MODULAR CENTRIFUGAL PROCESS LINES

GEA Crude Oil Treatment Systems

These ready-to-use treatment systems have been designed for the efficient dehydration and desalting of crude oil. At the heart of each modular system is a high-performance centrifugal separator which can be flexibly supplemented by additional units. The easy-to-integrate treatment system can be customized for various process setups and stages in both upstream and downstream processes.

The innovative and robustGEA Crude Oil Treatment Systemmeets the stringent requirements of the oil industry in relation to both product quality and environment.It can process crude oils with high densities and high water/salt content efficiently while minimizing the consumption of chemicals, which leads to considerable savings in operating costs.


Applications

  • Dehydration of crude oil: Heavy crude oil, off-spec (opportunity) crude oil
  • Desalting of crude oil: Heavy crude oil, off-spec (opportunity) crude oil

Your benefits at a glance

G force icon

High g-forces of 5,000 to 7,500

  • Simultaneous separation of water and solids:

            Efficiency of water and salt removal: 90-99 %

            Efficiency of solids removal: > 99 %

  • Mechanical emulsion breaking capability
  • Allowing lower separation temperatures
  • Reduced use of chemicals
365/24 icon

365 / 24 availability

  • Back-up capacity with multiple separation units in operation
  • Continuous operation with an uptime of > 98.5 %, depending on the service level agreement
Reliability icon

Continuous reliability

  • Installed base of 1000s of machines running
  • Average operating time of 20 years
  • Reliable erosion protection
  • High-grade material against corrosion
Flexibility icon

Feed conditions and operation flexibility

  • Extremely flexible and compact modular design
  • Can be used as stand-alone system or as expansion of the existing installation to compensate for bottlenecks or increase the performance
  • Flexible turndown capacity (20 to 100 %)
  • Automatic response on changing feed conditions
  • No dependency on low or stable oil conductivity
  • Adaptation to NACE and sour crude oil possible
  • Compliance with regulations for hazardous areas (zone 1 and zone 2)

The treatment system can perform as a fully functional stand-alone unit and can be integrated in a variety of existing upstream and downstream process setups to solve crude oil related separation challenges.

Basic process flows that can be applied are:

  • Installation as upstream dehydration stage
  • Parallel side stream installation to the existing process
  • Stand-alone installation as replacement for the conventional solution on site
  • Installation as intermediate system from tank to tank for further processing in refineries

Interested to learn more about how one system solution can solve all these different tasks efficiently?

Please follow this link.

Available units

Available unitsDue to the modular design several centrifuge units can be combined to achieve the desired performance and flow rate flexibility. The centrifuge unit can be optionally supplemented with additional units with transfer pump, heater and mixer, providing a tailor-made solution for each customer and process requirement.
Modular system – Comprehensive know-how from a single supplier
GEA Crude Oil Treatment System

Only someone who can see the system as a whole is able to design it from the start to achieve the highest efficiency. GEA develops package units and process lines whose intelligent technology and integrated concepts immediately create added value. This secures investments – and thus an economic future solution.

Complete solutions from one supplier eliminate time delays and expensive coordination processes right from the start. Instead, they ensure constant high performance in terms of flow rate and separation performance - with minimal effort. This excellent process economy secures your investment decisions in the long term.

For applications where mobility of the treatment system is important, GEA offers corresponding solutions in standard containers and enclosures.

 

Overview of available units
Centrifuge unit

Centrifuge unit

Capacity: 30 - 150 m3 / h | 5,000 - 23,000 BPD

Dimensions* L x W x H (appr.): 

8,000 x 3,000 x 4,550 mm | 26 x 10 x 15 ft

Weight* (empty): 17,700 kg | 39,000 lb

Required power: P = 75 - 150 kW / 100 - 200 HP

Feed pump unit

Feed pump unit (optional)

Capacity: 30 - 150 m3 / h | 5,000 - 23,000 BPD

Amount of pumps: 1 x 100 % positive cavity pump

Dimensions* L x W x H (appr.):

5,200 x 1,200 x 2,900 mm | 17 x 4 x 10 ft

Weight* (empty): 9,500 kg | 21,000 lb

Utilities: Power 45 kW / 62 HP

Heat exchanger unit

Heat exchanger unit (optional)

Heating capacity: 45 °C – 105 °C | 113 - 220 °F

Dimensions* L x W x H (appr.):

5,200 x 1,200 x 2,900 mm | 17 x 4 x 10 ft

Weight* (empty): 9,500 kg | 21,000 lb

Utilities: Saturated steam, thermal oil

Multi-stage mixer unit

Multi-stage mixer unit for the desalting process (optional)

Capacity: 30 - 150 m3/ h | 5,000 - 23,000 BPD

Dimensions* L x W x H (appr.):

3,800 x 3,800 x 5,500 mm | 12 x 12 x 18 ft

Volume: up to 7 m3 | 1,850 gallon

Weight* (empty): 10,000 kg | 22,000 lb

Utilities:

Power: 4.0 kW / 5.4 hp

Wash water: 1 - 5 % of the crude oil

feed flow

Chemical dosing unit

Chemical dosing unit (optional)

