Gardner Denver Nash Recognized for Exceptional Service and Delivery of CDU-VDU Hybrid Vacuum System

The Project

BCPL sought to revamp the existing CDU/VDU (Crude Distillation Unit / Vapor Distillation Unit) at their Mumbai refinery in order to improve efficiency, comply with environmental regulations, and reduce operating costs. Comprised of three 3-stage, all ejector vacuum systems, the existing design was unable to meet BCPL’s project goals of optimizing and reducing steam consumption in the 2nd and 3rd stage ejectors.

After considering BCPL’s requirements and project goals, the Nash team proposed replacing the 2nd stage ejectors with NASH ENER-JET steam ejectors. Recently redesigned, the ENER-JET ejectors offer efficiency improvement over the refinery’s existing legacy design. The 3rd stage ejectors were replaced with NASH 2BE1 353 liquid ring vacuum pump packages. In total, the CDU/VDU system consisted of three 3-stage packages, each with two ejectors and one liquid ring vacuum pump package.

Considered a hybrid vacuum system, the combination of steam ejector and liquid ring vacuum pump can be optimized based on a customer’s needs, offering unique performance and efficiency benefits. In this instance, Nash’s Hybrid CDU/VDU solution offered BCPL a 27% reduction over the existing system’s steam consumption, a 50% increase over the capabilities competing systems offered.

A Complete Project With Tight Deadlines 

Project selection was only one part of the challenge for the Nash team. Crude distillation and vapor recovery are essential functions in an oil refinery. To avoid downtime or a partial system shut down, which would impact capacity, BPCL wanted to complete the CDU/VDU project during the planned refinery shut down period (March 2017). This provided the team with a short 5 month delivery period, and a requirement to complete installation and commissioning during the 21-day refinery shut down.

Working across departments and countries, the Nash team successfully completed the engineering, sourcing, package building, testing (utilizing BCPL’s testing specifications), and shipped the material within the agreed on 5-month period. This was all possible thanks to a concentrated effort by Gardner Denver Nash team members in China, Germany, the United States, and India. The result was a complex hybrid vacuum system consisting of ejectors from the United States, motors from Germany, and liquid Ring Vacuum packages from China, with all construction and coordination handled by the team in India, who remained on site to supervise and ensure the project was completed on time.

There was also excellent support & coordination from the BPCL team to complete the project documentation, resolving the issues/challenges raised during the execution time and for the site activities.

The scope of the project included dismantling and replacement of the existing ejector, installation of a vacuum pump at a height of 20 meters, installation of all required piping, commissioning, and PGTR of the complete system. With a 21-day refinery shutdown window in which they could work, installation & commissioning proved to be one of the biggest challenges faced by the project team. Despite this, Nash India accepted the challenge and deployed a project team of 50 resources, comprising of 2 Nash engineers from India, 3 from China, and a site contractor team managed by Nash India.

The team worked 24 hours a day seven days a week to complete all the activities as per the contract, and successfully handed over the system to BPCL in April 2017, at the end of the 21-day shutdown window. Following several months of operation, BPCL released the performance test. The PGTR report states that BPCL is pleased with the system performance, specifically noting that “overall system steam consumption is lower than guaranteed”.

The Nash team’s professional approach and project handling skills were highly appreciated by BPCL and officially recognized during the company’s 2017 Premium Vendor Meet. Acting as a trade meet and workshop where BPCL shares their future visions and plans, the Premium Vendor Meet also provides BCPL with the opportunity to recognize extraordinary efforts provided by premium vendors. During the event, the effort of the Gardner Denver Nash team was recognized by BPCL and presented with the 2017 award for “Best On Time Supplies For Project”. Mr. Anil Kamath, General Manager – Nash India, was present to accept the award on behalf of Gardner Denver Nash.