Sudeep Final Thesis

SIMULATION AND DESIGN OF
REFINERY UNITS
A Report
submitted by
SUDEEP MUKHERJEE (R670214013)
in partial fulfilment of the requirements

for the award of the degree of
MASTER OF TECHNOLOGY
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
with specialization in
PROCESS DESIGN ENGINEERING
Under the guidance of

Dr. R. P. Badoni Mr. S. C. Gupta
Distinguished Professor Sr. Consultant
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING STUDIES
UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM & ENERGY STUDIES

Bidholi Campus, Energy Acres,
Dehradun-248007.
July 2015 - March 2016

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the thesis titled SIMULATION AND DESIGN OF REFIN-
ERY UNITS submitted by SUDEEP MUKHERJEE (R670214013), to the University
of Petroleum & Energy Studies, for the award of the degree of MASTER OF TECH-
NOLOGY in Chemical Engineering with specialization in Process Design Engineering is
a bonafide record of project work carried out by him/her/them under my/our supervision.
Dr. R. P. Badoni Mr. S. C. Gupta

Distinguished Professor Sr. Consultant
Head of the Department
Date:
i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am specially grateful to Mr. S.C. GUPTA, Sr. CONSULTANT, TEIL PROJECTS

LIMITED, NOIDA to provide continuous guidance and motivation which helped me in
this simulation project in his company. The supervision and support that he gave truly
helped for smooth progression of the internship program. The co-operation is much indeed
appreciated.
I am specially grateful to Dr. ASHWANI MALHOTRA, DGM, PROCESS - II, EN-

GINEERS INDIA LIMITED, GURGAON to give this wonderful opportunity to work
in his company. Again the co-operation and valuable guidance is much appreciated.
I also want to give a word of thanks to my guide and mentor Dr. R. P. BADONI,
DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR, CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, U.P.E.S. who have
always inspired and encouraged me in completing my assigned tasks and duties with sin-
cerity and perform to the best of my ability. I am heartily thankful to him for taking out his
valuable time and patiently familiarizing me with the core fundamentals of Process Design
and Development, for teaching with complete enthusiasm and vigor and for helping me
through-and-through.
The whole procedure went under consideration of my professors in college. I would

like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Mr. I. D. MALL, HOD, CHEMICAL ENGINEER-
ING and Mr. KUMARGAURAV D. PUNASE, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, CHEMI-
CAL ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM AND ENERGY STUDIES
for their continuous support.
I also want to thank all the staff members of TEIL PROJECTS, NOIDA and ENGI-
NEERS INDIA LIMITED, GURGAON for their continuous support and of course, for the
fantastic company that they provided during my stay for the internship period.
At the end, I would also like to thank my family for their unmatched support and pay
homage to the Almighty without the grace of whom nothing is possible.
ii
NOMENCLATURE
BS&W Bottom Sediments and Water

NBP Normal Boiling Point
PD Preflash Drum
ADU Atmospheric Distillation Unit
VDU Vacuum Distillation Unit
HX Heat Exchanger
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CERTIFICATE i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii
1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 REFINERY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 PETROLEUM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 PROCESS DESIGN vs PROCESS SIMULATION . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2 LITERATURE SURVEY 4
2.1 CRUDE OIL AND ITS SPECIFICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2 REFINERY UNITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2.1 CRUDE OIL DESALTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2.2 PREFLASH TOWER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.2.3 ATMOSPHERIC DISTILLATION COLUMN (ADU) . . . . . 11
2.2.4 PUMPS USED IN PRIMARY DISTILLATION . . . . . . . . . 15
3 SIMULATION METHODOLOGY AND DISCUSSION 26
3.1 CRUDE OIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.2 DESALTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.3 PREFLASH DRUM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.4 ATMOSPHERIC DISTILLATION UNIT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.4.1 PUMPAROUNDS IN ADU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.4.2 DIAMETER OF THE COLUMN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
iv
3.5 PRE - DESALTER CRUDE PREHEAT TRAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.5.1 DESIGN OF WATER PREHEATER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.6 VACUUM DISTILLATION UNIT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.6.1 PUMPAROUNDS IN VDU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.6.2 DIAMETER OF THE COLUMN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.6.3 PUMPS OF VDU AND ITS SIZING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.6.3.1 PUMP SIZING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.7 POST - DESALTER CRUDE PREHEAT TRAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
3.8 PRE - CDU CRUDE PREHEAT TRAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
4 CONCLUSIONS 65
REFERENCES 66
5 APPENDICES 67
5.1 APPENDIX A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
5.1.1 W-PR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
5.1.2 KERO-HX1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
5.1.3 KERO-HX2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
5.1.4 LGO-HX1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
5.1.5 LGO-HX2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
5.1.6 LGO-HX3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
v
LIST OF TABLES
2.1 Micro Organic Elemental Analysis of Crude oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2 Classification of Crude oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.3 Straight run product streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.1 TBP distribution of the crude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.2 NBP distribution of the crude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.3 Desalter stream Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.4 Preflash Drum stream Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.5 Stream Results of CDU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.6 Result Comparison of CDU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.7 CDU Pumparound Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.8 Stream Results of VDU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.9 VDU Pumparound Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
vi
LIST OF FIGURES
1.1 A Typical Refinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.1 Petroleum Product Specification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2 Electrostatic Crude oil Desalter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.3 Crude Distillation Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.1 TBP Curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.2 Desalter with Preheaters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.3 Preflash drum after Preheat train-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.4 CDU as hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.5 Crude distillation Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.6 Pressure profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.7 Temperature profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
3.8 Flow rate profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3.9 ADU results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.10 Tray Rating of Top Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.11 Tray Rating of Bottom Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.12 Crude Preheat Train -1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.13 Heat Exchanger Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.14 Water Heat Exchanger Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.15 VDU as hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3.16 Vacuum distillation Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
3.17 VDU Pressure profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
vii
3.18 VDU Temperature profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
3.19 VDU Flow rate profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
3.20 VDU results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.21 Packing Rating of Top Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.22 Packing Rating of Middle Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.23 Tray Sizing of Bottom Stripping Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
5.1 Tube Layout for water preheater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
5.2 Exchanger Layout for water preheater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
5.3 LMTD Graph for water preheater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
5.4 Vibration Analysis for water preheater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
5.5 Exchanger Comparison for KERO-HX1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
5.6 Tube Layout for KERO-HX1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
5.7 Exchanger Layout for KERO-HX1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
5.8 LMTD Graph for KERO-HX1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
5.9 Vibration Analysis for KERO-HX1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
5.10 Exchanger Comparison for KERO-HX2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
5.11 Tube Layout for KERO-HX2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
5.12 Exchanger Layout for KERO-HX2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
5.13 LMTD Graph for KERO-HX2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
5.14 Vibration Analysis for KERO-HX2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
5.15 Exchanger Comparison for LGO-HX1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
5.16 Tube Layout for LGO-HX1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
5.17 Exchanger Layout for LGO-HX1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
5.18 LMTD Graph for LGO-HX1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
viii
5.19 Vibration Analysis for LGO-HX1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
ix
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 REFINERY
Today, crude oil is refined all over the world. The largest oil refinery is the Reliance
Jamnagar, India which can process 1.24 million barrels of oil each day. In fact, most of the
oil industry’s largest refineries are in Asia and South America. Nevertheless, the practice
of refining oil was created in the United States, where it continues to be an important part
of the nation’s economy.
The prices of products in the petrochemical world are quite volatile because of the
constantly shifting crude oil market, rising global demand, and the geopolitical situation.
Therefore it is desirable that refineries are capable of operating with different crude oil
compositions.
The advancement of computer power and dedicated software packages has given us the
ability to integrate and optimize industrial processes like never before and thus bringing
water and energy usage to a minimal, because water and energy are no longer seen as
commodities, but as valuable assets. Companies must plan and execute their processes
so that they are within ecological standards and provide reasonable profit not only today
but also in the near future. Most of the times this is easier said than done. They can be
challenging to optimize, but provide great rewards if they are brought up to date correctly.
A lot of refineries running today were built in the 80’s or late 70’s when energy was
cheap, and when the investors did not devote much attention to the costs of energy. Be-
cause of that leading oil companies carried out rationalization and suggested energy-saving
programs. These programs consist of the following actions :-
• Continuous monitoring of energy costs
• Identifying the places of irrational energy consumption and preparing the energy
saving project
• Modernization of equipment and introduction of computer management,
• Reconstruction of equipment and intensification of the maintenance process.

Figure 1.1: A Typical Refinery
1.2 PETROLEUM
Generally blackish in color, crude oil has a characteristic odor that comes from the
presence of small quantities of chemical compounds containing sulfur and nitrogen. Crude
oil is a complex liquid mixture made up of a vast number of hydrocarbon compounds that
consist mainly of carbon and hydrogen in differing proportions. In addition, small amounts
of organic compounds containing sulfur, oxygen, nitrogen and metals such as vanadium,
nickel, iron and copper are also present. Hydrogen to carbon ratios affect the physical
properties of crude oil. As the hydrogen to carbon ratio decreases, the gravity and boiling
point of the hydrocarbon compounds increases. Moreover, the higher the hydrogen to
carbon ratio of the feedstock, the higher its value is to a refinery because less hydrogen is
required.
Saturated hydrocarbons content is around 60 %wt, aromatics 30 %wt, resins 5 %wt.

Sulfur content is 0.5-2 %wt. Heavy metals <100 ppm. Crude-oil vapors are mainly short-
chain hydrocarbons (only about 10 % in volume have more than 4 carbons).Depending on
the type of crude oil, it is treated via different refining processes to turn it into fuels, lubri-
cating oils, waxes, chemicals, plastics and many other products used everyday in modern
society.
Although India’s per capita energy consumption is one of the lowest and much lower
than the developed countries, India still ranks 4th largest energy consuming nation in the
world according to the latest released report of U.S Energy Information and Administra-
2
tion. This report has been supported by EIA reports according to which India is the fourth
largest consumer of oil and petroleum products after U.S.A., China and Japan. Although
India has one of the highest amounts of coal reserves, she is heavily dependent on imported
crude oil. Coal currently accounts for nearly 41 % of energy produced in India. India im-
ports about 63 % of its crude oil from Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE,
Kuwait, Iraq etc.
Once discovered, drilled and brought to the earth’s surface, crude oil is transported
to a refinery by pipeline, ship or both. At the refinery, it is treated and converted into
consumer and industrial products. Three major refinery processes change crude oil into
finished products :-
• Separation
• Conversion and
• Purification
1.3 PROCESS DESIGN vs PROCESS SIMULATION
A process design engineer is bound to learn about the basic knowledge with respect to
a simulation problem and its contextual variation with a process design problem. A typical
process design problem involves the evaluation of design parameters for a given process
conditions. However, on the other hand, a typical process simulation problem involves the
evaluation of output variables as a function of input variables and design parameters.
For a binary distillation system, adopting a process design procedure or process simu-
lation procedure is very easy. Typically, Mc-Cabe Thiele diagram is adopted for process
design calculations and a system of equations whose total number does not exceed 20 are
solved for process simulation. For multi-component systems involving more than 3 to 4
components, adopting a graphical procedure is ruled out for the purpose of process design
calculations. A short cut method for the design of multicomponent distillation columns is
to adopt Fenske, Underwood and Gilliland (FUG) method. Alternatively, for the rigorous
design of multi-component distillation systems, a process design problem is solved as a
process simulation problem with an assumed set of process design parameters. Eventually
commercial process simulators such as HYSYS or ASPEN PLUS or CHEMCAD or PRO-
II are used to match the obtained product distributions with desired product distributions.
[3]
3
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE SURVEY
The wheel, without doubt, was man’s greatest invention. However until the late 18th
century and early 19th century the motivation and use of the wheel was limited either by
muscle power, man or animal, or by energy naturally occurring from water flow and wind.
The invention of the steam engine provided, for the first time, a motive power independent
of muscle or the natural elements. This ignited the industrial revolution of the 19th century,
with its feverish hunt for fossil fuels to generate the steam.[2]
2.1 CRUDE OIL AND ITS SPECIFICATIONS
Crude oil comes from different parts of the world and has different physical and chem-
ical characteristics. On the other hand, the products that are produced have to meet market
requirements and as such, should comply with certain specifications.[1]
The composition of crude oil, on an elemental basis, falls within certain ranges regard-
less of its origin. Table 2.1 shows that Micro Organic Elemental Analysis (MOEA) data
of crude oil and it is clearly shown that carbon and hydrogen contents vary within narrow
ranges. For this reason, crude oil is not classified on the basis of carbon content. Despite
their low concentrations, impurities such as sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen and metals are unde-
sirable because they cause concerns in the process-ability of crude feedstock and because
they affect the quality of the produced products. Catalyst poisoning and corrosion are the
most noticeable effects during refining.[1]
Crude quality is getting heavier worldwide. Existing refineries, which are designed
to handle normal crude are being modified to handle heavy crude. New technology for
Table 2.1: Micro Organic Elemental Analysis of Crude oil
Elements Composition (wt %)

Carbon 83.0 - 87.0
Hydrogen 10.0 - 14.0
Sulphur 0.05 - 6.0
Nitrogen 0.1 - 0.2
Oxygen 0.05 - 2.0
Metals 0 - 100 ppm
upgrading is used to obtain clean and light products from lower cost feeds. The crude assay
will determine the yields of different cuts and consequently, the refinery configuration.
Some of the important methods to determine the properties of crude oil is as mentioned.
UOP Characterization factor :-
KUOP = Cube root of average boiling point (o R) divided by specific gravity.
p
3
K= TB /Sp.Gravity
where :-
TB = Mean average boiling point in Rankine
Specific Gravity is in 15.6/15.6 o C
Crude characterization depends on this factor as

Paraffinic base −→ K ≥12.1;
Intermediate base −→ K = 11.5 - 12.1;
Naphthenic −→ K = 11.5;
Aromatics −→ K = 9.8 - 12.0
Bureau of Mines Correlation Index (BMCI) :-
BM CI = 48640/o K + 473.7g − 456.8
K = average boiling point in o K

g = specific gravity at 15.6/15.6 o C

Paraffinic −→ BMCI ≤ 15;
Intermediate −→ BMCI = 15-50;
Naphthenic −→ BMCI ≥50
Viscosity Gravity correlation (VGC) :-
10 × G − 1.0752 log(V − 38)

