Petroleum Refining operations

and Processing

Dr Panneerselvam Ranganathan,
Assistant Professor,
Chemical Engineering Department

Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut

 Course Plan
Module 1:
Lecture 1: Indian petroleum industry, prospects and future
Lecture 2: Classification and Characteristic of crude oil
Lecture 3: Evaluation of crude oil
Lecture 4: Petroleum refinery process- atmospheric and vacuum
distillation
Lecture 5: Petroleum refinery process- Thermal Cracking, visbreaking
Lecture 6: Petroleum refinery process- Catalytic Cracking
Lecture 7: Hydrocracking, Hydroprocessing

Module 2:
Lecture 1: production and treatment of LPG, LNG technology
Lecture 2: sweetening operations- ethanolamine , copper chloride solution
Lecture 3: product treatment processes- deashphalting, aromatic
extraction,
Lecture 4: product treatment processes- solvent method, dewaxing,
Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut
 Course Plan (ii)

Lecture 5: product treatment processes- clay methods, hydrofining,

demaxing
Lecture 6: Catalytic reforming of petroleum feed stocks

Module 3:
Lecture 1: Cracking of naphtha and gas
Lecture 2: Isomerization,
Lecture 3: Alkylation
Lecture 4: Polymerization
Lecture 5: Production of petrochemicals

Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut

 Course Outcome

1. Understand the origin of petroleum and have a knowledge

on the past, present, and future petroleum refinery in both
India and globally

2. Understand the need for petroleum refining and provide a

basic understanding of how a petroleum refinery works.

3. Understand the various process involved petroleum refining

and petrochemicals technologies.

Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut

 Reference books

1. Nelson, W.L., Petroleum Refinery Engineering (4th ed.). Mc Graw Hill

Book company, New York.

2. Bhaskar, Rao., Modern Petroleum Refinery Processes (5th ed.). Oxford &
IBH Publishing Co. Pvt Ltd., New Delhi.

3. Fahim, M.A., Al-sahhf, T.A., & Elkilani, Amal. (2009). Fundamentals of

Petroleum Refining, Elsevier, Oxford, UK.

4. James H. Gary, Glenn E Handwerk, Mark J.Kaiser, Petroleum Refining

Technology and Economics , CRC Press.

5
Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut
 Lecture 1:
Indian petroleum industry, prospects
and future

Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut

 History of India's oil industry

• India's oil industry initiated during 1889 in Assam

• During 1954, Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) – setup
• During second five year Government of India nationalized the Indian Petroleum
Industry
• in 1962 first refinery, that is, Guwahati refinery under Indian Oil Corporation
• during 1980's on account of the denationalization policy of the Government of
India, few oil refineries- ESSAR and Reliance Petroleum refineries were set up
• At present India has 17 petroleum refineries out of which 7 refineries are under
Indian Oil Corporation.
• Indian Oil Corporation holds about 40 percent of the market share of petroleum
industry in India.

Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut

 The Indian petroleum sector categories

1. Oil and Gas Exploration: Dominated by ONGC, OIL, RIL and Cairn
companies
2. Refining and Marketing: This category is further sub divided into three
categories as
1. Pure Refiners with companies like CPCL, KRL, BRPL, NRL and MRPL
2. Refined Products with company with only sells refined oil products.
3. Integrated refining and marketing: This section is led by IOC, HPCL,
BPCL, RIL and Essar. Natural Gas distribution: The distribution is done by
companies like GAIL, Gujarat Gas, RIL, GSPC and Mahanagar Gas.

Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut

 Refinery Companies in India
1. CPCL: Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd
1. Products : Diesel, kerosene, LPG, Petrochemicals, Petrol
2. Parent: IOC; the crude throughput for 2016-17 - 10.256 million metric tonnes (MMT)
2. KRL, BPCL-KRL
1. Products : Benzene, Toluene, White Spirit, Poly Iso Butene and Sulphur
2. Parent: BPCL; The crude throughput– 15.5 million metric tonnes (MMT)
3. BRPL (Now it is IOCL Bongaigaon Refinery),
1. Products : Natural gas, Petrochemicals, Petroleum
2. Parent: IOC; the crude throughput - ?? million metric tonnes (MMT)
4. NRL (Numaligarh refinery)
1. Products : Petroleum
2. Parent: BPCL; the crude throughput - 3 million metric tonnes (MMT)
5. MRPL
1. Products : Natural gas, Petrochemicals, Petroleum
2. Parent: ONGC; the crude throughput - 15 million metric tonnes (MMT)

Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut

 The Indian petroleum sector categories

Indian Oil Corporation Limited

Refineries
I. Digboi Refinery (Upper Assam)
II. Guwahati Refinery (Assam)
III. Barauni Refinery
IV. Haldia Refinery
V. Mathura Refinery
VI. Panipat Refinery
VII. Bongaigaon Refinery
VIII. Gujarat Refinery (Near Ahmedabad)

Reliance Group

I . Petroleum Refining and Marketing business

Jamnagar
2. Petrochemicals business
3. Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Vadodara
business
4. Others Dahej
Hazira

Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut

 The Indian Oil Exploration
• India's domestic oil production has increased 3-5%/year due to
• exploration of prospective regions and
• introduction of directional drilling,
• enhanced oil recovery, and
• other new technologies.
• The country's sedimentary basins cover
• 1.79 million sq km onshore and in shallow water.
• Its deepwater area beyond the 200-m isobath accounts for 1.35 million sq km.
• Only seven of India's 26 sedimentary basins are producing commercially:
• Assam-Arakhan
• Cambay
• Cauvery.
• Krishna-Godavari
• Mumbai offshore and
• Rajasthan.

Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut

Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut
Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut
 Petroleum - Introduction

• Petroleum is an oily, flammable, thick dark brown or greenish liquid that

occurs naturally in deposits, usually beneath the surface of the earth;

• it is also called crude oil.

• Petroleum means “rock oil” (petra meaning “rock” and elaion meaning “oil”
in Greek, and oleum meaning “oil” in Latin).

• The name came from its discovery in sedimentary rocks. It is mostly used
to produce fuel oil, which is the primary energy source today.

• Petroleum is also the raw material for many chemical products, including
solvents, fertilizers, pesticides, and plastics.

• Because of its high demand in our daily life, it is also called “black gold

Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut

 Petroleum - Introduction

Petroleum - remains the primary energy source.

- high energy content and
- ease of use

Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut

 Origin of Petroleum (i)
• Biogenic Theory

• the product of compression and heating of ancient vegetation over geological

time scales

• it is formed from the decayed remains of prehistoric marine animals and

terrestrial plants

• For many years, these materials are mixed with mud, buried under thick
sedimentary layer of material

• Under high level of heat and pressure, these material remains metamorphous
first which is converted into waxy materials or kerogen and then into liquid
and gases hydrocarbon through process called catagenesis

• These hydrocarbon are trapped into porous rock called reservoir which is
forming oil filed. From there, using drilling and pumping process, oil is
explored.
Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut
 Origin of Petroleum (ii)
• Abiogenic Theory-
• In 1866, Berthelot proposed that carbides are formed by the action of alkali
metal on carbonates.
• These carbides react with water to give rise to large quantities of acetylene,
which in turn is converted to petroleum at elevated temperatures and
pressures
CaCO3 → CaC2 → HC=CH → Petroleum
• Mendelejeff proposed another reaction sequence for petroleum based on
inorganic compounds

• But, these may not completely accepted due to following point

Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut

 Origin of Petroleum (iii)

• One often finds optical activity in petroleum constituents that could not
have been present if the source of petroleum were only these inorganic
chemicals.
• The presence of thermo-labile organic constituents (biomarkers) in
petroleum cannot be accounted for in terms of their origin from these
inorganic chemicals.
• It is known that oil is exclusively found in sedimentary rocks, which
would not have been the case if the origin of oil could be attributed to
processes involving only these inorganic chemicals.

Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut

 Origin of Petroleum (iv)
In 1911, Engler proposed that an organic substance other than coal was
the source material of petroleum.
In the first stage: animal and vegetable deposits accumulate at the bottom of island seas
and are then decomposed by bacteria. The water-soluble components are removed and
fats, waxes, and other fat-soluble and stable materials remain.

In the second stage: high-temperature and pressure cause carbon dioxide to be produced
from carboxyl-containing compounds, and water is produced from the hydroxyl acids and
alcohols to yield a bituminous residue.
• There can also be a little cracking, producing a liquid product with high olefin content
(petro-petroleum).
In the third stage: the unsaturated compounds are polymerized to naphthenic and/or
paraffinic hydrocarbons. Aromatics are presumed to be formed by either cracking and
cyclization or decomposition of petroleum

Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut

 Source Rock

• Source rocks a term used to describe the beds of

sedimentary rock in which the petroleum is formed.
Mostly dark grey or black shales.

• The generation of liquid (crude oil) or gas (natural gas)

from a solid (organic matter) causes large increase in
volume. This stresses the source rock and fractures the
shale. Hydrocarbons escape through the fractures.

Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut

 Primary Migration:

• Movement of HC from source rock to more porous

reservoir rocks (sandstone or limestone)

• High capillary pressures and fluid expansion by heat

causes the fluid to be expelled from the tiny pore spaces
of the source rock.

Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut

 Secondary migration

• Movement of HC through reservoir rock and into a trap.

• Fluid movement dictated by capillary forces, pressure and
temperature effects.

Primary and Secondary Migration

Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut

 Trapping Oil and Gas
• Oilfields and gas fields are areas where hydrocarbons have become
trapped in permeable reservoir rocks, such as porous sandstone or
fractured limestone.

• Migration towards the surface is stopped or slowed down by

impermeable rocks such as clays, cemented sandstones or salt which
act as seals.

• Oil and gas accumulate only where seals occur above and around
reservoir rocks so as to stop the upward migration of oil and gas and
form traps, in which the seal is known as the caprock.

• The two types of traps are structural traps (e.g. anticline, fault and salt
dome) and stratigraphic traps.

Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut

 Trap
Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut
Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut