INDUSTRIAL TRAINING REPORT

done at

BPCL-Kochi refiner

Submitted by:

Aravind Menon

Bachelor of Technology in Petro-Chemical Engineering

Maharashtra Institute of Technology

Pune

Submitted to:

Name of guide : Mr. Anujan S

Deputy General Manager(IREP training)
BPCL-Kochi Refinery
Ambalamukal
Kerala, India

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 Acknowledgement

I would like to thank all those who have been instrumental in giving me such a wonderful

opportunity to work closely at BPCL Kochi Refinery. I would like to thank Mr. Anujan S my

guide and Mr. Manesh D who has extended their full cooperation and support for making my

training in BPCL-KR meaningful. I thank all the staff in various control rooms for spending

their precious time in explaining various units. I also thank Mr. Sherooq, Mr. Akshay and all

the other apprentice operators for spending their time with us during the visit to different

units and explaining each and every processes in each unit. My special thanks to Mr.

Murukan. I am very grateful to BPCL-KR for offering such a training program, which has

helped me a lot in understanding my area of study in a better way.

I am thankful to Mr. Dutta. B. Dandge, HOD, Petro-Chemical Engineering Department for

providing such an opportunity. I thank all teaching and non teaching staff for their support

and prayers.

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 Certificate

This is to certify that the Report submitted by Aravind Menon for their technical internship is

done under the guidance and supervision of Mr. Anujan S Deputy General Manager(IREP

training) BPCL Cochin Refinery. The contents of this Project Work in full or in parts have

neither been taken nor been submitted by any other interns.

Place: Ernakulam

Date: 2nd July 2018

Signature of Guide:

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 Table of contents

1. List of figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv

2. Company overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

3. Crude Distillation Unit(CDU-2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

4. Vacuum Distillation Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi

5. Crude Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii

6. Reboiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv

7. Furnace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvi

8. Centrifugal Pumps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix

9. Valves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxii

10. Cooling Tower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxvi

11. NPSH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxix

12. Positive Displacement Pump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxi

13. Naphtha Hydrotreater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxxii

14. Continuous Catalytic Reforming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxiii

15. Cyclomax CCR Regenerative System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxv

16. Amine Regenerator, Sulphur Recovery Unit, Hydrogen Generation Unit . . . xxxvi

17. Diesel Hydrodesulphurization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxviii

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18. Fluidized Catalytic Cracking Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxix

19. Effluent Treatment Plant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xlii

20. Quality Control Laboratory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xlx

21. Conclution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xlvi

22. Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xlvii

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 1. Table of figures

Crude Distillation Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

Vacuum Distillation Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi

Crude Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii

Reboiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv

Furnace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix

Centrifugal Pumps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxii

Valves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxix

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2.Company Overview

2.1 Introduction

The Kochi refinery, formerly known as Cochin Refineries Limited is a public sector crude oil
refinery situated in Ambalamugal, in Ernakulam district in Kerala state. The company is
spread over an area of 1100 acres. Cochin Refineries Limited was incorporated as a public
Limited Company in September 1963 with technical collaboration and financial participation
from Philips Petroleum Company of USA. CRL was commissioned in 1966 with an initial
capacity of 2.5 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA). The company was inaugurated
by the then Prime Minister of India Ms.Indira Gandhi on 23 September 1966. Crude filtering
was commenced on 23rd September 1966.
KRL became a subsidiary of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), when BPCL
acquired Government of India’s equity holding in KRL in March 2001. Subsequently KRL
has been merged with BPCL in 21st August 2006 and now has become a part of the
corporation.
The capacity was increase to 3.3 MMTPA during the expansion project in September 1973.
Aviation turbine fuel and Liquefied petroleum gas production was also started after the
revamp. In 1984, the refining capacity was further increased to 4.5 MTPA. The atmospheric
residue obtained as furnace oil or Low Sulphur Heavy Stock (LSHS) after distillation in
atmospheric column was about 30 to 45%. To get more middle distillate, a Fluid Catalytic
Cracking Unit (FCCU) was set up in 1985. The heavier Vacuum Gas Oil (VGO) obtained
from vacuum distillation column was broken up in to lighter components in the FCCU. Thus
the FCCU was the most profitable plant in the refinery. The FCCU had an initial capacity of
1 MMTPA. In 1989, Kochi refinery entered in to petro chemical business with the production
on benzene and toluene. An aromatic recovery unit with capacity of 87200 TPA of benzene
and 12000 TPA of toluene was set up.

A Light Ends Feed Preparation Unit to supply poly-butene feedstock to Cochin Refineries
Balmer Lawrie Ltd. , a joint venture that later merged with KRL in April 2001, was
commissioned in March 1993. In 1994, the third stage of expansion took place increasing the
re_ning capacity to 7.5 MMTPA. A new crude distillation unit CDU-2 was set up to achieve
this. The FCCU capacity was increased to 1.4 MMTPA.

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In the year 2000, a 2 MMTPA Diesel Hydro Desulphurisation (DHDS) plant was added to
reduce the sulphur content in the fuel to meet the environment standards. With the prestigious
Crude Oil receipt facilities consisting of the Single Point Mooring (SPM) and the associated
shore tank farm in place since December 2007, the refinery is equipped to receive crude oil in
Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs). This facility helps Kochi refinery in reducing the
freight charges to a great extent, over and above increasing exibility in crude oil selection.
This, thereby, is a major infrastructure facility accelerating the growth of Kochi Refinery.
To meet environment regulation of fuels, Kochi refinery implemented the project KEMP in
2009-10. The project included the expansion of CDU-2 capacity from 3 MMTPA to
5MMTPA, new CCR unit and new VGO HDS unit. At present the capacity of the re_nery
stands at 9.5 MMTPA. Kochi re_nery has undertaken an ambitious expansion plan to
enhance re_ning capacity to 15.5MMTPA. The project named Integrated Re_nery Expansion
Project is currently being carried out.
2.2 Products
Kochi Refinery is a fuel based refinery producing all petroleum fuel products such as
● Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Superior Kerosene Oil (SKO) for households
and industrial uses
● Motor Spirit (MS/ Petrol) and Hi-speed Diesel (HSD) for auto mobiles
● Naphtha, the major raw material for fertilizer and petrochemical industries
● Furnace Oil (FO), Light Diesel Oil (LDO) and Low Sulphur Heavy Stock
(LSHS) as fuel for industries
● Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) for aircrafts

