RIPI Competes with Oil Giants
By Mohammad Afshin
Today, downstream industries need more attention because of their contribution to development of refining and petrochemical products and their role in the development of products of higher quality. That could help bring about economic prosperity in oil and gas-rich countries.
Since opting for new processes and acquiring technical savvy are significant for this industrial sector, the countries active in downstream industries are required to benefit from research institutes in order to equip themselves with the state-of-the-art technology.
As a country rich in oil and gas, Iran has expanded its downstream activities and taken big steps by benefiting from its research institutes.
To that effect, the Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI) is one of the most important research centers in Iran. It has so far conducted numerous research projects in the downstream sector. Here, we introduce some of projects carried out at RIPI.
Aromatization Catalyst
The process of aromatization is instrumental in the petrochemical industry for developing aromatics. Petrochemical plants in Iran produce aromatics with the objective to produce such products as benzene, toluene, ortho-xylene, paraxylene and xylene mix. These plants are among Iran’s infrastructure and their products are used to feed downstream industries producing detergents, plastics, polyester fiber, plasticizers and paints.
Given the high level of consumption of catalysts and the significance of fabrication of aromatization catalysts in the country, the Catalyst Department of RIPI has drawn up a package for designing and producing this catalyst at the amount of 360 kilograms a day and given to a domestic company for mass production.
In the first stage, production of 50 kilograms of catalyst under the supervision of RIPI experts is envisaged. Comparing the results gained from physico-chemical tests and comparing the activity of this catalyst with those made overseas show that this catalyst can rival foreign ones. Currently, production of 200 tons of this catalyst is under way under supervision of RIPI experts. The Persian Gulf Star Refinery has been assigned the production of 300 tons of this catalyst.
Reforming Catalyst
Catalytic reforming is a well known procedure in the oil refining industry. It is used for boosting the quality of gasoline’s octane, production of aromatics for the petrochemical industries and hydrogen for industrial purposes. Every year, more than 150 tons of reforming catalysts is consumed in Iran’s refineries and petrochemical plants. This amount of consumption is set to rise significantly in coming years as Iran is developing refineries and petrochemical plants. Purchase of these catalysts from foreign producers costs millions of dollars a year.
Following successful production of this catalyst at RIPI, a package was drawn up for the production of 400 kilograms a day of this catalyst.
In recent years RIPI has made extensive efforts to indigenize this catalyst. In 2011, this catalyst was placed on the sanctions list of the US and European governments. Under the auspices of RIPI efforts and the support of National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC), the technical savvy for the development of this catalyst has been given to a domestic company.
In the first phase, 200 kilograms of catalyst was produced under supervision of RIPI and petrochemical experts.
Comparing the results gained from physico-chemical tests and comparing the activity of this catalyst with those made overseas show that this catalyst can rival foreign ones. Ten tons of this catalyst has already been produced and shipped to Bandar Imam Petrochemical Plant.
Demercaptanization Catalyst
The organic sulfured compounds in crude oil, petroleum fractions, gas and gas condensate are among the main environment. Mercaptans are organic sulfides largely available in petroleum products. They often cause the quality of final products to decline and that is why the removal of sulfured compounds from oil hydrocarbons, referred to as sweetening operation, is a must. UOP and VNIUS are the only two companies possessing technology for demercaptanization. The technical knowledge for producing this catalyst has been defined at the catalyst and nanotechnology department of RIPI under the title “catalyst for optimized demercaptanization and sulfide hydrogen reduction from hydrocarbon fluids”.
This technical knowledge has been given to two domestic companies. It is currently in the stage of large-scale production in order to assess its performance in industrial units.
Naphtha Sulfurization Hydriodic Catalyst
In the structure of commercial catalysts, the base of catalysts is an important parameter. Such processes as hydrogen desulfurization and denitrogenation are among the most important refining processes in the refining industry to be done with the help of hydrogen catalysts.
The main reason behind these processes in refining units is to counter the impact of sulfur and nitrogen existing in petroleum fractions on catalytic processes and the polluting role of these compounds. In Iran, around 150 tons a year of these catalysts are consumed in refineries.
Now, the technical knowledge for the development of desulfurization catalysts from petroleum fractions and the alumina base of these catalysts has been drafted at RIPI and given to two Iranian companies.
Parsi Sol Technology
One of the main units in gas refineries is sweetening facility which generally uses amine solvents. Using solvents with higher efficiency, lower energy consumption and less operational problem have always been among the main concerns of refining industrialists. That is why big oil companies in the world have moved to develop formulated solvents in order to meet their requirements.
To that effect, the RIPI, in collaboration with the Research and Technology Directorate of National Iranian Gas Company, focused on the development of technical knowledge and creation of the necessary research infrastructure in 2006.
