Everything You Need To Know About Modular Crude Oil Refineries

Modular crude oil refineries are a growing trend in the energy industry, as they offer many benefits over traditional refineries. Here's what you need to know.

How Is Crude Oil Processed?

The first step in understanding how modular crude oil refineries work is understanding the refining process. Crude oil is made up of hydrocarbons, which are molecules that contain both nitrogen and chlorine. The refining process breaks down the hydrocarbons into their component parts so that they can be used to make gasoline, diesel, and other products. 

The refining process starts with fractional distillation, where the crude oil is heated to a high temperature. The different hydrocarbon molecules vaporize at different temperatures, so they are separated as they are heated. 

The next step is commonly referred to as cracking. In this step, the heavier molecules from the fractional distillation process are 'cracked' into lighter molecules by heating them to a very high temperature until they break apart into smaller molecules. 

After the cracking process, the lighter molecules from the cracking process are combined to create new molecules used to make gasoline. 

What Are Modular Crude Oil Refineries?

Modular crude oil refineries are a type of processing plant that is becoming increasingly popular in the oil and gas industry. They consist of several repositionable, temporary modules or units. The modular units are built in a factory and then transported to the site where they will be used, which is often a remote location. If you're in the business of crude oil, then modular crude oil refineries are something you need to know about.

What Are the Benefits of Modular Crude Oil Refineries?

Building a new crude oil refinery from the ground up is an extensive construction project and one that you may not be willing to undertake for a variety of reasons. A modular refinery, on the other hand, may work well with your business plan and projected budget. In addition, there are many benefits to using a modular crude oil refinery, including:

  • Cost. One of the main benefits of modular crude oil refineries is that they can be built far cheaper than traditional refineries because the modules are all built in a factory setting, which allows for reduced costs due to mass production.
  • Speed. A modular crude oil refinery can be ordered, set up, and operational quickly because it is a modular unit.
  • Expand. Another benefit of modular crude oil refineries is that they are much easier to expand. If you need to add capacity, you can simply purchase additional modules and hook them up to the existing refinery. This is a much simpler and less expensive process than expanding a traditional refinery.
  • Mobile. When you are done processing crude oil at one location, you can simply dismantle the modular refinery and take it to another, which benefits businesses with multiple processing locations.

If you need to process crude oil, then a modular refinery may be the right choice for your business. For more information on modular crude oil refineries, contact a company near you.


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