Introduction

Petroleum Refinery Engineering

(Dr. Lakshmanarao Rao Jeeru)

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Unit-I
TOPICS :

• Origin- Exploration and Production of Petroleum

• Types of crude
• Crude composition
• Characteristics and Classification
• Standard Testing of Petroleum and products-
specifications and their significances

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Unit –II
• Pre-treatment of crude for Refining- Dehydration and Desalting
• Distillation of Crude oil
Atmospheric distillation (ADU) and Vacuum Distillation (VDU)

• Treatment Techniques of Vacuum distillates with different Process -

Solvent Extraction, Deasphalting , dewaxing , hydrofining, clay contact
process
• Hydrocracking-
Principles, process requirements, Product Yields and qualities and resid- cracking

• Hydro treating- Sulfur Removal , Hydro finishing process

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Unit-III
• Thermal cracking - process, operating parameters, feed stock
selection and product yields, Advantages
Types and Functions of secondary Processing
Visbreaking –Processes, operating parameters and advantages
Coking - Operating parameters and advantages
Fluid catalytic cracking – Processes , operating parameters, feed
stocks selection and product yields and advantages.

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UNIT-IV
• Principles , processes , operating parameter and advantages of
Reforming
Isomerization
Alkylation
Polymerization
Asphalt manufacture, Air Blowing Technology
Bitumen Types and their Properties
Acid gas removal and sulfur Removal

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Text and Reference Books
 Dr. B.K. Bhaskara Rao, “Modern Petroleum Refining Processes (5th Edition)”
• Dr. B.K. Bhaskara Rao, “A Text Book on Petrochemicals”
• Marshall Sittings, “Dryden’s Outlines of Chemical Technology”

• Additional Reference Books

 James H. Gary and G.E. Hannwerk “Petroleum Refining Technology and Economics “ 4th Edition
 Web sources: www. nptel.ac.in
 I.D. Mall “Petroleum Refining Technology”
 OP Gupta, “ Elements of Petroleum Refinery Engineering”
 Ram Prasad, “Petroleum Refinery Technology”
 W.L. Nelsion, “Petroleum Refinery Engineering”
 D.S.J. Jones “Hand Book of Petroleum Processing”

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Typical Refinery Flow Diagram

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 Refinery
• Petroleum refineries have goal to convert as much of the barrel of crude oil into
transportation fuels which is economically practical.

• Refineries produce many profitable products.

• The high-volume profitable products are the transportation fuel gasoline, diesel and
turbine (jet) fuels, and the light heating oils.

• These transportation fuels have boiling points between 25 and 350oC.

• Although products such as lubricating oils, refrigeration and transformer oils, and
petrochemical feedstock are profitable. They amount to less than 5 percent of the total
crude oil charged to refineries.

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 Fig:1.3[15]A typical REFINERY PROCESS CHA

Fig. Refinery Flow Diagram 9

Refinery processes
• The crude oil is heated in a furnace and charged to an atmospheric distillation tower, where it is
separated into light gas (C1-C4), light naphtha, heavy naphtha, kerosene, atmospheric gas oil, and
reduced (topped) crude.
• The reduced crude is sent to the vacuum distillation tower and separated into vacuum gas oil
stream and vacuum reduced crude bottoms (residua, resid).
• The reduced crude bottoms from the vacuum distillation tower is thermally cracked in a delayed
Coker to produce gas, coker gasoline, coker gas oil, and coke.
• The atmospheric and vacuum crude unit gas oils and coker gas oil are used as feed stocks for the
catalytic cracking or hydrocracking units where heavy molecules get converted into lower
molecular weight compounds boiling in the gasoline and distillate fuel ranges.
• The hydro cracked products are saturated whereas catalytic cracker products are unsaturated and
further need improvement in quality by either hydrotreating or by reforming.
• The light naphtha streams from the crude tower, coker and cracking units are sent to an
isomerization unit to convert straight-chain paraffins into isomers which have higher octane
numbers.
• The heavy naphtha streams from the crude tower, coker, and cracking units are fed to the
catalytic reformer to improve octane numbers. The products from the catalytic reformer can be
blended into regular and premium gasolines for marketing. The wet gas streams from the crude
unit, coker, and cracking units are separated in the vapor recovery section (gas plant) into fuel
gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), unsaturated hydrocarbons (propylene, butylenes, and
pentenes), normal butane, and isobutane.
• The fuel gas is burned as a fuel in refinery furnaces and the normal butane is blended into
gasoline or LPG. 10
 Refinery processes(Contd.)
• The unsaturated hydrocarbons and isobutane are sent to the alkylation unit to react olefins with
isobutane to yield isoparaffins. The alkylation is done at high pressure and low temperature in the
presence of sulfuric or hydrofluoric acid as catalyst. The product is called alkylated gasoline, which
is a high-octane product blended into premium motor gasoline and aviation gasoline.

