Spotlight

BDI-BioEnergy International began engineering waste oil-processing biodiesel plants in the mid-1990s. Since then, the company has gained a wide range of experience in the specialization of the handling of waste oils and their unique properties, leading to numerous process and design adaptions. Biologic crude oils and fats contaminant variation is much higher compared to fossil crude oil. Due to degradation processes, this variation is even higher for waste oils with biological origin. Furthermore, sticky and gluey properties of waste oils increase with progressing degradation. This goes along with fouling and deposits within the pipes and the equipment. Special design for equipment (e.g., heat exchangers) not only mitigates fouling and enables easy cleaning, but also ensures a stable process with a certain tolerance to fouling. Subsequently, this design optimization decreases downtime and increases availability of the overall plant.

Modular Concept, High Yield

The modular approach of BDI PreTreatment allows adaptation to customers’ requirements in view of feedstock and product properties. BDI is committed to finding the best solution for each individual request. The core technology of the BDI PrePurification unit—the first processing stage—is based on a special type of centrifuge, a tech- nology that was introduced 1998, the result of collaboration between BDI and the centrifuge supplier. The companies working in tandem resulted in various improvements of the machine. As for how it works, the centrifuge enables a solids release with a very low oil content. The solids are dried before being discharged, and therefore, the oil can be reduced to a maximum of 60% of the solids content within this process step. This results in a higher yield of about 0.5 to 1% compared to other technologies. Using a robust horizontal centrifuge in the first process step addresses the difficult properties of waste oils. While sticky and gluey substances combined with solids tend to plug the very small gaps in disc stack centrifuges, they can be handled and discharged quite well in the horizontal centrifuge. This directly impacts downtime and availability of the plant. Due to the centrifuge’s special design for waste oils drawn from BDI’s many years in waste oil processing, as well as the implemented robust technology, excessive down-time for cleaning procedures can be avoided and the availability of the plant can be kept on a high level.

Flexible Plant Operation, Analytical Management

Changes in the future regarding feedstock properties and composition may require adjustments to the operation mode. With BDI Advanced PreTreatment, operation modes can be adapted, and parameters adjusted easily without the requirement of programmers or experts. BDI will train the concept of adjusting certain operating parameters based on analytical results of feedstock, intermediate and product samples. This method is the key skill to keep a high product quality despite changing feedstock parameters.

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