Biofuels

Biofuels

Head Engineering has more than forty years of experience in designing and implementing projects for renewable fuels. Our track record spans early demonstration plants for fuel ethanol, large-scale commercial production and logistics systems for blending biofuels into conventional fuels.

Today we use this experience to support new projects in fuel ethanol, methanol and other advanced biofuels – from concept studies to full process plant deliveries.

Fuel ethanol plants

Head Engineering has been involved in fuel-ethanol technology since the 1980s:

  • design improvements and capacity upgrades for early bioethanol plants based on grain feedstock
  • technical consultancy and project management for Sweden’s first large-scale fuel-ethanol plant for transportation fuel, including a 60 000 tpa production facility
  • optimisation of fermentation, distillation, dehydration, by-product handling and wastewater treatment to increase capacity and energy efficiency.

This background gives us a solid understanding of the unit operations that also form the core of many methanol and other alcohol-based biofuel processes.

Biofuel logistics and blending

In addition to production plants, we have designed a wide range of storage and logistics systems for renewable fuels:

  • reception, storage and dosing systems for adding ethanol to gasoline at multiple depots in Sweden
  • large tank-farm projects for diesel, gasoline and bio-components, including ethanol/FAME storage, rail and ship loading, pump stations and control systems

Our experience covers concept design, permitting support, detail engineering and installation follow-up, always with a strong focus on safety and environmental performance.

Towards next-generation biofuels

Head Engineering has participated in confidential development projects for producing biofuel from biomass, as well as pilot plants for new separation and recovery technologies.

Based on this history, we can:

  • evaluate new process concepts and scale them from lab or pilot to full-scale
  • integrate biofuel production with existing industrial sites, such as pulp and paper mills or chemical plants
  • act as owner’s engineer or EPCM partner for greenfield and brownfield projects.