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 3. Crude Distillation Unit (CDU II)
The crude from SPM (Single Point Mooring) buoy is transported through undersea SPM 48
inch pipelines and then through STF (Shore Tank Farm) pipelines to reach the refinery and to
subsequently get stored in the storage tanks or to be used directly as per the requirement. The
first unit the incoming crude encounters is the CDU. It is generally associated with large
capacity.

The CDU is a unit where multiple processes are arranged in series to produce products of
specific requirements.

4. Preheat Train-1 (PHT-1): Preheat Trains are nothing but set of heat exchangers
put together so that it serves multiple purposes. One of the main objectives is to
contact the incoming feed with the outgoing hot process stream so that the feed
gets heated and the products get cooled down. For this purpose, heat exchangers
are used. The crude is passed through the tube side while the process stream is the
shell pass. PHT-1 heats the incoming stream to about 125OC. The exchangers are
placed in such a way so that the feed is progressively heated as it goes
through the exchangers. The exchangers can be heated with Kerosene, LGO and
HGO respectively with the feed getting maximum heat transfer with HGO.

5. Crude Desalter: As the incoming crude contains a lot of impurities, it needs to be

removed before sending it to further downstream processes. For this purpose, a
crude desalter is employed. Firstly, the crude is fed with water and then it enters a
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 valve where the crude churns and thus water gets mixed with the crude. In the
next step, it enters the desalter fitted with electrodes. The electrodes are fed wit
A.C supply so that, by the change of polarity of electrodes, an electrostatic
coalescence takes place and water-impurity agglomerate, being heavy, settles
down. Three separate layers are formed in the desalter namely, a top crude layer,
an intermediate emulsion layer and a bottom sour-water layer. The desalted crude
is then made to flow from the top of desalter to the next preheat trains. The sour-
water is sent to effluent treatment plant. The intermediate layer is taken out in the
form of brine.

6. Further Preheat Trains: As mentioned above, many more PHT’s are employed so
that by the time the crude comes out, it is heated to temperatures of about 200-
250OC.

7. Furnace: A furnace heats the crude to temperatures of 300-340OC.

8. Pre-Fractionator: The pre-fractionator majorly serves two purposes. To allow the

separation of the components before it enters the Atmospheric Distillation Unit
(ADU) and to reduce the vapor load to the ADU, thereby increasing the efficiency
and improving the separation.

9. Atmospheric Distillation Unit: The unit is operated at atmospheric pressure

without any reboiler, since the addition of a reboiler can increase the column
temperatures to above 400OC thereby cracking the crude to allow coke formation,
reboiler is avoided and atm pressures are maintained.

The products obtained include:

1. LPG + Naphtha – This is obtained as the top product from the column with naphtha
being unstabilized as it contains other product cuts.
2. Kerosene – Kerosene obtained as draw-off from the tray is sent to a secondary
distillation column, which is steam stripped to obtain pure kerosene as column
bottom.
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 3. Light Gas Oil (LGO) – It is steam stripped to give pure LGO
4. Heavy Gas Oil (HGO)- It is steam stripped to give pure HGO
5. Reduced Crude Oil (RCO) – This is sent as the feed to the Vacuum tower which is
placed side-by-side with the atmospheric tower.
Additionally, Caustic and water wash is employed for Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) and
Naphtha. Thus the bottom from the ADU goes to the Vacuum tower to further process the
crude and to meet specific product requirements.

4. Vacuum Distillation Unit (VDU)

This unit primarily focuses on improving the yield of products by further processing the RCO
from the atmospheric column. The principle used is the inclusion of vacuum in the column to
reduce the boiling point of the mixture and therefore, separation of components at a low
temperature. Furthermore, this helps in reducing the fuel requirement for furnaces or other
process heaters.

: Processing the RCO from atm. Column, the products obtained include:

● Hot Well gases

● Light Vacuum Gas Oil (LVGO)
● Heavy Vacuum Gas Oil (HVGO)
● Vacuum Residue

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The vacuum is created using High Vacuum Ejectors (fig 1)where the steam flow is
maintained initially, followed by the introduction of Hydrocarbon gas. By Bernoulli’s
Principle, the pressure drop maintained across the ejector sucks the upper hydrocarbon cuts
and maintains the vacuum across the column. The product gases are then sent to a condenser
where steam is condensed. This is where the concept of barometric leg (fig2) comes into
picture. The barometric leg is used to condense the steam and collect it in the receiver. This
creates a situation where the condensate is under vacuum in the condenser while the receiver
is at a positive pressure. So, to allow liquid flow into receiver, the condenser is placed above
receiver and the static head built-up by the condensate reduces the pressure drop and thus the
condensate falls into the hot well. The vacuum ejectors are totally 9 in number and the first
ejector is the biggest followed by the smaller ones, with 3 ejectors placed in a row. Slope wax
formation in the wash section of VDU is removed upon requirement.

This process therefore produces LVGO and HVGO which serves as the feed for the FCCU
unit, which is the heart of any petroleum refinery.