V GC =
10 − log(V − 38)
where :
G is specific gravity
V is Saybolt universal viscosity

Paraffinic base −→ VGC = 0.80 - 0.83;
Intermediate base −→ VGC = 0.83 - 0.88
5
Table 2.2: Classification of Crude oil
Crude Category Gravity

o
Light Crude API > 38
Medium Crude 38 > o API > 29
Heavy Crude 29 > o API > 8.5
o
Very Heavy Crude API < 8.5
Naphthenic base −→ VGC = 0.88 - 0.95

API Gravity :-
o
AP I = 141.5/sp.gravity − 131.5
where :
Specific Gravity is at 15.6/15.6 o C
The variation of crude oil as per API gravity is shown in table 2.2.
Most properties of crude oil are highly variable with crude-oil field, typical ranges are
given :-
Density :- Typically 900 kg/m3 (from 700 kg/m3 to 1000 kg/m3 at 20 o C, floats on water).
Linear temperature variation fit. The density of spilled oil will also increase with time, as
the more volatile (and less dense) components are lost, so that, after considerable evapo-
ration, the density of some crude oils may increase enough for the oils to sink below the
water surface.
Freezing and boiling points :- When heating at 100 kPa a frozen crude-oil sample (from
below 210 K), solid-liquid equilibrium may exist in the range 210 K to 280 K, and liquid-
vapour above 280 K, vapours start to decompose at about 900 K.
Viscosity :- 5×10−6 - 20×10−6 m2 /s at 20 o C. Exponential temperature variation fit.
Pour point :- 5-15 o C.
Vapour pressure:- 5-20 kPa at 20 o C (40-80 kPa at 38 o C). Vapours are heavier than air (2
to 3 times). The characteristic time for evaporation of crude-oil spills at sea is 1 day (25%
in volume evaporated).
Composition :- Each crude-oil field has a different composition, that can be established by
a combination of gas-chromatography, fluorescence-spectroscopy and infra-red-spectroscopy
techniques, and that may be used, for instance, in forensic analysis of oil spills at sea (even
after refining, crude-oil derivatives may be associated to their source field).
Flash-point :- 230 K approximately
6
Figure 2.1: Petroleum Product Specification
Autoignition Temperature :- 700 K approximately.
Ignition limits :- lower 0.5-1 %, upper 7-15 %.
Organoleptic :- black, brown or dark-green color, aromatic or sulphide odor.
Solubility :- < 0.4 %wt, due mainly to volatile compounds.
Surface tension :- 0.029 N/m with its vapors, 0.023 N/m with water.
2.2 REFINERY UNITS
Refining of crude oils or petroleum essentially consists of primary separation processes

and secondary conversion processes. The petroleum refining process is the separation of
the different hydrocarbons present in the crude oil into useful fractions and the conver-
sion of some of the hydrocarbons into products having higher quality performance. At-
mospheric and vacuum distillation of crude oils is the main primary separation processes
producing various straight run products, e.g., gasoline to lube oils/vacuum gas oils (VGO).
These products, particularly the light and middle distillates, i.e., gasoline, kerosene and
diesel are more in demand than their direct availability from crude oils, all over the world.
The typical refinery operation involves separation processes, conversion processes, finish-
ing processes, environmental protection processes.
2.2.1 CRUDE OIL DESALTER
When the crude oil enters the unit, it carries with it some brine in the form of very
fine water droplets emulsified in the crude oil. The salt content of the crude measured in
7
pounds per thousand barrels (PTB) can be as high as 2000. Desalting of crude oil is an
essential part of the refinery operation. The salt content should be lowered to between 5.7
and 14.3 kg/1000 m3 (2 and 5 PTB). Poor desalting has the following effects :-
• Salts deposit inside the tubes of furnaces and on the tube bundles of heat exchangers
creating fouling, thus reducing the heat transfer efficiency
• Corrosion of overhead equipment
• The salts carried with the products act as catalyst poisons in catalytic cracking units
To remove the salts from the crude oil, the water-in oil emulsion has to be broken, thus
producing a continuous water phase that can be readily separated as a simple decanting
process. The process is accomplished through the following steps :-
Water washing :- Water is mixed with the incoming crude oil through a mixing valve.
The water dissolves salt crystals and the mixing distributes the salts into the water, uni-
formly producing very tiny droplets. Demulsifying agents are added at this stage to aide in
breaking the emulsion by removing the asphaltenes from the surface of the droplets.
Heating :- The crude oil temperature should be in the range of 48.9-54.4 o C (120-130 o F)
since the water-oil separation is affected by the viscosity and density of the oil.
Coalescence :- The water droplets are so fine in diameter in the range of 1-10 mm that they
do not settle by gravity. Coalescence produces larger drops that can be settled by gravity.
This is accomplished through an electrostatic electric field between two electrodes. The
electric field ionizes the water droplets and orients them so that they are attracted to each
other. Agitation is also produced and aides in coalescence. The force of attraction between
the water droplets is given by :
4
d
2 2
F = KE d
s
where ’E’ is the electric field, ’d’ is the drop diameter and ’s’ is the distance between drops
centers and ’K’ is a constant.
Settling :- According to Stocks law the settling rate of the water droplets after coalescence
is given by
kd2 (ρH2 O − ρoil )

v=
µoil
8
Figure 2.2: Electrostatic Crude oil Desalter
where ’v’ is the settling rate, ρ’ is the density ’µ’ is the viscosity, ’d’ is the droplet diameter
and ’k’ is a constant.
The desalter achieves 90 % salt removal. However, 99 % salt removal is possible with
two-stage desalters. A second stage is also essential since desalter maintenance requires
a lengthy amount of time to remove the dirt and sediment which settle at the bottom.
Therefore, the crude unit can be operated with a one stage desalter while the other is
cleaned.
2.2.2 PREFLASH TOWER
To expand crude capacity, the most used technique is to introduce a preflash column
before the crude heater. The preflash tower is the most common addition during revamp of
the refinery process. The crude oil after preheating in the hot products and pump-around
heat exchangers is flashed into a column where the lightest products are removed. The
bottoms from the preflash column are introduced into the crude heater and then to the
crude column. The amounts of the light ends in the crude are now less, and this reduces
the vapor loading up the column.
The preflash unit don’t help a refinery always. It may add up to the capital cost as well
as the operating cost of the refinery processes. The preflash unit helps a refinery only in
certain operating conditions and when the refinery has to fulfill the demand under stringent
constraints. Some of the conditions when a preflash unit can help are : [6]
9
• Capacity more important than yield
• Heater duty limits instead of outlet temperature limits
• Vaporization in preheat train constraint
• Pressure limitations in preheat train (equipment capability)
There can be lot of options to install a preflash. Its structure can vary in various ways
as it can be basically :
• Drums
• Towers
Many different configurations can be used in the basic design mentioned above. Se-
lection of the type of design and its configuration is constraint specific. Generally a flash
drum is used under certain process conditions to optimize the results as well as economics
of the unit. But under certain stringent conditions, flash tower can also be used. The Pre-
flash tower usually has 10 equilibrium stages. Factors favoring preflash towers are : [6]
• Atmospheric column has significant constraints
• Atmospheric overhead system has significant constraints
When the preflash tower is used, a preflash furnace is used to raise the temperature
of the crude oil to meet the working conditions of the preflash tower. In order to obtain
necessary heat in the furnaces, generally coal or natural gas is used. The composition of
Natural Gas is much simpler when compared to LPG. The most common configuration
used for a preflash tower is ’Preflash tower with naphtha product’ i.e. the product of
interest from the tower is naphtha and the process conditions will be set to maximize the
extraction of naphtha from crude oil. [6]
Factors favoring preflash drums are :
• Atmospheric column limitations in lower section
• Plot plan constraints
Basic configurations of the preflash drums include :
• High-pressure preflash drum
• Low-pressure preflash drum
10
The widely used preflash drum is the ’Low-Pressure Preflash Drum’. The Pressure
condition in preflash drum is maintained close to or floats on Atmospheric Distillation
tower pressure. The constraints for this type of preflash drum are not very stringent, rather
relaxed. Some of the constraints which are relaxed are : [6]
• Pressure drop in crude circuit downstream of drum reduced
• Temperature before vaporization upstream of heater increased
• Capacity in lower section of atmospheric column increased
The advantages of Low-Pressure Preflash Drum are :
• Medium investment
• Medium equipment size
• Booster pump probably only required auxiliary equipment
The disadvantages of Low-Pressure Preflash Drum are :
• No change in loading of top section of atmospheric column or condenser duties
• High foaming potential
2.2.3 ATMOSPHERIC DISTILLATION COLUMN (ADU)
Once it is undergone preflash, crude oil goes through a process called ‘Fractional Dis-
tillation’. This process separates the different components of crude oil so that they can
be further refined. Fractional distillation begins when the crude oil, which is a mixture of
different hydrocarbons, is put into a high-pressure steam boiler.[2]
Of course, preheating is not enough, as the crude has to be partially vaporized to the
extent that all products, except for the atmospheric residue have to be in the vapor phase
when the crude enters the atmospheric distillation column. Thus a furnace is required
to boost the temperature to between 330 and 385 o C (626 and 725 o F) depending on the
crude composition [1]. The partially vaporized crude is transferred to the flash zone of the
column located at a point lower down the column and above what is called the stripping
section.
The furnace outlet temperature should be enough to vaporize all products withdrawn
above the flash zone plus about 3-5 vol% of the bottom product. This over-flash has the
function of providing liquid wash to the vapors going up the column from the flash zone,
11
Figure 2.3: Crude Distillation Column
and improving fractionation on the trays above the flash zone, thereby improving the qual-
ity of the HGO and reducing the overlap with the bottom products below the flash zone.
This necessitates that there must be few trays in the region between the flash zone and the
HGO draw-off. It also prevents coke deposition on the trays in the wash zone.
The main column is typically 50 m (164 ft) high and is equipped with about 30-50 valve
trays. The vapor goes up in tremendous amounts and at a high flow rate, necessitating a
large diameter column above the flash zone. At the bottom of the stripping section, steam
is injected into the column to strip the atmospheric residue of any light hydrocarbon and to
lower the partial pressure of the hydrocarbon vapors in the flash zone. This has the effect
of lowering the boiling point of the hydrocarbons and causing more hydrocarbons to boil
and go up the column to be eventually condensed and withdrawn as side streams.[1]
Though it is called as “Atmospheric Distillation Column”, the pressure conditions in-

side the column is slightly higher than that of atmospheric pressure. Feed enters to the
distillation column at 2-5 bars and about 380 o C. Light vapors rise to the top of the column
and heavier liquid hydrocarbons fall to the bottom. Hydrocarbon fractions are drawn from
the tower according to the specific boiling temperatures. Stripping steam at the column
bottom improves the separation of lighter boiling components.
The Atmospheric Distillation Column generally has four pumparounds, three side-
strippers and its own steam supply. The steam serves to strip any residue and prevent
12
excessive thermal cracking of crude due to high temperatures. The three side-strippers are
present in order to draw various side streams at different locations.[2]
The draw locations represent the temperature range of the liquid products that can be
collected from the given draw location. The side-products that are drawn from the three
side-strippers are kerosene, diesel and atmospheric gas oil. The side stripper are defined
with a design specification so that they always draw a mixture with a specified o API no
matter what the feed composition.
The efficiency of the tray in the column plays a vital role in the separation of the vapor
and liquid. There are many theories given by many people which can be used in specifying
the efficiency of the distillation column. Some of the common theories in determining
efficiencies are :
Murphree Efficiency
The Murphree Tray Efficiency is based on a semi-theoretical models that assumes that
the vapor between tray is well mixed with uniform compositions, that the liquid in the
downcomer is well mixed having uniform composition, and that the liquid on the tray is
well mixed and is of the same composition as the liquid in the downcomer leaving the tray.
The overall column efficiency for a tray column may be defined by :
Eo = NEQ /Nactual
where NEQ is the number of equilibrium stages and Nactual is the number of actual trays in
the column.
There are many different definitions of stage (or tray) efficiency, that of Murphree being
by far the most widely used in separation process calculations :
MV yi,j − yi,j+1
Ei,j = ∗
yi,j − yi,j+1
∗
where EM V
i,j is the Murphree vapour efficiency for the component i on stage j and yi,j is the
composition of the vapor in equilibrium with the liquid leaving the tray. A similar equation
can be written for the Murphree liquid efficiency also.
Baur Efficiency
The Baur efficiency is defined as follows :
p n
Σ (∆yi,L )2
ε = p i=1
n
Σi=1 (∆yi∗ )2
The Baur efficiency shown above has a simple and appealing physical significance : it
13
Table 2.3: Straight run product streams
Product Property Light Medium Heavy

o
API 38.8 30.7 28.2
Crude oil
Sulphur (wt%) 1.1 2.51 2.84
Cut Range (o C) 20-100 20-100 20-100

o
API 77.4 78.4 80.1
Light Naphtha
Sulfur (wt%) 0.056 0.007 0.0028
Yield (vol%) 10.5 9.4 7.9
Cut Range (o C) 100-150 100-150 100-150

o
API 58.8 59.6 60.6
Heavy Naphtha
Sulfur (wt%) 0.057 0.019 0.018
Yield (vol%) 9.4 7.4 6.8
Cut Range (o C) 150-235 150-235 150-235

o
API 48.0 48.9 48.3
Kerosene
Sulfur (wt%) 0.092 0.12 0.19
Yield (vol%) 18.4 13.5 12.5
Cut Range (o C) 235-344 235-344 235-344

o
API 37.3 37.2 35.8
Light Gas Oil
Sulfur (wt%) 0.81 1.09 1.38
Yield (vol%) 21.1 17.4 16.4
Cut Range (o C) 344-565 344-565 344-565

o
API 24.8 22 21.8
Heavy Gas Oil
Sulfur (wt%) 1.79 2.87 2.88
Yield (vol%) 30.6 30.5 26.3
Cut Range (o C) +344 +344 +344

o
API 21.7 14.4 12.3
Atmospheric Residue
Sulfur (wt%) 2.04 4.12 4.35
Yield (vol%) 38.0 50.0 53.1
Cut Range (o C) +565 +565 +565

