International Process Plants

Stock #600497

Fatty Acid Plant

120,000 MTPY

Visit us at: www.ippe.com

Brief Overview
Capacity: 120,000 metric tons/year

Technology: Free and Clear to Practice Worldwide

Utilities: Electricity, Steam, Water and Fuel Gas

Year Built: 1980

Shutdown: 2009
Product: Split Fatty Acids
Raw Materials: Animal Fat and Vegetable Oil
Key Points
The Glycerine Purification Section was Added in 2003.

Process control systems and programming are completely up-to-date and are
available for sale with the facility. They are Siemens PCS7 and Fisher-Provox
systems.

The Fatty Acid Plant Includes the Following Units:

(3) Fat Splitting (Hydrolysis) Columns: 5 or 6 metric tons/hr each of fat input
(depending on product such as tallow or vegetable oil)
(1) Luwa Glycerine Distillation Unit: 2 metric tons/hr (may be purchased on its own)
(2) Fatty Acid Vacuum Distillation Units: 21 metric tons/hr total
(1) Fat Separation Unit (wet process): 7 metric tons/hr
(1) Fat Batch Hardening (Hydrogenation) Unit: 15 metric tons, batch cap.
(1) Drum/IBC Filling Unit: 5.5 metric tons/hr
(1) Flaking and Bagging Unit: 3.3 metric tons/hr

This plant is designed to use the following vegetable oils: coconut oil, palm
kernel oil, palm oil and soya bean oil. It can also use (3) grades of tallow: grades
2, 4 and 6
Major Equipment
(3) Splitting Columns
1.1 m diameter x 27 m tall, 316LSS clad, 850 psig @ 288C.

Kestner 4-Stage Evaporator: 5,600 lbs/hr product (22,400 lbs/hr feed)

Feed specifications : Steam Consumption:
treated glycerine sweetwater Calandria C-1: 4,230 lbs/hr @ 20 psig
Flow rate: 22,400 lbs/hr Pre-heater E-2: 310 lbs/hr @ 20 psig
Glycerine: 10% w/w
Fats/fatty acids: 2% w/w max Cooling Water Consumption:
Fats/suspended solids: 0.5% max Condenser: 280 gpm @ 14.4 C
Feed temp: 90oC Vacuum pump: 15 gpm @ 15.4C
Specific gravity: 0.95 approx
Viscosity: 0.4 c.p Dimensions:
1st effect: 14" (dia) x 20' (h), 316SS,
Product Specifications: 2nd effect: 21 (dia) x 20' (h), 316SS
Flow rate: 5,600 lbs/hr 3rd effect: 23 " (dia) x 20' (h), 316SS
Glycerine: 40% w/w 4th effect: 27" (dia) x 20' (h), 316SS
Product temp: 48C Pre-heater: 16" (dia) x 20' (h), 316SS
Specific gravity: 1.076
Viscocity : 1.4 c.p
Unit Overview

Splitting
Columns
Splitting Columns 1
PROCESS DESCRIPTION

The splitting columns take animal fats or vegetable oils and produce split fatty
acids and glycerine. The hydrolysis process works at high temperatures and
pressure. Filtered and heated fat is pumped to the bottom of the column and
hot water is pumped to the top. Fat is less dense than water so it rises and water
falls creating a counter-current process. Split fatty acid is drawn off the bottom
of the splitting columns and sweetwater (dilute glycerine water) is drawn off the
top.

Fat and hot water is pumped to the column using a heavy-duty, high-pressure
Aldrich pump operating above 750 psig. The fat is first pumped through an
economizer exchanger to heat it up to 92C. The heat for the economizers
comes from the sweetwater flash drums, which are covered later in this report.
There are separate feed pumps and exchangers for all three columns.
Splitting Columns 2
The sweetwater moves to the Kestner 4-stage evaporator where the glycerine
concentration is taken from 12% to 40%. This unit is designed to handle 22,400
lbs/hr of 10% glycerine in water with up to 2% fats/fatty acids and up to 0.5%
suspended solids. This equates to approximately 0.95 specific gravity and 0.4
centipoise viscosity at the designed 90C feed temperature. The final product
design flow rate is 5,600 lbs/hr.

