Used OilCommissioned & Operating
50 KLPD Used-Oil Re-Refining Revamp Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
PROJECT SNAPSHOT
LOCATION
Saudi Arabia
CAPACITY
50 KLPD
TECHNOLOGY
Used Oil
PLANT STATUS
Commissioned & Operating
BALAJI CONSULTANTS’ ROLE
Process Technology • Revamp Engineering • WFE Integration • Detailed Engineering • Commissioning
THE CHALLENGE
The client operated an existing used-oil re-refining facility in Riyadh based on a direct-fired clay process. This configuration limited base-oil recovery, generated significant spent-adsorbent handling and disposal requirements, and constrained operating reliability. The requirement was to improve recovery performance and product quality at 50 KLPD without a complete plant replacement.
OUR SOLUTION
Balaji Consultants assessed the existing plant, identified the recovery-limiting sections and developed a revamp strategy that retained usable equipment. The existing direct-fired clay vessels were repurposed for feed dehydration and degassing eliminating the need for new front-end equipment. Two Wiped-Film Evaporators were integrated downstream for continuous high-vacuum base-oil recovery.
REVAMP BEFORE REPLACE
We assess what can be retained, identify the process bottleneck, and modernise only the sections necessary to improve recovery, product quality and operating reliability.
PROCESS CONFIGURATION
Repurposed Clay Vessels Dehydration & DegassingWFE Feed SystemTwo Wiped-Film EvaporatorsBase-Oil Product Recovery
The existing direct-fired clay vessels, retained and repurposed for feed conditioning, remove water and light fractions from the incoming used oil. Conditioned oil is then transferred to the WFE section, where two Wiped-Film Evaporators recover a combined base-oil cut under high-vacuum and short-residence-time conditions maximising recovery of lubricating-oil fractions while minimising thermal degradation risk.
PROJECT OUTCOME
- Existing clay vessels retained and repurposed capital requirement reduced compared with complete plant replacement
- WFE high-vacuum processing introduced to improve base-oil recovery
- Plant commissioned and operating
- Brownfield integration completed with minimum disruption to the existing site
SCOPE OF WORK
- Existing plant audit, equipment assessment & revamp process development
- WFE sizing, configuration design & heat and material balance
- Detailed engineering process, mechanical, piping & instrumentation
- Equipment procurement, fabrication & integration with existing plant
- Site integration & tie-in engineering
- Commissioning & process optimisation
RELATED TECHNOLOGY
PLANNING A NEW RE-REFINING PLANT OR REVAMPING AN EXISTING ONE?
Balaji Consultants develops process configurations around your feedstock, required product quality, existing infrastructure, capacity and project economics.
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