TB Petroleum

Revista Brasileira de Tecnologia e Negócios de Petróleo, Gás, Petroquímica, Química Fina e Indústria do Plástico

The first major equipment for the Abreu e Lima Refinery arrive in Pernambuco

Fonte: Petrobras

Date: 29/09/2009 11:27

With earthwork nearly complete, the landscape has started changing at the Pernambuco refinery (Abreu e Lima). This change will be marked by the arrival of eight desalters, which will be used dehydrate and desalt the heavy oil to be refined. The first large pieces of equipment will be received by a Petrobras team this Monday (09/28) at the Suape port.

The devices, which set sail from the Houston Port (in Texas, USA) on September 14 and will compose the Atmospheric Distillation Unit (ADU), will be unloaded on Tuesday (09/29). Each piece weighs 119 tons and measures 4 meters in diameter and 32 meters in length. The desalters will be stored in an area prepared for this purpose at the site of the Refinery and installed next year.

“The delivery of these devices marks the onset of a new phase for the project and is the outcome of the successful work done by all those involved in the project,” said Fernando Viegas, the Engineering Supply manager for the Refinery.

With the final earthwork phase, construction will take-on a new configuration. Where there were only tractors, bulldozers and a flat plot of land, there will now be cranes, lifting and the need for specific logistics, transportation and storage operations.

Learn more about the equipment

The purpose of the desalters is to “rinse” the oil, under controlled conditions, to dissolve salts, dilute residual water that comes from the production units, and remove part of the impurities that are insoluble in water, via dragging (separation of one component from a mixture by means of a current of fluid) in the aqueous stage.

Oil desalting is a process that removes water-soluble salts from the oil flow. The most efficient way to remove water from oil is by means of an electrical field inside the desalter. Devices of this type are known generically as electric treaters, which are horizontal vases of major diameters which are equipped with at least two electrode grids inside them.