Ecopetrol opens Barrancabermeja hydro-treatment plant
With an investment of $1.02 billion, Ecopetrol has opened its hydro-treatment plant at the Barrancabermeja refinery in Columbia. September 8th saw the first barrel of clean or hydro-treated gasoline produced at the Barrancabermeja refinery with fewer than 300 ppm of sulfur, in accordance with the strictest international standards.
On August 19th, diesel was produced at the refinery with less than 50 ppm of sulfur, meeting national level requirements for Colombian cities with high consumption.
Construction of the plant, one of the most modern in Latin America, was carried out by consortiums consisting primarily of Colombian companies, required more than 20 million man hours of work and created 8,800 jobs between 2007 and 2010, 58% of which were assigned to workers from the Barrancabermeja area.
The startup of operations at the new plant allows the Barrancabermeja refinery to begin producing gasoline and diesel that meets the highest international quality and is in compliance with maximum levels required by law, which is 300 ppm for gasoline; 50 ppm for diesel used by the Colombia´s mass transit systems and the cities of Bogota and Medellin; and 500 ppm for the diesel used by the rest of the country. By December 31, 2012, the entire country will have diesel with only 50 ppm of sulfur.
The opening of the hydro-treatment plant is a major environmental milestone for Colombia as it will reduce sulfur emissions into the atmosphere. Specifically, it is estimated that 47.2 metric tpd on average of sulfur will be removed from gasoline and diesel, which equates to a reduction in sulfur emissions of approximately 98.9%.
The plant is made up of seven units: diesel hydro treatment, gasoline hydro treatment, hydrogen production, disposal of sour waters, sulfur recovery, tail gas treatment and amine regeneration.
The hydro-treatment project first became a consideration in 2003 when the Colombian government started regulating the sulfur content of fuels sold nationally. Construction of the plant began in 2007.
The plant also has nine reactors, 10 towers, 65 condensers and heat exchangers. 209 control systems, 12 storage tanks and 2,562 instruments and controls.
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