Revamping a bitumen heating system
A redesigned oil based heating system for bitumen storage and sales saves
energy and eliminates customer complaints
GÜLŞAH ALTUNBAŞ and MURAT BARIŞ TÜRKOĞLU
Tüpraş
T
üpraş Batman refinery,
located in the southeast
of Turkey, is designed
to process 1.4 million t/y of
15-21 API domestic crude oil.
Bitumen is the main product
with an approximately 60%
yield. Since the refinery’s criti-
cal mission is to meet the bitu-
men and cutback needs of the
surrounding region, storage
and heating of bitumen stocks
in the tank farm is a major
operation in order for the refin-
ery to meet customer needs.
Bitumen stocks at the refin-
ery were heated by hot oil and
steam. But the existing hot oil
system was inadequate for
heating the bitumen storage
tanks. Since the main prob-
lems were rooted in the design
of the hot oil system, in 2011 a
revamp of the system was seen
to provide the best solution to
the problem.
Within the revamp project,
the main purpose was to keep
the temperature of the bitumen
tanks and related lines at 140°C.
The main problems relating
to the existing system were
detected. The first problem
was to increase bitumen stor-
age capacity. In the scope of the
revamp project, construction
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of a new bitumen tank with
30 000 tonnes of storage capac-
ity was taken into account.
Additionally, the hot oil sys-
tem was designed in the event
of any capacity increase in the
future. The next problem was
that the tanks far from the fur-
naces could not be heated easily
by hot oil. Therefore, orifices
for the hot oil pipelines were
designed to set the oil pressure.
The last requirement was the
installation of ESD and DCS
controls.
The new hot oil system
started up with ESD and DCS
control systems. After start-up
of the new hot oil system,
the efficiency of the system
increased from 75% to 85%.
Additionally, the equivalent of
10 000 tonnes of CO2 emissions
were avoided and a decrease
of seven points in the refinery’s
Energy Intensity Index was
achieved. The new hot oil sys-
tem also takes into account the
construction of future bitumen
tanks up to a total capacity of
60 000 tonnes.
Background to the refinery’s
hot oil system to be the best solution. In 2011,
Before the revamp of the hot oil
system, bitumen stocks in the
refinery were heated by both
steam and hot oil, although
steam use was quite risky
due to the foaming potential
of the product in the event of
any contact with steam. Since
2008, there had been a hot oil
system for heating three bitu-
men storage tanks and related
production and sales lines.
However, due to a lack of
design in the existing system,
the temperature of stored bitu-
men could not be maintained
at 140°C. Before the start-up of
the revamped system, Batman
refinery faced complaints from
customers regarding the tem-
perature of the bitumen sold to
them.
At the end of 2011, when the
previous hot oil system was
constructed, it was realised that
the current bitumen storage
capacity of the refinery failed to
meet demand in the region. In
addition, customer complaints
were increasing by the day in
view of the hot oil system’s ina-
bility to meet the required sales
temperature of the product. As
a result, revamping of the exist-
ing hot oil system was decided
a feasibility report including
construction of a bitumen tank
PTQ Q2 2019 1
 with a storage capacity of 30
000 tonnes and a revamp of the
inefficient hot oil system was
prepared. By means of basic
and detailed engineering stud-
ies, the main deficiencies of the
current system were identified
stepwise.
Increase outlet temperature
In the hot oil process, fresh
thermal oil is stored in oil
drums then transferred to the
expansion drum, where it is
pressurised and preheated
under a nitrogen blanket. Oil
from the expansion drum is
pumped to the furnaces. In the
previous system, there were
two furnaces, each having a
lower heat load than the new
ones. This means that the out-
let oil temperature of the fur-
naces could not exceed 160°C
and the efficiency of the system
remained around 75%. Heat
and hydraulic capacity calcu-
lations demonstrated that the
design capacity of the furnaces
and pumps was not enough to
supply the required energy to
the system. In the new system,
two furnaces, each having a
20% higher heat load, were to
be used so that the outlet oil
temperature was able to reach
270°C. Unlike in the previous
system, DCS and ESD control
mechanisms were installed in
the furnaces to contribute to
process safety.
The system is optimised
against high energy losses and,
because of a bypass line placed
between the hot oil supply and
return lines, it has the capabil-
ity to run in different modes:
• High temperature mode (270-
230°C): When the two furnaces
run parallel to each other, the
system is capable of supplying
maximum heat load. In this
2 PTQ Q2 2019
case, the system could supply
the heat load required for heat-
ing three bitumen tanks, three
sales lines, two production
lines, two bitumen feed lines,
and one suction heater in win-
ter conditions
• Normal temperature mode
(180-140°C): The system is
capable of supplying the 2.2
Gcal/h heat load required for
the whole system, apart from
the suction heater
• The furnaces can be oper-
ated after circulation as long
as there is a 40°C temperature
difference between the furnace
inlet and outlet temperatures.
Hot oil heated in the furnaces
is conveyed to the collector and
then goes to the system users
which are tank coils, produc-
tion and sales lines, and suction
heaters.
Orifice design
Previously, at points distant
from the furnace, lower oil flow
resulted in lower product tem-
perature in the storage tanks,
which led to complaints from
customers. As the distance