5. Crude Tank

Introduction: The crude from the STF pipelines are directly sent to the Crude Tanks for
storage, before it is utilized for production of various components. The crude tanks have a
massive capacity of about 60,000 KL and are categorized into various types such as Fixed
Roof or Floating Roofbased on the type of roof the crude tanks are fixed with. The Kochi
refinery has tanks which employ both fixed as well as floating roof technology.
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Fixed roof design: Fixed-roof tanks consist of a cylindrical shell with a permanently welded
roof that can be flat, conical or dome-shaped. Such tanks are used to store materials with a
true vapor pressure of less than 10.3 kPa absolute.

Floating roof design: In floating-roof storage tanks, the roof is made to rest on the stored
liquid and is free to move with the level of the liquid. These tanks reduce evaporation losses
and are preferred for storage of petroleum products with a true vapor pressure of 10.3 to 76.5
kPa absolute.

Tank Characteristics: The crude enters the tank from the bottom, through pipelines drawn
from the unloading point of the crude. The major use of a tank is to provide sufficient space
to store the incoming crude before further processing it in various downstream processes. The
tank is aligned in such a way that the bottom as well as the roof tapers down slightly, as we
move from the periphery to the center of the circular tank. The crude in the tank may mostly
contain about 20% water which needs to be removed. For this purpose, a Water Draw-Offis
provided at the bottom which contains vortex breaking mechanisms so that any possibility of
vortex formation is reduced.

The walls of the tank are made using Carbon Steel and various earthing and fire-safety
mechanisms are put in place. An emergency valve filled with water is also kept suspended at
the tank bottom to avoid the chances of crude coming out with water which flows out. The
side gaps are filled using foam covered in polystyrene sheets and the air entering is pushed
out through a pump to the outside atmosphere.

A Rim-Seal fire protection safety feature is provided which has a 250L capacity. There are
totally 6 units of these in a tank. It is pressurized using Nitrogen pressure at 15Kg/cm2 and a
solenoid valve is operated according to the commands from the control room. Since seal side
is much more prone to catching fire rather than the other parts, in case of fire emergency,
foam is sprayed directly onto seals from the top and fire is extinguished.

It is to be noted that, the thickness of the tank is greater at the bottom as compared to the top
and the thickness is gradually reduced as one goes from bottom to the top. As the discussion
progresses tanks having floating roof technology, it is generally said that at least 220cm of
height is always maintained between the floating roof and the bottom threshold limit.

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6. Reboiler

Reboilers are typical heat exchangers placed in the Distillation Tower bottoms to increase the
vapor traffic in the stripping section. The vapors generated are driven back to the column to
maintain good mass transfer, thereby increasing separation of the components.

According to general classification, Reboilers are of various types, of which few of them are
discussed below:

1. ThermosyphonReboilers: They differ from other types of

reboilers in one major sense. It requires no pump to push the
liquid back into the column.
● Vertical
ThermosyphonReboilers – The boiling occurs inside the tubes and
the liquid circulation is due to density difference
between the vapor-liquid mixtures.

● Horizontal ThermosyphonReboilers – The boiling

occurs inside the shell side.
The level at which the reboiler is placed is of utmost importance and the liquid
level maintained inside is therefore critical for the proper working of the reboiler. So, the
reboiler setup is place at a height lower than the tower top height to
maintain a sufficient head for liquid flow.

2. Forced Circulation Reboilers: Vertical or horizontal tube types

may be manufactured. Pump is used for the circulation of hot
liquid and it is assumed that heat transfer occurs through forced
convection. They are similar to vertical thermosyphonreboilers, except for the fact
that they need a pump for operation.

3. Kettle Type Reboiler: The tube bundle is immersed in a pool of

liquid at the base of the heat exchanger. The height of tube bundle

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 is 40-60% of shell side I.D. The shell side I.D is kept large to provide sufficient vapor
space.

7.Furnace

The furnace used is a twin cell cabin type furnace which is

powered by both fuel oil and fuel gas. The fuel gas header
pressure is about 2.3 Kg/cm2. Fuel oil has higher calorific
value than fuel gas. The burners in the furnace are low
NOxburners that are critically designed. Damper affixed in
the burner controls fuel oil. It also fractionates air into
primary, secondary and tertiary in order to ensure complete
combustion. The stack damper serves the purpose of
controlling draft by varying negative pressure inside the
furnace.

Note: The draft is constant but the resistance offered by the

damper varies.

In addition to this it also prevents rainwater from entering and also saves energy by
preventing heat loss through chimney.

As we increase the stack height, draft improves. This ensures proper dispersion of
combustion products into the atmosphere. Thus Ground level concentration of sulphur
decreases. Wind speed is also one of the contributing factors.

PB is negative hence air flows into furnace. Fuel is burned to create flue gas to which heat is
imparted flue gases will have lesser density so it flows upwards.

The furnace can be divided into two sections

1. Radiation Section: 70% to 80% of heat transfer occurs here. The tubes
carrying crude have a triangular pitch to ensure maximum exposure to the
heat generated by flame. However direct impingement of flame on tubes is

15
 not desired. Shock bangs are provided to prevent this by all means which constitutes
of the first two rods.

Heat transfer by radiation is given by

Q  T4  More heat transfer so less firing.

2. Convective Section: About 20 to 30% of heat transfer occurs in this section which is
located at the top of the furnace. The crude is circulated through studded tubes which
use the principle of extended surfaces to maximize heat transfer. Q  T  Less heat
transfer.
Corrosion Bottlenecks:

1. If the fuel contains organo-metallic compounds of Iron, Chromium, Vanadium etc., oxides
such as Fe2O.3 , Cr2O3 and V2O5. Vanadium pentoxide is catalyst that causes conversion of
SO2 to SO3. These oxides are part of the soot which is generated when fuel is burned. Hence
soot blowing is practiced.

2. When stack damper is not used only air register can vary the air flow into the furnace. As a
result this huge negative pressure develops inside the furnace. This results in movement of air
inwards through the small openings near the top. This decreases heat transfer in the
convective section and causes condensation of SO3 gases. This phenomenon also triggers
corrosion.