o
API 11.5 3.8 4.0
Vacuum Residue
Sulfur (wt%) 3.0 5.85 5.6
Yield (vol%) 7.4 19.5 26.8
14
is the ratio of the actual composition profile (in mole fraction space) to the length of the
composition profile. The Baur efficiency applies both to tray and packed columns. For a
binary mixture in a tray column, Baur efficiency is equal to Murphree efficiency.
The O’Connell Method
H. E. O’Connell obtained his correlation for the efficiency of distillation processes from
an analysis of data from several operating columns. There are many relation to represent
the graphical data. One such equation is :
Eoc = 50.3(αµ)−0.226
where α is the relative volatility between the key components and µ is the viscosity in cP.
ADU process unit is one of the first units in the overall refinery process, meaning that
the outputs of the ADU unit undergo further processing and blending, before they take their
final form. The fractions from the atmospheric distillation column include gases, naphtha,
gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, lubricating oils, heavy oils, and other materials.
2.2.4 PUMPS USED IN PRIMARY DISTILLATION
What is a Pump ?
A pump is a machine used to move liquid through a piping system, and to raise the pressure
of the liquid.
Regardless of the driver type for a centrifugal pump, the input energy is converted in
the driver to a rotating mechanical energy, consisting of the driver output shaft, operating
a certain speed, and transmitting a certain torque or horsepower.
The remaining energy transformations take place inside the pump itself. The rotating
pump shaft is attached to the pump impeller. The rotating impeller causes the liquid which
has entered the pump to increase in velocity. This is the second energy transformation in
the pump, where the input power is used to raise the kinetic energy of the liquid. Kinetic
energy is a function of mass and velocity. Raising a liquid’s velocity increases its kinetic
energy. After the liquid leaves the impeller, but before exiting the pump, the final trans-
formation of energy occurs in a diffusion process. An expansion of the flow area causes
the liquid’s velocity to decrease to more than when it entered the pump, but well below
its maximum velocity at the impeller tip. The diffusion transforms some of the velocity
energy to pressure energy. The energy input into the pump is typically the fuel source en-
ergy used to power the driver. Most commonly, this is electricity used to power an electric
motor.
15
Alternative forms of energy used to power the driver include high pressure steam used
to drive a steam turbine, fuel oil used to power a diesel engine, high pressure hydraulic
fluid used to power a hydraulic motor and compressed air used to drive an air motor.
Pressure and Head
Pressure is measured in psi (pounds per square inch) in USCS (United States Customary
System).In SI (metric units), the equivalent units for pressure are kilopascal (KPa), bar, or
kilograms per square centimeter, while the equivalent units for Head are meters. Absolute
pressure is gauge pressure plus barometric pressure.
In the study of pump hydraulics it is important to realize that any pressure expressed in
psi (KPa) is equivalent to a static column of liquid expressed in feet (meters) of head. This
is not meant to imply that pressure and head are interchangeable terms, since conceptually
head is a specific energy term and pressure is a force applied to an area.
The equivalence between pressure (psi) and head (feet) is given as :
Pressure (psi) = (head (feet) × specific gravity) / 2.31
Pressure (psi) = pressure read on gauge located at the bottom of column of liquid
Head (feet) = height of column
Specific gravity = specific gravity of the liquid
Classification of pumps
There are many ways to classify pumps: according to their function, their conditions of
service, materials of construction etc.
The classification divides the pumps as follows:
• Dynamic :- In a dynamic pump, energy is continuously added to the liquid to in-

crease its velocity. When the liquid velocity is subsequently reduced, this produces
a pressure increase. Though there are several types of pumps which fall into this
classification, for the most part this classification is made up of centrifugal pumps.
• Positive displacement :-
In a positive displacement pump, energy is periodically added to the liquid by the di-
rect application of a force to one or more moveable volumes of liquid of liquid. This
causes an increase in pressure up to the value required to move the liquid through
ports in the discharge line. The important points here are that energy addition is
periodic (not continuous) and that there is a direct application of force to the liquid.
As the piston moves back and forth in the cylinder, it exerts a force directly on the
liquid, which causes an increase in the liquid pressure. Reciprocating pumps and
rotary pumps are the most common in this category.
Capacity
16
Capacity is usually expressed as gallons per minute (gpm) or meter cube per second (SI
unit).The required capacity of the pump is normally dictated by the requirements of the
system in which pump is located. A process system is defined for a particular throughput.
A vessel must be filled or emptied in a certain amount of time. Regardless, of the pump
system being designed, it is usually possible to arrive at a design flow rate for the pump.
Head
A centrifugal pump develops head by raising the velocity of the liquid in the impeller, and
then converting some of this velocity into pressure in the volute or casing by diffusion
process. The amount of head developed in the impeller is given as:
H = v 2 /2g
where
V = velocity at the tip of impeller in m/s
g = acceleration due to gravity
Why is it necessary to convert pressure term into head when dealing with pump?
A pump moving a liquid up a static distance of 100 feet always has a required head
of 100 feet, regardless of the specific gravity of the liquid. The pump discharge pressure
expressed in psi or KPa varies with specific gravity of the liquid, while the head expressed
in feet or meters of liquid remains constant for liquids of different density.
In order to determine the required size of a centrifugal pump for a particular applica-
tion, all of the components of system head for the system in which the pump is to operate
must be added to determine the pump Total Dynamic Head (TDH). There are four separate
components of total system head.
The four components of total system head are:
• Static head
• Friction head
• Pressure head
• Velocity head
Each of these four components of head must be considered for the system in which
the pump is to be operated, and the sum of these is the Total Dynamic Head (TDH) of the
pump.
17
Static Head :-
Static head is the total elevation change which the liquid must undergo. Mostly, static head
is normally measured from the surface of the liquid in the vessel where the liquid is being
delivered. The total static head is measured from supply vessel surface to delivery vessel
surface regardless of whether the pump is located above the liquid level in the suction
vessel (suction lift) or below the liquid level.
Friction head :-
It is the head necessary to overcome the friction losses in the piping, valves and fittings
for the system in which the pump operates. Friction loss in the piping system varies as the
square of the liquid’s velocity. The smaller the size of the pipe, valves and fittings for a
given flow rate, the greater is the friction head loss.
In designing a piping system, if smaller sizes of pipes, valves and fittings are chosen,
the cost of piping system is reduced. However, it also results in higher total pump head
due to increased friction head loss. This in turn increases pump and driver capital cost, and
also increases lifetime energy costs.
Another point is that choosing smaller suction lines might cause the pump to cavitate
due to the increased suction line friction losses.
Pressure Head :-
Pressure head is the head required to overcome a pressure or vacuum in the system up-
stream or downstream of the pump. It is normally measured at the liquid surface in the
supply and delivery vessels.
If the pressure in the supply vessel from which the pump is pumping and the pressure in
the delivery vessel are identical (eg if both are atmospheric tanks) then there is no required
pressure head adjustment to TDH.
Velocity head :-
Velocity head is the energy of a liquid as result of its motion at some velocity V. The
formula for velocity head is given as:
Hv = V 2 /2g
This value is expressed as meters of head. The value of velocity head is different at the
suction and discharge of pump, since the size of suction piping is usually larger than the
size of discharge piping. The normal procedure in sizing the centrifugal pumps measures
the required pressure head at the liquid surface in the supply and delivery vessel as well as
establishing static head values from these levels. In this situation, since velocity is zero at
the liquid surface in the supply and delivery vessels, velocity head at these points is zero
18
as well.
Velocity head is only included in the calculation of required pump total head when the
pressure head requirements are given as gauge readings at some point in the system suction
and discharge piping.
In order to determine the velocity head component of TDH in those situations where
it is appropriate, it is necessary to calculate the change in velocity head from suction dis-
charge. With the TDH of many pumps being several hundred feet or more, many pump
selectors choose to ignore the effect of velocity head since the change is often less than 1
percent of TDH.
Types of Pumps:-
1. Centrifugal Pump
2. Reciprocating Pump (Piston, Diaphragm)
3. Rotary Pump (Gear, Lobe)
Centrifugal Pump :-
Centrifugal force is defined as the action that causes something to move away from its
center of rotation.
Centrifugal pumps contain rotating impellers within stationary pump casings. They
use an impeller and volute to create the partial vacuum and discharge pressure necessary
to move water through the casing. The impeller and volute form the heart of the pump and
help determine its flow, pressure and solid handling capability.
An impeller is a rotating disk with a set of vanes coupled to the engine/motor shaft
that produces centrifugal force within the pump casing. A volute is the stationary housing
(in which the impeller rotates) that collects, discharges and re circulates water entering
the pump. A diffuser is used on high-pressure pumps and is similar to a volute but more
compact in design. Many types of material can be used in their manufacture but cast iron
is most commonly used for construction applications.
Centrifugal force created by the rotating impeller pushes water away from the eye,
where pressure is lowest, to the vane tips where the pressure is highest. The velocity of the
rotating vanes pressurizes the water forced through the volute and discharges it from the
pump.
Diaphragm Pump :-
Diaphragm pump is a positive displacement pump, which delivers a specific amount of
flow per stroke, revolution or cycle.
19
A diaphragm pump provides the lowest rate of discharge and head. The most popular
are 2 and 3-inch gasoline powered models producing flows in the range of 50 to 85 GPM.
They have the ability to handle air without losing their prime and of handling water with a
solid content greater than 25 % by volume.
Diaphragm pumps are commonly referred to as mud hogs, mud hens and mud suckers.
Their names reflect their popularity for use in applications where shallow depths and slurry
water render centrifugal pumps ineffective.
Another design benefit is that diaphragm pumps do not run the risk of being damaged
if run for long periods of time. Since there is no impeller or volute the only wear parts are
the flapper (inlet and outlet) valves along with the diaphragm.
Submersible Pumps :-
The pump motors use a vertical drive shaft to turn an impeller and generate the velocity
needed to create the discharge pressure. Water flows in through the bottom and is dis-
charged out the top of the pump casing. Submersible trash pumps use a vortex design that
allows the pump to handle some solids without passing them through the casing.
Maintenance is minimal and generally consists of periodically inspecting the electrical

cord and the mechanical seal lubricant. There are none of the concerns common with
engine driven pumps such as noise, fuel or emissions.
Control boxes and float switches are available for unattended operation of submersible
pumps. The boxes provide protection against voltage fluctuations and incorrect phasing
while float switches turn the pump on and off according to fluctuating water levels.
Submersibles have the advantage of being able to work in the water source being
pumped. As a result the submersible is not subject to the suction lift limitations of other
typical pumps. No suction hose is required helping to save money and time while elimi-
nating a potential source of problems. The pump is limited only by the discharge head it is
capable of producing.
Selection of Pump Type :-
Depends on the following factors :-
1. Viscosity of the liquid
2. Solids present in the liquid
3. Corrosive nature of the liquid
=⇒ Centrifugal Pump can be used for the liquid having viscosity upto 200 cst (centis-
tokes).
20
=⇒ Centrifugal Pump of open impeller type can be used fro liquids having solids in them.
=⇒ For the liquid having higher viscosity than 200 cst, Reciprocating Pump or Rotary
type of Pump can be used.
Fluid Properties :-
=⇒ If there is solid in the process fluid then the amount of solid and the particle size of
the solids should be determined.
=⇒ If the fluid is corrosive then the nature and concentration of the fluid should be
checked.
=⇒ Other properties like the congealing point and the pour point should be checked of the
fluid to be pumped.
Suction condition and NPSH :-
NPSH (Net Positive Suction Head) is the net positive pressure remaining with the suction
flange when all the net negative forces which resists the fluid to enter the pump is sub-
tracted from the the total positive forces which allow the fluid to enter the pump.
It can be distinguished into two types :-
• NPSHA :-
Net Positive Suction Head Available is the suction head present at the pump suction
over and above the vapor pressure of the liquid. NPSHA is a function of the suction
system and is independent of the type pump in the system. NPSHA is calculated
carefully considering the factors such as startup, shutdown, winter operation, sum-
mer operation, valve pressure drop, piping condition and the entry and exit losses.
In a new pump application, NPSHA (and the static head term H) must be given to the
manufacturer with reference to some known datum point such as the elevation of the
pump mounting base. This is because the location of the pump centerline elevation
is generally not known when the NPSHA calculations are made.
It is important that the datum point of reference be mentioned in the specification,
as well as the calculated value of NPSHA. The value of NPSHA should normally
be calculated at its minimum. This means that it should be calculated based on the
lowest liquid level in the supply vessel (minimum static head or maximum static
lift), with highest friction losses in the suction system.
• NPSHR :-
Net Positive Suction Head Required (NPSHR ), is the suction head required at the
impeller centerline over and above the vapor pressure of the liquid. It is strictly a
function of the pump inlet design, and is independent of the suction piping system.
The pump requires a pressure at the a suction flange greater than the vapor pressure
of the liquid because merely getting the liquid to the pump suction flange in the liq-
uid state is not enough.The liquid experiences pressure losses when it first enters the
21
pump before it gets to the point on the impeller vane, where pressure begins to in-
crease. These loses are caused by frictional effects such as the liquid passes through
the pump suction nozzle, moves across the impeller inlet, and changes direction to
begin to flow along the impeller vanes. The manufacturer establishes it by using
special tests, and the value of NPSHR is shown on the pump curve as a function of
pump capacity.
NPSHR increases at higher flow rates, due to the increased amount of friction loss
inside the pump inlet before the liquid reaches the impeller. In some cases, NPSHR
also increases with flow unchanged but impeller diameter reduced. This is an impor-
tant point to check, particularly if a reduction in impeller diameter is being contem-
plated for an installed pump.
For a pump to operate properly, the NPSHA should be greater than the NPSHR .
NPSHA > NPSHR
Then the pump does not cavitate.
NPSH can be calculated as :-
Ps v 2
N P SH = +
λl 2g
NPSHA should be calculated carefully using the parameters like :-
• Inlet and outlet losses
• Start-up and Shut down
• Summer and Winter operations
• Valve Pressure drop
• Original fill
• Piping Conditions
NPSHA can be calculated as :-
Ps v 2 Pv
N P SHA = + −
λl 2g λv
where :-
Ps =⇒ Suction Pressure (N/m2 )
λl =⇒ Specific weight of the liquid (N/m3 )
v =⇒ velocity of the liquid (m/s)
g =⇒ acc. due to gravity (m/s2 )
22
Pv =⇒ Vapour Pressure (N/m2 )
λv =⇒ Specific weight of the vapour (N/m3 )
=⇒ When liquid is at its bubble point, NPSHA is only the static liquid head above the
pump center minus the friction losses in suction piping. In this case, either cool the liquid
or increase the head by elevating vessel.
=⇒ Booster Pumps (low head, high capacity) are used to provide required head for main
pump.
=⇒ Some margin is always taken due to leakages, spillages, pump run-out and other con-
tingencies.
=⇒ while designing the pump, do not oversize the pump as it may cause loss of efficiency,
bearing load and sometimes increased NPSH requirements.
PUMP SIZING :-
• NPSHA = (Source Press) - (Vapor Press) - (Suction Losses) + (Elevation of liquid

