Modular Refineries

Kaltech’s Modular Refineries are skid-mounted, factory-fabricated crude distillation units (CDUs) built for rapid field deployment, from 100 BPD condensate units up to a single-train 10,000 BPD maximum — the largest size that can move under standard road transport permits. Multiple 10,000 BPD trains can be paralleled on one site for higher throughput and multi-crude flexibility.

Each train includes crude preheat, electrostatic desalting, a fired heater, and atmospheric fractionation, yielding LPG, naphtha, kerosene/jet fuel, diesel, and atmospheric residue. Air-cooled exchangers eliminate the need for cooling-water infrastructure. Optional add-on units — a naphtha hydrotreater and catalytic reformer — upgrade naphtha to RON 95+ gasoline, with hydrotreating packages available for Euro V compliance.

All vessels are designed to ASME Section VIII Division 1, piping to ASME B31.3, and fired heaters to API 560. Units processing sour crude are built to NACE MR0175, with closed sour-gas handling, fixed H2S detection, and ATEX/IECEx hazardous area classification.

The advantages of a modular refinery are:

• Smaller units can be set up and in operation within two days after arrival at a site when the foundation and storage tanks are in place.

• Two operators can restart the plant from a cold start and have the plant in full operation in a matter of hours.

• Fully automated DCS control — once an operator sets the controlling points, all product temperatures and flows are controlled automatically.

• Only a flat support area, or concrete slab without anchor bolts, is required to support the plant.

• Fuel supply can be natural gas, naphtha, diesel, fuel oil or a combination of these fuels.