Project Overview
With 15 years of engineering experience in future energy, Synertec ensures seamless delivery, integration, and ongoing monitoring with existing operations, with no downtime or disruptions. Discover how Powerhouse can transform your operations
Project Summary
Synertec was engaged by Jupiter Ionics to undertake a Concept Select and subsequent Front-End Engineering Design of the Balance of Plant required to support their novel electrochemical ammonia synthesis process.
The Challenge
Jupiter Ionics was seeking a consulting partner to design, develop a new balance of plant process to support a breakthrough electrolyser technology that uses novel fluids and operating conditions. Since the technical requirement was completely new, it required considerable conceptual thinking to assess and bring together highly diverse and state-of-the art process technologies to meet unusual requirements of the electrolyser and to develop a completely new process.
Some of the challenges included:
- Novel solution mixtures of highly exotic species with material compatibility challenges.
- Very high recovery efficiencies to recover extremely high purity anhydrous ammonia from a solute containing very low levels of the ammonia product.
- High pressure operation.
- High integrity and highly accurate and sensitive pressure control
- Maximise energy integration
- Simple minimalistic process control.
- Remote supervision and operation.
Synertec SolutionsÂ
Synertec’s team of process engineers undertook an exhaustive review of cutting edge process technologies, then along with a team of designers worked closely with Jupiter Ionics’ to develop and deliver a cost effective, efficient and thoroughly thought-out Balance of Plant design. This included the following:
- Specialised pressure vessels for hazardous chemical storage at pressure.
- State of the art pervaporation recovery system
- Rigorous control system design and specification to minimise deviations
- Specification and procurement of Hazardous Area compliant equipment
- Pump design and selection for a highly specialised service fluid
- HAZID, HAZOP, and HA studies
- Scale-up design from pilot-scale to commercially viable unit
- Complete unit isolation and artificial vacuum design
- Cost optimisation through material and equipment selection process
The core components of this project consisted of process modelling, engineering design in accordance with best practices, economic assessment and equipment specification while Hazardous Area, HAZID and HAZOP studies were undertaken as value adding services. These services were included as part of the Concept Select and Front-End Engineering Design stages of the project in addition to ongoing engineering support.
