Refinery residual streams

As a refiner, technology licensor or business operating in the oil and gas industry, you face numerous challenges, from the need to comply with stringent emission mandates and clean fuel directives to variable prices and a constant focus on maximising production efficiency. 

We can help you meet your business objectives through process solutions that combine market-leading performance, high levels of reliability for maximum uptime and more environmentally-friendly operation.  

We offer a range of efficient solidification systems for the granulation, flaking and block forming of refinery residue products such as pitch and bitumen/asphalt. These are backed up by expertise gained through partnering with businesses like yours for more than 70 years. This means we can not only supply system solutions that satisfy your process needs but also offer you the depth of service to maximise your productivity and ROI. 

Rotoform granulation system

Double belt cooling systems

Block forming system

Continuous solidification systems for value-added refined products  

Factors such as the transition from fossil fuels to more sustainable technologies are likely to be leading you towards reconfiguring your existing assets and investing in Bottom of the Barrel (BOTB) technologies, with the goal of producing more value-added refined products for chemical production. 

This means making greater use of processes such as residue & slurry phase hydrocracking, solvent de-asphalting, visbreaking and combinations of these. 

 The use of BOTB technologies enables you to significantly increase the conversion of crude oil, resulting in increased concentration of asphaltenes, petroleum carbon, catalyst residues and metals in the liquid pitch stream.  

Solidification of CTP, SDA, PMB and more

Our systems enable you to convert molten residue streams into a solid form suitable for transportation, storage, dosing and reprocessing in downstream applications either inside or outside the refinery. We can help you convert typical residue streams such as:

• Coal tar pitch (CTP)
• Solvent de-asphalted (SDA) pitch
• Polymer modified bitumen (PMB)
• Oxidized bitumen / asphalt
• Coal slurry
• Pyrolysis residue

Versatile refinery residue process solutions

 As the various BOTB processes differ, the resulting stream also varies from process to process and will place different demands on your solidification process in terms of: 

• Melt temperature
• Feed temperature 
• Softening point / penetration value 
• Viscosity 
• Solid impurities 
• Residual solvent / DAO / UCO levels 

As a major supplier of forming solutions for coal tar pitch (CTP), solvent de-asphalted (SDA) pitch and polymer modified bitumen (PMB), we at IPCO can design, manufacture and deliver a cost effective, reliable and more environmentally-friendly residue solidification process to suit your particular capacity and process requirements. 

IPCO Technologies

Rotoform pastillation for tar pitch, asphaltene (and hard bitumen)

The high product temperature required for tar pitch, asphaltene and hard bitumen – up to 300°C – once meant that granulation of many residue streams was economically unviable.
 
With the IPCO Rotoform HT (High Temperature) system, you can solidify these difficult to handle products in an efficient, cost effective way, with maximum uptime and low environmental impact.

• Solidification directly from the melt. 
• Highly uniform shape, stability and quality for easy storage and handling. 
• Viscosities up to 15 000 mPas. 
• Pastille diameters from 4 to 40 mm. 
• More environmentally-friendly production. 
• Ideal form for packaging, storage, blending and further processing. 

Full turnkey capability including up- and downstream equipment

Our expertise in process systems for residual products means we can offer a one-stop-shop service so you can trust us to handle the entire project from start to finish
 
We’ll design, manufacture, erect and commission the system to meet your precise requirements, from feed of the molten material, through granulation to weighing, bagging, palletizing of the bulk product (20/50 kg or big bags) and storage.

High productivity double belt cooling systems for pitch

If you have a high capacity operation or limited floor space, our double belt flaking system cools the product – SDA / pitch –from steel belts above as well as from below. This system is capable of cooling thicker product layers to a uniform temperature over the whole cross section. The double belt cooling system also helps to reduce vapors and fumes, ensuring compliance with all relevant environmental legislation. 

• High capacity – steel belt cooling from above and below. 
• Clean process – no exhaust air treatment required. 
• Cooling water recirculated – no consumption, no contamination. 
• Maximum productivity from limited floor space. 
• Choice of feeding devices and discharge methods.  

High speed bitumen asphalt block forming and packing system

Depending on the end application, you may need to solidify bitumen in block form rather than pastilles. Our high speed block forming system enables you to produce regularly sized packs – directly from receipt of the molten bitumen – in little more than 15 minutes.  

Your labor costs will be low too – automatic operation means you would need just two operators for a plant producing 10 000 tonnes of bitumen per year. 

• Rapid, continuous oxidized bitumen packaging. 
• Clean indirect cooling process – no water contamination. 
• Low noise, easy removal of fumes. 
• Standard 25 kg pack sizes: 710 x 345 x 100 mm. 
• System includes shrink-wrapping.    

Download

• Case study – Bitumen solidification Case_Study_Etanchal
• White paper: Hydrocarbon Engineering White Paper 2021
• Rotoform pastillation 
• Bitumen
• IPCO World