between the pipelines and the
furnaces increases, the tem-
perature of hot oil flowing
through the jacketed bitumen
lines gradually decreases. As
a result, at points distant from
the furnace outlet, the exist-
ing system could not supply
the required heat. To solve this
problem, firstly the diameter
of the pipelines was widened
from 50mm to 100mm. Then,
orifice designs with different
diameters throughout the lines
came into play. Descending
orifice diameters lead to oil at
a low flow rate but high pres-
sure. In this way, and different
from the previous system, even
the most distant lines could be
heated effectively. In addition
to the orifice system, the isola-
tion thickness of the widened
pipelines was increased from
50mm to 100mm.
New storage tank construction
Within the scope of the revamp
project, a new bitumen tank
was to be constructed with a
suction heater that could sup-
ply an almost 20°C differential
temperature between the tank
outlet and the truck loading
arm. For the new tank, feasibil-
ity calculations showed that the
insulation thickness for a new
bitumen tank could be 150mm,
compared with the previous
designs allowing 100mm of iso-
lation thickness. Construction
of a new bitumen tank with a
suction heater enabled the sale
of product even if the product
temperature was at 110°C.
Hot bypass line
One of the most important
and notable points of the rede-
signed system is the bypass
line placed between the furnace
inlet and outlet.
In the previous system,
although the outlet oil tem-
perature of the furnace was
almost 160°C, the oil temper-
ature returning to the furnace
was about 100-110°C. Since the
furnace could not supply the
required differential temper-
ature, the efficiency of the fur-
nace was almost 75%. In the
new design, a bypass line has
been installed from furnace
outlet to furnace inlet which
enables a 40°C temperature dif-
ference between inlet and out-
let. This enabled oil to return
to the furnaces with a tempera-
ture 40°C below the outlet tem-
perature and the efficiency of
the system rose to 85%.
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 The bypass line also aims to
provide pressure control of the
system and is provided with
a differential pressure control
valve with a controller which
receives signals from differ-
ential pressure transmitters.
Depending on the rotational
speed of the pumps, the hot
bypass line keeps the pressure
of the system and the quantity
of thermal oil circulated at the
desired level, independently
of demand from the process
users.
Sequential operation
The other important change is
sequential operation of the sys-
tem in the DCS. The start-up
procedure for the system was
programmed in the DCS by
Tüpraş engineers, to provide
an easy start-up procedure for
operators. Firstly, all opera-
tional titles were identified,
such as cold start-up, pass-
ing from one furnace to the
next, cooling, shutdown, and
switching from two-furnace
operation to one. All oper-
ational steps were listed for
each title and the system was
designed to allow the next step
of each operation only after
confirmation from the opera-
tor. Since the sequential oper-
ation system involves all steps
in the start-up procedure, it is
impossible to miss any step
and enables full control by the
operators. Such a sequential
system is not normally seen in
hot oil or furnace systems.
Other improvements
In the previous system, many
pressure, flow and tempera-
ture transmitters that should
normally be included in the
system were absent or did
not give the required outputs.
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150
Bitumen tank temperature
140
before revamp, ºC
130
120
110
1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43 50 53 56 59 62 65 68 71 74
Day
Figure 1 Bitumen tank temperature change before revamp
Therefore, flow, temperature drum was mounted on the sys-
and pressure information in the tem for the same purpose.
system could not be specified. Lastly, in the new system,
Transmitters that were absent air coolers are operated based
in the previous system were on the temperature differ-
added for the revamp, enabling ence principle. If the heat load
the heating of tanks and lines requirement of process users
under control. decreases and the system falls
In the previous system, hot to minimum load, oil circula-
oil flow decreased gradually tion proceeds by means of air
as distance from the furnace coolers. In other words, as the
increased. In the new case, a hot oil temperature rises to the
collector was built at the outlet set furnace outlet temperature,
of the furnace in order to avoid the air cooler runs as a process
higher flow rate from the fur- user.
nace outlet.
Other equipment included Performance tests
in the redesigned hot oil sys- For performance testing of the
tem are a sump drum, quench system, three bitumen tanks
drum, and air coolers. The with a capacity of 30 000 tonnes
sump drum was designed as and one tank with a capacity
a destination point for all hot of 10 000 tonnes were filled to
oil drains since all pressure their maximum safe level. On
safety valves are connected to start-up of the revamped sys-
it. tem, the temperatures of the
In the design phase, it was tanks were observed day by
projected that the safety valves day. Figure 1 shows the temper-
of the expansion and sump ature of a bitumen tank with a
drums should be connected to capacity of 30 000 tonnes when
the flare. However, to install the hot oil system was run
a 1km line to the flare was before revamp.
not economical. Therefore, as During the performance
described in API-521, a quench tests, bitumen tanks were oper-
PTQ Q2 2019 3
 106 142
Tank-1 temperature change Tank-2 temperature change 140
140
104
103
138
102
136
Temperature, °C