Pre-Heaters:

These are heat recovery systems incorporated to recover waste heat so as to increase
efficiency of the furnace. The draw the heat from the flue gases and ass it onto another flow
stream to curb the energy requirements.

Cast Air Pre heaters: Made of cast iron. This does not face any corrosion because the
temperature of heat transfer is about 250˚C which is insufficient for condensation of vent
gases (Inclusive of SO3).
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Glass Air Pre Heater: This unit constitutes of glass tubes as
temperatures of operation is sufficient to condense SO3
which results in corrosion. Tubes being made of glass in
resistant to corrosion.

8. CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS

Centrifugal pumps are used to induce flow or raise pressure of a liquid. From chemical
engineering perspective impeller and volute casing are two of the main parts. The impellers
are driven by a shaft connected to the motor. The motor may be either electric or steam
driven. When the impeller rotates at high angular velocities, it develops vacuum/low pressure
at centre hence suck the fluid from the sump.

A centrifugal pump converts rotational energy, often from a motor, to energy in a moving
fluid. A portion of the energy goes into kinetic energy of the fluid. Fluid enters axially
through eye of the casing, is caught up in the impeller blades, and is whirled tangentially and
radially outward until it leaves through all circumferential parts of the impeller into the
diffuser part of the casing. The fluid gains both velocity and pressure while passing through
the impeller. The velocity gained by the fluid decreases and its
pressure increases (by Bernoulli’s theorem) as it traverses
through the volute casing, cross section of which progressively
increases.

Suction side is larger than discharge side. The discharge side

is kept larger to accede to the plant demands and to maximize
NPSH and cope up with cavitation.

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To decrease the head loss due to friction you need to increase the value of ‘D’ pipe diameter,
hence so.

Impeller Design:

Three major types of impeller design which has been developed over the years:

Starting The Centrifugal Pump:

Increasing The Head:

1. Increasing the size of the impeller

2. Multistage pump: More than two impellers on the same shaft.

3. Increasing the speed of the impeller

9. VALVES

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Valve is a device that controls flow of gases, liquids and fluidized solids by opening, closing,
or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves may be manually operated with
incorporation of a handle, lever, pedal or wheel. Valves may also be automatic, driven by
changes in pressure, temperature or flow. These changes may act upon a diaphragm or
a piston which in turn activates the valve. Valves are quite diverse and may be classified into
a number of basic types.

Principle: Valve offers pressure drop (either increase or decrease). And thus by Bernoulli’s
principle velocity of fluid correspondingly responds (decrease or increase).

Gate Valve:A gate valve is a valve which opens by lifting a round or

rectangular gate out of the path of the fluid. Gate valves are actuated by the
actuator (e.g. hand wheel or motor) to the gate. Gate valves are direction
insensitive. They are designed to isolate or connect fluids but often used
for flow control. They are normally used in applications where a minimum
restriction to the flow of fluid is a design requirement and only an On-Off
type of control is required.

Note: Gate valves can easily identified by their narrow casing.

Globe Valve: A globe valve is a type of valve used for regulating flow in
a pipeline, consisting of a movable disk-type element and a stationary ring
seat in a generally spherical body. In globe valves, the plug is connected
to a stem which is operated by screw action using a hand-wheel in manual
valves. Typically, automated globe valves use smooth stems rather
than threaded and are opened and closed by an actuator assembly.
Direction is marked in globe valve. When flange to flange gap is higher
the pressure drop offered is also higher.

Note: Globe valves can easily be identified by their egg/globe-shaped casing.

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Plug Valve :Plug valves are valves with cylindrical or conically
tapered "plugs" which can be rotated inside the valve body to control
flow through the valve. The plugs in plug valves have one or more
hollow passageways going sideways through the plug, so that fluid
can flow through the plug when the valve is open. Turn of 90˚
(quarter turn) closes the valve. There is metal to metal contact hence
lubricate is injected through a hole.

Ball Valve: Like plug valve, ball valve is also a quarter turn
valve that opens or closes with a 90˚ turn. The handle lies flat
in alignment with the flow when open, and is perpendicular to
it when closed, making for easy visual confirmation of the
valve's status. Ball valves are durable, performing well after
many cycles, and reliable, closing securely even after long
periods of disuse. These qualities make them an excellent
choice for shutoff and control applications, where they are often
preferred to gates and globe valves, but they lack their fine
control in throttling applications.

Note: the contact in the valve is Teflon to Metal.

Pressure Relief/Safety Valve (PRV/PSV): Pressure safety

valves are used to limit the pressure, in the event of a pressure
build up caused due to process upset or equipment failure.
There is a spring, stiffness of which can be adjusted in order to
set the pressure limit of the valve. The pressure on exceeding
the set safety limit the PSV becomes the “path of least resistance.” The principle is “the force
exerted by the gas inside the vessel due pressure build up nullifies the spring force in opposite

20
direction (which keeps the valve closed), thus valve opens.” The diverted fluid (liquid, gas or
liquid–gas mixture) is usually routed through a piping system known as a flare
header or relief header to a central, elevated gas flare where it is usually burned and the
resulting combustion gases are released to the atmosphere.

Note: H2/N2 - to the atmosphere

. Hydrocarbons - to flame.

Check Valve :A check valve, clack valve, non-return valve or one-way

valve is a valve that normally allows fluid (liquid or gas) to flow through it
in only one direction.

Check valves are two-port valves, meaning they have two openings in the
body, one for fluid to enter and the other for fluid to leave. There are various
types of check valves used in a wide variety of applications. Check valves
are often part of common household items.

Note: Foot valves are an example of check valve.

