Oil and gas industry operators and technicians must possess knowledge and skills related to a variety of industrial processes. One of the most common processes used in these industries is distillation, which separates mixtures based upon the different conditions required for phase change of the mixture’s components.

Oil refineries use distillation to process crude oil into a wide array of different products. For example, crude oil can be distilled into component products, such as naphtha, kerosene, and gas oil, based upon the differences in their boiling points.

At oil and gas facilities, industrial distillation takes place in a distillation tower or column. Although the process can be quite complex as it is customized for each particular application, the essential underlying process involves heating a mixture, such as crude oil, to force its components parts, each of which has a different boiling point, into the gas phase.

As the gas vapor rises in the distillation tower or column, it eventually condenses back into a liquid and collects, either for final use or further refinement to increase its purity. In addition to crude oil, distillation is also commonly used for a wide variety of other applications, such as alcohol production, creation of liquefied gases, desalination, and chemical manufacturing.

Bayport Technical’s Portable Distillation Trainer – Glass, with Chiller (130-DTU2) enables distillation operations personnel and maintenance technicians to visualize what occurs inside the distillation towers/columns that dominate the landscape in a petroleum refinery or petrochemical plant.

More importantly, this trainer relies solely on the actions of the operator or technician to operate. Without automatic controls, the trainer forces users to quickly develop their own knowledge and skills. Fortunately, the glass fractionating column allows operators to see the results of their actions very quickly.

The Portable Distillation Trainer – Glass, with Chiller provides hands-on experience with a wide variety of real industrial equipment, including: a main column with perforated trays, four centrifugal pumps, overhead condensers, heat exchangers, a cooling system, a reboiler, temperature gauges, flow control/indicating rotameters, panel mount thermometers, a digital manometer, a charge tank, rundown tanks, and piping.

Together, this equipment provides instructors with a working model of the equipment used in refineries or petrochemical plants and accurately demonstrates distillation on a small scale. The trainer comes with a carrying case, which also acts as a stand for the unit.

The Portable Distillation Trainer – Glass, with Chiller can be used to teach everything from how to draw P&IDs to the actual operation of a distillation column. The unit is extremely flexible and forgiving. For example, instructors can demonstrate different flooding scenarios and the trainer will recover in just a few minutes. Moreover, comprehension of distillation principles is greatly improved by seeing the color graduation of the components across the column.

Visit Bayport Technical’s website to learn more about the Portable Distillation Trainer – Glass, with Chiller, as well as the wide variety of other technical training products available.