Velocys releases new high capacity microchannel FT reactor
In Texas, Velocys has released its new AlphaCore™ 800 reactor, its highest-capacity microchannel Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reactor to date. It is designed to produce up to 800 barrels per day, or 30,000 tons per year (30 kt/a) of FT fluids from a single reactor.
AlphaCore 800 doubles the capacity of AlphaCore 400 and extends Velocys’ throughput-based AlphaCore reactor family from approximately 50 to 800 barrels per day per reactor (from 2 to 30 kt/a per reactor). AlphaCore 800 is designed particularly for larger sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and e-fuels projects, including SAF plants targeting approximately 100,000 tonnes per year and above.
Benefits from expanding reactor size while preserving the underlying chemistry and design are clear: more FT capacity per reactor, enabling fewer reactors as project scale increases without sacrificing performance or reliability. Reducing reactor count can simplify the FT island, reduce associated equipment requirements and lower FT unit cost.
For example, an FT plant requiring approximately 1,600 barrels per day (60 kt/a) of FT liquids could be configured with two AlphaCore 800 reactors. This reduces total reactor count by 75% compared to an FT unit utilizing eight AlphaCore 200 reactors while maintaining the same FT liquids capacity.
Category: Fuels