Control Valves: A control valve is a valve used to control media flow by

varying the size of the flow passage as directed by a signal from a
controller.[1] This enables the direct control of flow rate and the
consequential control of process quantities such as pressure, temperature,
and media level.

In automatic control terminology a control valve is termed a "final control

element". The opening or closing of automatic control valves is usually done
by electrical, hydraulic or pneumatic actuators. The pneumatic control
signals are traditionally based on a pressure range of 3-15psi (0.2-1.0 bar),
or more commonly now, an electrical signal of 4-20mA for industry.

10. COOLING TOWERS

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Cooling towers are structures erected for rejection of heat to the atmosphere through cooling
of water stream to a lower temperature. Common applications include cooling the circulating
water used in oil refineries, petrochemical and other chemical plants, thermal power
stations for cooling buildings. This can be treated as counter-current mass transfer
equipment. The water at approximately 40˚C-45˚C is sprayed from the top and is sent in the
upwards direction. For the purpose of increasing area of mass transfer sheets have been
incorporated into the design. This side is open and the remaining three sides are closed. When
contact happens water makes transition into vapor phase there by absorbing temperature from
water to overcome latent heat.

The cooling towers can be classified into

1. Natural Draft: These are tall hyperbolic structure inside which air rises
due to differential density. These are generally built using concrete and
are hyperbolic shape. They are tall to facilitate better flow of air. The
capacity of this cannot be enhanced once it is built.

2. Mechanical Draft:

⇒ Induced draft: A fan is laced on top of the tower

which sucks the air out reducing pressure inside
the tower. The pressure outside the tower being
greater flows inwards by Hagen Poisuelle law.

⇒ Forced Draft: A fan is introduced at the air inlet

section which forces the air into the tower. Thus
when air flows in moles of air in the bottom
22
 section increases and hence pressure increases. By Hagen Poisuelle lawthe air
flows upwards.
⇒ Balanced Draft: This unit is a
combination of both Forced and
induced draft cooling tower in which
fans have been incorporated at both air
inlet section and top of the tower.

Filters:

The cooled water from the sumps are filtered twice. First filter is placed at the outlet of the
sump. The second filter is placed in the line just before the centrifugal pump to prevent
entering of debris or any foreign material in to the centrifugal pump. These filters are
periodically taken out and cleaned.

11.NPSH
NPSH basically means Net Positive Suction Head. When liquid flows through the pump
when pressure reduces the liquid will start to vaporize. If the Suction Pressure(Ps) plus
Suction head(Hs) minus the suction losses(L) is less than vapor pressure (Vp), bubbles
formation happens. Hence, pressure buildup occurs near the impeller and as time progress the
liquid squeeze out at a tremendous rate thus crushing the impeller blades and damaging them.
This process is known as cavitation. So the prime objective is to maintain the pressure at
impeller (Suction Pressure) greater than that of vapor pressure. This helps in improving the
pump efficiency.

Therefore, condition for Positive Suction is Ps+ Hs- L >Vp

Ie, NPSH = Ps+ Hs- L - Vp

NPSH can be improved by increasing either positive terms like Ps ,Hs or by reducing the
negative terms like L or Vp .These are the four parameters for improving pump NPSH. It
plays a crucial part in working of any pump.
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Characteristics Of A Pump:It is a plot of Flow (gallons per minute) vs Dynamic Head (in ft).
Head is the difference between pump and tank. There will be a point on Dynamic head at
which the system curve will begin. Initially, it will be a straight line due to laminar flow and
once when the flow becomes turbulence a
curve is developed which meets the
dynamic head at a point called Operating
Point. It is the point at which stable
operation of pump happens. Dynamic
Head will be maximum when flow is
zero. As flow rate is increased there will
be decrease in head due to opposition of
frictional force. Also, as flow increases
the efficiency of pump increases from zero and reaches a maximum point called Best
efficiency point(BEP) and then starts to decrease. Pumps operating at BEP are believed to
have better life. This curve will be the same even if it is water, glycerin or any other liquid.
That is the head remains same for a pump, only pressure changes depending upon the density
of fluid.

12. POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT PUMPS

It mainly consists of rotary pumps and reciprocating pumps. In these types a certain volume
of fluid is taken in an enclosed volume and then it is forced out against pressure to the
required application. Basic components are cylinder
with inlet and outlet valves, piston, connecting rod
and crank, suction and delivery pipe.

As crank moves outward, the connecting rod attached

to piston moves outward, creates suction and fluid is
collected in the region through inlet valve. During this
time delivery valve remain closed. In the next cycle,
piston is pushed inward and hence the volume of fluid
collected moves upward and comes out through delivery valve. This is because the fluid is
incompressible and hence pressure will be developed. During that time inlet valve will be
24
closed. The volume of water pumped per stroke will be the product of piston area and stroke
length.
Positive Displacement Pumps have higher maintenance cost because of more number of
moving parts and complex nature. It is best suited for low flow volumes at high pressure. One
major difference to be noted between a centrifugal pump and a positive displacement pump
is that it is necessary for discharge valve to be kept opened in positive displacement pump
initially because if it is closed it can break the valves completely and thus affecting the pump.

13.Naphtha Hydrotreater
Introduction: Hydrotreating operations revolve round one central concept of Sulphur Removal. These
involve subjecting the feed to temperatures which are enough to ensure that cracking does not take
place, and at the same time sulphur is removed. Sulphur content in the product needs to be removed
for two primary reasons:

➢ To ensure that catalysts in the downstream

processes are not poisoned
➢ To make the products meet the required
standards (Euro IV) etc.
Feed: Mixed Naphtha

Process Technology: Naphtha feed enters the

feed surge drum and is charged by the heaters
into the Fluidized Bed Reactor. The reactor is
filled with Cobalt-Molybdenum (CoMo)
catalyst if effective sulphur removal is targeted
and Nickel-Molybdenum (NiMo) catalyst if
effective nitrogen removal is targeted. The hot
reacted product coming out through the FBR
outlet is fed to a condenser followed by a separator. The separator is fed with recycle hydrogen
and finally the stream enters the stripper, where effective H2S removal occurs. The Sweet Naphtha
devoid of sulphur content is partially sent to storage and CCR unit.