level) - (Elevation of pump center)
• Suction pressure = Source pressure + Static Head - (del P in pump suction)
Where:
Source pressure = Operating pressure above liquid level in the source vessel/ column/ tank.
Static Head = Static Pressure difference due to liquid head b/w pump center line and vessel.
i.e. if the vessel elevation from grade = H meters
Pump center line elevation from grade = 1.0 meters
Then static head in kg/cm2 = (H-1.0) × (density in kg/m3 ) ×10−4
• Del P in pump suction = del p suction line + del P suction strainer + del P in control
vales/ heat exchangers/ other instruments if any in suction.
Where, del P in suction line = line losses in suction line
• Maximum suction pressure = Maximum source pressure + static head
Where
Maximum source pressure = Design Pressure of source vessel/ column bottom
Design Pressure = Maximum of (operating pressure × 1.2) or (operating pressure + 2) or
3 kg/cm2
• Discharge Pressure = Destination Pressure + Static Head + (del P in pump discharge

circuit) + contingency
23
Where:
Del P in pump discharge = del P in discharge line + del P in flow instruments + del P in
heat exchangers + del P in control valves + del P in other miscellaneous items if any in the
discharge.
Del P in pump discharge = line losses in discharge line.
Contingency = 1.0 kg/cm2 . This is kept to take care of any unforeseen additional require-
ment of del P in discharge circuit.
• Differential Pressure = Discharge pressure - Suction pressure
• Differential Pressure (in meters) = [(Diff. Pressure in kg/cm2 )/(density in kg/cm2 )]×104
• Power (kW) = 0.0365 x [(Flow rate, m3 /hr) × (Differential Pressure, kg/cm2 ) ×

0.747] / [ηP ηM]
Normal Operation and Spares:-
=⇒ Normally one pump is used for operation. But if the capacity is too high, two pumps
in parallel can be used instead of one big pump.
=⇒ Complete (100 %) spare is kept for hot services, high pressure operations, dirty and
clogging services.
=⇒ Mechanical seal pumps are more reliable than pump with stuffing boxes.
=⇒ Stand-by pumps are to be heated always using warm-up lines if the process line is hot.
Characteristic curve of Pump:-
=⇒ Head Capacity curve of the system and head capacity curve of the pump are drawn in
the characteristic curve.
=⇒ The point of intersection of the two curves gives the best operating point or the best
efficiency point of the pump.
=⇒ System head curve is a function of static head and the pressure head which are constant
for a system and the friction head which varies along the flow.
=⇒ The characteristic curve of the pump should not be too steep as well as it should not
be too flat.
Pump Drivers:-
• Electric Motors - Normally used
• Turbines - Used for Critical processes and also when the is reliability of power sup-
ply and for safe operation
• Gas turbines - Used for offshore duty
24
Steam Turbines can be of two types :-
• Condensing - Depends upon discharge uses
• Non-condensing - Normally used
=⇒ Utility required is always shown in excess of the actual utility required.
25
CHAPTER 3
SIMULATION METHODOLOGY AND DISCUSSION
3.1 CRUDE OIL
India is one of the largest crude oil importers in the world and most of the crude oil
is imported from Arabian countries. The oil import from the Arabian countries currently
implies to 21 % of the total crude oil import in India which stands to a figure of approxi-
mately 9 MMTPA. Both the types of crude (Light and Heavy) are welcomed to India from
these Arabian countries as congregated from the available literature. Therefore the crude
oil selected for the simulation purpose is Arab Medium Crude Oil (AMCO) with a quan-
tity of which stands approximately 9 MMTPA (1.25×106 kg/hr with 300 working days per
annum).
The API gravity, Specific Gravity and the TBP boiling point data is taken from [5] as
per which the Specific Gravity of the Crude is 0.871 which results to a o API of 31 which
can be well considered as a medium crude. The TBP distillation data which is used to
characterize the crude is tabulated in Table 3.1 and shown in fig. 3.1. The simulation was
done in Aspen Plus V8.4. The base Method for simulation was chosen to be Grayson and
the free water method was set to Steam-TA.
The average NBP cut of the crude used is shown in table 3.2. The results generated
contains the data of the average NBP cut as well as the API Gravity and the Specific
Gravity of the crude which gives a better idea of the crude which is to be simulated.
3.2 DESALTER
Electrostatic Desalter is the most widely used type of desalter. It uses grids through
which electricity is passed to separate BS&W from crude oil. This implies that, some
Table 3.1: TBP distribution of the crude
% Distilled 5 10 30 50 70 90 95
Temperature (o C) 79 122 249 362 494 708 819
Table 3.2: NBP distribution of the crude
Pseudo- Average API Specific Std. Flow

component NBP (o C) gravity gravity (TOTbbl/day)
PC28C 27.8141 74.6793 0.6863 8104.2
PC59C 58.7051 68.0713 0.7090 2652.1
PC73C 72.6412 65.3533 0.7188 2896.7
PC87C 86.6151 62.7709 0.7284 3456.7
PC100C 100.4767 60.3381 0.7376 4341.1
PC114C 114.1763 58.0491 0.7465 4622.2
PC128C 128.0592 55.8371 0.7553 4406.2
PC142C 142.0088 53.7149 0.7640 4654.7
PC156C 155.8967 51.6945 0.7724 4924.8
PC170C 169.7790 49.7603 0.7806 5190.8
PC184C 183.6558 47.9060 0.7887 5427.4
PC198C 197.5267 46.1260 0.7966 5601.4
PC211C 211.3926 44.4152 0.8044 5678.9
PC225C 225.2560 42.7688 0.8120 5636.6
PC239C 239.1394 41.1801 0.8194 5474
PC253C 253.0606 39.6437 0.8268 5374.2
PC267C 266.9720 38.1616 0.8340 5524.5
PC281C 280.8489 36.7330 0.8411 5634.6
PC295C 294.7221 35.3517 0.8481 5673.6
PC309C 308.5943 34.0147 0.8549 5633
PC322C 322.4672 32.7196 0.8617 5512.9
PC336C 336.3422 31.4639 0.8683 5326.3
PC350C 350.2322 30.2444 0.8748 5090.2
PC364C 364.1565 29.0578 0.8813 4918.5
PC378C 378.0651 27.9065 0.8877 4997.1
PC392C 391.9321 26.7908 0.8939 4999.3
PC406C 405.7964 25.7059 0.9001 4893.9
PC420C 419.6610 24.6502 0.9062 4696.4
PC440C 440.2360 23.1343 0.9151 8587.9
PC468C 468.0648 21.1743 0.9268 7440.1
PC496C 496.0966 19.2968 0.9383 6745.8
PC524C 523.9288 17.5208 0.9495 7328.1
PC551C 551.3558 15.8498 0.9603 6952.9
PC579C 578.9674 14.2407 0.9709 5791.7
PC607C 606.7513 12.6903 0.9813 4687.4
PC635C 634.5726 11.2019 0.9916 3856.8
PC675C 675.3565 9.1265 1.0062 6075.9
PC732C 731.5901 6.4524 1.0257 4771.5
PC788C 787.6110 3.9799 1.0444 4413.7
PC873C 872.9557 0.5299 1.0717 9092.3
27
Figure 3.1: TBP Curve
Figure 3.2: Desalter with Preheaters
energy is required to separate BS&W from crude oil in the form of electricity. The basic
flow diagram of the Desalter unit is shown in the fig 3.2.
In the fig 3.2, the crude preheater and the water preheater used are actually the preheat
train used in the refinery. Here it is done in this way to judge the heat load of the two
preheaters.
From the literature, it is congregated that, the water which is available at 30 o C is

pumped to the preheater train at a pressure of 10 bar where it is been heated to 112 o C and
the crude which is available at 30 o C is pumped to the preheater train at a pressure of 25
kg/cm2 g where it is been preheated to 135 o C. Both the streams are mixed in a mixer and
then sent to the Desalter unit where some energy is supplied to separate BS&W and crude
with the help of the phenomenon called Coalescence.
The simulated result of the Desalter unit is shown in the Table 3.3. The energy required
for the desalting process is 469.069 kW and it implies the amount of Electrical energy
28
Table 3.3: Desalter stream Results
3 WASTEWTR DSLT-CRD
Temperature (o C) 142.5 132.9 132.9
Pressure (kg/cm2 g) 22 22 22
Vapor Frac 0 0 0
Enthalpy (MMBtu/hr) -1622.7 -1530.8 -90.2
Mass Flow (kg/hr) 1354798 104798 1250000
Figure 3.3: Preflash drum after Preheat train-2
supplied in an Electrostatic Crude oil Desalter.
3.3 PREFLASH DRUM
Preflash Unit is the second unit in the refinery which flashes out the lighter component
from the crude oil, thus reducing the vapor load in the Crude preheat train after PD. This
flashing out of the lighter components helps in processing higher amount of crude at a fixed
time. In other words, preflash tower helps to increase the refining capacity of a refinery.
For the simulation point of view, Low-Pressure PD is considered with the pressure
condition slightly above the working pressure condition of the ADU and taking care the
pressure drop occurred in the furnace. The working condition of the PD is chosen to be 5
kg/cm2 g without any external duty provided to the PD. The Preflash Drum used is shown
in the fig 3.3.
Generally in an actual refinery, a crude preheat train is employed to recover the heat
29
Table 3.4: Preflash Drum stream Results
S9 VAP FEED
Temperature (o C) 270 263.3 263.3
Pressure (kg/cm2 g) 19 5 5
Vapor Frac 0 1 0
Enthalpy (MMBtu/hr) 326.9 55.2 271.7
Mass Flow (kg/hr) 1250000 120243 1129760
API Gravity 31 58.3 28
from the products of the Vacuum Distillation Column and also to utilize the heat coming
out from the VDU in the form of pumparounds. So, for the preliminary simulation pur-
poses, a heater was added for the time being to judge the heat load required to heat the
crude to the desired temperature before going for preflash. The required heat load of the
heater was obtained as 122935 kW (122.935 MW) to raise the feed temperature for the PD
to 270 o C.
This duty is generally obtained by a furnace and a HX train which is employed before
the feed enters the PD. Here in this simulation it is tried to minimize the heat load of the
furnace by recovering the maximum possible heat from the vacuum distillation column
and by utilizing the potential heat in the product streams. The preheat HX train used in
this simulation is discussed in the coming sections.
3.4 ATMOSPHERIC DISTILLATION UNIT
Atmospheric Distillation Unit also commonly called as Crude Distillation Unit is the
third unit in the refining of crude oil. ADU is also one of the most important and energy
intensive processes in the refinery. It deals with approximately 40 % of the total energy
consumed in the refinery and hence a major source of attraction for the researchers to make
it energy efficient and optimize the complete distillation process.
For the simulation purpose, first a ‘Hierarchy’ was selected from the ‘User-Model’,
inside which ‘CDU10F’ model of the group ‘PETROFRAC’ under the section ‘Columns’
from the model palette was selected. It has a furnace attached with the distillation column
making it a total ADU. This model has three strippers and a condenser shown along with
the distillation column. There are three pumparounds in the model. The basic purpose of
pump-around is to maintain enough reflux in the column so that the column don’t dry-up.
This is done by drawing certain amount of fluid from the column, cooling it and then again
reverting it back to the distillation column. The pumparound also help to maintain the
30
Figure 3.4: CDU as hierarchy
temperature drop in the trays and also helps to obtain products of the desired quality.
The hierarchy is shown in the fig 3.4 in the integrated form with the rest of the units.
The hierarchy opens a new flow-sheet inside which the flow diagram made will be treated
as separate flow-sheet. Only the inlet and outlet streams can be integrated with the total
flow-sheet. Fig 3.5 shows the separate module which was generated inside the hierarchy.
The figure shown here is after simulation of the ADU with the desired results of the prod-
ucts’ streams.
The furnace before the ADU is chosen to be “single stage flash” furnace to operate at
3.5 kg/cm2 g and heat the crude feed coming from the 3rd Preheat train to a temperature of
385 o C before entering the Distillation Tower. The furnace duty for this process comes out
to be 86924 kW (86.92 MW) which is quite acceptable and is shown in the fig 3.5.
The ADU considered contains 60 trays numbered from top to bottom assuming plate
efficiency to be constant at 60 % for every plate with partial vapor-liquid condenser and
three side strippers with 6 plates each having 55 % efficiency for every tray for all the
strippers. Stripping steam is sent into the column from various places to maintain the
quality of the desired product.
Steam is sent into the column at the 60th tray and also at all the three strippers with
various flow-rates in order to get appreciable quality of the product obtained. The quality
of steam available in any industry which can be used for the service of ADU are :
• Medium Pressure steam - 310 o C at 15 kg/cm2 g
• Low pressure steam - 150 o C at 3 kg/cm2 g
The quality and the flow-rate of the steam is chosen in such a way that the feed fed
in the distillation column should be stripped without having a considerable temperature
31
Figure 3.5: Crude distillation Unit
32
Figure 3.6: Pressure profile
change of the feed on the plate. If the steam with high temp and pressure is chosen, the
disadvantage apparently is the pressure difference. If the pressure difference is so high
then the Joule-Thompson effect takes place and the crude gets cooled down which in turn
effects the separation process (mass transfer between liquid and vapor due to inconvenient
heat transfer between the same). In that case the flow-rate of the steam should be adjusted
so that the Joule-Thompson effect do not dominate and cooling of the crude oil don’t take
place.
The condenser pressure for the ADU is taken to be 2 kg/cm2 g. Then the second stage
pressure is kept to be 2.2 kg/cm2 g and then the bottom pressure is kept as 3 kg/cm2 g so that
there is an uniform increase in the pressure as the number of trays increases. The pressure
difference for the condenser from the top stage of the tower is kept a bit higher because of
the increased vapor flow rate. The pressure profile of the ADU is shown in fig. 3.6.
The temperature profile of ADU is shown in the fig. 3.7. As discussed earlier, the
temperature profile of the distillation column theoretically should be linearly increasing
from top to bottom for better separation but practically it is not exactly linear. In the
fig 3.7, the temperature profile shown is obtained after simulation of the main distillation
column. The temperature profile is following the decreasing trend which is quite common
in the actual ADU in a refinery and is almost linear and hence can be acceptable.
Figure 3.8 shows the flow rate of the vapor flow rate and the liquid flow rate of the
ADU. It can be seen in the figure that the quantity of vapor increases suddenly from 55th
to 54th stage. It is because the feed is fed on the 55th tray and as soon as the feed is fed
on the tray, it flashes causing a vapor loading on the 54th tray. Then the vapor component
goes on increasing and eventually the vapor flow at the 2nd tray decreases due to reflux
33
Figure 3.7: Temperature profile
coming back from the condenser. The rest of the gases are recovered in the condenser and
is cooled to form liquid and refluxed back in the column. Therefore the top plate which
is condenser itself have a very low vapor loading. The liquid which is obtained from the
condenser is treated as Naphtha.
In this simulation, the condenser used is having the configuration of partial vapor-liquid
as mentioned earlier. Hence the gas which comes out from the 2nd stage is condensed to
form liquid. At the particular pressure, the condenser is designed to produce 50 mole %
liquid of the total gas coming to the condenser. The heavier portion of the gaseous product
which is condensed into liquid, generally have NBP cut more than 100 o C. Therefore it can
be well defined as the value added product ‘Naphtha’. Only the gas which is not condensed
in the condenser is taken out and cooled further to obtain the LPG product.
The boiling point range of Kerosene according to the table 2.3 can be considered as
150-235 o C. Therefore the NBP cut of 170-239 o C can be considered as characteristic
components of Kerosene. The fraction will be highly present in the upper-middle section
of the column as congregated from the literature. Therefore the first stripper is attached
to the column in this section and the NBP cut range was withdrawn from the 20th stage.
The stripper draws Kerosene from 20th stage of the desired quality. A part of the kerosene
product is returned back to the tower at the 16th stage. Stripping steam is sent to the
stripper as shown in the figure 3.5 to get the desired quality of stripping needed. The steam
is sent inside the stripper with steam to bottom product product ratio as 1.2 in mass units.
The boiling point range of LGO according to the table 2.3 is 235-344 o C. Therefore
the NBP cut of LGO section can be taken from 253-336 o C. The fraction will be highly
present in the middle section of the column as congregated from the literature. Therefore
34
Figure 3.8: Flow rate profile
the second stripper is attached to the column in this section and the NBP cut range was
withdrawn from the 36th stage. The stripper draws Light Gas Oil from 36th stage of the
desired quality. A part of the LGO product is returned back to the tower at the 30th stage.
Stripping steam is sent to the stripper as shown in the figure 3.5 to get the desired quality
of stripping needed. The steam is sent inside the stripper with steam to bottom product
product ratio as 1.2 in mass units.
The boiling point range of HGO according to the table 2.3 is 344-565 o C. Therefore the
NBP cut of HGO section can be taken from 253-336 o C. The fraction will be highly present
in the lower-middle section of the column as congregated from the literature. Therefore
the third stripper is attached to the column in this section and the NBP cut range was
withdrawn from the 47th stage. The stripper draws Heavy Gas Oil from 47th stage of the
desired quality. A part of the HGO product is returned back to the tower at the 43rd stage.
Stripping steam is sent to the stripper as shown in the figure 3.5 to get the desired quality
of stripping needed. The steam is sent inside the stripper with steam to bottom product
product ratio as 1.2 in mass units.
Since the furnace was chosen to heat the crude oil to 385 o C, it can be said that the
residue comprises of all the component whose boiling point is more than 385 o C. The
fraction of the crude more than NBP cut of 385 o C will be present in the bottom section of
the column and can be collected from the 60th stage. The fraction gets richer in the bottom
section of the tower because all the lighter fractions of crude oil gets stripped off from the
feed and the remains at the bottom is rich in the heavier fractions.
The stream results of the ADU is shown in table 3.5. In the table, ‘VAP’ and ‘FEED’
corresponds to the vapor outlet and the liquid outlet from the PD. The liquid is passed
35
Table 3.5: Stream Results of CDU
Temperature Pressure Vapor Mass Flow API

