Skip to main content
European Commission logo print header
Contenido archivado el 2022-12-27

CRUDE VAPOUR RECOVERY DEMONSTRATION PLANT

Objetivo

Test and demonstration of Cool Sorption's patented VRU for the cleansing of crude vapours. During the handling of crude oil, evaporation of the lighter components in the oil takes place which results in pollution of the environment with hydrocarbons.
The pilot plant will be installed at the SHELL refinery in Denmark in order to cleanse a percentage (500 m3/h) of vapours evaporating during the loading of ships with crude oil.
Areas covered by the pilot plant will be as follows :
- Plant efficiency in relation to the various components present
in crude vapour.
- Effect of condensation on crude vapour.
- Problems associated with safety and connections on ships.
- Possible negative effects such as corrosion of components.

During refilling, the vapours present in the ships hold are displaced and routed to the VRU (Vapour Recovery Unit). The displaced vapour/air mixture rises from an absorber tank through the absorber column, where it is washed in counter current with cold kerosene at - 25 deg. C, which absorbes the hydrocarbons. The purified air leaves through the vent on top of the column. The air is cleansed to 95% of the inlet HC concentration.
The mixture of kerosene and crude is pumped into the absorber tank where it can be stored until the unit has the capacity to recover the crude by splitting the crude from kerosene in a heated vessel (splitter).
The liquid is pumped from the absorber through a heat exchanger into a splitter column, preheated from 0 deg. C to 130 deg. C by utilising the heat from the outgoing kerosene from the splitter which is thereby cooled from 140 deg. C to 10 deg. C.
In the splitter the crude/kerosene mixture is heated to 140 deg. C by a steam heated coil. The warm crude evaporates from the splitter and is routed to the reabsorber tank were the pure crude vapour is condensed by means of petrol. The crude oil is pumped from a storage tank and returned together with the recovered crude vapour.
The kerosene remaining in the splitter is pumped out and cooled from 10 deg. C to - 25 deg. C by refrigeration plant after passing through the heat exchanger. The chilled kerosene is stored in a tank at a temperature of - 25 deg. C. When required it can be pumped as a washing liquid into the absorber column.
The entire process is automatically controlled. During times of no loading the plant goes into stand-by.
Preliminary design :
- Technical questions are clarified
- Application for approval from relevant authorities
- Design of external piping and utilities
- Design of tie-up between ship and shore
- Design of VRU specially for crude
Construction :
- Routing of external piping and utilities
- Preparation of ship for vapour return
- Redesign of VRU for crude
- Preparation of test procedures & equipment.
Assembly :
- On-site assembly of VRU
- Completion of external piping
- Start-up. Commencement of operation.
Test :
Testing of plant for efficiency and influence caused by new operational conditions.

Convocatoria de propuestas

Data not available

Régimen de financiación

DEM - Demonstration contracts

Coordinador

COOL SORPTION A/S
Aportación de la UE
Sin datos
Dirección
EIBYMOSEVEJ 5
2600 Glostrup
Dinamarca

Ver en el mapa

Coste total
Sin datos