Sodium Asphalt Sulfonate Plant

Description

Used plant for the production of Sodium Asphalt Sulphonate commissioned in 2009 with a capacity of 14 million pounds per year (approximately 6,350 tonnes per year). The product is a chemical used for shale stabilisation in oilfield drilling.

**Brief Plant Description:**

1 - Plant for the manufacture of oleum from elemental sulphur. This section was constructed in 2009 by Chemithon India (Technithon) and could reportedly be used in other industries including surfactant manufacture.
Main equipment includes melt tank, combustion vessel with air dryer/blower, catalyst tower (vanadium pentoxide), SO2 scrubber, absorption/concentration unit and product tanks along with associated pumps, heat exchangers/economiser, PLC controls, etc.

2 - Plant for the sulphonation of a specific form of asphalt.
Main equipment includes gas-fired asphalt melting vessel, two 30 MT asphalt stock tanks, various solvent stock tanks and recovery/recycle system, cutback tank (37 m³ MS), Charlotte colloidal mill for the preparation of asphalt/solvent mixture, sulphonation reactor (12 m³ SS316), neutralisation reactor (12 m³ SS316), concentric tube heat exchanger and slurry holding tank (37 m³ MS) along with various load cells, mass flow meters, transfer pumps, etc. Uses the same PLC system as the oleum plant.

3 - Drying/packing section.
Main equipment includes two Bepex Solidaire stainless steel agitated paddle dryers (36” x 20’ and 24” x 12’) heated by oil, blower/vacuum system, off-gas scrubber, Schutte-Buffalo hammer mill, pneumatic powder transfer system, storage silo with bag filtration system, semi-automatic Choice valved sack filling unit with bag filter.