(86a) Biofuel Production Wastewater Minimization and Reclaim

Biofuel feedstock is wet.  The fuel specifications understandably have very low moisture limits.  The mass balance must be complete and the disposition of the water in the feedstock must be resolved.  Regulatory requirements make for very challenging low level constituent control in order to release separated biofuel water streams.

As reaction technologies develop to allow for the conversion of more and more waste feedstocks, the control and disposition of each constituent that is separated from the product becomes more and more of a challenge.

Some waste water constituents are easily controlled and agglomerated into a reasonable production waste flow.  Some constituents require unique separation systems to insure the management of levels and the concentrations.

Biofuel production also presents the challenge of multi phase fluid characteristics.  The process systems employed also present the opportunity to reclaim and re-use the separated streams as the mass balance for the system is developed and put into practice.