Renewable Diesel Pretreatment

Pretreatment for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)

ARA’s HCU Pretreat process (also known as HVO pretreatment) is a single-step solution that cleans up a wide variety of feedstock materials using a simple refinery process, providing renewable diesel pretreatment and pretreatment for sustainable aviation fuel.

With just water, heat, pressure and turbulent flow, HCU Pretreat ensures a clean, high-value stream ready for conversion.

HCU Pretreat Renewable Diesel Pretreatment Advantages

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For licensing information, contact:

Chuck Red  |  cred@ara.com 850-628-0332 

The HCU Pretreat process (also known as HVO pretreatment) consists of a continuous, refinery-friendly, single-step process that utilizes common refinery equipment such as pumps, heat exchangers, and a hot oil furnace or refinery high-pressure steam. The HCU Pretreat process requires only water, heat, and pressure to remove metals and other inorganics from most common feedstocks. This patented process is most commonly used for renewable diesel pretreatment as well as the pretreatment of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Seen above: an illustration of the HCU Pretreat renewable diesel pretreatment process

Commercially-Proven

The first commercial HCU Pretreat units, including units for renewable diesel pretreatment and the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), have begun production with the pretreated product consistently meeting specifications.

No Mass Loss

Our HCU Pretreat process preserves nearly 100% of the feedstock – including the lipid portion of phospholipids and organically bound chlorides.

while

Competing technologies can have 5-10% feedstock depending on level of contamination in feedstock, losses due to:

  • all gums to a waste product
  • oils remaining in spent
  • bleaching clay
  • oils lost in wastewater emulsion

preserves nearly 100% of the feedstock

No Equipment Modification

  • Our HCU Pretreat process is the same, regardless of the level of inorganic content in the feedstock.
  • Operating costs are similar for differing levels of inorganic content; RBD soybean oil (20ppm inorganics), DCO (50 ppm inorganics), UCO (200-500 ppm inorganics), and brown grease (>1000 ppm inorganics).

while

Conventional technologies require more frequent changes of filter media for higher inorganic content feedstocks.

performance successfully demonstrated on many challenging feedstocks

Lower CAPEX and OPEX

  • HCU Pretreat provides as much as a 50% savings in CAPEX compared to traditional pots and pans pretreatment utilizing less than half the number of pieces of major equipment and requiring less than ¼ of the footprint of a pots and pans pretreatment unit.

AND

  • HCU Pretreat provides approximately $0.07/gallon OPEX savings.

provides as much as a 50% savings in CAPEX

No Solid Waste

  • No diatomaceous earth/ bleaching clay filtering and disposal. 

while

Competing technologies require the purchase and disposal of tons of diatomaceous earth, used for filtering, per day and often still require other filtering media.

  • HCU Pretreat filtering requires only particulate filters used to protect pumps.
  • No centrifuges required for separation of water or inorganics, while competing technologies require the use of expensive, high-maintenance centrifuges.
  • Only byproduct is treatable wastewater containing inorganics.

while

Competing technologies require additional steps to achieve the same cleanup as HCU Pretreat, each producing its own waste stream.

Only byproduct is treatable wastewater

Crude Soybean Oil

Sample P (ppm) Ca (ppm) Mg (ppm) Na (ppm) K (ppm) Fe (ppm)
1
Feed
642.0
47.6
50.6
13.2
229
<0.1
Product
0.6
<0.1
<0.1
1.4
1.4
<0.1
2
Feed
510.0
55.2
43.2
0.6
197.4
<0.1
Product
0.7
0.1
<0.1
1.1
<0.1
<0.1

Crude Degummed Soybean Oil

Sample P (ppm) Ca (ppm) Mg (ppm) Na (ppm) K (ppm) Fe (ppm)
1
Feed
254
36.3
23.7
0.8
79
0.4
Product
0.4
<0.1
<0.1
0.2
<0.1
<0.1
2
Feed
57.1
29.3
13.1
<0.1
10.1
0.3
Product
0.7
<0.1
0.1
<0.1
<0.1
0.1

Distillers Corn Oil

Sample P (ppm) Ca (ppm) Mg (ppm) Na (ppm) K (ppm)
1
Feed
0.8
3.0
0.6
56.0
5.2
Product
0.0
0.1
0.0
0.1
0.1
2
Feed
3.7
1.3
0.1
4.3
3.8
Product
0.2
0.1
0.0
0.0
0.0
3
Feed
3.3
<0.1
<0.1
1.9
1.6
Product
0.7
<0.1
<0.1
0.7
0.5
4
Feed
5.9
<0.1
1.6
1.4
7.2
Product
0.6
0.1
<0.1
0.3
<0.1

