LEAP Connection: Ergon Refining
Monday, November 7, 2022
| It’s hard to believe that a little over eight months ago we kicked off the LEAP program at the Annual General Meeting in La Jolla, California. Since this time, the group has been involved in tours of aggregate manufacturing, emulsion manufacturing, an asphalt emulsion research facility, and job site tours involving emulsion-based pavement preservation and rehabilitation. At inception, the LEAP program was designed to showcase emulsion techniques from cradle-to-grave, which would not be complete without a better understanding of the processes for obtaining the black sticky stuff (asphalt!) that we all have grown to love! |  |  | On October 12th, the LEAP class had partnered with Ergon Refining for a tour of Ergon’s Vicksburg refinery. The day began with a warm welcome to the facility and a “Refining 101” discussion by Jeremy Kyser, Vice President-Refining, and Andrew Kronfol, Process Technical Services Manager-Refining. Here, we discussed what makes Ergon unique in the refining of naphthenic base and process oils for a variety of end-applications including transformer oils and rubber products, as well as the production of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, naphtha, and of course, asphalt. After a discussion of the various unit operations, we toured the refinery to see the atmospheric and vacuum distillation columns, hydrotreaters, the propane deasphalting unit (PDA unit), and the control room. Following lunch, we toured Ergon’s on-site laboratory and pilot refinery which allows Ergon to process small quantities of crude oil to determine the various fractions prior to processing on the “big scale”. This was a unique experience and one of the highlights of the tour, apart from the refinery itself! | | I believe I speak for the entire LEAP class when I say a big thank you to the Ergon Team, including AEMA Board Member, Scott Watson, for organizing and participating in the tour. Your hospitality and dedication to the industry is appreciated! Until next time… Aaron Walker
AEMA - Leadership Development Team (LDT) Chair
Ingevity – Technical Services & Development Manager |  |
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