofuels-facility-2024-07-02/ 5 Bloomberg. July 7, 2024. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti - cles/2024-07-08/green-energy-the-biofuels-industry-bubble-is-de - flating?embedded-checkout=true 6 Peters M A, Tondo Alves C, Azubuike Onwudili J. 2023. A Review of Current and Emerging Production Technologies for Biomass-Derived Sustainable Aviation Fuels, Energies 16, no. 16: 6100. https://doi. org/10.3390/en16166100 Giuseppe Della Sala is a Senior Technical Advisor for the Downstream Chemicals division of Baker Hughes, specialising in fouling for more than 15 years. He is responsible for identifying on a case-by-case sce- nario, the best strategy required to eliminate or mitigate fouling in the downstream industry, conducting data analysis and oil samples char- acterisation, as well as supporting the development of future solution/ technology. He holds an MS in chemical engineering from Politecnico di Milano University. 7 Perez M J L, Nygaard G T, Verdier S, SAF production via co-process - ing in the kerosene hydrotreater, PTQ Q2 2024. https://ptqmagazines. digitalrefining.com/view/747650962/51/ 8 Gibon V, De Greyt W, De Kock J, Kellens M, Requirements and solutions for the pre-treatment of HVO feedstocks, Desmet. 2024. www.desmet. com/images/DESMET_HVO_PRETREATMENT_BROCHURE_V2.pdf 9 Egeberg R, Michaelsen N, Skyum L, Zeuthen P, Hydrotreating in the production of green diesel, PTQ Q2 2010 . Marco Respini is Senior Principal Chemist for the Downstream Chemicals division of Baker Hughes with more than 25 years of expe- rience in crude oil chemistry, process modelling, and asphaltenes. He is the author of 20 journal and conference papers and an inventor of 12 patents in the area of fouling control and renewables. He was pre- viously a Research Fellow at Milan University in the field of organo - metallic catalysis and is a member of the American Chemical Society. Ben Morgan is the Global Refining Leader for the Downstream Chemicals division of Baker Hughes, specialising in refinery process chemical applications to enhance performance and equipment reliabil- ity. He has more than 17 years of experience in the oil and gas industry and is currently involved in crude flexibility, technical support, and trou - bleshooting of refinery desalting, corrosion, and antifoulant issues. He holds a PhD in organic chemistry and biocatalysis from University of Liverpool. He is currently a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry and Chartered Chemist. Email: ben.morgan@bakerhughes.com 10 Honeywell UOP, December 2023. https://uop.honeywell.com/con - tent/dam/uop/en-us/documents/industry-solutions/renewable-fuels/ Honeywell-UOP-Co-Processing-Technologies-web-brochure-final.pdf Woody Shiflett is the founder of Blue Ridge Consulting LLC, specialis - ing in chemical engineering, inorganic chemistry and green chemistry, specifically dealing with hydroprocessing catalysis and process solu - tions. Shiflett holds a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Email: blueridgeconsulting2020@outlook.com emissions, as shown in Table 2 , resulted in a net saving of circa €2.7 million a year (the calculation includes the cost of Baker Hughes Lifespan service and antifoulant treatment).
will enjoy the benefit. While SAF costs are multiples of cur - rent jet fuel prices, their low percentage usage will have minimal impact on the cost of air travel. However, as SAF volumes grow, the willingness of air travellers to accept air - fare increases could be tested. At what point do traveller costs override willingness to pay for SAF? • The role of Chinese production could introduce another variable further down the road. European oversupply of BD, for example, was largely a consequence of 90% of China’s BD exports being sold into Europe at alleged dumping prices, likely resulting in EU tariffs of up to 36.4%. The potential for this in SAF is possible in the future, but current information suggests that Chinese SAF production will be only about 1 million mt per year (1.3 billion litres/year) by the end of 2025, some 2.5% of Chinese annual jet demand. • Some biojet technologies offer lower risk entry (and exit) opportunities than others. As described earlier, co-process - ing in refining units can be a low capital approach, albeit lower volume, to enter the SAF business and can be easily terminated as markets dictate. Even complete revamps of refinery units to produce renewables can revert to fos - sil fuel production during poor renewables economics, as Vertex Energy has done in Alabama with its hydrocracker.3 As a final observation, stakeholders with refining assets, particularly idled or underutilised hydroprocessing, could very well investigate the ‘maybe’ potential for SAF production. References 1 Renewables 2023. IEA. International Energy Agency. www.iea.org/ reports/renewables-2023/transport-biofuels Baker Hughes and RAM calculated the following impacts of fouling with and without treatments using the previously determined NFIT on fuel gas consumption and CO₂ emis - sions on a yearly basis, with a unit feed rate of 800 tons/h (see Figure 6 ). The difference in fuel gas consumption and CO₂ x KETJEN Renewables POSTER_210mmx146mm.pdf 1 4/30/24 3:29 PM Figure 6 Cumulative extra fuel gas due to preheat fouling NFIT 250 300 350 400 0 50 100 150 200 Days of run 3 , 000 , 000 . 00 2 , 500 , 000 . 00 2 , 000 , 000 . 00 1 , 500 , 000 . 00 500 , 000 . 00 1 , 000 , 000 . 00 - 1.82˚C/month 0.40˚C/month day with WTI processing and without the Baker Hughes antifoulant was estimated (1.82°C/month) – a figure that was extremely reasonable from the RAM experience. The decay with the antifoulant program, with dosing rates optimised by the LSCI index, resulted in an NFIT decay of 0.013°C/day (0.40°C/month) – a 78% reduction of the foul- ing impact compared to the base case. Economics
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