SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CYCLIC OPERATIONS IN A FUEL SYNTHESIS PROCESS
A method, apparatus, and system for a fuel synthesis system including a multiple methanol reactor train, operated in parallel from a common input of 1) synthesis gas from a solar driven chemical reactor and 2) synthesis gas from a storage tank. In some embodiments, the multiple methanol reactor trains are idled as needed based on a variable amount of synthesis gas fed into the process. Additionally, some embodiments may include a controller to control operation of the multiple methanol trains by potentially idling one or more of the methanol reactor trains, switching to an operational state, or altering the output from the reactor trains, based on the amount of synthesis gas being generated by the solar driven chemical reactor, which is subject to marked variations in volume of synthesis gas output based on a seasonal, diurnal and weather effects.
1 . A fuel synthesis system comprising:
a multiple methanol reactor train, operated in parallel from a supply input of 1) synthesis gas from a solar driven chemical reactor and 2) synthesis gas from a storage unit, or 3) a combination of both, wherein the multiple methanol reactor trains are idled as needed based on a variable amount of synthesis gas fed into the process; and
a controller to control operation of the multiple methanol trains by 1) idling one or more of the methanol reactor trains, 2) altering an output amount being generated by one or more of the methanol reactor trains, 3) switching one or more of the methanol reactor trains to an operational state and 4) any combination of the three, based on an amount of synthesis gas being generated by the solar driven chemical reactor, which is subject to marked variations in volume of synthesis gas output based on seasonal, diurnal and weather effects.
2 . The fuel synthesis system of claim 1 , wherein the multiple methanol reactor trains are physically separate reactor trains, wherein the physically separate reactor trains are in parallel, and wherein the control system controls parameters including temperature, pressure, and chemistry of the fuel synthesis system during idle non-production periods of time so that the fuel synthesis system may rapidly resume fuel production when a supply of solar generated synthesis gas resumes in sufficient quantities to perform fuel synthesis.
3 . The fuel synthesis system of claim 1 , wherein the multiple methanol reactor trains comprise a common reactor with a manifold that feeds multiple virtual reactor trains from the manifold; and wherein the multiple methanol reactor trains are incased in the shell of the common reactor.
4 . The fuel synthesis system of claim 1 , wherein the methanol trains have an input coupled to receive synthesis gas from the upstream solar driven chemical reactor, wherein the control system controls parameters of a downstream fuel synthesis process to account for the cyclic supply of solar generated synthesis gas as a feed product, wherein the controller controls parameters including temperature, pressure, and chemistry of the fuel synthesis system during idle non-production periods of time so that the fuel synthesis system may rapidly resume fuel production when the supply of solar generated synthesis gas resumes in sufficient quantities to perform fuel synthesis, and wherein the controller controls the parameters during cyclic operation of the fuel synthesis including cyclic operation of the methanol synthesis plant with little to no additional loss in catalytic activity or throughput over the plant's lifetime above expected losses from the catalyst aging and participating in the catalytic activity, by protecting the catalyst, through 1) keeping the synthesis gas and product methanol gas at a certain temperature and pressure such that the gases remain vaporized and do not condense on the catalyst, prolonging the life of the catalyst and 2) maintaining a chemically reducing atmosphere for the catalyst.
5 . The fuel synthesis system of claim 1 , wherein a reactor is a shell and tube reactor and when the reactor train is idled, the temporarily idled reactor is kept at or near the reaction temperature with heat makeup as required to offset heat losses 1) with heat from a boiling water heated from an external boiler and 2) with heat from the methanol synthesis reaction, or 3) any combination of the two; and wherein the shells of each reactor train are interconnected such that a hot working fluid removing the exothermic heat from a train that is operating is circulated around an idle train to keep the idle trains near reaction temperature and the reactor uses layers of insulation around the methanol reactor train to keep the plant near reaction temperature.
6 . The fuel synthesis system of claim 1 , wherein, when a reactor train is idled, the temporarily idled reactor train is kept at or near the reaction temperature with waste heat from other areas of the plant including a quenching operation on the synthesis gas coming out of the solar driven chemical reactor; and
wherein the waste heat is stored in a 1) a hot solid, heated liquid, or heated vapor, where the waste heat is generated during the operation of the solar driven reactor when sunset or weather events are not blocking the Sun.
7 . The fuel synthesis system of claim 1 , wherein, before a reactor train is idled the H2 content inside the methanol reactor is boosted by adding synthesis gas with a higher ratio of H2:CO from the solar driven reactor, or adding supplemental H2 from an H2 storage supply, to ensure that a reducing atmosphere is maintained within the reactor.
8 . The fuel synthesis system of claim 1 , wherein the multiple methanol reactors comprise at least two methanol reactors that are operable at a percentage of maximum throughput such that the fuel synthesis system has a dynamic operating range of at least 16 to 100 percent of capacity.
9 . The fuel synthesis system of claim 1 , wherein the control system comprises control algorithms that control reactor operation, the control algorithms specifically allowing rapid and efficient reactor cycling by 1) using synthesis gas from the solar driven chemical reactor, 2) synthesis gas from the storage unit, and 3) recycling synthesis gas and methanol product gas from the outlet of the reactor trains to keep at least one of the trains operating at some percent of its maximum throughput; and wherein the control system keeps an idle reactors at or near reaction temperature and pressure during the daily operation.
