Closed coke slurry process
The Closed Coke Slurry Process , or CCSS process for short , describes a technology in the mineral oil industry for handling petroleum coke that is produced after the thermal cracking of crude oil residues in a delayed coker . The technology was developed and patented by the engineering company TRIPLAN. The first CCSS plant is expected to go into operation in a refinery in Gdansk in 2018 as part of a new Coker building.
history
The 'BAT Best Available Techniques' - known in Germany as 'BVT Best Available Techniques' - corresponds to the traditional engineering concept of the 'state of the art': Accordingly, a system should guarantee the lowest possible consumption and emission level at a reasonable cost.
BAT conclusions are documents that describe the best available emission control techniques for installations in a particular industry. With regard to the refining of mineral oil and gas, the implementing decision under file number C (2014) 7155 has been in force since October 30, 2014 in accordance with Directive 2010/75 / EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on industrial emissions. a. Delayed and fluid coking processes (see: Refining of mineral oil and gas (PDF) Commission implementation decision of October 30, 2014).
According to this, the BAT-associated emission values for dust may reach between 10 and 50 mg / Nm3 as a monthly mean value for existing systems (new systems: 10 to 25 mg / Nm3). These limit values will be binding for all refineries across Europe from 2018.
The closed coke slurry process (CCSS) described below works in a closed manner and does not emit any dust.
Heavy Crude Oil Market
The mineral oil processing industry worldwide has to process increasingly heavy crude oils, which also increases the proportion of heavy residues. At the same time, the sales market for high-sulfur residues and residues with a high level of metal contamination continues to shrink , as these can hardly be used as fuel from an environmental point of view.
Traditional process
One way to further break down the residues of heavy crude oils processed in refineries is the delayed coking process, in which petroleum coke is produced as a by-product.
Batch-wise production is characteristic of a delayed coker: the coking chambers (at least two or an even number of up to eight containers each form a process unit) are filled alternately and then freed from the solid coke. In addition, there is the high proportion of mechanical components for treating, conveying and storing the petroleum coke. The still hot coke, removed with high pressure water, falls onto a large concrete surface in front of the plant, forming clouds of steam that can be seen from far away, whereby the water runs off and is roughly clarified by coke carried along in a settling basin. Portal cranes or front loaders clear the concrete surface. Further removal is carried out by trucks, wagons or ships, often with heaps as intermediate storage.
These - historically conditioned - work steps have always been problematic in many ways:
- Coke dust and hydrocarbons are carried away with the water vapor into the atmosphere.
- The separation of the high freight rates of entrained fine coke particles / coke sludge in the water is unsatisfactory.
- Since this water is used in the circuit as a high-pressure medium for loosening coke from the chamber and the fine particles are highly abrasive, there is increased wear.
- Compared to the other continuous refinery processes, the plant availability is significantly lower due to frequent repairs.
Operators of delayed cokers must therefore have high maintenance budgets and costs for maintenance personnel in the long term.
CCSS procedure
The Closed Coke Slurry System offers an alternative to this: the coke is transported out of the coking chambers with water and crushed with special crushers. This coke-water mixture is pumpable and can optionally also be pumped outside the refinery in a closed system. In a further step, the coke-water mixture is pumped into a container for dewatering. This container is equipped with special sieve channels, which guarantee a quick and effective separation of the water; a high proportion of fine coke particles remains in the bed. The draining water is further cleaned of solids in a subsequent tank and used in the unit. The dehydrated, technically dry petroleum coke can be loaded directly.
The focus of the process is on the one hand environmental protection, on the other hand protecting the health of employees and, last but not least, minimizing the potential risk in the workplace.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ralf Gast, Triplan Ag: Patent WO2012152340 A1 - Google . November 15, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
- ↑ Ralf Gast, Triplan Ag: 1. (wo2012152340) closed coke slurry system and method for gaining sellable petroleum coke pieces out of solidified petroleum coke in a coke drum unit . November 15, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
- ↑ New Award in the Refining business in Poland: overall contract value estimated to be € 304 MN . Kinetics Technology. July 14, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
- ↑ BVT leaflets (partial translation into German) ( Memento of July 17, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), Federal Environment Agency, Dessau
- ↑ HPI Innovations . Gulf Publishing Company. 2012. Archived from the original on April 4, 2017. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
- ^ Preventing emissions in coke removal . digitalrefining.com. October 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