(C) (kg/sqcmg) Frac (kg/hr) Gravity
VAP 263.3 5 1 120243.1 58.3
FEED 305 4.2 0.204 1129756.9 28
GAS 100.9 2 1 83955 63.7
NAPHTHA 100.9 2 0 116045 59.3
KEROSENE 222 2.4 0 170000 44.6
LGO 285.2 2.6 0 190000 35.3
HGO 328.2 2.8 0 45000 29.4
RESIDUE 377 3 0 651743.2 17.2
through 3rd preheat train to raise the temperature of the preflashed crude oil to 305 o C so
as to reduce the heat load on the furnace.
The other streams, which are the product of the ADU are also shown in the table. The
API gravity and the NBP boling point cut are the reference parameter based on which the
product slate was decided and the simulation was carried over and the reference data is
shown in table 2.3. Though the product slate and the quality of the products are dependent
on the type of crude used, here it is clearly shown that API gravity data is quite near to
the reference data when compared to the data given for the medium crude in the reference
table.
The results of the simulated distillation column were validated using the NBP cuts
given in the reference table and the NBP cuts developed by ASPEN PLUS shown in table
3.2. The results obtained when compared is shown in table 3.6. Since Naphtha and Gas are
collected from the condenser in the simulation, they both were combined together while
comparison and named as ‘Overhead’. The first row of the table shows the amount of each
product present in the crude in a discretized manner. Then the second row makes it clear
about the amount of product recovered based on the reference table 2.3.
It can be clearly shown from the table that there is good amount of recovery of the
desired products. For example if we consider the ‘KEROSENE’ product, we find that the
amount of the kerosene product in the chosen crude is 17.47 % and the recovery of the
kerosene is 84.15 % which is acceptable. Similarly there is 77.27 % and 77.94 % recovery
of LGO and HGO products respectively as clearly shown in the table. Around 23% of
the HGO and LGO product and 16 % of the KEROSENE product are still present in side
the crude column, therefore they come out which the ‘RESIDUE’ and Overhead which
increases the overall amount of product recovered from the crude oil. Hence there is an
overshoot of 14 % in the RESIDUE and the Overhead.
36
Table 3.6: Result Comparison of CDU
Overhead Kerosene LGO HGO Residue

Total 35133.9 37933.9 43769.3 9915.6 90333.7
Actually 40068.8 31921.1 33820.1 7728.3 103547.6
% of crude 16.18 17.47 20.16 4.57 41.61
% recovered 114.05 84.15 77.27 77.94 114.63
This overshoot can be minimized by the optimization of the Atmospheric Distillation

Column by maximum recovery of the product slate.
The results of simulated Crude Distillation unit on “Mass” basis is shown in the fig 3.9.
Here it can be seen that the distillate rate for the ADU was chosen to be 200000 kg/hr (200
tons/hr). According to that the reflux back to the column is 446410 kg/hr (446.41 tons/hr)
which implies, the reflux ratio from the condenser is maintained at 2.23 which is 1.93 on
mole basis as shown in the figure. The working temperature of the condenser is found to
be 100.93 o C and the bottom stage temperature is maintained at 376.97 o C after stripping
the bottom with steam to have maximum recovery of the product slate.
There is no extra reboiler used since the furnace provided supplies the required heat
energy and the rest is done by the steam. Steam used at the bottom of the distillation tower
is used in the bottom to product ratio of 1.5. Also there is no free water reflux in the
column.
3.4.1 PUMPAROUNDS IN ADU
As discussed earlier, pumparounds are used for maintaining the reflux rate in the dis-
tillation tower hence sustaining enough amount of liquid needed for proper mass and heat
transfer between liquid and vapor. Most of the betterment in design was achieved by using
pumparounds in ADU as there are many advantages of using pumparounds.
In this simulation there are three pumparounds which covers the tower and maintains
enough liquid over the trays to maintain simultaneous heat and mass transfer between
liquid and vapor. The results of the pumparounds is shown in table 3.7. Few advantages
of pumparounds which were studied are mentioned here. Advantages of pumparounds
include :-
• increased loading of CDU i.e., the feed processing capacity of the distillation tower
increases with slight changes in process variables.
• the heat loss from the condenser is decreased appreciably and the heat can be uti-
lized somewhere else (generally used for preheating the feed). The heat load of the
37
Figure 3.9: ADU results
condenser of the CDU is pretty low from the heat input from the furnace. The fig-
ure 3.5 shows condenser heat load of 67572 kW (67.57 MW) whereas the furnace
duty is 86924 kW (86.924 MW). Also a large amount of heat can be used to preheat
the crude in 1st crude preheat train, furthur reducing the heat load of the condenser.
In this simulation, heat utilized to preheat the crude is 15153 kW which further re-
duces the condenser load to 52418.93 kW. Therefore it can be noted, a considerable
amount of heat energy is recovered from the ADU.
• the flexibility of product quality is increased i.e., the desired quality of the product
stream can be maintained by altering the flow rate and heat duty of pumparounds.
• liquid flow rate with respect to each tray is maintained quite appreciably. After
drawing the required quantity of the product of desired quality the liquid flow rate
on the bottom adjacent tray decreases drastically. In that case a pumparound helps
in maintaining the liquid flow rate on the trays to have better mass transfer.
3.4.2 DIAMETER OF THE COLUMN
The attempt was made to find out the diameter of Atmospheric Distillation Column.
For the mentioned task, the column was divided into two parts and named as :
38
Table 3.7: CDU Pumparound Results
Pumparound ID P-1 P-2 P-3

