Request a quote

Services

Process and detailed design

Process and detailed design turns a requirement, often no more than a datasheet, into a complete package that a fabricator can build and an operator can run. Axsia Howmar does this for crude oil treatment trains and for hydrogen purification packages, as a design-only service or as the first stage of turnkey supply through to commissioning and handover.

Design only, or the first stage of turnkey supply through fabrication, commissioning and handover
Datasheet to handover
Crude oil treatment trains and hydrogen purification packages
2 equipment families
Every package is modelled as a whole before anything is fabricated
One 3D model

Send a technical enquiry

What we design

Two families of process equipment

  • Separators

    Low-pressure and high-pressure two-phase and three-phase separators.

  • Indirect fired heaters

    Natural or forced draught, with burner management and fuel gas train.

  • Electrostatic coalescers

    Dehydrator and desalter duty, single-transformer or AH-3G™ three-grid.

  • Prewash coalescers

    DC electrostatic coalescers for kerosene sweetening units.

  • Hydrogen PSA units

    Multi-bed pressure swing adsorption designed on a dynamic model.

  • TSA and DeOxo dryers

    Gas dehydration and electrolyser hydrogen clean-up packages.

One model

Every package is designed as one 3D model before it is built

Vessels, internals, piping, instruments, cable trays and skid are modelled together, so the process, mechanical, piping and electrical designs are checked against each other before fabrication. The model produces the fabrication drawings and the material take-off, and clients review it at the design review, so what arrives on site is what was agreed.

3D model of an indirect fired heater package: bath vessel, fire tubes and stacks, burner fans, fuel gas train and piping on one skid.
3D model of an indirect fired heater package: bath vessel, fire tubes and stacks, burner fans, fuel gas train and piping on one skid.

Fabrication

Built by approved fabricators under our supervision

When design continues into supply, we write the specifications and requisitions, evaluate bids, and select a fabricator from your approved vendor list or from the fabricators our own team has audited. The package is fabricated to our drawings under our project management and inspection and test plan, tested in the workshop, and delivered as tested modules.

Hydrogen PSA valve skid in the fabricator's workshop, assembled for testing.
Hydrogen PSA valve skid in the fabricator's workshop, assembled for testing.

What we design

Axsia Howmar designs two families of process equipment. In crude oil treatment: low-pressure and high-pressure separators, indirect fired heaters, electrostatic coalescers for dehydrator and desalter duty, and electrostatic prewash packages for kerosene treatment. In hydrogen purification: pressure swing adsorption (PSA) units, and temperature swing adsorption (TSA) units for gas dehydration and for DeOxo dryer packages on electrolyser hydrogen. See crude oil treatment and hydrogen purification.

Design only, or datasheet to handover

Process and detailed design can stand alone, for operators and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors who will procure and build themselves. It can also be the first stage of turnkey supply, in which we also procure, manage fabrication, deliver, commission and hand over. Our team has several decades of experience designing and supplying packages for oilfields and refineries in the Middle East and worldwide.

Related field services

Alongside design we provide site surveys, commissioning and start-up support, operator training, feasibility and front-end engineering design (FEED) studies, adsorbent change-out supervision and performance test runs. Tell us what you need on the enquiry form.

How we approach Process and detailed design

  1. Basis of design

    We agree the feed, the product specification, the operating cases, the codes and the site conditions. For crude treatment this means crude and water properties over field life. For hydrogen it means feed composition and its range.

  2. Process design

    Heat and material balance, stage count or bed count, equipment sizing, process flow diagrams, control philosophy and process datasheets.

  3. Detailed design

    Piping and instrumentation diagrams, mechanical datasheets and vessel design to the agreed pressure vessel code, electrical and instrument design for the hazardous area, skid layout and piping.

  4. Procurement and fabrication support

    Specifications and requisitions for key components, technical bid evaluation, and selection of a fabricator from your approved vendor list or from the fabricators our own team has audited.

  5. Inspection, testing and documentation

    Inspection and test plans, witness of tests, and the manufacturing record book.

  6. Commissioning and handover

    Site commissioning, start-up support, operator training and, where specified, a performance test run.

Deliverables from Process and detailed design

  • Basis of design and process description
  • Heat and material balance and process flow diagrams
  • Piping and instrumentation diagrams and control narrative
  • Process and mechanical datasheets; vessel calculations and drawings
  • Electrical, instrument and hazardous area documentation
  • Skid general arrangement, piping isometrics and material take-off
  • Operating and maintenance manual; commissioning procedures

Data we need from you for Process and detailed design

Data we need from you for Process and detailed design
Data itemWhy it is needed
Feed definition: crude assay and water analysis, or gas composition with its rangeSets the separation duty
Product specification: BS&W and salt, or hydrogen purity and named impurity limitsSets the performance basis
Flow rates, turndown and operating cases over lifeSizes the equipment for the worst case, not the first year
Battery limit conditions, utilities and site dataPressure, temperature, available heat, water, power, ambient range
Project specifications, codes and approved vendor listGoverns detailed design and procurement

Partial data is normal. Send what you have and we will tell you what else matters.

