The performance of a three-phase centrifuge process in separating tank bottoms into salable oil, brine and solids was scaled using the sigma method. The profitability was analyzed for a range of processed volumes for three business scenarios: producer owned, service company and a disposal facility. Centrifuge processes operated at full capacity in these situations may be very profitable investments but any investment decision should be heavily influenced by the annual volume to be processed, the quality of the feed and the price received for separated oil.

Keywords:
concentration, sludge, three-phase centrifuge, polston, separated oil, irr, production tank bottom, centrifuge, operation, service company
Subjects:
Processing Systems and Design, Environment, Asset and Portfolio Management, Tanks and storage systems, Waste management
Copyright 1995, Society of Petroleum Engineers
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