Temperature, ºC
100 134

132
98
131
130
96 96
128

94 126
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Day Day

145 146
Tank-3 temperature change 143
Tank-4 temperature change 144
144
140 142

140
Temperature, ºC

135 Temperature, ºC 138

136
131
130 134
133
132
125 130
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Day Day

Figure 2 Temperature change of tanks after revamp

ated sometimes for produc- lines, two sales lines, and a suc-
tion and sales. However, in Furnace and bitumen tank system tion heater, maintaining bitu-
performance
Figure 2 only changes in stable men temperatures of 140°C. In
tank temperatures are shown;
Furnace A Furnace B performance tests of the sys-
for Tank-1, temperature was Tank-1, °C 141 140 tem, a third sales line, designed
not only conserved but also Tank-2, °C
Tank-3, °C
144
144
143
143
for future operations, was also
increased in the revamped Furnace efficiency, % 89.9 90.6 taken into account.
system. After start-up of the new hot
In the performance tests, Table 1 oil system, complaints from
it was seen that the temper- customers regarding bitumen
atures of the tanks could be Following the performance temperature were eliminated.
increased daily by 1°C and that tests, it was clearly seen that In the performance tests, it was
the temperature decreases with the heat duty of the suction clearly seen that the system
the previous system, which heater is almost equal to the is capable of maintaining the
resulted in customer com- heat duty of a furnace at the temperatures of four bitumen
plaints, were eliminated. same hot oil flow. storage tanks with a total stor-
To assess the general per- age capacity of 100 000 tonnes
formance of the system, per- Conclusion at 140°C, as well as having the
formance tests were done for The construction of a new hot capability to heat three pro-
all other equipment and the oil system aimed to heat four duction lines, including one
results are shown in Table 1. bitumen tanks, two production for future operations, two sales

4 PTQ Q2 2019 www.digitalrefining.com/article/1002328

lines, and the return lines of the
four tanks.
Although maintaining the
temperatures of the storage
tanks at 140°C was expected,
the performance of the system
exceeded expectation with a
daily increase of 1°C in tank
temperatures. Although oil
circulating in the system was
not renewed for the perfor-
mance tests, the efficiency of
the system was above 85%. The
engineering contractor sug-
gested that making up 20% of
the oil in the system annually
would be enough for system
efficiency.
Additionally, the con-
struction of a quench drum
www.digitalrefining.com/article/1002328
instead of a 1km pipeline to
flare resulted in cost and time
savings.
The redesigned hot oil sys-
tem saves the equivalent of
an annual 10 000 tonnes of
CO2 emissions, and the refin-
ery’s Energy Intensity Index
decreased by seven units.
Gülşah Altunbaş is an Operations
Engineer in the Production Department
of Tupras Batman Refinery, Turkey. Her
refining experience includes operation
of storage tanks and hot oil units, and
construction of a new tank and loading
facility operations. She holds a BS in
Chemical Engineering from METU,
Ankara, Turkey.
Email: gulsah.altunbas@tupras.com.tr
Murat Barışş Türkoğlu is an Operations
Superintendent in the Production
Department of TUPRAS Batman
Refinery, Turkey. His refining experience
includes operation of storage tanks and
hot oil units, tank and loading facility
operations, electricity production and
distribution, and steam production. He
holds a BS in electrical and electronic
engineering from Dicle University,
Diyarbakır, Turkey.
Email: muratbaris.turkoglu@tupras.com.tr
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PTQ Q2 2019 5