10 . The fuel synthesis system of claim 1 , wherein the control system controls compressors in the fuel synthesis system to assist in controlling pressure in a cyclic operation, wherein the system comprises at least three levels of compression, a low-pressure level, of less than 500 PSIG in a synthesis gas clean up portion of a system just prior to a CO2 remediation unit, a higher intermediate pressure 500-1500 PSIG level for injecting cleaned up solar generated synthesis gas from the solar driven chemical reactor into an input into the methanol synthesis process, and a third level of compression for pumping excess synthesis gas from the solar chemical reactor into the storage unit at a pressure greater than the intermediate pressure.
11 . The fuel synthesis system of claim 10 , wherein the storage unit comprises at least one of a pipeline or other underground storage structure.
12 . The fuel synthesis system of claim 10 , further comprising a flywheel drive mechanism including a flywheel sized such that it can store enough rotational energy to start a compressor and small enough to be started and accelerated using less power than is needed to start the compressor; a low power starting mechanism for starting and then accelerating the flywheel, the low power starting mechanism providing enough power to rotate the flywheel, but less power than is needed to start the compressor, wherein the speed of the flywheel builds over time as power is received from the low power starting mechanism; and a mechanism to couple the fly wheel to the compressor such that rotational energy from the fly wheel can be transferred to the compressor to start the compressor.
13 . A control system for a fuel synthesis system comprising control algorithms on reactor operation, the control algorithms specifically allowing rapid and efficient reactor cycling by 1) using synthesis gas from a solar driven chemical reactor, 2) synthesis gas from a storage unit, and 3) recycling synthesis gas and methanol product gas from the outlet of the reactor trains to keep at least one of the trains operating at some percent of its maximum throughput; and wherein the control system keeps an idle reactor at or near reaction temperature and with a pressure change of no more than 30% during the idle periods.
14 . The control system of claim 13 , further comprising a system that controls compressors in a fuel synthesis system to assist in controlling pressure in the cyclic operations, wherein the system comprises at least two levels of compression, a first pressure 750-1200 PSIG level for injecting cleaned up solar generated synthesis gas into a common input into the methanol synthesis process, and a second level of compression for pumping excess synthesis gas from the solar chemical reactor into the storage unit, where the high pressure is defined as being greater than the second level of compression.
15 . The control system of claim 13 , wherein the system controls operation of multiple methanol trains by 1) idling one or more of the methanol reactor trains and/or 2) reducing an output amount being generated by one or more of the methanol reactor trains based on the amount of synthesis gas being generated by the solar driven chemical reactor, which is subject to marked variations in volume of synthesis gas output based on a seasonal, diurnal and weather effects; and wherein the multiple methanol reactor trains are idled or set at a reduced output as needed based on a variable amount of synthesis gas fed into the process.
16 . The control system of claim 13 , wherein the control system controls parameters including temperature, pressure, and chemistry of a fuel synthesis system during idle non-production periods of time so that the fuel synthesis system may rapidly resume fuel production when the supply of solar generated synthesis gas resumes in sufficient quantities to perform fuel synthesis.
17 . The control system of claim 13 , wherein the control system controls parameters including temperature, pressure, and chemistry of a fuel synthesis system during cyclic operation of the fuel synthesis including cyclic operation of the methanol synthesis plant with little to expected typical loss in catalytic activity or throughput over the plant's lifetime allowing for the protection of the catalyst, by keeping the synthesis gas and product methanol gas at a certain temperature and pressure such that the gases remain vaporized and do not condense on the catalyst, prolonging the life of the catalyst.
18 . The control system of claim 13 , wherein the control system controls a temperature of a reactor train when the reactor train is temporarily idled, such that the idled reactor is kept at or near a reaction temperature with heat makeup as required to offset heat losses with one or more of 1) heat from boiling water heated from an external boiler, 2) heat from the methanol synthesis reaction from another methanol reactor that is operating, 3) an internal electric heater or a combination of all three, where the operation of the external boiler controlled by the control system.
19 . The control system of claim 13 , wherein the control system controls a temperature of a reactor train when the reactor train is temporarily idled, such that the idled reactor is kept at or near a reaction temperature with waste heat from other areas of the plant including the quenching operation on the synthesis gas coming out of the solar driven chemical reactor.
20 . A method for an integrated solar driven chemical plant, comprising:
conducting a chemical reaction in a solar driven chemical reactor having multiple reactor tubes using concentrated solar energy to drive the conversion of the chemical reactant, wherein an endothermic chemical reaction conducted in the reactor tubes includes one or more of the following: biomass gasification, steam methane reforming, methane cracking, using solar thermal energy coming from a concentrated solar energy field;
supplying the products from the chemical reaction for a catalytic conversion of the products from the solar driven chemical reaction into a hydrocarbon fuel or other chemical in a chemical synthesis plant; where an operation of the chemical synthesis plant is dependent upon an amount of product generated in the solar driven chemical reactor; and
a control system for the chemical synthesis plant is configured to send control signals to and receiving feedback from a control system for the chemical reactor, and the control system for the chemical reactor at least indicates the amount of product being generated in the solar driven chemical reactor.