In the pre-treatment area of the process, sulfuric acid is added to the

concentrated stream to remove the last bit of fat. After separation, the stream is
neutralized with lime, and filter aid is added prior to going through the plate and
frame filter. From there it proceeds to the glycerine distillation section of the
plant. The fatty acids from the top of the splitter contain primarily oleic and
stearic acids. This stream goes to the fatty acids distillation section of the plant,
which is outlined later in this report.
Splitting Columns 3
This facility takes tallow from local rendering plants and converts it into fatty
acids and glycerine. There are three splitting columns which are used to
separate the oils and fats. The columns run at 750 psig and about 250C. Live
1,500 psig steam at is fed into the bottom of the splitting column, which drives
most of the fatty acids overhead. Glycerine accumulates in the bottom in a
solution called sweetwater (12% glycerine in water). A chemical flocculent
called Zeetag is injected to assist in the separation. There are six flash drums
following the three columns, one for each column overhead and bottom stream.
The overhead flash vessels have three compartments. The entry compartment is
where the steam and any volatile liquids flash. The large side or separator
compartment is where the water and fatty acid separates. The small side
compartment is formed by a weir, and this is where the fatty acid collects. The
bottom flash vessels are identical to the overhead flash vessels except that they
have no steam coils
Splitting Columns 4
Unit Overview

Glycerine
Purification
Glycerine Purification 1
PROCESS DESCRIPTION

The Glycerine Purification Plant refines soap lye crude and splitters crude to
produce glycerine with a high level of purity. These raw materials contain
glycerine along with salt, water, and numerous other impurities. The process
consists of a dryer to remove moisture, a Luwa evaporator where high
temperature and vacuum remove most of the salt, a condenser to collect the
glycerine, a bleaching column to remove color and odors, and a final evaporator
to reduce the moisture content. The final glycerine product is 99.7% pure with
less than 2 ppm chlorides.

The raw material soap lye crude and splitters crude are blended together
typically in an 80:20 ratio. The blended feedstock must meet the following
general specifications: 80-90% glycerine, 10% water, an Ash/MONG ratio of 4:1,
and less than 0.1% free alkalinity as Na2O.

The pre-heater is a shell and tube exchanger operating at 105C using 4 bar
steam for heat. The flash dryer operates at 105C and 45 mbar which reduces
the water content to less than 1.5%. The pre-heater and flash dryer have a very
high recycle flow rate of 40 m/hr.
Glycerine Purification 2
The dried product then proceeds to the Luwa wiped-film evaporator which
operates at 156C and the very high vacuum of 4 mbar. The steam jacketed Luwa
has a glycerine/water mixture recirculated to the rotor seal and nitrogen for
cooling the bottom bearing. There is a complete spare rotor for the Luwa. The
glycerine evaporates as the salt and other impurities slowly fall downward. The
salt is discharged via the salt egg using the air lock created with two slide
valves. The salt is eventually dissolved in water and sent out as a waste. Luwa
Evaporator Structure

The glycerine vapor passed through a disentrainment vessel and on to the

condensing column. The disentrainment vessel is baffled and packed to remove
any entrained salt or high-boiling impurities. The condensing column contains
three condensers operating at successively lower temperatures. They operate at
127, 101, and finally at 30C.

The cool glycerine is then passed through one of the carbon bleachers where
color and odor are removed. The carbon bleachers have 25 m capacity and
utilize 54 filter nozzles in the bottom cone to keep the carbon in the vessel. Each
filter nozzle has 20 plates which are 1 mm thick. There are two sets of Pall
cartridge filters following the carbon bleachers to catch any carbon that escapes.
Glycerine Purification 3
The glycerine product then proceeds through two heat exchangers operating
with 4 bar steam. The product is heated to 130C before going to the steam
stripper which also operates with 4 bar steam. The stripper is under 4 mbar of
vacuum, as is the final evaporator. The final evaporator is a wiped-film unit
similar to but smaller than the Luwa. It operates at 130C and removes the
water down to less than 0.5%. The final product is then cooled, filtered, and sent
to storage.

