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HYDRO DESULFURIZATION |
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In 1968 lago began to
build a Hydro Desulfurization unit at the Lago Refinery. These
photographs and the accompanying text was submitted by Joe Carroll. |
| The Aruba refinery was primarily a
fuel oil refinery. This was dictated by the heavier crude that was
available from Venezuela. As a result, a large portion of the
refinery production was fuel oil used in power plants, large heating
systems and ships bunker fuel. However, these products had a
reasonable amount of sulphur present in them. In the late 1950's
and 1960's there was a demand for fuel that had reduced sulfur content.
This could be done by processing the products with hydrogen in large
catalyst beds. Tis resulted in a very low sulfur product and
mountains of elemental sulfur. |
| In the late 1960's projects were
implemented both at Lago and at Amuay to install the accessory
processing unites. These also were to be controlled by the new
existing computer control center. This group of pictures show the
early prep work for building the units. The bulk of these units
were built on reclaimed land just south of the No. 1 power house.
A good portion of this came from dredging operations in and around the
existing harbor. |
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Click on photo to see a larger copy of the same photo.
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Photo number 7 above,
shows the early site preparation for the units that would remove the
sulfur from a number of products. A large vacuum pipestill and
sulfur units were also to be built in this area. This was the area
where once stood a "Pitch Still" that was responsible for the old pitch
pile by the old golf course. |
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Picture # 8 looking
east shows the progress on the site. |
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Picture # 9 is the view
looking west. Number 1 power house can be seen as well as ships at
the docks, probably unloading crude oil. |
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| Picture # 10 is a view
looking north from the main refinery road and just east of the # 1 power
house. This is the location of the earliest crude units built at
Lago. They wee small and inefficient by the early 1940's and as a
result were dismantled. This was the site chosen to construct the
hydrogen generation units for the desulfurization project. Not the
smaller size tanks compared to those in the background. |
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