Refrigeration Engineering Pty Limited’s (REPL) latest contract was to install a VRU at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park in Shanghai, China, in 3.5 months instead of the usual six-month fabrication timeframe.

VRU's provide a win/win situation for the producer, the environment and the local community, and there is typically a rapid payback on the initial capital cost by sales of the recovered product, according to REPL managing director Michael Briggs.

“The vapour recovery unit (VRU)is designed to treat 400 m3/h of acrylonitrile (18.5 mol%) / N2 vapour at 31C,” said Briggs.

“When the ship is loaded, acrylonitrile vapour mixes with air and is displaced to the VRU where the acrylonitrile is condensed back into a liquid and recovered.

“The obvious advantages are no loss of valuable product and no discharge to the environment of a rather nasty chemical.

“We shipped ex works in early September 2004, packed for sea freight to Shanghai with commissioning in March/April 2005."

Vapour recovery and emission control is a rapidly increasing segment of Refrigeration Engineering's business with a VRU order on hand for a gasoline road tanker loading facility at China’s largest refinery. The company recently received two further VRU orders.

He said Rotary of Singapore had ordered a system to recover propane and butane for BP in Shanghai while Shell Australia had ordered a VRU to recover gasoline vapour at its Geelong refinery.

The company’s Dubai office was also looking at projects in Oman, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and India. There were also enquiries for a further 6 VRU's for China.

“Our business focus is about providing solutions for recovering valuable product that is otherwise lost through venting or flaring, while the elimination of losses delivers significant environmental benefits,” said Briggs.