Engineering services

GTI Solutions specializes in the design and construction of distillation equipment. Our application specialists excel at solving complex separation problems whether it is for refinery crude units, isoprene or butadiene extractive distillations, PTA azeotropic distillation or other difficult chemical separations. We are a single source solution for your process plant requirements.

Process Design

Crude and Vacuum Distillation Units

No refinery is designed alike and the processed crude slate and yields may not match the original design of the refinery. Every crude and vacuum unit revamp requires a separate evaluation in regards to the solution to meet the desired goals.

GTI Solutions engineers experience with a variety of crude slates and unit configurations allow for optimizing of each specific refinery revamp, minimizing investment costs and maximizing product yields.

Azeotropic Distillation

Azeotropic distillation is an enhanced distillation method utilized to separate mixtures not ordinarily separable by normal distillation. Azeotropic mixtures may often be effectively separated by distillation by adding a third component, called entrainer.

GTI Solutions has the experience and expertise in evaluating and solving the separation requirements by converting simple distillation system to azeotropic mode. Examples are dehydration of ethanol by using benzene, separation of acetic acid from water by using an entrainer such as alkyl acetate to form low boiling azeotropes with water that enhances the relative volatility of the separation between the acetic acid and the alkyl acetate-water azeotrope.

By using the azeotropic mode of separation, the steam consumption can be decreased by 30 ~ 40% as compared to conventional distillation for the same separation.

Superfractionators

Superfractionators are tower that separate close boilers, such as Propane-Propylene, Ethane-Ethylene, IsoButante – Butane, EthylBenzene-Styrene, and other Isomers.

By coupling experience in these applications with specific design know-how GTI Solutions can offer grass roots or revamp solutions to minimize costs and energy consumption.

Extractive Distillation

GTI Solution engineers have experience in designing several Extractive distillation units and there process.

The capability to revamp the extractive distillation units using our know-how and experience means that GTI Solutions can take full ownership of the process design along with equipment delivery.

Divided Wall Columns

GTI Solutions offers a complete divided wall design package from feasibility studies to basic engineering package. GTI Solutions can be your single source for divided wall solutions.

A divided wall column thermally and mechanically integrates a distillation process such that one vessel is used to separate three separate product cuts where normally two vessels would be required. Divided wall columns allow for substantial reduction in energy consumption along with reducing capital expense in grassroots units.

Relative Comparison for Grassroots Divided Wall

Divided Wall column can also be used to revamp existing units to save energy and increase capacity. In this case an existing train of two column can be converted into parallel divided wall columns greatly increasing unit capacity while reducing energy consumption.

GTI Solutions has developed revamp solutions that can allow for a full revamp while minimizing installation time.

Equipment Design and Sensitivity

Modeling a divided wall column should be specifically tied with the equipment design. The pressure drop across each side of the divide should be balanced for the selected design case, and then sensitivity studies should be completed for the operating range and alternate cases to judge how much external control is needed.

A company that does not evaluate the process design considering the specific mass transfer equipment design will not be able to predict the performance of the tower at different conditions.

GTI Solutions offers energy efficiency studies for distillation columns. Distillation accounts for 95% of all separation process and 40% of the total energy consumed in the Chemical Process Industries. Even small reduction in energy consumption can result in big payouts in particular if the process design dictates that this can be accomplished with a revamp of internal alone.

Feasibility study results can result in changes to operating pressure, the addition of theoretical stages to a column, a reduction in pressure drop across a column, a change in feed location, optimized preheat, or change to less costly heat / cooling source. All of these effect the producers' bottom line allowing for the producer to become the lowest cost and most competitive supplier.

Energy Solutions

Troubleshooting and existing unit or benchmarking a unit to evaluate increased performance possibilities are additional services that GTI Solutions provides customers.

Whether this requires hands-on data collection or specific process evaluation for new feedstock, in-house engineering experience is available to perform studies and help with plant operations.

Troubleshooting and Benchmarking

GTI Solutions can provide additional engineering services for your separation requirements. This may include data sheet preparation for distillation systems including columns, equipment and heat exchangers, or full procurement and design services.