Typical outcomes of Process and detailed design

  • A design that states its basis, so performance can be checked against it later (Performance depends on feed conditions staying within that basis)
  • A package that an approved fabricator can build without design gaps
  • One point of responsibility from datasheet to handover, where turnkey supply is chosen

Outcomes depend on the condition of the equipment, the feed and the operating envelope. Nothing on this page is a performance guarantee.

  • Electrostatic coalescer prewash

    An electrostatic coalescer prewash removes entrained caustic from kerosene after the caustic prewash of a kerosene sweetening unit. A high-voltage direct current (DC) field makes the…

  • Hydrogen dryer for electrolyser hydrogen

    A hydrogen dryer takes wet hydrogen from an electrolyser, which also contains a little oxygen, and delivers dry, oxygen-free hydrogen. A catalytic DeOxo reactor converts the…

  • Crude oil heaters

    A crude oil heater raises crude to the temperature at which water can be separated from it. In oilfield treatment this is usually an indirect fired…

  • PSA hydrogen purification

    Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) purifies hydrogen by passing a hydrogen-rich gas through beds of adsorbent at high pressure. Impurities are held on the adsorbent while hydrogen…

  • TSA hydrogen purification

    Temperature swing adsorption (TSA) removes water and other strongly held trace impurities from a gas by adsorbing them at ambient temperature and releasing them by heating…

  • Electrostatic coalescers

    An electrostatic coalescer is a pressure vessel that uses a high-voltage electric field to merge small water droplets in crude oil into drops large enough to…

  • Troubleshooting and performance diagnostics

    Troubleshooting a desalter, dehydrator or hydrogen pressure swing adsorption (PSA) unit starts with the symptom, because each symptom has a short list of probable causes and…

  • Design review for capacity enhancement

    A design review for capacity enhancement establishes what actually limits an existing crude oil treatment train or hydrogen purification unit, and which changes remove that limit…

Electrostatic coalescer
An electrostatic coalescer is a pressure vessel with energised electrode grids, in which a high-voltage field coalesces water droplets in crude oil so they settle. Used without wash water it is a dehydrator; with wash water it is a desalter.
Crude oil desalter
A crude oil desalter is an electrostatic coalescer operated with wash water mixed into the crude upstream. The water dilutes the salty droplets in the crude, and the coalescer then removes the water and most of the salt with it.
Wash water
Wash water is low-salinity water injected into crude oil upstream of a desalter to dilute the salty water droplets it carries. It is typically added at 3 to 10 per cent of the crude volume, then removed in the desalter.
Mixing valve
A mixing valve is a throttling valve upstream of a desalter that shears wash water into fine droplets so they meet the salty water in the crude. Its pressure drop balances mixing against making an emulsion too tight to break.
Pounds per thousand barrels (PTB)
Pounds per thousand barrels (PTB) is the customary unit for the salt content of crude oil: pounds of salt, expressed as sodium chloride, in one thousand barrels of crude. One PTB is about 2.85 milligrams per litre.
Demulsifier
A demulsifier is a surface-active chemical injected into crude oil at parts-per-million levels to displace the natural films that stabilise water droplets. With the films weakened, droplets can merge and settle. It works together with heat, time and electrostatic fields.

Frequently asked questions: Process and detailed design

Can you design a desalter or a PSA package from a datasheet alone?

Yes. A process datasheet that defines the feed, the product specification and the battery limit conditions is enough to start. We build the basis of design from it, list the assumptions made where the datasheet is silent, and agree those with you before sizing equipment.

Do you fabricate the equipment you design?

No. Axsia Howmar does not fabricate. Packages are built in approved manufacturers’ workshops, selected from your approved vendor list or from a network of fabricators that our own team has audited. We remain responsible for the design, the specifications, inspection and the performance basis.

Which design codes do you work to?

We typically apply ASME Section VIII Division 1, PD 5500 or EN 13445 for vessels, API 12L and API 560 for treaters and fired heaters, IEC 60079 with ATEX or IECEx for hazardous areas, PED, UKCA and UKEX marking where required, and NACE MR0175 / ISO 15156 for sour service. The governing codes are confirmed for each project.

Can you take a project from design through to commissioning?

Yes. We design hydrogen purification and crude oil treatment systems, procure the key components, manufacture the package through an approved and audited fabricator under our supervision, deliver it to site, commission it and hand it over. The same scope can be split, for example design only, or design plus technical support to your contractor.

Talk to an engineer about your unit

Tell us the equipment, the duty and what you are seeing. Partial data is normal: send what you have and we will tell you what else matters. We acknowledge every enquiry within 1 working day.

Send a technical enquiry
Download the capability statement