Cost- and energy-efficient dehydration of unconventional oil using disc-stack centrifuges
Unconventional oil, such as heavy crude oil and bitumen, presents a number of challenges associated with processing and dehydration before upgrading and refining into final products. High density and viscosity, stable emulsions, and the presence of high solids content are all factors that make dehydration a challenging task by adversely affecting separability.
At the same time, environmental demands balanced with production growth and efficiency are more critical to project viability than ever before, putting higher demands on the effectiveness of heavy oil processing. The industry demands cost-effective solutions that prolong service life, cut maintenance costs, and minimize downtime.
Common approaches to cope with heavy oil separation include heating, and the use of chemicals and diluent. With high processing temperature and diluent recovery con-emissions, low-temperature and tributing to increased energy consumption and CO2 diluent-lean separation of more viscous oil is an attractive option, significantly reducing environmental impact and operating costs. Limited diluent availability further increases the incentive for separation at higher oil viscosities.
The presentation will focus on the use of modern disc-stack centrifuges for separation of oil, water and solids in a single stage at moderate temperature utilizing a minimal footprint. Advances in disc-stack centrifuge technology not only provide a high centrifugal force and separation efficiency, but also enable stable separation conditions regardless of variations in feed composition.
At the same time, environmental demands balanced with production growth and efficiency are more critical to project viability than ever before, putting higher demands on the effectiveness of heavy oil processing. The industry demands cost-effective solutions that prolong service life, cut maintenance costs, and minimize downtime.
Common approaches to cope with heavy oil separation include heating, and the use of chemicals and diluent. With high processing temperature and diluent recovery con-emissions, low-temperature and tributing to increased energy consumption and CO2 diluent-lean separation of more viscous oil is an attractive option, significantly reducing environmental impact and operating costs. Limited diluent availability further increases the incentive for separation at higher oil viscosities.
The presentation will focus on the use of modern disc-stack centrifuges for separation of oil, water and solids in a single stage at moderate temperature utilizing a minimal footprint. Advances in disc-stack centrifuge technology not only provide a high centrifugal force and separation efficiency, but also enable stable separation conditions regardless of variations in feed composition.
