Pignat, the French leader in the construction of chemical engineering equipment and process engineering, has just signed two license agreements with the French Petroleum Institute (l’Institut Français du Pétrole). The license agreements will enable Pignat to launch two new products on the market: DESALTOP®, a crude oil desalting pilot unit, and TOPCONT®, a continuous distillation unit for crude oil. Using well-known and recognized processes, Pignat is one of the only companies in the world that is capable of building this type of crude oil pilot unit.
The pilot units, which concern two fundamental oil-industry processes, were specially designed to prepare fractions for use in process engineering studies (hydrotreatment, cracking, reforming, etc.) from a wide spectrum of crude oil (API 16 to 40). The fractions are comparable to those obtained via industrial processes.
The water scrubbing process perfected by Pignat uses physically-decanted water under electric potential, which allows the fine water droplets to coalesce. The DESALTOP® pilot desalting unit lowers NaCl concentration levels for crude oils with approximately 10,000 pounds per 1,000 barrels to less than 10 pounds per 1,000 barrels.
The TOPCONT® pilot distillation unit is capable of producing fraction volumes of around 100 kilos (gas, diesel fuel, VGO, neutral, residue) with quality criteria comparable to those obtained by industrial units for heavy crude oils.
Pignat also produces other pilot units for liquid-liquid extraction, reaction, crystallization, and other operations.
Pignat is a forward-looking company that is international in scope, with operations around the globe. The quality of Pignat products and the company’s high level of professionalism have made it an undisputed leader in its field.
