Hydrodec

Compressed hydrogen is one of the key components of the reaction at the core of the Hydrodec process. Low pressure hydrogen from the hydrogen supply is compressed to be supplied to the refining system at the required pressure.

The refining plant is built over three levels to allow safe access to all critical instrumentation, vessel openings and sampling points without the requirement for external ladders or scaffolds.

Each refining plant encompasses the key process steps of hydrotreating, heat exchange and phase separation of oil, water and gases into their separate phases for processing. The gases are scrubbed for re-use, while the oil and water phases are further processed downstream.

The Canton refinery consists of three individual plants, each with two processing trains that can be operated independently. This provides maximum operational flexibility, allowing critical maintenance to be conducted on key plant without the need to shut down the entire refinery.

While a significant portion of the heat supplied to the reaction mixture is conserved and used to heat other process streams, some streams require water cooling. The cooling tower provides a means of transfer of this heat to the atmosphere.

The laboratory provides support to all phases of the refining operation – from screening of feed material, routine process monitoring samples and finished product certification. Testing is performed in accordance with International Standard methods.

The TORS units are responsible for the final processing steps of vacuum dewatering and adsorbent treatment of the oil. These processes ensure the product is of exceptional color, low odor and minimal water content.

Waste gases are sent to the thermal oxidizer for treatment before atmospheric release to ensure strict compliance with EPA regulations.

Trained operators monitor and control the process on a continuous basis. An upgraded control system was designed by Casey Sutton and commissioned in May 2019.