Integrating process automation and modular manufacturing into bio-refinery engineering

The cooperation between Honeywell and Acelen Renewables focuses on the deployment of modular process technology, industrial pumps, compressors, and automated control systems. This infrastructure will be implemented at a greenfield refinery in Bahia, Brazil, to establish large-scale production of sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel for the global transportation sector.

Industrial Challenge and Partner Roles
Scaling renewable fuel production requires mitigating high capital expenditure and extended construction timelines typical of traditional stick-built refinery infrastructure. Acelen Renewables provides the site infrastructure, raw feedstocks, and regional operational management. Honeywell supplies the core chemical process licensing, modular equipment fabrication, and digital infrastructure required to optimize the facility's thermodynamic and mechanical efficiency. Cooperative engineering allows the entities to compress project schedules by parallel-processing equipment manufacturing and site preparation.

Technical Solution and Automation Architecture
The core configuration utilizes the Honeywell UOP Ecofining process, an industrial hydroprocessing technology developed in cooperation with Eni SpA. This catalytic system converts feedstocks containing waste fats, oils, and greases into paraffinic hydrocarbons. The resulting fuel can be blended with conventional jet fuel to achieve up to an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions based on lifecycle assessment standards.

Process control and safety metrics are managed via the Experion Process Knowledge System platform. This architecture integrates the distributed control system with safety instrumented systems compliant with IEC 61511 standards. The software layer uses algorithmic feedback loops to manage the specific tolerances of the specialized pumps and compressors, stabilizing internal pressure and temperature profiles during catalytic hydrotreatment.

Implementation and Operational Impact
The engineering strategy relies on factory-assembled modular process units. Fabricating these systems in a controlled shop environment reduces field construction requirements, lowering initial capital risk and improving structural alignment accuracy before final integration into the Bahia facility.

The primary operational benefit of combining Honeywell process technology with automated control loops is the creation of a digitized data environment. Continuous data acquisition from internal sensor networks allows the facility to handle highly variable bio-feedstocks. By dynamically adjusting process parameters to match the specific chemical composition of incoming lipids, the integrated automation system stabilizes production yields, lowers operational energy expenditure, and maintains fuel quality within strict international aviation standards.

Edited by Evgeny Churilov, Induportals Media - Adapted by AI.

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