Analysis of the consumption of a new extraction reactor and recovering methods for thermal utilities.

Following the installation of a new extraction reactor, the new costs in terms of emissions and consumption of steam and cooling water have been analyzed. The new reactor has a greater capacity than the previous ones, and although it improves the process safety and the quality of the final product, it leads to a higher consumption of thermal utilities. The main problem is represented by the consumption of cooling water, more than doubled compared to the previous process. To make the process sustainable both environmentally and economically, it is necessary to create a regeneration circuit for the cooling water. This goal is achieved by utilizing seawater, which represents an economical and efficient alternative for the plant. Currently, the maximum flow rate of seawater is 60 m3/h, which is a significant limit and only allows for the recovery of cooling water from the reactors. The seawater line is under construction and initially was used only for the cooling water from the new reactor. Tests conducted on this reactor show no variation in the cooling time, confirming the effectiveness of the regeneration system. In the future, the line will be expanded to include the 6 new extraction reactors, evaporators, and the dryer. For the analyses related to the reactors, data available on the DCS for the new reactor and data obtained from flow meters and thermometers installed in the field for the old reactors were used. Based on the available process data, the minimum flow rate of seawater in relation to its ΔT was estimated to model the regeneration circuit.