Vapor Recovery Unit

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The integrated Vapor recovery system for refinery tank farms is an all-in-one environmental protection solution designed to address the issue of fugitive volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from storage tank areas in refineries and petrochemical enterprises. During daily operations, storage tanks generate significant quantities of Vapor vapors-primarily composed of alkanes, alkenes, and aromatics (such as benzene, toluene, and xylene)-due to "major breathing" (gas displacement during filling) and "minor breathing" (gas expansion and venting caused by diurnal temperature fluctuations). These emissions not only result in product loss but also pose serious threats to environmental safety and personnel health.

In accordance with the *Emission Standard of Pollutants for Petroleum Refining Industry* (GB 31570-2015), fixed-roof tanks must be equipped with a closed-vent system that channels vapors to an organic waste gas recovery or treatment unit. This system achieves fully enclosed collection, high-efficiency recovery, and compliant discharge of tank farm vapors through a combination of closed-loop tank collection, a vapor transport pipeline network, a core treatment unit, and an automatic control system; the treatment efficiency exceeds 97%.

Currently, integrated adsorption-based Vapor recovery technology has been deployed at 200 oil depots across regions including Beijing, Hebei, Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Guangdong. A product series covering processing capacities from 200 m³/h to 1,200 m³/h has been established, with overall performance leading the domestic market. The system reduces Vapor emissions by over one hundred million cubic meters annually and recovers more than 15,000 tons of gasoline.

2.1 Core Technical Principles

Vapor recovery systems for refinery tank farms typically employ combined processes to achieve the dual objectives of high-efficiency recovery and deep purification. As single technologies struggle to meet increasingly stringent emission standards, the scientific combination of multiple technologies-such as adsorption, condensation, absorption, and membrane separation-has become the industry standard.

2.2 Mainstream Combined Process Schemes

Depending on the composition, concentration, and emission standards of the Vapor in the refinery tank farm, this system offers the following mainstream combined process schemes:

Scheme 1: Adsorption + Absorption Combined Process

Vapor from the tank farm enter an activated carbon adsorption bed via the collection system; hydrocarbon components are adsorbed, and the compliant gas is discharged directly. Once the adsorbent is saturated, a vacuum unit extracts the gas; the high-concentration gas enters an absorption tower to be absorbed, and the resulting rich oil is returned to the tank farm. This process is currently the mainstream technical solution for high-throughput oil handling scenarios, characterized by large processing capacity and strong adaptability to varying concentrations.

Scheme 2: Condensation + Adsorption Combined Process

Vapor first undergo multi-stage condensation to liquefy and recover the majority of hydrocarbon components; the remaining low-concentration tail gas enters an activated carbon adsorption system for deep purification. This process balances high recovery rates with ultra-low emissions and is one of the most widely applied combined schemes in refinery tank farms. The Vapor recovery system at the Zhonghan Petrochemical refinery terminal utilizes this process, achieving a processing capacity of 800 m³/h.

Scheme 3: Condensation + Adsorption + Catalytic Oxidation Combined Process (Encouraged Technology)

This process has been included in the "Encouraged" category of the *National Technical Guidance Catalogue for Pollution Prevention and Control (2025)*. The tank farm VOC unit employs a "dry desulfurization + three-stage condensation + activated carbon adsorption + catalytic oxidation" process. The inlet VOC concentration ranges from approximately 1,000 to 300,000 mg/m³, while the outlet concentration can be controlled within 0–100 mg/m³, achieving an organic matter recovery rate of >99.99%.

Scheme 4: Absorption Tower + Membrane Module + Adsorption Tank Combined Process

Utilizing a three-stage combined process of "absorption tower + membrane module + adsorption tank," the mass concentration of non-methane total hydrocarbons (NMHC) in the tail gas discharged from aromatic hydrocarbon recovery can be reduced to 11.36 mg/m³, meeting the national "Class A enterprise" standard requirements. Option 5: Activated Carbon Adsorption + Condensation + Membrane Technology

This process utilizes a new generation of high-efficiency, energy-saving technology that has been independently developed and for which a national invention patent has been filed. It achieves efficient recovery of Vapor resources through a three-stage combination of activated carbon adsorption, condensation recovery, and membrane separation.

The integrated Vapor recovery system for refinery tank farms consists of the following five functional modules:

4.1 General Technical Parameters

4.2 Processing Capacity Series

This system offers a range of processing capacity specifications to meet the needs of refinery tank farms of various scales:

• End-to-End System Integration: Encompasses five key modules-sealed tank collection, vapor transport, core processing, product recovery, and automatic control-enabling comprehensive management of VOCs in the tank farm.
• Flexible Process Customization: Offers various combined process solutions-such as adsorption + absorption, condensation + adsorption, or condensation + adsorption + catalytic oxidation-tailored to vapor composition, concentration, and emission standards.
• High Treatment Efficiency: Removal rate for non-methane total hydrocarbons (NMTHC) reaches 97%–99.99%.
• Low Emission Concentrations: Aromatic hydrocarbon emissions can be reduced to below 4 mg/m³.
• Intelligent Control: Features fully automated PLC/DCS control, supporting online monitoring and remote operation and maintenance.
• Safe and Reliable: Rated Ex d IIB T4 (explosion-proof) and equipped with multiple safety interlock protections.
• Significant Economic Benefits: Delivers substantial annual product recovery and a short investment payback period.

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