Draw stage 36 47 54
Return stage 21 37 48
Temperature (C) 229.40 270.91 310.41
Pressure (kg/sqcmg) 2.66 2.82 2.91
Heat duty (kW) -7521.72 -14472.12 -12436.78
Mass flow (kg/hr) 150000 280000 230000
Figure 3.10: Tray Rating of Top Section
39
Figure 3.11: Tray Rating of Bottom Section
• Top Section
• Stripping Section
The downcomer width is chosen to the default value of 10 % of the diameter of the
column. The tray spacing (distance between two adjacent trays) is kept constant for both
the sections to 0.6096 meter.
The top section consists of 46 trays starting from the 2nd stage till 47th stage which is
fixed for 7.5 meter diameter of the valve trays type BDH which is commonly used having
tray efficiency of 60 %. The results for the tray rating for the Top section is shown in figure
3.10.
The last and the bottom section comprises of 13 stages starting from 48th stage to 60th
stage which is fixed for 5.5 meter diameter of the valve trays type BDH which is commonly
used having tray efficiency of 60 %. The results for the tray rating for the Bottom section
is shown in figure 3.29.
The maximum flooding factor was chosen to be the default value of 80 %. For both
the sections, the results clearly show that flooding factor for the trays are well within
limits. Hence it can be said that there will not be any flooding at the simulated operating
conditions.
40
3.5 PRE - DESALTER CRUDE PREHEAT TRAIN
The crude is to be heated to 135 o C before sending it to the desalter unit as discussed
earlier. The efficient energy utilization plans of major refinery urge designers to utilize the
heat drawn from various places to heat crude oil before sending crude oil to desalter unit.
Instead of using a fired heater to heat crude oil, we can utilize the heat energy from
various sources like the heat energy associated with the obtained products from ADU and
the heat energy liberated while pumparound of liquid in ADU.
There can be various arrangements in which these heat can be utilized to heat crude
oil. One of the arrangements is shown in fig 3.12. Here the crude oil is heated to a certain
limit and then the flow is been divided in two parts for better employment of heat energy.
The crude oil is being heated using both the energy sources i.e., the heat energy in the
pumparound stream as well as the energy associated with the product slate of ADU.
As shown, raw crude oil is firstly heated to 53 o C by exchanging heat from overhead
condenser of ADU. It is shown as a heater as the heat from overhead condenser of ADU is
utilized here. The heat taken out from the overhead condenser is 15153 kW which is 20 %
of the total heat load of the condenser.
Then the crude oil is sent to another heat exchanger where it exchanges heat from
the first pumparound of ADU and heated to 61 o C. It is shown as a heater and the pre-
heater is named as 1-C-P1 which is abbreviated for the number of heater (1), source of
the pumparound (C refers to crude distillation unit), then the number of pumparound (P1).
Similarly the crude oil is further heated to 79 o C using the heat associated with second
pumparound of CDU. After heating to 79 o C, crude oil stream is divided by a splitter
into two halves so that lesser heat is required to raise the temperature of the crude oil to
maximum extent.
The heat of the kerosene is utilized to heat crude oil as the outlet temperature of
kerosene from ADU is 222 o C. The stream heats one of the crude oil streams from 79
o
C to 99 o C in the heat exchanger KERO-HX1 and loses it own heat by 62 o C (222 o C
to 160 o C). Still kerosene is having a lot of heat energy associated with it, so it is sent to
KERO-HX2 in which the next half of the crude oil and it is being heated to 100 o C from
79 o C by losing its own heat by 70 o C (160 o C to 90 o C). The cold kerosene can be taken
for further purification processes.
Similarly the heat associated with LGO is utilized to heat crude oil as the outlet tem-
perature of LGO from ADU is 285 o C. After the first half of crude oil is heated to 99 o C
using the heat of kerosene, the crude oil is sent to another HX named as LGO-HX1 where
41
Figure 3.12: Crude Preheat Train -1
42
the crude oil is heated to 118 o C, cooling down LGO stream from 285 o C to 235 o C. Again
the crude oil is sent to the next HX where further removal of heat from the LGO stream is
done. LGO-HX2 heats the crude oil to 134 o C from 118 o C cooling down the temperature
of LGO to 190 o C from 235 o C.
Whereas for the second half of the crude oil, after heating the crude oil to 100 o C by
utilizing the heat of kerosene, it is further heated using the heat of 3rd pumparound of ADU
in a HX shown as a heater here, named as 3-C-P3, to a temperature of 121o C.
Even after the removal of required heat from LGO, there is enough heat associated with
the stream which can be utilized further. Therefore it is taken to second half of the crude
oil to utilize the heat and the crude oil from 3-C-P3 is heated from 121 o C to 135 o C. Once
it is heated to 135 o C, both the streams of crude oil is again united to a single stream and
sent for the Desalter. Enough care is been taken to maintain similar pressure of both the
streams so that there is no pressure difference when the two crude oil streams are mixed.
The water preheating is done by the waste water which is coming out of the desalter
unit at 132 o C. It is separately simulated and shown on the left hand side of the same figure
(fig 3.12). The required amount of water is heated from 30 o C to 112 o C. The total heat
duty of the exchanger unit is around 9993 kW.
3.5.1 DESIGN OF WATER PREHEATER
The heat exchanger train for preheating water is designed in the Aspen Exchanger
Design and Rating V8.4. Three modules of design were compared namely BEM, AES,
AEU.
BEM is the abbreviated form where B stands for ‘bonnet bolted or integral with tubesheet’,
E stands for ‘one shell pass’ and M stands for ‘bonnet’. Similarly the other two types of
heat exchanger in the comparison were AES, where A stands for ’channel and removal
cover’, E stands for ‘one shell pass’ and S stands for ’floating head with backing device’
& AEU where A stands for ’channel and removal cover’, E stands for ‘one shell pass’ and
U stands for ‘U-tube Bundle’.
The result of the comparison is shown in the fig 3.13. We know that the BEM type of
HX design is the cheapest of the three compared design but in the case of refinery fluids,
the heat temperature change is quite high. As a result of which the stresses developed in the
BEM type of HX is quite high because of the fixed bonnet and also there is no provision of
thermal expansion given in the HX. Thus some extra provisions such as expansion bellows
has to be added which adds to the total cost of the HX. There fore the most common type
43
Figure 3.13: Heat Exchanger Comparison
of HX used in refinery operations is AES (Floating head HX).
Detailed design of the AES type of HX is discussed for the operation of water preheat-
ing. Another advantage of using this of HX is, both the tube side and the shell side will be
filled with water, so leakage will not have any disastrous effect.
The fouling resistance of the water is taken as 0.0004 m2 h o C/kcal. A detailed com-
parison of AES HX is shown in fig 3.14. From the figure it is clearly seen that the cost of
AES HX is quite higher than the BEM HX.
The AES HX was first run in the Design mode to determine the tentative length of
tube and the diameter of shell. The diameter and the length obtained is 1.1 m and 6 m
respectively which is well within the affordable range having an area (dirty) of 670.3 m2 .
But it can be seen that the tube side velocity is quite low for water flow which is 0.12 m/s,
so we try to decrease the diameter of shell to reduce the tube number which will increase
the number of units for the desired heat transfer. The tentative design made was with 700
mm diameter and the length of 6 m but with 3 units in series.
The obtained result is shown in case D. It shows the design is under-designed for the
required heat transfer. So the alternative to this operation is to use a HX of AFS type for
44
Figure 3.14: Water Heat Exchanger Types
45
which A stands for ’channel and removal cover’, F stands for ‘two shell pass with long
baffle’ and S stands for ’floating head with backing device’.
The new design was considered with AFS type of HX with tube length of 7924 (26
feet) and shell diameter of 813 mm (32 in) with two tube passes and two units of HX in
series. The obtained result shows the area required of 625.4 m2 as shown in the case F
which is quite affordable. But the design needs the tube length of around 8 m which means
the total length of the HX will be around 9.5 m which is considered to be abnormal design
for a simple heat exchange operation.
So, we try to reduce the length of tube to reduce the total length of the HX. The next
feasible design is with shell diameter of 900 mm and the length of the tube was considered
to be 6706 mm (22 feet). The obtained result (case H) was quite affordable with an en-
hanced shell and tube velocities and a good 8% overdesign having an effective area of 652
m2 . But the vibration results for this design shows that, though there will be no resonance
in tubes, there is a possibility of vibration in tubes, which is not acceptable. So, we try to
reduce the baffle spacing from 500 mm to 450 mm and the obtained result is shown in case
I. The total cost analysis shows that the design is quite affordable when compared to BEM
type of HX and economical when compared to AES type of HX.
The overall summary of this design is shown in Appendix A. The actual by required
area ratio is obtained as 1.07 which shows the overdesign parameter to 7 % which is quite
reasonable and acceptable. Hence it can be taken as the required HX design for water
preheating. Similarly the other heat exchanger can be designed and the designs are shown
in the respected Appendices.
46
3.6 VACUUM DISTILLATION UNIT
Vacuum Distillation Unit is the fourth unit in the refining of crude oil. VDU is also one
of the most important and energy intensive processes in the refinery
For the simulation purpose, first a ‘Hierarchy’ was selected from the ‘User-Model’, in-
side which ‘VACUUM1F’ model of the group ‘PETROFRAC’ under the section ‘Columns’
from the model palette was selected. It has a furnace attached with the distillation column.
There are two pumparounds in the model. The basic purpose of pump-around is to maintain
enough reflux in the column so that the column don’t dry-up because there is no overhead
condenser in this model. This is done by drawing certain amount of fluid from the column,
cooling it and then again reverting it back to the distillation column. The pumparound also
help to maintain the temperature drop in the trays and also helps to obtain products of the
desired quality.
The hierarchy is shown as a module in the fig 3.15. The hierarchy opens a new flow-
sheet inside which the flow diagram made will be treated as separate flow-sheet. Only the
inlet and outlet streams can be integrated with the total flow-sheet. Fig 3.16 shows the
separate module which was generated inside the hierarchy. The figure shown here is after
simulation of the VDU with the desired results of the products’ streams.
The furnace before the VDU is chosen to be “single stage flash” furnace to operate at
200 mmHg and heat the Atmospheric residue at 377 o C to a temperature of 450 o C before
entering the Distillation Tower. The furnace duty for this process comes out to be 58108
kW (58.1 MW) which is quite acceptable and is shown in the fig 3.16.
The VDU considered contains packings equivalent to 40 trays numbered from top to
bottom assuming void fraction of 0.988 with an efficiency of 80 %. Stripping steam is sent
into the column from bottom to strip the vacuum residue so as to contain least amount of
lighter fractions.
The quality and the flow-rate of the steam is chosen in such a way that the feed fed
in the distillation column should be stripped without having a considerable temperature
change of the feed on the plate. If the steam with high temp and pressure is chosen, the
disadvantage apparently is the pressure difference as there is a possibility of cooling down
the feed by Joule Thompson Effect. But since the steam is sent into the column only from
the bottom, the ratio of steam to bottom product is kept as 10.2 in mass units, to maintain
desirable stripping of Vacuum Residue.
The required vacuum in the distillation column is maintained by steam ejectors at the
top of the column working in series. To represent that the pressure for the top plate of
48
Figure 3.15: VDU as hierarchy
VDU is taken to 15 mmHg and the bottom pressure is kept as 50 mmHg so that there is an
uniform increase in the pressure. The pressure profile of the VDU is shown in fig. 3.17.
The temperature profile of VDU is shown in the fig. 3.18. As discussed earlier, the
temperature profile of the distillation column theoretically should be linearly increasing
from top to bottom for better separation but practically it is not exactly linear. In the fig
3.18, the temperature profile shown is obtained after simulation of the main distillation
column. The temperature profile is following the decreasing trend which is quite common
in the actual VDU in a refinery and is almost linear and hence can be acceptable.
Figure 3.19 shows the flow rate of the vapor flow rate and the liquid flow rate of the
VDU. It can be seen in the figure that the quantity of vapor increases suddenly from 34th to
33th stage. It is because the feed is fed on the 34th tray and as soon as the feed is fed on the
tray, it flashes causing a vapor loading on the 33th tray. Then the vapor component goes
on decreasing and eventually the vapor at the 1st tray is sucked out by the steam ejectors
used to create vacuum in the column. The gas is the lightest components present in the
Atmospheric residue.
The boiling point range of Vacuum Diesel can be considered as 267-406 o C. Therefore
the NBP cut of 295-392 o C can be considered as characteristic components of Vacuum
49
Figure 3.16: Vacuum distillation Unit
50
Figure 3.17: VDU Pressure profile
Figure 3.18: VDU Temperature profile
51
Figure 3.19: VDU Flow rate profile
Diesel. The fraction will be highly present in the upper-middle section of the column as
congregated from the literature. Therefore Vacuum Diesel having the required NBP cut
range was withdrawn from the 9th stage as shown in fig 3.16.
The boiling point range of LVGO can be considered as 364-551 o C. Therefore the NBP
cut of LVGO section can be taken from 378-524 o C. The fraction will be highly present
in the middle section of the column as congregated from the literature. Therefore LVGO
having the required NBP cut range was withdrawn from the 17th stage
The boiling point range of HVGO can be considered upto 600 o C. Therefore the NBP
cut of HVGO section can be taken from 496-607 o C. The fraction will be highly present
in the lower-middle section of the column as congregated from the literature. Therefore
HVGO having the required NBP cut range was withdrawn from the 27th stage
Since the furnace was chosen to heat the crude oil to 450 o C under vacuum conditions,
it can be said that the residue comprises of all the component whose boiling point is more
than 600 o C at 1 bar pressure. The fraction of the crude more than NBP cut of 600 o C will
be present in the bottom section of the column and can be collected from the 40th stage.
The fraction gets richer in the bottom section of the tower because all the lighter fractions
of crude oil gets stripped off from the feed and the remains at the bottom is rich in the
heavier fractions.
The stream results of the VDU is shown in table 3.8. The API gravity and the NBP
boling point cut are the reference parameter based on which the product slate was decided
and the simulation was carried over and the reference data is shown in table 2.3. Though
the product slate and the quality of the products are dependent on the type of crude used,
52
Table 3.8: Stream Results of VDU
Temperature Pressure Mass Flow API

(C) (mmHg) (kg/hr) Gravity
RESIDUE 377 3 kg/sqcmg 651743 17.2
GAS 71.1 15 18370.7 40.9
DIESEL 157.1 22.2 105000 30.7
LVGO 269.4 29.4 180000 22.7
HVGO 355.2 38.3 145000 16.5
VR 411.5 50 216949 6.2
here it is clearly shown that API gravity data is quite near to the reference data when
compared to the data given for the medium crude in the reference table. As per the table
the flow rate of the VR is 216949 kg/hr which comes to be 17 % of the total feed flow rate
of 1.25×106 kg/hr (9 MMTPA) which is quite acceptable based on the crude quality.
The results of simulated Vacuum Distillation unit on “Mole” basis is shown in the
fig 3.20. Here it can be seen that the distillate rate obtained for the VDU was 802.717
kmol/hr (18370.7 kg/hr). According to that the reflux back to the column is 1181.42
kmol/hr (332064 kg/hr) which implies, the reflux ratio from the condenser is maintained
at 18.07 on mass basis which is 1.47 on mole basis as shown in the figure.
3.6.1 PUMPAROUNDS IN VDU
As discussed earlier, pumparounds are used for maintaining the reflux rate in the dis-
tillation tower hence sustaining enough amount of liquid needed for proper mass and heat
transfer between liquid and vapor. Pump around plays an important role while operating
VDU as there is no condenser at the top to reflux back the desired amount of liquid. The
steam ejectors are used to suck out the vapor product obtained from VDU.
In this simulation there are four pumparounds which covers the tower and maintains
enough liquid over the packings to maintain simultaneous heat and mass transfer between
liquid and vapor. The results of the pumparounds is shown in table 3.9.
The first pumparound of VDU takes the liquid from the 9th packing, cools it to 70 o C
and then sends it back to VDU at the top packing to generate the required reflux to the
column for proper distillation. The temperature and mass flow rate of the 1st pumparound
is adjusted such that the temperature of the first packing is maintained at the desired tem-
perature and also enough liquid is maintained at the packing to avoid drying up of the
packing.
53
Figure 3.20: VDU results
Table 3.9: VDU Pumparound Results
Pumparound ID P-1 P-2 P-3 P-4

Draw stage 9 17 27 40
Return stage 1 10 18 28
Temperature (C) 70 199.44 280.15 336.47
Pressure (mmHg) 22.17 29.35 38.33 50
Heat duty (kW) -17797.2 -23265.2 -26559.3 -22734.9
Mass flow (kg/hr) 330000 457000 450000 370000
54
Figure 3.21: Packing Rating of Top Section
Since the temperature ranges for 1st pumparound is very low, therefore it is not used
for preheating of crude oil in this simulation. However the heat energy must be utilized for
better heat efficient design, therefore the heat energy of the 1st pumparound can be used
for some other process in the refinery.
3.6.2 DIAMETER OF THE COLUMN
VDU simulated here operates at heavy vacuum, therefore packings are used in the
rectifying section of the tower so as to avoid heavy pressure drops per packing when com-
pared to trays. Also the packings reduce crude liquid which generally tends to foam out at
vacuum conditions. Moreover at heavy vacuum, packings provide the mechanical strength
and support to the distillation tower so as to avoid the possibility of tower collapsing.
The attempt was made to find out the diameter of Vacuum Distillation Column. For the
mentioned task, the column was divided into two parts and named as :
• Top Section
• Middle Section
• Stripping Section
55
Figure 3.22: Packing Rating of Middle Section
The top and the middle part of the tower which is basically the rectifying section of the
distillation tower are packed with the ‘MELLAPAK’ packing made up of ‘STANDARD’
packing material of size ’125X’ to get the best desired results. The height equivalent to
theoretical plate is kept as as default value of 0.6096 m.
The top section consists of packing equivalent to 12 trays starting from the 1st stage
till 12th stage which is fixed for 9 meter diameter having packing efficiency of 80 %. The
results for the tray rating for the Top section is shown in figure 3.21.
The middle section consists of packing equivalent to 22 trays starting from the 13th
stage till 34th stage which is fixed for 11 meter diameter having packing efficiency of 80
%. The results for the tray rating for the Top section is shown in figure 3.22.
The bottom section also commonly called as the stripping section comprises of 6 trays
starting from 35th stage to 40th stage. An attempt was made to find out the diameter of this
section for the required duty. The tray type was chosen to be valve trays type BDH which
is commonly used with number of passes equals to 1. Fractional approach to flooding was
set to 0.75 and the minimum downcomer area was set to 0.05. The results obtained for the
tray sizing for the Bottom Stripping section is shown in figure 3.23.
The downcomer width for the bottom stripping section was chosen to the default value
56
Figure 3.23: Tray Sizing of Bottom Stripping Section
of 10 % of the diameter of the column. The tray spacing (distance between two adjacent
trays) is kept constant for both the sections to 0.6096 meter.
3.6.3 PUMPS OF VDU AND ITS SIZING
3.6.3.1 PUMP SIZING
Calculation for Vacuum Residue (VR) Pump :-

