Pastillation systems to expand refinery output

Reliance Petroleum has confirmed a major order for Sandvik's steel belt-based Rotoform pastillation plant for its huge Jamnagar refinery complex in Gujarat, Western India.

Reliance Petroleum has confirmed a major order for Sandvik's steel belt-based Rotoform pastillation plant for its huge Jamnagar refinery complex in Gujarat, Western India.

Reliance Industries currently operates an oil refinery and petrochemical complex at Jamnagar, processing 650,000 barrels per stream day of crude oil, and producing LPG, naphtha, gasoline, kerosene, diesel, sulphur, coke, polypropylene and a number of aromatic products, including paraxylene, orthoxylene and benzene.

The company is now preparing to boost capacity through the Jamnagar Export Refinery Project (JERP), providing additional crude distillation and associated secondary conversion facilities, and almost doubling capacity to over 1.2 million barrels per stream day.

The order includes eight Sandvik Rotoform HS (high speed) pastillation systems, complete conveying, storage and loading facilities as well as control system.

Startup of the plant is scheduled for February 2008 and, once fully operational, Jamnagar will be the largest refinery of its kind in the world.

This is the biggest single order for the Rotoform HS pastillation system since its launch in September 2005.

The development of this high speed system offers solidification capacities up to twice those of the company's previous Rotoform system.

It is an upgrade of the standard Rotoform 3000 and an additional member of the Sandvik Rotoform family.

The key difference between the HS model and the standard Sandvik Rotoform 3000 is the sise of the shell that deposits the molten sulphur on to the belt.

The use of a 250mm diameter shell, as opposed to a 80mm depositor, reduces the centrifugal force on the droplets.

This means the system can be operated with higher capacity and speed while still delivering a pastille with a regular, hemispherical shape.

Alongside its high solidification capacity and low capital investment/operational costs, the other main reasons for selecting the Rotoform HS solution were the ability to deliver a product quality to SUDIC specification, its low environmental impact (minimum H2S emission) and a low offloading temperature for the solidified sulphur.

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