Vapor Recovery Unit (VRU) Process Evaluation

Posted in News on Apr 11, 2023

A small, detailed design company in Southern Europe contracted Process Engineering International, LLC (PROCESS) to perform a Vapor Recovery Unit process evaluation and to prepare basic process design documentation for the ultimate client, a large multinational oil and gas processing company with operations in Europe, North and South America, Australasia, Asia, and Africa.

PROCESS prepared the following deliverables:

• A preliminary process design basis was prepared to define the project and client expectations
• Three options for the VRU configuration were evaluated, and these consisted of:
  • Adsorption/Adsorption
  • Adsorption/Condensation
  • Scrubber/Membrane
• Heat and Material Balances with Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs) were prepared for each configuration.

In addition, PROCESS analyzed each configuration from a high level and ranked according to impressions from PROCESS for the following criteria:

• Expected economics
• Expected power requirements
• Estimated CO2 footprint
• Throughput capacity
• Emission levels

PROCESS was proud to assist with this Vapor Recovery Unit.

The PFDs with Heat and Material Balance information for each configuration, along with the rankings for each system, were presented to the client, and a recommendation for what was perceived as the best fit for the application was presented. The information presented allowed the client to choose the process configuration that worked for their facility and to go to vendors to purchase a package system.