The vacuum for these units is supplied in two stages. Vacuum pumps take the
process down to 40-60 mbar. Vacuum ejectors driven with 1.5 bar steam supply
the lower vacuum pressures down to 2-3 mbar.

Process control systems and programming are completely up-to-date and are for
sale with the facility. This unit uses the Siemens PCS7 system, which was
installed in the 1980s but has been periodically updated. Promace is used as the
process information management system (PIMS).
Glycerine Purification 4
EQUIPMENT

Pre-Drier: 1.2m (dia) x 4.9m (h), 316LSS, 5.2 barg/FV @ 160C.

Condensing Column: 2.0m (dia) x 10.4m (h), 316SS, 1/-1 barg/FV @ 160C.

Stripping Column: 0.8m (dia) x 5m (h), 316Ti SS, 1/-1 barg/FV @ 200C.

Luwa Evaporator (item 561-V0910): Buss SMS large wiped film evaporator, 18m2,
316Ti SS, type CP 1800, built in 1987.
Internal operating pressure; -1 barg @ 250C, 8,635 ltr
Jacket 1 operating pressure; 40 bar @ 250C, 120 ltr
Jacket 2 operating pressure; 40 bar @ 250C, 120 ltr
Jacket 3 operating pressure; 15 bar @ 200C, 8 ltr
1.2 m (dia) x 5 m (straight side)
Crane type 151 double mechanical seal
55 kw motor, 415 volt, 1,475 rpm motor via David Brown size MFD 980 gearbox, input
1,475 rpm, output 130.2 rpm.
Glycerine Purification 5
Luwa Evaporator: Buss SMS small unit, wiped film evaporator, 2m2, 316Ti SS, CS jacket.
Internal operating pressure; -1 bar @ 200C
Jacket 1 operating pressure; 12 bar @ 200C
Jacket 2 operating pressure; 12 bar @ 200C
410mm (dia) x 2,430mm (straight side)
5 kw motor, 380 volt, 1,410 rpm motor, 450 rpm gearbox
Glycerine Purification 6

Final Evaporator

Luwa Evaporator Structure

Unit Overview

Fatty Acid Distillation

Fatty Acid Distillation 1
PROCESS DESCRIPTION

The Lurgi distillation units are used to refine fatty acids by removing the heavy
ends and the volatiles. The stream is primarily oleic and stearic acids. Vacuum is
provided for this process from two sources. A vacuum pump is used for 40 mbar
vacuum. A seven-nozzle steam ejector driven with 100 psig steam is used for
lower vacuums.

Pre-Stills:
Basket filters are used to remove any larger clumps or particles from the
incoming feed. The feed then runs through two spiral economizer heat
exchangers in series, which heats it up to 70C and then 180C. This is followed
by a high pressure steam (1,500 psig) exchanger which takes the feed up to
220C. The stills use four high pressure steam candles in the bottom of the
column for additional heating. Each candle has six inner pipes and twelve outer
pipes with 1,500 psig steam on them. Sparge steam at 10 psig is injected into the
base of the candle to assist in the vaporization process. There are eight bubble-
cap trays in the columns located above the candles. The distillation columns run
at 5-15 millibar of vacuum. Spiral coolers are used as the column overhead
condensers.
Fatty Acid Distillation 2
Main Stills
Product is pumped from the pre-stills to the main stills. The main stills have ten
candles similar to those described in the pre-stills section. These columns are
packed with ceramic and stainless steel packing rings. Each of the main stills
have four overhead condensers in series. The first condenser is used to generate
40 psig steam since the overhead product is at 270C.