14. Continuous Catalytic Reforming (CCR)

Introduction: Considered as one of the most important processes in the refinery, this unit
is critical in creating additional revenue and to meet the hydrogen requirements of the
refinery. The excess hydrogen production is utilized for other refinery processes like
hydrotreating and thus makes a refinery self-sustained in the long run.

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 The requirement for a process like this can be highlighted by the following facts:

➢ To maintain a high octane rating

➢ To meet reduced sulphur specifications for the product
➢ To meet reduced aromatics and benzene specifications
Cracking Chemistry: Isomerization of paraffins, Naphthene isomerization to cycloalkanes,

cycloalkane dehydrogenation to produce aromatics

Process Technology: The aim of the process is to create a high octane reformate which can
contribute much towards the production of MS, ATF etc.

Feed: Straight run naphtha (low octane) or cracked naphtha

The feed is preheated by heaters and subsequently fed to series of reactor-heater

combinations. This is done since cracking reactions are highly endothermic in nature and
sufficient amount of heat energy is required for the same. The reformer is provided with
Nickel catalyst in approximately 148 tubes. The feed inlet temperature is around 470OC while
the product outlet temperature is around 850OC. The flue gases emanating at such large
temperatures is used to produce HP steam to maximize heat recovery.

The Pressure Swing Adsorption apparatus (5 Nos) are filled with charcoal, alumina and
molecular sieves for adsorption of gases. The pressure maintained is about 22Kg/cm2. Some
components such as CO2, CH4 and CO are regarded as impurities and 99% hydrogen is thus
produced from it. This hydrogen is the feed to the recycle compressor working in the

26
hydrogen unit. The reactors used are Combo-heaters employing both oil (VR) and gases as its
feed.

The reactor outlet is sent to a heat exchanger with reactor effluent in the tube side and feed
flowing in the shell side. The outlet stream is thus heated to 157OC. The next in-line is the
stripper, which serves to reduce H2S content in the diesel produced. It is sent to a diesel
stripper where unstabilized naphtha is obtained as light ends and stabilized naphtha as tower
bottom.

15. Cyclemax CCR Regeneration System

Introduction: Cracking reactions are generally classified into Thermal and Catalytic
Cracking. Since Catalytic cracking is found to increase the yield of valuable products and
at the same time decrease the temperature and pressure requirements, thus cutting on fuel
costs, catalytic cracking is widely preferred over thermal cracking. Catalytic Cracking, as
the name suggests, is ‘Cracking in the presence of a catalyst’. The
catalyst after sometime develops black color due to coke
formation, and therefore the active sites decrease substantially and
cracking efficiency decreases. To avoid this, catalyst regeneration
is done.

Process Technology: The sweet naphtha (stripper bottom), which

is at 100OC, is mixed with hydrogen from reformer and sent to
Packinox. This is nothing but a Plate type heat exchanger setup.
The feed gets heated to temperatures of 430OC and is sent to CRC
heater having a 9 Burner arrangement. Thus, the feed heated to
about 530OC is sent to reactor.

The spent catalyst is lifted with the help of life gas. This can be
some inert gas such as nitrogen. The catalyst engaging hopper lifts
up the bed to the regenerative zone where the coke is burnt off
from the catalyst surface by the action of air. The fresh regenerated catalyst goes to the
lift-disengaging hopper and the bed is returned back to the reactor.

27
Perchloro Ethylene is a necessary component in regeneration process. It is used to
disperse the catalyst-agglomerates.

Nucleonic Cage Method: Used to measure the level of catalyst in the reactor

Spider leg: 6-8 in Nos. placed to avoid the attrition of the catalysts

16. Amine Regenerator

Process Technology: As vapors travel up the column it becomes sulphur rich. This H2S is
taken out from the column, which is at 110OC and is cooled using Air-Fin cooler to 86OC.
Then the gases are sent through a water cooler for further reduction in temperature to
46OC. The water present in the stream condenses and the acid gas is sent to Sulphur
Recovery Unit (SRU) while some part is refluxed back.

Sulphur Recovery Unit

Process Technology: In the HP Amine absorber Knock-Out Drumshave been provided,

and that serves as the feed for the SRU. From the knock-out drum, the stream encounters
the separator and the preheater. The burner for reduction of H2S→SO2→S produces
elemental sulphur vapors. The vapors at 1200OC exchanges heat in a waste heat reboiler
section and the temperature reduces to 300OC. This stream can be used for production of
LP steam. The condensed sulphur is put in a seal pot and look pot system, which is
followed by sulphur charge to underground sulphur pits. The underground pit contains
sulphur in liquid form.

The catalytic reaction converts side reactions to H2S in the presence of Activated
Alumina called the MCRC (Modified Closed Recovery Concept/Conversion).

From the 3 reactors installed, the total sulphur recovery will be almost 99%. Remaining
1% of the sulphur in ppm concentrations will be converted to SO2 and burnt.

28
Hydrogen Generation Unit

Process Technology: The bottom-reformate from the reformer goes to the Process Gas
Boiler where Boiler Feed Water (BFW) is used to heat the feed. It is then fed to a Shift
reactor where CO + Steam→H2O+CO2 reaction takes place in the presence of
Iron oxide. This CO2 heats the stream and therefore there is a possibility f heat recovery.
This is used to heat the gas to desulphurizer.

This product stream then enters a PSA apparatus to remove the purge gas accumulated,
finally
producing
hydrogen at the
outlet.

