6 replies to this topic

[GiulioG88]

Hello everyone,

A simple order of magnitude question: what is the actual capacity range of industrial vacuum gasoil hydrotreating units, expressed in feed quantity??

Thank you in advance.

 

[PingPong]

Why do you need to know?

 

You can get any size you need in your refinery.

[GiulioG88]

I wanted to know if a unit treating 300,000 tons per year, or 34 tons per hour (respectively circa 2.3 billions of bbl/year and 280 bbl/day) of any feed is a "large, medium or small" unit.

[PingPong]

300,000 tons per year, or 34 tons per hour (respectively circa 2.3 billions of bbl/year and 280 bbl/day)

That is not 280 bbl/day but 6300 bbl/day, which is a very small unit.

[GiulioG88]

 

300,000 tons per year, or 34 tons per hour (respectively circa 2.3 billions of bbl/year and 280 bbl/day)

That is not 280 bbl/day but 6300 bbl/day, which is a very small unit.

 

Sorry, I meant 280 bbl/hour which si around 6300 bbl/day as you said. 

Do you think a such small unit wouldn't be profitable?

Thank you for your answers.

[PingPong]

It depends on what kind of VGO (from what kind of crude) and what kind of hydrotreater we are talking about, as well as the government politics with respect to providing work for people to keep them busy (quiet).

 

If the new hydrotreater is to produce special base oils it might be profitable at 6300 BPSD.

 

If the new hydrotreater is to desulfurise VGO feed to a new FCCU, it probably is not and it would be best to close down the whole refinery (crude capacity maybe 25000 BPSD ?), at least in the western world. But as I said before: it also depends on local politics in countries where there is no real free market.

[GiulioG88]

 Thank you for the information, it has been very helpful. Sometimes it's hard to find those numbers.