Back-end Stills
The back-end stills handle the residue stream from the main stills. They are
designed for further removal of fatty acids from the residue stream to increase
yields. There are two candles on each back-end still similar to those described in
the pre-still section
Fatty Acid Distillation 3
EQUIPMENT

Number 3 Distillation Unit consists of a topper, main still and back end still

Pre-Still: 316Ti SS, 30mm HG abs @ 250C

Main Still: 2.4m (dia) x 11.5m (tall), 316 Ti SS, FV @ 275C
Back Ends Still: 1.3m (dia) x 4.5m (tall), 316SS, FV @ 250C

Number 4 Distillation Unit consists of a main still and back end still

Main Still: 2.75m (dia) x 10.4m (h), 2 barg/FV @ 250C

Back Ends Still: 1.5m (dia) x 4.23m (h), 2 barg/FV @ 250C
Fatty Acid Distillation 4

Distillation Tank Farm

Distillation Column Steam Candles

Unit Overview

Wet
Separation
Wet Separation 1
PROCESS DESCRIPTION

During the splitting process, oils and fats are separated into fatty acids and
glycerine. The distilled split fatty acid contains a mixture of saturated (solid
stearine) and unsaturated (liquid oleine) fatty acids. Wet separation is the
process whereby the two types of fatty acids are separated from each other.

Fatty acid is firstly cooled to 10C and fed though banks of crystallizers. The
stearine solidifies first and forms a slurry with the liquid oleine. There are 12
crystallizers total which use -2C brine for cooling. There are three groups of four
crystallizers and only two groups are normally in service. The crystallizers were
manufactured in Germany and have internal mechanical scrapers to keep the
walls clean. The scrapers operate at 50 rpm with 9 kW motors, except for the
last two crystallizers in each bank, which have 15 kW motors due to the higher
viscosity. There is a 400 kW York chiller used for refrigerating the brine solution.
Wet Separation 2
The slurry is then mixed with a surfactant before being processed through a set
of seven centrifuges operation at 2,280 rpm. The surfactant is WAS, which is a
mild detergent (sodium decylsulfate), magnesium sulfate, and water. There are
five Heine units and two Krauss-Maffei centrifuges. These units separate the
fatty acid streams into the stearine and oleine components. The WAS surfactant
goes with the heavier stearine stream. The oleine goes to storage. However, if
the oleine is to be sold, it goes through a dryer to remove the moisture from 1-
2% down to less than 0.3%.

The stearine and WAS mixture is then heated to 95C and fed to a decanter
where the WAS goes overhead and the stearine goes out the bottom with about
0.3% WAS contamination. The decanter internals include three baffles and a
castellated weir. The WAS stream is cooled and recycled back to the mixer.

The stearine stream proceeds at 95C to the mixer/settler where 5% sulfuric acid
and water are used to remove the last amounts of WAS. The mixer/settler has
10 compartments and approximately five hours of residence time. The WAS is
hydrolyzed by the acid to decanol and sodium bisulfate salt. Caustic is used later
to neutralize the remaining sulfuric acid. The WAS must be removed as it will kill
the hydrogenation catalyst in the hardening process.
Wet Separation 3
EQUIPMENT

Crystallizer Banks (12): 368mm (dia) x 8.5m (l), 316Ti SS, 6/5 barg @ 100C.
WAS Mixer: 1.2m (dia) x 2.9m (h), 316SS, 2.9 barg/FV @ 150C.
Heine Centrifuges (5): 316SS.
Krauss Centrifuge: Model HZ80 SO321, 800mm (bowl dia), 316SS.
Krauss Centrifuge: Model HZ100 SO305, 1m (bowl dia), 316SS.
Wet Separation 4
Crystallizers

Krauss-Maffei Centrifuge

WAS Mixer
Unit Overview

Hydrogenation
Hydrogenation 1
PROCESS DESCRIPTION

The batch hardening plant uses hydrogenation to harden a range of fatty acids.
The fatty acids are dried and then reacted with hydrogen using a nickel catalyst
before being filtered through a plate and frame press. The hydrogenator runs at
about 20 bar of pressure and has 15 metric ton batch sizes.

The nickel catalyst is removed with a Schenk catalyst recovery filter and
reclaimed by Johnson-Matthey. The catalyst used in this process is Johnson-
Matthey Pricat 9932. There are 7 stainless steel storage tanks with a total
capacity of 900 metric tons associated with this plant.
Hydrogenation 2
EQUIPMENT

Dryer Vessel: 2.5m (dia) x 6.3m (h), 316SS, 2 barg/FV @ 200C.

