“In 2006 Calgren Renewable Fuels, LLC (Calgren) contracted with Lurgi, Inc. (Lurgi) for a turnkey ethanol plant to be built in Pixley, CA. Exercising the design flexibility afforded to them under the EPC contract, Lurgi turned to Thermal Kinetics Engineering, PLLC (TKE) for engineering and procurement of the distillation, dehydration and evaporation (DDE) portion of the plant.
As construction, commissioning and startup of the ethanol plant were not without incident, Calgren and the main EPC contracting entities found it necessary to resort to arbitration to resolve their differences. Throughout that ordeal and even though TKE had no contractual obligation to Calgren, TKE stood by its DDE design and provided Calgren any assistance required.
‘…Among the most efficient in the ethanol industry. Much of the credit goes to TKE’s energy efficient design’
Calgren’s Pixley plant is among the most efficient in the ethanol industry. Much of the credit goes to TKE’s energy efficient design. When Calgren has had the opportunity to benchmark its plant against others in the industry, the comparison has been favorable. For example, under California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard numerous ethanol producers have filed for low carbon intensity sub-pathways. Several of these filings reveal low overall energy consumption. Calgren’s energy consumption is significantly better than any of them.
Energy efficiency is frequently achieved through process integration and TKE’s DDE design is no exception. But highly integrated process are sometimes hard to troubleshoot. In every instance in which Calgren has been baffled by DDE process issues and found it necessary to reach out to TKE for assistance, they have responded with sage and knowledgeable advice.
We would not hesitate to recommend that TKE be considered for similar work at other facilities.”
-Lyle J. Schlyer, President
