High-capacity tray for debottlenecking a crude distillation unit

CATEGORY: DISTILLATION
PTQ-Petroleum Technology Quarterly, Q1 2013
High-capacity tray for debottlenecking a crude distillation unit
Use of ultra-high-capacity trays in the most constrained section of a CDU enabled over a 50% increase in throughput at less cost than other debottlenecking options
Kaushik Majumder Shell Projects & Technology Giuseppe Mosca Sulzer Chemtech
Kent Mahon Refining NZ
Abstract
The main fractionator of the crude distillation unit (CDU-1) in the Whangarei refinery of The New Zealand Refining Company (NZRC) was retrofitted with high-capacity internals to increase the unit throughput from 8500 t/d to 13 000 t/d. Ultra-high-capacity Shell ConSep* trays were applied in the most capacity-constrained HGO pumparound (mid circulating reflux) section of the column, as no other first-generation, high-capacity tray was found adequate to debottleneck this section.
By the application of these trays, capex savings of the order of $5.5-6 million were achieved compared to other conventional debottlenecking options. This was the first application of ConSep trays in a CDU main fractionator, and the post-revamp test run established realisation of the expected performance.
Whangarei refinery targeted expanding its refining capacity through the Point Forward Project.1 The project involved increasing the throughput of the CDU-1 from 8500 t/d to the separator deck is designed with low-pressure drop swirl tubes. The contacting deck is also designed with a relatively high open area.
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