Reactor Vessel: 2.4m (dia) x 5.5m (h), 316SS, 35 barg @ 350C.
Filtration Tank: 3.0m (dia) x 4.9m (h), SS, 15 psig @ 110C.
Hydrogenation 3

Hydrogenator (center vessel)

Hydrogenation Structure
Unit Overview

Stearine Flaking
Stearine Flaking 1
PROCESS DESCRIPTION

The stearine flaking unit is used to convert molten fatty acids into to solid flake.
Fatty acid is cooled and flaked on a Simons Dryers water-cooled rotary drum
flaker. This unit is rated for 100 psig at 120C and is constructed of carbon steel
with a stainless steel liner. There are two liquid stearine raw material tanks (with
heating coils) feeding this unit which hold 47 metric tons of product. The hot
liquid stearine is pumped from one raw material tank at a time into a tray within
the stearine flaking unit building. This tray has a rotating stainless steel drum
that is cooled with a closed loop glycol water circuit operating at 0C with a 150
kW York chiller unit. As the drum rotates, the difference in temperature between
the liquid stearine and the drum allows a thin layer to coat the drum. As this
happens, a fixed PTFE blade at the back of the roller allows the solidified stearine
to be scraped off. This scraping action along with the aid of a breaker box allows
the stearine to be chopped up into small flakes which then fall into a conveyor
system.
Stearine Flaking 2
The flake is then conveyed with a bucket conveyor through a vibrating sieve and
into automatic bag filling machines. The smaller bags (25kg) are automatically
palletized and shrink wrapped. The bagging machine actually makes its own
plastic bags in situ. The machine was constructed by Esse Gi of Italy and is a
model CTX-50. There is a Domino printer/stenciling unit for labeling the bags.
The product then proceeds to a Moeller model 4420 automatic palletizer and
stretch wrapping machine. The capacity of this facility (flaking and bagging) is
3.3 metric tons per hour.
Stearine Flaking 3

Flaker

Simon Flaker
Unit Overview

Drum Filling Unit & Tank Farm

Drum Filling & Tank Farm 1
Drum Filling Unit

The Bilanciai D450 drum filling unit is semi-automated and was installed in 2006.
It is capable of filling palletized drums and IBCs at the rate of 5.5 metric tons per
hour.

Tank Farm

There are about 190 storage tanks in this facility, the majority of which are
constructed of stainless steel.
Unit Overview

Utilities
Utilities 1
There are three boilers in this facility. Two are Volund units, each producing 17
mt/hr of steam at 80 bar pressure. There is a Minster unit producing 20 mt/hr at
10 bar pressure. All three boilers were installed in 1998. They are dual-fuel units
capable of burning natural gas or fuel oil.

There are two Ingersoll-Rand Centac air compressors capable of producing 900
CFM at 100 psig. There is no waste water treatment at this facility, but there is a
sump where any residual fat is floated and skimmed off the water prior to
discharge to the city sewer. They also do some slight pH adjustment of the waste
water and they have two Seres 2000 COD analyzers checking the carbon content
in the waste water
Utilities 2

Volund Boiler

Flaker

Volund Boiler Burner

Air Compressor
Diagrams

Flow Diagrams
Glycerine Purification 1
Splitting and Glycerine Finishing 2
Fatty Acid Finishing 3
Contact IPP Today!
MICHAEL JOACHIM
DIRECTOR, PLANTS DEPT.
Tele: 609-838-5930 (direct)
Mobile: 609-516-9107
MichaelJ@ippe.com

SANJEEV REGE
VP GLOBAL PLANT SALES
Tele: 609-838-5938 (direct)
Mobile: 609-510-2616
SanjeevR@ippe.com

IPP World Headquarters

17A Marlen Drive Hamilton, NJ 08691 USA
Tele: +1 (609) 586 8004 Fax: +1 (609) 586 0002
Visit us at: www.ippe.com