Diesel

17. Hydrodesulphurization (DHDS)

Introduction: Heavy distillates obtained need to be desulphurized just like the lighter
ones. For this purpose, DHDS is put into operation. This unit makes sure that the heavy
distillate fractions produced is devoid of sulphur. Organic sulphur exists in the form of
mercaptans. The desulphurized products include Naphtha, Kerosene, Diesel and VGO.

29
 Process Technology:The feed enters the heat exchangers and heaters and travels to the
catalytic reactor. The products from the reactor enter the phase separator where the gases
rich in sulphur content goes to the amine absorber unit. In the amine absorber, lean amine
is supplied which absorb sulphur compounds to become rich amine. Some of the sulphur
free gas is recycled.

The bottom from the phase separator goes to a distillation tower wherein the top product
upon condensing, forms a sour gas and a sour water streams. The bottom from the column
is the desulphurized product.

Hydrodesulphurization reaction is as depicted as follows:

RSH+H2→H2S+RH ; H2S+ZnO→ZnS+H2O

Kerosene Hydrodesulphurization: It is to be noted that the kerosene cut of Iranian crude

contains high concentrations of pyridine. So, the reaction taking place will be necessarily
a Denitrification reaction and ammonia is removed instead of hydrogen sulphide.

18. FLUIDISED CATALYTIC CRACKING UNIT (FCCU)

Cracking is a useful process. Ultimate product of cracking reaction is carbon. The quality of
the product generated in this unit is also much better. Fluidized catalytic cracking involves
cracking of feed which consists of Heavy Gas Oil (HGO) and Vacuum Heavy Gas Oil
(VHGO). This feed is heavier than diesel but lighter than tar. Cracking is done in the
presence of catalyst which is Alumina. New generation catalyst is synthetic Zeolite. For
manufacture of this FCCU catalyst clay is chosen which is devoid of iron content. To this
Lanthanum and Cerium are added. On a daily basis catalyst consumed is 3 tons per day.

Note: This unit is a perfectly heat balanced unit.

Process:
It consists of two sections. One section is the reactor where the cracking of incoming feed
takes place. The other unit is utilized for regeneration of catalyst. During reaction of

30
hydrocarbons with the catalyst heat is consumed hence it is endothermic. The temperature
here is about 500˚C. The catalyst in the process gets choked with carbon/coke. It is then
transferred to the regenerator with the help of carrier /lift gases which is usually hydrogen or
nitrogen. The burning-off of carbon deposits is exothermic in nature and is started using
direct fired air heater (DFAH). This chamber operates at 700˚C. This heat is used in
supplying energy to the reactionchamber.

The pressure in the reactor is maintained lower than the pressure in regenerator. Else
hydrocarbon gas will enter the regenerator where burning is taking place causing an
explosion. In time frame of about 2 seconds, the catalyst and incoming feed contacts and
catalyst reaches top. At the top diameter of the vessel increases, hence velocity decreases and
catalyst falls down. Also particle attrition also takes place as a result of which some amount
of spent-catalyst gets finely powdered. This is removed using 2 cyclones separators. The
spent catalyst flows downwards. The flow of spent catalyst to the regenerator is regulated by
a slide valve in the spent catalyst line.

GAS CONCENTRATION UNIT

Gas concentration unit is employed to separate fuel gas and Naphtha. From the top of the
fractionator, the vapors are transported to primary absorber. The top product from this unit is
the sent to sponge absorber and then amine absorber. The product derived after this process
is fuel gas which is in turn utilized by the refinery to fire the burners in the furnaces.

The bottom product of the primary absorber is further processed to obtain stabilized naphtha.
Debutanizer followed by Depropanizer are employed to remove C4 and C3 cuts respectively.

31
PRODUCTS:

1. Refinery gas consisting of C1and C2.

2. LPG consisting of C3and C4.
3. High Octane Gasoline consisting of C5C10.
4. Cycle Oil for diesel blending.
5. Clarified Oil
6. Coke
The fractionation of above mentioned products are achieved in fractionators which has
packed trays installed inside it. The low pressure drop of the tower enables the reactor to
operate at minimum pressures.

20. EFFLUENT TREATMENT PLANT

Effluent treatment plant-III is capable of treating 75-80m3/hr of effluent. This unit is capable
of treating both process water subsuming residual crude oil and contaminated rainwater. The
parameters of water monitored are sulfide and pH. The objective is to maintain pH of about
7.5 and sulfide less than 0.6ppm before discharging them into the river.

The ETP entails the following units.

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 1. Process Receiving Sump:
The water to be processed is collected in this sump. This is used
just for storage and fluid is then pumped to other units. The
transfer of fluid is done via Archimedes’ pump. Centrifugal
pump cannot be used in situations where there is a level
wise separation. Archimedes’ can transport the mixture of
crude-water mixture. It consists of large rotating helical screw.

2. API Separator:
The API separator is a device designed on the basis of specific
gravity difference between that of oil droplets and water and
that of solids and waste water. As a result of this suspended
solids settle down at the bottom. Typically, the oil layer is
skimmed off and subsequently reprocessed.

3. Tilted plate interceptor:

The parallel plates provide more surface area for suspended oil
droplets to coalesce into larger droplets. However the
parallel plates increase the degree of separation between oil
and water. The result is that parallel plate separator requires
less space than API separator to achieve same degree of
separation.

4. Dissolved Air Flocculator:

In this unit chemical treatment of water is carried out.
Alum: To fasten the settling of solids.
Sulfuric Acid: To regulate acidity of treatment water.
Hydrogen Peroxide: Used as disinfectant
Sodium Hydroxide: Regulates basicity of process water

33
De Oil Poly Electrolyte (DOPE):Polyelectrolytes are charged polymers capable of stabilizing
(or destabilizing) colloidal emulsions through electrostatic interactions. Their
effectiveness can be dependent on molecular weight, pH, solvent polarity, ionic
strength, and the hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB). Stabilized emulsions are
useful in many industrial processes, including deflocculation, drug delivery,
petroleum waste treatment, and food technology.