Design a centrifugal Pump to pump Vacuum Residue (VR) coming out from the Vacuum
Distillation Tower at a temperature of 411.5 o C having destination pressure of 10 kg/cm2
abs. passing through 3 exchangers in series.
Data generated by simulation of VDU :

Viscosity of VR = 5.3 cP
Specific Gravity of VR = 1.027
Vapor Pressure of VR = 0.027 kg/cm2 abs.
Pressure of VR = 50 mmHg (0.067 kg/cm2 )
Flow rate of VR = 216950 kg/hr
Elevation of VR in the distillation tower from ground level = 5 meters
57
Elevation of Pump center line = 1.1 meter
Line loss at the suction can be taken as 0.035 kg/cm2 as calculated from the equivalent
length and line loss at the discharge can be taken as 0.2 kg/cm2 as calculated from the
equivalent length.
Meter loss = 0.3 kg/cm2
Contingency can be taken as 1 kg/cm2
Pressure drop for each heat exchanger can be taken as 1 kg/cm2
Solution :-
Viscosity of VR at pumping temperature is given as 5.3 cP can be converted to cst by the
formula
cst = cP/Specific Gravity
Therefore Viscosity of VR at Pumping temperature is

5.3/1.027 = 5.16 cst
Volumetric flow rate of VR can be calculated by the formula
Volumetric flow rate (m3 /hr) = Mass flow rate (kg/hr) / Density (kg/m3 )
Therefore the volumetric flow rate of VR = 216950/1027 = 211.25 m3 /hr
Discharge Pressure Calculations :-

Destination Pressure = 10 kg/cm2 abs. (given)
There is no data for the elevation of the destination, therefore we take the elevation of the
destination as 0 meter above ground level.
Therefore the discharge pressure can be calculated by the formula
Discharge Pressure = Destination Pressure + Static Head + (del P in pump discharge

circuit by heat exchangers or any other equipment) + contingency
Therefore Discharge Pressure for the Pump to pump VR is

Total Discharge Pressure = 10 + 0.2 + 0.3 + (3×1) + 1 = 14.5 kg/cm2
Suction Pressure Calculations :-

Suction pressure can be calculated as
Total Suction pressure = Source Pressure + pressure developed by static head - line loss -
strainer loss
58
Pressure developed by static head can be calculated by
Static Pressure = Density of liquid × Elevation Height ×10−4
Therefore Static Pressure = 1027 × 5 × 10−4 = 0.514 kg/cm2
Total suction pressure = 0.067 + 0.514 - 0.035 - 0.05 = 0.496 kg/cm2 abs.
Maximum suction Pressure can be calculated by
Max. Suction Pressure = Design Pressure of Source + Static Pressure developed by

elevation of Source + Pressure developed by the high liquid level of liquid in the tower
Therefore Maximum Suction Pressure = 1 + 0.51 + 0.1 = 1.62 kg/cm2 abs.
NPSH Calculation :-
Source pressure = 0.067 kg/cm2 abs. (given)
Vapor Pressure = 0.027 kg/cm2 abs. (given)
Suction Losses = 0.2 kg/cm2 abs. (given)
Elevation of liquid level = 5 + 1 = 6 meter
Elevation of Pump center line = 1.1 meter (given)
Therefore NPSH available (NPSHA ) can be calculated by
NPSHA = Source Pressure - Vapor Pressure of the liquid - Suction Losses + Elevation of
Liquid Level - Elevation of Pump Center line
Therefore NPSHA = 0.067 - 0.026 - 0.2 + 6 - 1.1 = 3.342 meter
Design Pressure Calculation :-

Calculated Maximum Suction Pressure = 1.62 kg/cm2 abs.
Maximum Differential Pressure can be calculated as
Maximum Differential Pressure = 1.2 × Differential Pressure
where
Differential Pressure = Discharge pressure - Suction pressure
Therefore differential pressure = 14.5 - 0.4 = 14.1 kg/cm2
Maximum Differential Pressure = 1.2 × 14.1 = 16.92 kg/cm2
59
Therefore the design pressure for the required centrifugal pump to pump VR under given
conditions is
Design Pressure = Max. Suction Pressure + Max. Differential Pressure = 1.62 + 16.92 =
18.54 kg/cm2 abs (17.54 kg/cm2 g)
Power calculations :-
Hydraulic Power can be calculated by
Hydraulic Power (HP) = 0.0365 × [(Flow rate, m3 /hr) × (Differential Pressure, kg/cm2 )]
Therefore Hydraulic Power = 0.0365 × 211.25 × 14.1 = 108.72 HP

Now, if the pump efficiency is taken as 70 % then the required hydraulic power for the
required pump = 108.72 / 0.7 = 155.31 HP
Now if the pump is motor driven and the efficiency of the motor is taken as 80 % the the
power requirement to drive the motor = 155.31 × 74.6 / 0.8 = 144.8 kWH.
Similarly the other two pumps (LVGO and HVGO) can also be designed.
3.7 POST - DESALTER CRUDE PREHEAT TRAIN
The crude is to be heated to 270 o C before sending it to the Preflash unit to have a
certain amount of vapor fraction in the crude stream which is allowed to separate in the
PD. The efficient energy utilization plans of major refinery urge designers to utilize the
heat drawn from various places to heat crude oil before sending crude oil to PD.
Instead of using a fired heater to heat crude oil, we can utilize the heat energy from
various sources like the heat energy associated with the obtained products from VDU and
the heat energy liberated while pumparound of liquid in VDU.
There can be various arrangements in which these heat can be utilized to heat crude oil.
One of the arrangements is shown in fig 3.24. Here the crude oil is being heated using both
the energy sources i.e., the heat energy in the pumparound stream as well as the energy
associated with the product slate of VDU.
As shown, crude oil coming from the desalter unit is at 132 o C and it is further heated
to 139 o C by exchanging heat from HGO in a HX namely HGO-HX. The heat duty of this
HX is 5623 kW cooling down the HGO stream to 160 o C.
The heat of the LVGO stream is utilized to heat crude oil as the outlet temperature of
LVGO from VDU is 270 o C. The stream heats crude oil in two simultaneous HX working in
60
61
series. The LVGO stream is made to exchange its heat with the crude oil in the second HX
first and then it comes back to the first HX. This arrangement is made to utilize maximum
possible heat LVGO stream. Therefore, in the first HX namely LVGO-HX1, crude oil is
heated from 139 o C to 148 o C and in the second heat exchanger LVGO-HX2, crude oil is
heated from 148 o C to 157 o C and loses it own temperature by 120 o C (270 o C to 150 o C).
The cold LVGO can be taken for further refinery operations.
the second pumparound of VDU and heated to 185 o C. It is shown as a heater and the
preheater is named as 1-V-P2 which is abbreviated for the number of heater (1), source
of the pumparound (V refers to vacuum distillation unit), then the number of pumparound
(P2). Similarly the crude oil is further heated to 214 o C using the heat associated with third
pumparound of VDU shown here as 2-V-P3.
Similarly the heat associated with HVGO is utilized to heat crude oil as the outlet
temperature of HVGO from VDU is 356 o C. The temperature of this stream is so high
that the stream can be utilized to heat crude oil before it goes to ADU. Therefore the heat
from HVGO stream is first utilized in HVGO-HX1 in the 3rd preheat train and it is cooled
down to 280 o C. Even after the removal of required heat from HVGO, there is enough heat
associated with the stream which can be utilized further. Therefore it is taken to second
HX to utilize the heat and the crude oil from 2-V-P3 and is heated from 214 o C to 221 o C
cooling down HVGO stream from 280 o C to 220 o C.
Again the heat associated with VR is utilized to heat crude oil as the outlet temperature
of VR from VDU is 412 o C. The temperature of this stream is so high that the stream can
be utilized to heat crude oil before it goes to ADU. Therefore the heat from VR stream is
first utilized in VR-HX1 in the 3rd preheat train and it is cooled down to 351 o C. Even after
the removal of required heat from HVGO, there is enough heat associated with the stream
which can be utilized further. Therefore it is taken to second HX (VR-HX2) to utilize the
heat and the crude oil from HVGO-HX2 and is heated from 221 o C to 230 o C cooling
down VR stream from 351 o C to 305 o C. Even after the removal of required heat from VR,
there is enough heat associated with the stream which can be utilized further. Therefore it
is taken to next HX (VR-HX3) of the crude oil to utilize the heat of VR and the crude oil is
further heated from 230 o C to 240 o C. Once it is heated to 240 o C, the crude oil is sent to a
furnace where initial flashing of the crude oil is done. The heat duty of the furnace is found
to be 28470 kW (28.47 MW). Enough care is been taken to maintain similar pressure of
both the streams so that there is no pressure difference when the two crude oil streams are
mixed.
62
3.8 PRE - CDU CRUDE PREHEAT TRAIN
The crude is to be heated to 385 o C before sending it to CDU. For the required purpose
a furnace is used to heat the crude oil coming from the PD to the required temperature.
But to accomplish the desired duty, the furnace used has to raise the temperature of the
crude oil from 263 o C to 385 o C and that requires a huge amount of furnace duty. The
furnace heat duty comes out to be around 129 MW which can not be considered as an
energy efficient process. Therefore the efficient energy utilization plans of major refinery
urge designers to utilize the heat of the bottom products of VDU in 3rd preheat train to
heat crude oil before sending it to CDU.
There can be again various arrangements depending on the designer in which heat of
the bottom products of VDU can be utilized to heat crude oil. One of the arrangements is
shown in fig 3.25. Here the crude oil is heated to 305 o C before sending it to CDU reducing
the furnace heat load by 42311 kW (42.3 MW). Hence the furnace heat load comes down to
86924 kW (86.92 MW) as discussed earlier which is quite affordable and energy efficient.
Crude oil comes out from the PD at th temperature of 263 o C and it is further heated
to 272 o C by exchanging heat from HVGO coming out from VDU at a temperature of 356
o
C. It exchanges its heat in a HX named as HVGO-HX1 and then the output HVGO stream
at 280 o C is sent to HVGO-HX2 in the 2nd preheat train.
the fourth pumparound of VDU and heated to 294 o C. It is shown as a heater and the
preheater is named as 1-V-P4 which is abbreviated for the number of heater (1), source
of the pumparound (V refers to vacuum distillation unit), then the number of pumparound
(P4).
The heat of VR stream is utilized to heat crude oil as the outlet temperature of VR
from VDU is 412 o C. The stream heats crude oil stream from 294 o C to 305 o C in the
heat exchanger VR-HX1 and loses it own heat by 61 o C (412 o C to 351 o C). Still VR is
having a lot of heat energy associated with it, so it is sent to VR-HX2 in which crude oil is
being heated to 230 o C from 221 o C by losing its own heat by 46 o C (351 o C to 305 o C) as
discussed in 2nd preheat train. Enough care is been taken to maintain similar pressure of
both the streams so that there is no pressure difference when the two crude oil streams are
mixed.
63
64
CHAPTER 4
CONCLUSIONS
Attempt was made to fulfill the objective of the project on simulation studies of distil-
lation column of a medium size refinery. The findings were based on various parameters
like the column pressure, furnace temperature, pumparounds in distillation column. In ad-
dition, some design aspects such as number of plates, diameter of the column and the basic
working design of Heat Exchangers and Pump were also considered.
The findings were interesting specially atmospheric distillation unit, efficiency was
around 77 % and precision was in acceptable range. The validation of the distillation
results were based on two key properties namely o API gravity and the Normal boiling
point cut of the products for both the distillation column. The short residue obtained was
17.35 % of the total capacity of primary distillation units which is precise so far medium
crude oil is concerned.
This project can be further extended with application of other key properties of crude
oil like KUOP characterization factor, BMCI value, Viscosity-Gravity correlation etc.
However this need other softwares like PRO-II to have improved results using above men-
tioned properties.
REFERENCES
1. Fahim A. M. et. al., Fundamental of Petroleum Refining, Department of Chemical
Engineering, Kuwait University, Khaideya, Kuwait, Elsevier, 2010
2. “Stan” Jones D. S. J. and Pujadó P. R., Handbook of Petroleum Processing, Springer,

2006
3. Uppaluri R., Refinery Process Design, Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian

Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, India, 2010
4. Lecture 3, Petroleum Refining Overview, NPTEL - Chemical Technology II
5. Nedelchev A. et.al., Boiling point distribution of crude oils based on TBP and ASTM
D86 Distillation Data, Petroleum & Coal 53 (4) 275-290, 2011
6. Sloley A. W., Crude Distillation Sequences, CH2M HILL, Bellingham, WA, San
Francisco, CA, Paper 228a, 2013
7. Kalra S.K., Essentials of Refinery Processes, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Pani-
pat Refinery
8. An Introduction to Petroleum Refining and the Production of Ultra Low Sulfur Gaso-
line and Diesel Fuel, Energy Economics and Applied Optimization, 2011
9. Petroleum and Natural Gas, Indian Minerals Yearbook 2013 (Part- III : Mineral Re-
views), 52nd Edition, Ministry Of Mines, Government of India, 2015
10. Venkata Ramana U., Crude oil Characteristics and Refinery Products, Refinery HQ,
IOCL, New Delhi, 2010
11. Mahdi K. A. et. al., Characterization and modeling of a crude oil desalting plant by
a statistically designed approach, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 61,
116-123, 2008
12. Gadalla M. et. al., Optimization of Existing Heat-Integrated Refinery Distillation

Systems, Trans IChemE, Vol 81, Part A, 2003
13. Stojić M. M. et. al., Simulation of Atmospheric Distillation Unit “Badger” using
Aspen Plus, Petroleum & Coal, 46 (2), 57-62, 2004
14. McCabe and Smith, Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering, 5th Edition, McGraw-
Hill International Editions, 1993
66
CHAPTER 5
APPENDICES
5.1 APPENDIX A
PRE DESALTER CRUDE PREHEAT TRAIN