• The middle distillates from the crude unit, coker, and cracking units are blended into diesel and jet
fuels and furnace oils.
• In some refineries, the heavy vacuum gas oil and reduced crude from paraffinic or naphthenic base
crude oils are processed into lubricating oils.

• The asphaltenes are removed in a propane deasphalting unit, and the reduced crude from bottoms
are processed with the vacuum gas oils to produce lube oil base stocks (LOBS).

• The vacuum gas oils and deasphalted stocks are solvent-extracted to remove the aromatic
compounds followed by dewaxing to improve the pour point. These LOBS are further treated with
acid clays to improve their color and stability before being blended into lubricating oils.

• Each refinery has its own unique processing scheme which is determined by the process
equipment available, crude oil characteristics, operating costs, and product demand.
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 Processes and description
Process Description
Desalting Used to Remove the salts of Ca, Mg, Na ,and other impurities as they cause fouling and
results in corrosion of various equipments

Heating of crude Desalted crude is heated to about 400oC in Pipe-Still Heaters

oil

Atmospheric Heated crude is flashed in to atmospheric distillation Unit and separated into various fractions
Distillation like light gases, gasoline, naphtha, kerosene , light fuel oil, diesel oils and gas oil, heavy
residue
Vacuum Distillation of bottom of atmospheric distillation column is done to make it suitable for
distillation catalytic cracking or hydro cracking , or manufacturing of lubricating oils, and a residue
(which is blown or further distilled to form bitumen)

note: In the above processes only physical changes occur

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Processes and description
• Thermal cracking/ Visbreaking : cracking of heavier fractions, bottoms of
atmospheric and vacuum distillation units at high temperature in
presence of heat to produce lighter fuel products and other heavier
fractions
• Coking: Severe Thermal cracking process to produce gasoline, diesel
along with coke
• Catalytic cracking : cracking in presence of catalyst under mild operating
temperature
• Hydrocracking: similar to catalytic cracking produce saturated
compounds
• Catalytic Reforming: Rearranging of molecule, produce high octane
number gasoline and aromatics
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 Processes and description
• Hydro treating and hydro processing : used to remove impurities such as sulfur , nitrogen
and oxygen and trace of metal impurities which are poisonous to catalyst
• Alkylation: Alkylation produce high octane gasoline from alkylation of isobutane and
olefin obtained from FCC in presence of acid catalyst
• Isomerization:. Typically paraffin of CDU are converted to isoparaffins having a much high
octane, is used to improve octane number of naphtha
• Polymerization: Used to convert propane and butane to high octane gasoline
• Solvent Extraction: Used to separate non-aromatics from aromatics and to dissolve to
remove aromatics from lube oil feedstock which improve the viscosity , oxidation
resistance , colors and gum formation.
• Dewaxing: process of removing wax from lube oil, generally after deasphalting and
solvent extraction so as to produce lubricants with low pour point and to recover wax from
further processing:
• Propane deasphalting : is a solvent extraction process for removing asphalts or resins
form viscous hydrocarbons to produce feedstock for lube oil refining or catalytic cracking
processes
• Hydrodesulphurization: involves removal/ reduction of the sulfur content of the fuel. The
separation of reaction gases are then send to amine wash for removal of H 2S
• Merox extraction : process is used fro removal of mercaptans or for conversion of
mercaptans into disulfide using a catalyst. 14
Products from typical Refinery- End uses
Product End- uses

Light gases containing methane and Fuel and Hydrogen in hydro- processing
hydrogen- used as fuel and hydrogen in
hydro processing
LPG Domestic Fuel
Ethylene from FCC gas Ethyl Benzene and other chemicals
C4 and C5 gases from FCC MTBE, TAME, Isobutylene and other
Petrochemical feed stock
Propylene from FCC Feedstock for Propylene and
petrochemicals
Gasoline Transport Fuel
Naphtha Feed stocks for catalytic Reforming ,
feed stock for petrochemicals such as
ethylene, propylene and Fertilizers, etc.
and as Fuel in Power plants
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Products from typical Refinery- End uses
Product End- use
Reformate High Octane Gasoline, Feed stock for Petrochemicals such as
benzene, toluene, xylenes, ehtyl benzene, etc.
Jet/ aviation turbine Aviation and Domestic fuel
fuel/ superior kerosene
oil
High Speed Diesel Fuel for Transport sector, agriculture and captive power
generation
Light diesel oil Fuel for small industrial units, start up fuel for Power generation
Sulfur Feed stocks for sulfuric acid, Pharmaceuticals
Lubricating Oil Lubricants and Greases
Kerosene Domestic fuel, feed stock for LAB, jet fulel
Lubricating Oil Lubricants and grease
Petroleum Wax Packing, adhesive, cosmetics, rubber candles, Chewing gum,
inks, plastics, rubber, etc
Bitumen Surfacing of roads 16
Products made by U.S. Refinery

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