Duiker Combustion Engineers

Burning ambition

Duiker Combustion Engineers has earned a reputation as a leading name in combustion technology since it began supplying equipment to the petrochemical industry during the 1950s.

Its main activities include designing, supplying and installing a range of gaseous fuel process burners for oil refining, chemical and natural gas processing ventures all over the world. It provides a comprehensive range of equipment including burners, vessels, waste heat boilers, burner management systems and instrumentation. Whatever the project, the company’s expert team of engineers is dedicated to delivering cost-effective, environmentally friendly and uniquely tailored solutions.

During the 1950’s the company’s original portfolio included mainly in-line, reducing gas generator and incinerator burners. However, as the company has progressed its global experience and technology-focused innovation have allowed it to further push the limits of burner design for a range of applications including normal air, enriched air and pure oxygen. Duiker is committed to investing in the development of new technologies and currently has five dedicated research and development engineers as well as a fully functioning in-house test facility for burners and associated equipment. The company built the world’s first oxygen enriched burners for sulphur recovery and today is able to supply its smallest burners with a capacity of three tons of sulphur per day to its main burners that handle 2000 tons per day.

At present sulphur recovery remains Duiker’s main market. It supplies equipment for sulphur recovery units to most of the major refiners and gas processing companies around the world and can rightfully be considered the market leader in this niche industry. The company takes a uniquely innovative approach to the combustion process, which starts with the high-intensity mixing technology that forms the basis for all of its process burners. The burners are designed to have mixing characteristics that result in extreme reliability and allow operators to achieve the lowest possible emissions. Equally, continual refinement and innovation of the incineration process have introduced increasingly economical designs. In all of its designs Duiker is focused on low emissions, excellent flame stability, high turn-down ratios, low maintenance, reduced lifetime cost, energy cost savings and the ability to deal with upstream upset conditions. What sets Duiker apart is its knowledge of the processes in which its combustion equipment is applied. As sales manager Stijn Hoffland elaborates: “This knowledge allows us to design specialised equipment such as the Duiker high intensity, multiple vortex burner, which provides a cleaner input for the downstream equipment and is much more reliable than the industry standard. This reduces scheduled and unscheduled downtime and thus adds a lot of value to the unit.”

Within the industry there have also been innovations and the introduction of new regulations that have also driven the need for innovation, as Stijn elaborates: “Legislation such as the systematic reduction of sulphur allowed in bunker fuels as well as emission reductions in the petrochemical industry drive our market. There are therefore a lot of opportunities for companies that can provide innovative solutions for the complex challenges faced by refiners and gas processing companies.

“Within the industry, the shift from conventional oil to super heavy oil and tar sands results in much larger amounts of sulphur which need to be processed at refineries and upgraders. Exisiting plants often have to resort to technologies such as oxygen enrichment to debottleneck their facilities or invest in new equipment. Furthermore we see that the increased amount of bound nitrogen in the crudes further increases the hydraulic load of sulphur recovery units, due to the high amount of ammonia which needs to be treated.”

Resulting from the industry trend towards super heavy oil and tar sands, Duiker has developed a patented technology that allows the processing of ammonia outside of sulphur recovery units. “This stoichiometry-controlled oxidation process can reduce the capital investment in a grass roots sulphur recovery unit (including a sour water stripper and tail gas treating unit), by ten per cent,” Stijn explains. “As the operational expenditures of this technology also lie lower, we are able to provide the industry with a cost effective alternative processing option. Finally the technology is very suitable to debottleneck existing facilities.”

Duiker enjoys global coverage with its head office based in Holland, sales offices in China and subcontracted manufacturing plants in Malaysia, China, Netherlands and Vietnam. Eighty per cent of the company’s business is currently found outside of Europe. This global reach has allowed the company to focus on consolidating its position in existing markets and allow natural growth by expanding the product range that it offers its customers. Looking to the future the company is likely to remain focused on the oil and gas industries, but it is also interesting in following the renewable power industry as a possible new market. Duiker is committed to continuing the level of growth it has seen in its main markets during the past ten years by providing bespoke solutions to the complex challenges faced by its clients. With a strong product portfolio, dedicated development team and market-leading reputation, Duiker is set to lead the way in sulphur recovery over the coming years.

Duiker Combustion Engineers
Services: Sulphur recovery and combustion solutions