(HX-TRN-1)
5.1.1 W-PR
The tube layout and the Exchanger layout are shown in the figure 6.1 and 6.2 respec-
tively.
The tube pitch was taken to be standard 25.4 mm (1 in) and there are two tube passes.
Calculated tube number is 926 which is distributed in two tube passes as 467 tubes in the
upper half and 459 tubes in the lower half. The tube outside diameter is taken 19.05 mm
with triangular 30o pattern. Total number of tie rods are 8 having tie rod diameter of 12.7
mm each.
Exchanger layout shows that the overall length of the HX is 7862 mm (7.86 m). The
notation T and S abbreviates for Tube side and Shell side. There are two supports needed
to support the heat exchanger which are at a distance of 4024 mm (approx 4 m). The
design pressure for the heat exchanger according to the material of construction (Carbon
Steel) is 13 bar on the shell side and 26 bar in the channel. The internal volume of the shell
is 4.3633 m3 and that of the channel is 0.5191 m3 . The Log Mean Temperature Difference
(LMTD) graph and vibration analysis report are shown in the fig 6.3 and 6.4 respectively.
Therefore it can be congregated from all the aspects that the overall design is safe,
feasible and can be operated economically.
Figure 5.1: Tube Layout for water preheater
Figure 5.2: Exchanger Layout for water preheater
68
Figure 5.3: LMTD Graph for water preheater
Figure 5.4: Vibration Analysis for water preheater
69
5.1.2 KERO-HX1
The HX comparison, tube layout and the Exchanger layout are shown in the figure 6.5,
6.6 and 6.7 respectively.
The HX design comparison shows the comparison for three exchangers which are most
commonly used in heat transfer processes. The BEM type HX, though it is the cheapest
of all, is ruled out of refinery process due to the earlier discussed problems of thermal ex-
pansion. The AFS type of HX is not following the basic configuration of HX which is L/D
ratio. Since the AFS type HX is not having L/D of 4-10, one can easily refuse the design
of AFS HX. Hence the final choice is the AES type of HX which shows comparatively
effective design. It is having one shell pass with one tube pass with shell size of 914.4 mm
which is equivalent to internal diameter of 36 in. Therefore the L/D ratio for the designed
HX is 5.2 which is quite affordable due to the standards of HX. The tube side velocity is
1.27 m/s as shown in the case A of fig 6.5. Also the design is 15 % over-designed which
makes it quite acceptable and economical.
The tube layout figure shows that the tube pitch was taken to be standard 25.4 mm (1
in) and there is only one tube passes which means total number of tubes are present without
any division it the tube bundle as clearly shown. Calculated tube number is 976. The tube
outside diameter is taken to be the standard 19.05 mm with tube pattern 30 i.e., triangular
30o pattern. Total number of tie rods are 8 having tie rod diameter of 12.7 mm each. The
baffle type selected was single segmental with baffle spacing of 250 mm. Therefore the
design shows the need of 14 baffles which maintains the pressure drop for the shell side at
0.124 bar.
Exchanger layout shows that the overall length of the HX is 6567 mm (6.57 m) which is
well within range and affordable. The notation T and S abbreviates for Tube side and Shell
side. There are two supports needed to support the heat exchanger which are at a distance
of 2850 mm (approx 2.85 m). The design pressure for the heat exchanger according to the
material of construction (Carbon Steel) is 4 bar on the shell side and 28 bar in the channel.
The internal volume of the shell is 3.2353 m3 and that of the channel is 0.8063 m3 . The
corrosion allowance is taken as 3.175 mm as per HX standards. The weight of the HX is
10060 kg (10.06 tons) when empty and 14061 kg (14.06 tons) when flooded. The weight
of the tube bundle is 5101 kg (5.10 tons).
The Log Mean Temperature Difference (LMTD) graph is shown in the fig 6.8. Here
it can be clearly seen that there is no crossover of temperatures on the shell side and tube
side and also it is completely counter-current flow. The temperature drop on the hot side is
higher due to the low flow-rate of Kerosene when compared to the flow-rate of crude oil.
70
Figure 5.5: Exchanger Comparison for KERO-HX1
The vibration analysis report is generated and shown in fig. 6.9. The parameter W/Wc
specifies the ratio of the actual shell side flow-rate to critical flow-rate for onset of fluid
elastic instability. All the three W/Wc parameters for various damping assembled together
as forced frequency. Here it can be seen that the forced frequency caused by damping
is very less than the natural frequency of the tube which means there is no possibility of
vibration in a full fledged operation.
71
Figure 5.6: Tube Layout for KERO-HX1
Figure 5.7: Exchanger Layout for KERO-HX1
72
Figure 5.8: LMTD Graph for KERO-HX1
Figure 5.9: Vibration Analysis for KERO-HX1
73
5.1.3 KERO-HX2
The HX comparison, tube layout and the Exchanger layout are shown in the figure
6.10, 6.11 and 6.12 respectively.
The BEM type, AFS type and the AES type HXs are compared and shown in the fig
6.10. Though BEM type HX is the cheapest of all, it is ruled out of refinery process due to
the earlier discussed problems of thermal expansion. The AES type of HX is is designed
to meet the L/D ratio standard but the design specification such as the shell side velocity
(0.35 m/s) is too low for the design which makes it inefficient and unacceptable. Hence
the final choice is the AFS type of HX which shows comparatively effective design. It is
having two shell pass with two tube pass with a L/D of 4.43 which is quite affordable due
to the standards of HX. The shell side velocity is 1.08 m/s and tube side velocity is 1.72
m/s as shown in the case A of fig 6.10. Also the design is 7 % over-designed which makes
it quite acceptable for the required operation and also economical compared to the AES
design.
The tube layout figure shows that the tube pitch was taken to be standard 25.4 mm
(1 in) and there are two tube passes which means total number of tubes are present with
a division in tube bundle as clearly shown. Calculated tube number is 1429. The tube
0.57 bar.
weight of the HX is 15158 kg (15.16 tons) when empty and 21052 kg (21.05 tons) when
flooded. The weight of the tube bundle is 7937 kg (7.94 tons).
comparatively higher due to the low flow-rate of Kerosene when compared to the flow-rate
of crude oil.
75
Figure 5.10: Exchanger Comparison for KERO-HX2
as forced frequency. Here it can be seen that the forced frequency caused by damping
(0.13 cycles/sec) is very less than the natural frequency (218.89 cycles/sec) of the tube
which means there is no possibility of vibration in a full fledged operation.
76
Figure 5.11: Tube Layout for KERO-HX2
Figure 5.12: Exchanger Layout for KERO-HX2
77
Figure 5.13: LMTD Graph for KERO-HX2
Figure 5.14: Vibration Analysis for KERO-HX2
78
5.1.4 LGO-HX1
The HX design comparison shows the comparison for three most commonly used heat
exchangers. The BEM type HX, though it is the cheapest of all, is ruled out of refinery
process due to the problems of thermal expansion. The AFS type of HX shows the design
specification which makes it inefficient and unacceptable such as the tube side velocity (3
m/s) and the L/D ratio (2.91) is too low for the design standards of the HX. Hence the final
choice is the AES type of HX which shows comparatively effective design. It is having
one shell pass with one tube pass with a L/D of 4.43 which is quite affordable compared
with the standards of HX. The shell side velocity is 0.99 m/s and the tube side velocity is
makes it quite acceptable for the required operation and also economical compared to the
AFS design.
0.068 bar.
Exchanger layout shows that the overall length of the HX is 5419 mm (5.42 m) which
is well within range and affordable. The notation T and S abbreviates for Tube side and
Shell side. There are two supports needed to support the heat exchanger which are at a
distance of 1991 mm (approx 2 m). The design pressure for the heat exchanger according
to the material of construction (Carbon Steel) is 4 bar on the shell side and 27 bar in the
channel. The internal volume of the shell is 1.9889 m3 and that of the channel is 0.688 m3 .
The weight of the HX is 6736 kg (6.74 tons) when empty and 9498 kg (9.5 tons) when
flooded. The weight of the tube bundle is 3005 kg (3 tons).
very high due to the low flow-rate of LGO when compared to the flow-rate of crude oil.
80
Figure 5.15: Exchanger Comparison for LGO-HX1
as forced frequency. Here it can be seen that the forced frequency (0.2 cycles/sec) caused
by damping is very less than the natural frequency (98.2 cycles/sec) of the tube which
means there is no possibility of vibration in a full fledged operation.
81
Figure 5.16: Tube Layout for LGO-HX1
Figure 5.17: Exchanger Layout for LGO-HX1
82
Figure 5.18: LMTD Graph for LGO-HX1
Figure 5.19: Vibration Analysis for LGO-HX1
83
5.1.5 LGO-HX2
The HX design comparison shows the comparison for three exchangers which are most
commonly used in heat transfer processes. The BEM type HX, though it is the cheapest
of all, is ruled out of refinery process due to the earlier discussed problems of thermal
expansion. The AFS type of HX is cheaper design but the design specification such as the
tube side velocity (3.06 m/s) and the L/D ratio (3.94) which is the ratio of length of the HX
and the shell diameter is too low for the design which makes it inefficient and unacceptable.
Hence the final choice is the AES type of HX which shows comparatively effective design.
It is having one shell pass with one tube pass with a L/D of 5 which is quite affordable
due to the standards of HX. The shell side velocity is 0.83 m/s and tube side velocity is
makes it quite acceptable for the required operation and it is not very expensive compared
to the AFS design.
0.082 bar.
of 2700 mm (2.7 m). The design pressure for the heat exchanger according to the material
of construction (Carbon Steel) is 4 bar on the shell side and 27 bar in the channel. The
internal volume of the shell is 2.9899 m3 and that of the channel is 0.8543 m3 . The weight
of the HX is 9322 kg (9.322 tons) when empty and 13194 kg (13.2 tons) when flooded.
The weight of the tube bundle is 4642 kg (4.64 tons).
85
86
87
88
5.1.6 LGO-HX3
The BEM type HX, though it is the cheapest of all, is ruled out of refinery process
due to the earlier discussed problems of thermal expansion and also the tube side velocity
for the BEM type HX is 2.25 m/s which is too high for proper functioning of the HX.
The AES type of HX shows perfect design combination of tube side velocity and the shell
side velocity with other parameters such as area required and the cost which makes it
economical as well as feasible for smooth functioning. But the overdesign parameter is
just 1 % which is not acceptable. WHen we change the parametric values to make the
overdesign parameter around 10 %, the configuration of the HX changes and becomes
imperfect for the required operation. Hence the final choice is the AFS type of HX which
shows comparatively effective design. It is having two shell pass with two tube pass with
a L/D of 4.6 which is quite affordable due to the standards of HX. The shell side velocity
and tube side velocity is 0.63 and 1.18 m/s respectively as shown in the case A of fig 6.25.
Also the design is 14 % over-designed which makes it quite acceptable for the required
operation and it is not very expensive compared to the AES design.
in) and there are two tube passes which means total number of tubes are present in two
divisions of tube bundle as clearly shown. Calculated tube number is 1712. The upper
division of the tube bundle contains 848 tubes and the lower division of the tube bundle
contains 864 tubes. The tube outside diameter is taken to be the standard 19.05 mm with
tube pattern 30 i.e., triangular 30o pattern. Total number of tie rods are 8 having tie rod
diameter of 12.7 mm each. The baffle type selected was single segmental with baffle
spacing of 400 mm. Therefore the design shows the need of 10 baffles which maintains
the pressure drop for the shell side at 0.112 bar.
weight of the HX is 19195 kg (19.195 tons) when empty and 26883 kg (26.88 tons) when
flooded. The weight of the tube bundle is 10520 kg (10.52 tons).
90
91
92
93

Sudeep Final Thesis

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Sudeep Final Thesis

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SIMULATION AND DESIGN OF

SUDEEP MUKHERJEE (R670214013)

in partial fulfilment of the requirements

Under the guidance of

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING STUDIES

UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM & ENERGY STUDIES

July 2015 - March 2016

Dr. R. P. Badoni Mr. S. C. Gupta

Head of the Department

I am specially grateful to Mr. S.C. GUPTA, Sr. CONSULTANT, TEIL PROJECTS

I am specially grateful to Dr. ASHWANI MALHOTRA, DGM, PROCESS - II, EN-

The whole procedure went under consideration of my professors in college. I would

BS&W Bottom Sediments and Water

1.3 PROCESS DESIGN vs PROCESS SIMULATION . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2.1 CRUDE OIL AND ITS SPECIFICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2.2 REFINERY UNITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2.2.1 CRUDE OIL DESALTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2.2.2 PREFLASH TOWER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2.2.3 ATMOSPHERIC DISTILLATION COLUMN (ADU) . . . . . 11

2.2.4 PUMPS USED IN PRIMARY DISTILLATION . . . . . . . . . 15

3 SIMULATION METHODOLOGY AND DISCUSSION 26

3.1 CRUDE OIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

3.3 PREFLASH DRUM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

3.4 ATMOSPHERIC DISTILLATION UNIT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

3.4.1 PUMPAROUNDS IN ADU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

3.4.2 DIAMETER OF THE COLUMN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

3.5.1 DESIGN OF WATER PREHEATER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

3.6 VACUUM DISTILLATION UNIT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

3.6.1 PUMPAROUNDS IN VDU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

3.6.2 DIAMETER OF THE COLUMN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

3.6.3 PUMPS OF VDU AND ITS SIZING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

3.6.3.1 PUMP SIZING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

3.7 POST - DESALTER CRUDE PREHEAT TRAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

3.8 PRE - CDU CRUDE PREHEAT TRAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

2.1 Micro Organic Elemental Analysis of Crude oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2.2 Classification of Crude oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2.3 Straight run product streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

3.1 TBP distribution of the crude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

3.2 NBP distribution of the crude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

3.3 Desalter stream Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

3.4 Preflash Drum stream Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

3.5 Stream Results of CDU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

3.6 Result Comparison of CDU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

3.7 CDU Pumparound Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

3.8 Stream Results of VDU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

3.9 VDU Pumparound Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

1.1 A Typical Refinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

2.1 Petroleum Product Specification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2.2 Electrostatic Crude oil Desalter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2.3 Crude Distillation Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

3.1 TBP Curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

3.2 Desalter with Preheaters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

3.3 Preflash drum after Preheat train-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

3.4 CDU as hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

3.5 Crude distillation Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

3.6 Pressure profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

3.7 Temperature profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

3.8 Flow rate profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

3.9 ADU results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

3.10 Tray Rating of Top Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

3.11 Tray Rating of Bottom Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

3.12 Crude Preheat Train -1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42