MRPL’s efforts towards innovation in refining and stress on R&D got a considerable boost as it has received a significant Patent awarded by the Patent Office, Government of India. The Patent is on “Process Distillation of Petroleum Fractions – by making use of Fuel Gas / Hydrocarbon vapours instead of steam”. This innovation has remarkable potential to reduce water consumption and sour water generation in product stripping and fractionation operations.
1st October 2020, shall remain a memorable day to us as on this day we have got our first award of Patent after filling 14 patent applications so far. This application has been filed by MRPL’s R&D team on 8th August 2018, and this Patent now is valid for 20 years till 8th August 2038.
The Patent discloses a process for distillation of hydrocarbon fractions by employing fuel gas as stripping media. Though fuel gas is known as a stripping media in lieu of steam, the challenge was the depression of overhead vapour’s dew point when employed in commercial distillation columns.
MRPL R&D’s key know-how contains the following features:
- The technique to elevate the dew point of overhead vapours
- The pecking order of stripping efficiency components of fuel gas mixture and
- Methodology to strike a trade-off between vapour dew point and stripping efficiency
Salient advantages for a typical 1200 m3/h crude distillation column (similar to MRPL’s Crude Distillation Unit 2) by using the technique invented by MRPL in place of the current steam stripping are:
- Reduction of sour water generation up to 1050 kg/hour.
- Elimination of process involving steam usage to equivalent amount.
- The invention offers an avenue to reduce water requirement, reduction in steam system size for a refinery and achieving energy efficiency at the same time. Economic benefits too, will accrue as a result of this innovation.
Our team is in the process of implementing the invented process in suitable Units like Delayed Coker Unit (DCU) or Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) fractionators in MRPL.
Kudos to all team MRPL on this attainment. Special appreciation to the R&D department whose work was instrumental in this achievement.
