18-05-2017

Shikoku refinery selects separators from General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) announced today that it has received an order from De Nora Permelec Ltd., via the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor CHIYODA Corp., for an eight (8) module Gulftronic™ Electrostatic Separator System to be installed at Taiyo Oil Co. Ltd.’s Shikoku refinery in Japan. This new system will expand the refinery’s existing Gulftronic system from eight to sixteen (16) modules as part of their Residual Fluidized Catalytic Crackers (RFCC) MAB Renovation project to meet Japan’s increasing domestic demand for fuels and chemicals.

“We are extremely proud to provide Taiyo Oil Co. with additional Gulftronic modules to help them increase capacity and throughput to meet market demand,” stated Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS. “Gulftronic’s pre-assembled, skid-mount design allows refineries to install and expand systems to increase capacity and throughput without additional on-site construction. Gulftronic systems not only help refineries maximize yields from slurry oil and improve per-barrel returns from FCC/RFCC and hydrocracking, their modular design also helps significantly reduce installation costs for both new and expansion projects.”

Through a unique electrostatic process, Gulftronic separators capture and remove solids and catalyst fines from the process stream to provide higher‑value oil products with a clarity below 100 parts per million. Gulftronic separators are also impervious to fouling or blockage, resulting in less downstream contamination and significantly reduced maintenance requirements. Traditional mechanical filtration systems allow fine particles to escape capture, causing blockages, buildup in filters, contamination, and increased maintenance and downtime costs.

“We’ve been working with De Nora, who has been servicing 14 units for over 30 years in the Japanese market,” continued Forney. “Increasingly, we’re seeing refineries turn to our Gulftronic electrostatic separation process for RFCC projects. Refineries are finding that the Gulftronic filtration method increases yield, resulting in high‑value clarified oil products to maximize revenue potential.”