Hydroprocessing modeling toolkit for process design

Hydroprocessing of biomass-derived fast pyrolysis oils is an efficient way of producing bio-intermediates that could be introduced into existing refinery systems. Bio-oil is a complex mixture of oxygenated hydrocarbons and only the ultimate analysis is completely detectable. Modelling of the hydrotreating process requires extensive data regarding bio-compounds’ conversion, yields and their interactions. Pyrolysis bio-oil data can range from ultimate analysis, model compounds / detailed analysis and/or compound grouping based on functional groups. Similarly, the experimental results for the hydrotreated oil can also include a range of diverse data in nature and complexity. This work presents the development of an engineering design toolkit for bio-oil hydroprocessing design that can produce mass & energy balance results incorporating a mix of methodologies that correspond to the three types of potential available data. This toolkit is built in the Aspen Plus software and could be readily used for process design and systems integration purposes.