5. Aerator:
The activated sludge process is the most common option in secondary
treatment. Aeration in an activated sludge process is based on
pumping air into a tank, which promotes the microbial growth in
the wastewater. The microbes feed on the organic material,
forming flocs which can easily settle out.

6. Clarifier: Clarifiers are settling tanks built with mechanical means for continuous
removal of solids being deposited by sedimentation. A clarifier is generally used to
remove solid particulates or suspended solids from liquid for clarification and
thickening. Concentrated impurities, discharged from the bottom of the tank are

34
 known as sludge, while the particles that float to the surface of the liquid are called
scum.

7. Filter: Filter employed is a

conventional bio-sand filter. It is a
slow sand filter that is effective in
removing pathogens and suspended
solids. They also reduce
coloration. Because of their
effectiveness, ease of use, and lack of
recurring costs, biosand filters are
often considered appropriate
technology in developing countries.

8. Guard Pond: Clarified water is then sent to the guard pond where the pH and sulfide
composition are monitored before it is released into the natural waterbodies..

21. LABORATORY

Laboratories are integral part of any industries. They help in providing the details regarding
the quality of products, whether the product meets the standards desired and ensure the
product is safe for use. Engineers use laboratories to design, build and test technological
devices.

In Kochi Refinery, there are three methods where by which laboratory tests are conducted:

1)Indian Institute of Petroleum(IIP)

2)American Society of Testing and Materials(ASTM)

3)Bureau of Indian Standards(BIS)

BIS is used to obtain samples from different reactors and columns like CDU, IREP, DHDS.
Kochi Refinery lab is certified with ISO17025. Samples are collected from different units in
35
every 4 hours. Boiler feed water and effluent is also tested. Samples are loaded and different
tests are conducted by chemists. A total of 24 tests alone are conducted for Aviation Turbine
Fluid(ATF) to ensure the standards are meet. Tests in the lab are conducted based upon Euro
IV standards because of its reduced Sulphur content.

From a tank, sample is collected from upper, middle and bottom portion. IS1447 is used. If
no density difference occurs then it is homogenous. For obtaining samples, the bottle used is
750ml. Residues are collected in can and is then heated to reduce viscosity. Initially, all the
bottles are washed and dried in store room. Samples of ATF are kept safely in store room for
three months in case if cross check has to be done. Black oil testing room is where heavy
distillate tests are carried out. Asphalt or bitumen is mainly used as tar. According to
viscosity, bitumen is classified as VG10 and VG30. Higher the grade, stiffer the Bitumen
obtained. VG10 is mixed with 2% of latex to get bitumen emulsifiers. VG30 is used for
heavy bitumen duty to withstand traffic. Bitumen emulsions are available as Rapid Setting
(RS1) and Slow Setting (SS1). Micro emulsifier is used in Bitumen. LPG undergoes gas
chromatography. Density, viscosity and pourpoint tests are conducted. VGOHDS being
photosensitive is taken into consideration and separate tests are conducted. Different
cylinders were seen and color code was noted.

Color code is as follows:

Compound Color

Oxygen Black

Argon Blue

Nitrogen Grey

Helium Brown

Flash test is conducted in flash testing room to determine the lowest temperature at which
vapors of material will ignite without light source. In Sulphur testing room X-ray, UV and
coulometry test was conducted for checking the Sulphur content present in ppm. In
36
compounds containing H2S, Rich Methyl DiethanolDiamine(RMDEA) to remove H2S
content.

Orsat gas analyser is used to analyse a gas sample for its oxygen, carbon monoxide and
carbon dioxide content. The absorbents used are Potassium Hydroxide, Alkaline Pyrogallol,
Ammoniacal Cuprous Chloride.

Octane number is standard measure of the performance of fuel. Research Octane

Number(RON) and Motor Octane Number(MON) are found out. RON and MON are
operated at 900 and 600rpm respectively. Engines are deployed to find ignition quality of
diesel. Octane number of isooctane is 100 whereas octane number of heptane is zero.

Aviation Turbine Fluid tests are done based upon specifications setup by Semilac agency,
Directorate General of Civil Aviation(DGCA), Directorate General Resettlement(DGR).
Semilac agency has specs based upon Merox and Kerosene Hydro Desulfurization. DGCA
deals with passenger flight and DGR mainly deals with air force. In ATF moisture comes to
play. For ATF, tests are mainly conducted at -56°C which is the freezing point. Among all
the tests conducted ATF is done with lot of care. Any falters can lead to huge problem. Tests
include conductivity tests, smoke test and Jet Fuel Thermal Oxidation Test(JFTOT). JFTOT
is a specification test for measuring aviation turbine thermal stabilities of commercial fuels.
Frequent assessment of lab and facilities are done by DGCA and DGR and certification is
done.

37
Conclusion

The four week industrial training at BPCL-Kochi refinery was really helpful to me. The

training has helped me to understand industrial process in a better way. Various equipments

used to measure process variables such as temperature, pressure, level and how were seen and

its operating principle was studied. I gained a lot in terms of how an large scale industry

operates. Priority given for safety in the refinery was seen all over. The refinery has a unique

bond with its environment which is evident in the green blanket so carefully nourished right

around it. The refinery has been blessed with a fine topography and the entire complex,

spreading across over thousand two hundred acres has been so constructed as to blend

naturally with it. Finally, I am grateful to God for giving the chance to attend this training

program.

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Reference

● B. P. C. L. KochiRefinery, “Fluid catalyst cracking unit operation manual."

● https://www.bharatpetroleum.in/kochi-refinery-overview.aspx

● https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

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