The Parsi Sol technology is in fact purification of natural gas. It involves formulation of sweetening solvents, designing a sweetening facility, management of solvents and marketing of solvents currently in use.
This technology is the outcome of a research project which is aimed at indigenizing technical knowledge for formulation of solvents needed for the purification of natural gas and establishment of the necessary infrastructure for designing sweetening facilities, defining methods of quantitative and qualitative analysis of amine solvents used in the oil, gas and petrochemical industries as well as development of methods for marketing solvents.
The technical knowledge developed for this formulation has been registered as Parsi Sol. This solvent is under field test at Masjed Soleyman oil refinery at industrial scale.
The effectiveness of this solvent has been proven and it works much better than a previous solvent developed by a Canadian company.
Currently, the RIPI is applying standardized analysis method to conduct all tests which were previously done by foreign companies. The RIPI’s tests are of high precision and accuracy.
Odorant
Odorant is a substance used for incorporating an odor into natural gas or liquefied gas. Since natural gas is odorless after refining, and will become dangerous in case of leak, by injecting this substance into natural gas or liquefied gas stream it can be used as a warning substance. Iran used to import odorants in order to meet its annual 600 tons demand. Due to the gas industry’s demand for this strategic substance, a contract has been signed for its production in Iran between the RIPI and the NIGC’s Directorate of Research and Technology.
The activities related to the selection of feedstock, place of installation and revision of standards of Iranian-made odorant was done in 2008. Then, during nine months, the development of technical knowledge and conceptual and basic designing for the establishment of a facility with a capacity of 800 tons a year were done by RIPI. In this project, light mercaptans available in gas condensate produced from South Pars gas field were used for the production of odorants. In this project, a poisonous and harmful substance has been used to produce a valuable product. Moreover, 15,000 b/d of mercaptan-free gas condensate is also achieved as a byproduct to be supplied on world markets.
Currently, this facility is being set up at the site of the first refinery of South Pars. The EPC project has been awarded to a domestic contractor for implementation under the supervision of NIGC and RIPI. The project is now more than 80% completed. Pipe racks, mechanical tools, transducers, underground pipes, surface pipes and other structures have been installed. The foundation for rotary equipment, laying cables and installation of electric equipment and instruments are under way. It is important to note that all mechanical equipment of this unit, including storage tanks, pressure vessels, reactors and towers which have been specially designed to resist corrosion, are domestically manufactured.
This technical knowledge, developed by the RIPI, will reach the industrial stage in the near future with the help of the NIGC’s Directorate of Research and Technology as a new step towards self-sufficiency in the country.
Electrostatic Crude Oil Desalter
The crude oil recovered from reservoirs always contains water and salts which need to be separated before the delivery of oil. Since the existence of water in crude oil and petroleum products has always posed a serious challenge to the petroleum industry, electrostatic desalter is used in crude oil production facilities and in oil and gas refineries to separate saline solution.
The RIPI started research on electrostatic crude oil desalters several years ago in order to indigenize this technology. So far, numerous research projects have been conducted and all of them have been registered in Iran for the first time. They include studying desalting mechanism, startup of desalting pilot and studying the performance of desalter for crude oil under different conditions, simulation of desalting CFD in order to study the hydrodynamic behavior of electrostatic desalter and also developing software for simulating desalting units.
At present, foreign companies are designing the desalting unit and the necessary items. However, some storage tanks are built and installed by Iranian companies under supervision of foreign companies. According to estimates provided by domestic manufacturing companies, more than half of the costs paid for the construction of desalting units is related to the right to use foreign license. Due to the high significance of this technology and the important status it enjoys in the processing of crude oil and given the country’s need for desalting units in oil production, access to technology of electrostatic crude oil desalting could save hard currency and prepare the ground for the optimization of performance of these units.
Given its experiences with regard to electrostatic crude oil desalting technology, the RIPI is now ready to cooperate in such fields as offering advice for improving the performance of desalting units, industrial projects for building desalting units, testing the behavior of crude oil with pilot system and building mobile pilot for conducting demulsifier field tests.
Plasma Technology
The RIPI started its activities in plasma technology in 2005 by suggesting a project for converting methane to ethylene with plasma technology. As the world turned to producing synthesis gas, this research institute conducted projects on dry reforming of methane by applying the plasma technology.
Thanks to its ten years of experience in plasma technology, the RIPI focused on a project in September 2012 to study the feasibility of destroying urban and dangerous garbage by plasma technology for transformation into energy.
In a short period of time, the RIPI and an Iranian company experienced in manufacturing plasma torches developed a small pilot and conducted different tests to finally manufacture this system. In the next step, the RIPI proposed the construction of one ton per day pilot and won the approval of Renewable Energy Technologies Committee in 2013. The pilot of this project is expected to be launched soon.