Tailor made and yet easy to integrate – the flexible solution for efficient processing of crude oil
The GEA Crude Oil Treatment System efficiently dehydrates and desalts crude oil. This modular and robust system is designed to take the quality of crude oil to the highest possible level for further processing, to meet the strict requirements of the oil industry and to efficiently handle potential challenges in various process conditions. The heart of the system is a unit with a high-performance centrifugal separator that can be combined in several ways and can be optionally supplemented by additional functional units.
The global resources of light crude oil are steadily decreasing and the share of both crude oil that becomes heavier and heavier and sources that are more difficult to extract is continuing to grow. Challenges that affect the entire industry and its process chains – from upstream extraction to processing into end products such as fuels, liquefied petroleum gas and petrochemical raw materials in downstream refineries. The demand for crude oil as an energy source will continue to play a major role in the coming decades. Both the growing world population and economic development and the associated increase in prosperity are the basis for the continuously growing demand. Thus, the abundant heavy (“unconventional”) oils, in addition to the challenges they pose, also represent the market’s greatest future growth potential. Therefore it is all the more important to enable stable and economically attractive process control for these oil qualities as well.
Different tasks – one system solution
Thanks to its modular design, the GEA Crude Oil Treatment System can be operated independently or integrated upstream or downstream into the existing overall process.
The following basic process flows can be realized:
- Installation as upstream dehydration stage to reduce the increasing water content to below 5 % in order to counteract any impairment of the process performance
- Parallel installation in addition to the existing process setup to ensure or increase performance in case of deteriorating or fluctuating crude oil quality
- Use as standalone solution, which takes over the treatment of oil qualities lower than API 16 and thus enables economical process control even with particularly heavy or highly saline oils
- Installation as intermediate system from tank to tank for the profitable processing of so-called “opportunity crudes” (crude oil that does not meet the quality standards of the industry) by reducing contamination to the level required for further processing
Design of the GEA Crude Oil Treatment System – comprehensive know-how from a single source
The centrifuge unit is the central component that is designed either for the dehydration or the desalting of crude oil, depending on the requirements. To this end, GEA offers various types of centrifuges and capacities that are optimized for the respective separation task.
The centrifuge unit can be optionally supplemented by the following additional units:
Feed pump unit
The feed pump unit is only required if the product does not have the feed pressure required for centrifuge operation.
Capacity:
30 - 150m3 / h | 5,000 - 23,000 BPD
Heat exchanger unit
In case the crude oil feed has to be heated in order to achieve the optimum separation viscosity, the scope of supply can be optionally extended by a crude oil heating unit.
Heating capacity:
45 °C – 105 °C | 113 - 220 °F
Multi-stage mixer unit
If high efficiency in desalting of the crude oil feed is required, this unit can be added to the scope of supply. The purpose of the mixing unit is to dilute the crude oil with wash water and to achieve a smooth mixing with a corresponding retention time of water and crude oil.
Capacity:
30 - 150 m3 / h | 5,000 - 23,000 BPD
Heat recovery unit
Energy efficiency is key, and with the implementation of the heat recovery stage(s) the overall efficiency is increased and the invested energy is minimized. The carbon footprint of the process is also reduced.
Heating capacity:
660 - 3,300 kW
Chemical dosing unit
If tight emulsion or interfacial tensions occur, e.g. during process setup, they can lead to a reduced overall process performance. To counteract these effects and to keep the process performance at satisfactory levels, the use of chemicals may be unavoidable. For such cases we can supply customized dosing systems.
Capacity:
1 - 2 m³ / h | 4,4 gpm
Your benefits at a glance
- Variable installation as a stand-alone system or for the extension of an existing installation, to compensate for bottlenecks, to expand the existing capacity and to ensure stable process control even with fluctuating feed conditions and qualities on a permanent basis
- Thanks to the modular construction in a compact design, it has low overall space requirements and is extremely flexible to adapt to your individual setup
- Simultaneous separation of water and solids: Water and salt particles with an efficiency of 90-99 %, solids with an efficiency of over 99 %
- Continuous operation with an operating time of > 99.9 % operating time (depending on the individual service contract)
- Suitable for potentially explosive areas (zone 1 and zone 2)
- Adaptable to crude oils containing sulphur in compliance with NACE and other HSE requirements
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