Da Project

PE has shifted from offshore oil and gas to green energy. I am now working for a company that plans to build numerous biodiesel plants in Brazil. I am currently the Lead Project Engineer for the design and construction of a demonstration plant that is going to take palm oil waste and turn it into diesel. It does that by turning the woody stuff into gas and then running that through some fancy catalysts to rearrange the molecules and make liquid hydrocarbons.

I don’t pretend to understand the chemistry. I just need to put the iron together. In the middle of the Amazon rain forest. In less than one year because some politician made a commitment during a speech and now we have to deliver on that promise.

It turns out that the project is a sort of Mobil Oil Alumni Association. Most of my colleagues are old friends from the days before the Exxon/Mobil merger. That’s probably because the COO is one and he knows where the talent is. (Hint: none of us are under 55)

It’s been a learning experience, but it helps to keep the mind agile.

And for those of you who think they might be able to make a career out of green energy, here’s something to think about:

This plant is designed to make about 50 barrels per day of hydrocarbon products from palm tree waste. Not all of that is diesel. Some is naptha and some more is wax. In order to do this, we will need to burn about 3 times that amount in #2 diesel fuel to power the generators that make the electricity we need to run the plant. Do the math.