POME

Sample P (ppm) Ca (ppm) Mg (ppm) Na (ppm) K (ppm) Fe (ppm) Al (ppm)
1
Feed
25.1
62.4
11.1
3
48.7
52.3
9.4
Product
0.5
1.7
0.1
0.3
1.6
2.7
<0.1

Brown Grease

Sample P (ppm) Ca (ppm) Mg (ppm) Na (ppm) K (ppm) Fe (ppm)
1
Feed
301.2
3951.4
25.2
185.4
60.8
575.8
Product
4.0
9.6
0.1
0.0
0.1
8.3
2
Feed
23.5
148.5
1.8
34.6
9.9
174.0
Product
<0.1
0.2
<0.1
1.2
<0.1
3.7
3
Feed
22.9
48.3
1.1
32.0
8.8
463.4
Product
0.6
0.5
<0.1
0.8
<0.1
2.0

Carinata Oil, UCO, DCO, Tung Oil, Pongamia Oil, Peanut Oil, Brown Grease Blend

Sample P (ppm) Ca (ppm) Mg (ppm) Na (ppm) K (ppm) Fe (ppm) Al (ppm)
1
Feed
8.9
6.9
1.9
2.7
4.1
13.9
0.4
Product
<0.1
<0.1
0.1
0.2
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1

Used Cooking Oil

Sample P (ppm) Ca (ppm) Mg (ppm) Na (ppm) K (ppm) Fe (ppm)
1
Feed
41.2
1.5
10.8
14.2
33.9
Product
1.4
0.3
0.0
0.0
0.0
2
Feed
24.9
1.0
3.2
7.0
11.4
Product
0.1
0.3
0.0
0.0
0.5
3
Feed
13.1
2.9
0.8
18.2
7.4
4.4
Product
<0.2
0.1
<0.1
0.6
0.7
0.1
4
Feed
13.4
3.3
0.8
46.5
12.8
8.4
Product
0.3
<0.1
<0.1
0.3
0.4
<0.1

Choice White Grease

Sample P (ppm) Ca (ppm) Mg (ppm) Na (ppm) K (ppm) Fe (ppm) Al (ppm)
1
Feed
335
586
19.3
54
106
33.1
15.2
Product
0.6
0.8
<0.1
0.5
<0.1
0.1
<0.1

Poultry Fat

Sample P (ppm) Ca (ppm) Mg (ppm) Na (ppm) K (ppm) Fe (ppm) Al (ppm)
1
Feed
643
73.8
10.5
97.4
523
16.5
14.8
Product
0.8
0.2
0.2
0.7
1.2
0.2
<0.1
2
Feed
335
135
15.7
72.4
132
6.7
22.4
Product
2.0
<0.1
<0.1
0.2
0.5
0.1
0.3

Packers Tallow

Sample P (ppm) Ca (ppm) Mg (ppm) Na (ppm) K (ppm) Fe (ppm) Al (ppm)
1
Feed
142
<0.2
0.2
229
59.4
<0.1
<0.1
Product
0.7
0.7
<0.1
1.6
<0.2
0.2
<0.1

Brown Grease/Yellow Grease Blend

Sample P (ppm) Ca (ppm) Mg (ppm) Na (ppm) K (ppm) Fe (ppm) Al (ppm)
1
Feed
42
1029
12.6
90
36
198
751
Product
0.5
1.0
<0.1
1.4
0.9
2.7
0.8
2
Feed
28
520
6.8
65
22
108
413
Product
<0.1
1.5
<0.1
0.5
0.4
1.3
0.4
3
Feed
600
308
32.2
212
153
316
1027
Product
1.4
2.9
0.2
2.3
3.3
12.7
2
4
Feed
18
562
2.9
31.9
12.4
223
553
Product
0.5
<0.1
0.1
0.7
0.9
<0.1
<0.1
5
Feed
30.4
498
3
35
40
336
516
Product
0.4
0.5
<0.1
0.2
<0.1
1.9
1.4
6
Feed
27
496
<0.1
31
29
334
519
Product
0.4
0.2
<0.1
<0.1
0.6
1.7
0.8

DCO - UCO - Brown Grease Blend

Sample P (ppm) Ca (ppm) Mg (ppm) Na (ppm) K (ppm) Fe (ppm) Al (ppm)
1
Feed
173
272
22.1
128
68
79
356
Product
1.1
1.0
0.1
2.0
0.7
2.9
0.3

For more information, contact Chuck Red at cred@ara.com

Covered by U.S. Patent 10,071,322 B2 (2018) and European Patent 3250660 (2023)

ARA's trademarked renewable diesel pretreatment