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Operating Process
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Asphaltic (heavy) crude oil is received via two independent pipelines into large storage tanks.
The cold feedstock is preheated and transferred to the desalter vessel, which removes trace water and salts. Demulsifiers are added to the desalter.
The crude heater partially vapourizes the crude to permit the distillation of naphtha and distillates in the upper atmospheric crude column.
Oil is pumped to the 70-foot-tall atmospheric tower, where the crude column is separated into lighter and heavier components.
Atmospheric tower bottoms are fed to the vacuum heater, while the heater outlet stream is sent directly to the vacuum tower.
The bottoms are further heated and distilled under vacuum conditions to produce a variety of asphalt grades.
Asphalts can also be enhanced by the use of modifiers, which improve the performance of the plant’s conventional asphalt.
Meanwhile, tops from the crude column and vacuum tower are combined and sold as feedstock. Tops -- including gas oils, naphtha and distillates -- are shipped through the South Saskatchewan Pipeline and the Enbridge Pipeline system to refineries in Eastern Canada or the U.S.
Tops are further processed by refineries to manufacture motor gasoline and diesel fuel.
Distillates can be further refined to create products such as burner fuel, wood preservative oil, cutter stock, de-dusting agents, as well as drilling and fracturing fluids used in the oil and gas industry.
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