Capacity: 1 - 2 m³ / h | 4,4 gpm

Dimensions* L x W x H (appr.):

2,500 x 1,500 x 2,000 mm | 8,2 x 5,0 x 6,6 ft

Weight (empty): 1,000 kg | 2,200 lbs

Utilities Power 2 kW | 2,8 HP

 

_

*Weight and dimensions are based on a capacity of 30 - 85 m³/h

GEA crude oil Dehydrator

GEA crude oil DehydratorGEA crude oil Dehydrators are nozzle-type disk stack centrifuges. They are the right choice, if the main task is to reduce the water content of the crude oil and if the solids content varies.
GEA crude oil Dehydrator

These centrifuges are built for high performance by incorporating the know-how of more than 50 years of successful operation in the Canadian oil sands industry into their design. Robustness, high efficiency, ease of use and predictable maintenance costs are some of the main advantages.

Operating principles and constructional features

In a nozzle centrifuge, the solids and water are continuously removed through open nozzles placed on the outer diameter of the bowl. At the same time, oil and water are continuously separated by the high g-forces and removed from the top of the bowl under pressure. By using a large number of densely packed disks, the clarification space is significantly increased compared to static separators, thus further improving the oil-water separation.

GEA crude oil Dehydrator drawing

Depending on the required capacity, GEA supplies the following machine types:

  • GEA crude oil Dehydrator 130
  • GEA crude oil Dehydrator 260

GEA crude oil Dehydrators are available with a direct driven or with a belt driven bowl.


Features

  • Single unit capacity up to 37,500 BPD (250 m3/h); can easily be extended by combining several units
  • Oil gravity > 12° API
  • Flexible adjustment of the separating zone for maximum separation efficiency of the liquid phases
  • Special wear protection including replaceable wear liners
  • All product containing parts are made from high-grade stainless steel material
  • Space-saving design
  • ATEX compliant for the operation in ATEX Zone 1 and Zone 2 environments
Crude oil flow rates
Crude oil flow rates - dehydration

Further technical data and dimensions are available in the technical datasheets you can find in the downloads of this page.

GEA crude oil Desalter

GEA crude oil DesalterGEA crude oil Desalters have a self-ejecting disk-stack bowl for the separation of oil, water and solids. They are the right choice, if the solids content is limited and if the main purpose is to reduce the salt content of the crude oil.
GEA crude oil Desalter

These centrifuges have been designed specifically for crude oil applications and cover the entire range of possible capacities. They are characterized by high motor performance and optimum dynamics with low energy consumption. Other advantages include high reliability, ease of use and low maintenance costs.

Operating principles and constructional features

In the rotating bowl, the salt-charged water and fine particles are separated from the crude oil. The desalting efficiency can be improved by adding fresh water upstream of the centrifuge to extract water-soluble salts from the crude oil. Water and crude oil are discharged continuously under pressure, with the solids collected in the holding space and being automatically ejected at regular intervals.

GEA crude oil Desalter drawing

Depending on the required capacity, GEA supplies three options for this application:


• GEA crude oil Desalter 80

• GEA crude oil Desalter 120 

• GEA crude oil Desalter 200

 

The GEA crude oil Desalter 200 is available with direct drive, both the versions 80 and 120 are available as belt-driven machines.

 

Features

  • Single unit capacity up to 12,500 BPD (85 m3/h); can easily be extended by combining several units
  • Oil gravity > 12° API
  • Closed feed and discharge for the product phases
  • Flexible adjustment of the separating zone for maximum separation efficiency of the liquid phases 
  • Special wear protection including replaceable wear liners
  • All product containing parts are made from high-grade stainless steel material
  • Space-saving design
  • ATEX compliant for the operation in ATEX Zone 1 and Zone 2 environments
  • BS&W and water-soluble salt are brought to pipeline / refinery quality
Crude oil flow rates
Crude oil flow rates - desalting

Further technical data and dimensions are available in the technical datasheets you can find in the downloads of this page.

Crude oil treatment

GEA Crude Oil Treatment Systems – Dehydration and Desalting with Centrifuges

GEA Crude Oil Treatment Systems are modular centrifugal process lines for the efficient dehydration and desalting of crude oil in various process setups.

GEA Insights

Future-proofing the cold chain with sustainable refrigeration

The importance of quality cold chain management cannot be underestimated. Ensuring that perishable foodstuffs are safe and of high quality at the point of consumption is a tremendous responsibility for those operating cold chain...

Josep Masramón and his daughter stand in front of their GEA batch milking installation.

How batch milking supports sustainable dairy farming

The latest evolution in automated milking introduces batch milking – a dairy farming practice where cows are milked in groups at fixed milking times, usually two or three times per day. The automation technology is helping to...

GEA supports clean water projects in Tanzania

Access to safe water and sanitation is still a challenge in a lot of countries. Illness from dirty drinking water and daily treks to fetch it, mean many children cannot attend school. Thanks to a collaboration with Hamburg-based...

Receive news from GEA

Stay in touch with GEA innovations and stories by signing up for news from GEA.

Contact us

We are here to help! With just a few details we will be able to respond to your inquiry.