Objective
The overall project covered the construction and testing of demonstration units combined together onto Solaize platform, in order to study the various methods of upgrading heavy oils on the production field. The first part of the project was a feasibility study, whilst the second covered the construction proper of the platform. The third part of the overall project is the subject of the present contract.
This project is a continuation of the contracts TH 05.030/81 and TH 05.043/82 concerning the ASVAHL platform set-up in Solaize near Lyons.
Phase 1 - This phase involved the oiling of the various units and then the test and possibly the modifications of many original devices or equipment set-up on several units. Mention must be made of the new water-oil mixing devices on the desalter, a new settler for asphalt separation in deasphalting, a new falling film evaporator, a new extruding machine for hard asphalt. All the units have been oiled within a period of six months. Most of the original devices have proved as interesting as foreseen except for the falling film exchanger less efficient and less easily opewreated than expected.
Phase 2 - Design, engineering and construction of the catalyst loop at a scale of 0,5 (relatively to an industrial unit) has been set-up without any major problems and is today successfully working. For this purpose, it has been necessary to design and develop new valves, sensors and a computer program to have the catalyst injected into and removed from the reactor automatically at 450 deg.C and 200 bars.
The programme comprises two distinct phases of work :
- startup of the platform units, implying a number of prior technological test; the main units involved are desalination, atmospheric distillation, vacuum distillation, deasphalting, hydroprocessing, visbreaking and hydrovisbreaking.
- hydrotreating on fixed or moving beds; design, engineering and the construction follow-up of a special device to realize a circulation of catalyst through one hydrotreating reactor.
Programme(s)
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
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DEM - Demonstration contractsCoordinator
92500 Rueil Malmaison
France