Crude Oil Refining

Mackenzie Hydrocarbons offers crude oil mini-refineries including distallation, reforming and product treating.

Applications

Mackenzie Hydrocarbons has worked in the micro-refining area and also mini-refineries, although the distinction between the two is somewhat blurred. In the micro area, problems arise because traditional equipment items often can’t make that transition. In some cases, the columns become smaller than the instrument bridles, pumps can be very difficult to purchase in the lower flow rates that are required and, often, we are at the minimum size for the process packages.

Mini-refineries are, in some ways, a little easier to handle. There is usually a distillation column with some treating of the side streams, such as kerosene to be upgraded for jet fuel, automotive diesel and, in some cases, catalytic reforming of the naphtha, to produce suitable gasoline and, with some of the lighter crudes, extraction of the LPG could be commercial. With heavy crude oils, it is possible to run the residue through a vacuum distillation step for production of asphalt / bitumen.

The mini-refinery particularly has a place in remote oil field producing facilities. Even just a distillation column can produce naphtha (low grade gasoline) which would need to be octane-improved by injection of lead, kerosene or jet fuel, automotive diesel for driving the site machinary, heavy residues can be used as a road sealant and light ends that can be used for steam raising and power generation.

Typical Equipment Offered

Equipment packages are supplied for crude oil mini-refining for the following applications:

  • Crude oil desalting
  • Electrostatic Treating of Distillate Streams
  • LPG Recovery / Treating
  • Oily-water Treating
  • Purification of Hydrogen-rich Streams

Further detail of the equipment offered can be obtained by clicking on the links on the panel on the left of the page. Should further details of the equipment offered by required, please contact our office.