Department of

Chemical
Engineering

Crude Distillation Unit

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 Department of
Chemical
Engineering

Crude Distillation Unit

• Crude distillation unit (CDU) is at the frontend
of the refinery, also known as topping unit, or
atmospheric distillation unit.
• It receives high flow rates hence its size and
operating cost are the largest in the refinery.
• This involves the removal of
undesirable components like sulphur,
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 Department of
Chemical
Engineering

nitrogen and metal compounds, and limiting

the aromatic contents.

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 Department of
Chemical
Engineering

Typical products from the unit

are:

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 Department of
Chemical
Engineering

Atmospheric Distillation

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 Department of
Chemical
Engineering

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 Department of
Chemical
Engineering

Process flow diagram of an atmospheric distillation unit

Straight-Run Naphtha and Gases

125 ˚C Heavy Naphtha

160 ˚C Kerosene

250 ˚C Gas Oil

Crude Oil
• The Temperature of tray is
progressively cooler from bottom to
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 Department of
Chemical
Engineering

top
300 ˚C

Residuum

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 Department of
Chemical
Engineering

Atmospheric Distillation
Stripping section
The more volatile component are stripped
from the descending liquid

Rectifying section
The concentration of the less volatile component
in the vapor is reduced

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 Component of atmospheric
distillationDepartment of Chemical

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 Department of
Chemical
Engineering

Engineering

Rectifying section

Flash zone

Stripping section
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 Department of
Chemical
Engineering

Description OF ATMOSPHERIC DISTILLATION

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 Department of
Chemical
Engineering

The vapor from pipestill furnace

discharge as a foaming stream into
distillation tower.
The partially vaporized crude is
transferred to the flash zone.
The vapour goes up the tower to be
fractionated into gas oil that is called
the overhead product .
liquid portion of feed go down to
bottom of tower

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 Department of
Chemical
Engineering

Description OF STRIPPING SECTION

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 Department of
Chemical
Engineering

 Steam reboilers may take the form of a

steam coil in the bottom of the tower or a
separate vessel.
The bottom product from the tower enters
the rebolier where part is vaporized by heat
from steam coil.
The hot vapor is directed back to the bottom
of the tower and the nonvolatile leaves the
rebolier and passes through a heat exchanger,
where its heat is transferred to the feed to the
tower.

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 Department of
Chemical
Engineering

Description OF STRIPPING SECTION

Steam is also injected into the column -To

strip the atmospheric residue of any light
hydrocarbon.
- To lower the partial pressure of the hydrocarbon vapours 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.

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 Department of
Chemical
Engineering

DescriptionOF RECTIFYINGSECTION
As the hotvapoursfrom the flash
zone rise through the trays up the
column, they are contacted by the
colder reflux
down the column.

In the overhead condenser, the

vapoursare condensed and part of
the light naphtha is returned to the
column as reflux.
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 pumparoundstreams along the
column. Department of
Chemical
Engineering

Improvement of distillation efficiency

 Vapours Cold liquid condenses Reflux

To compensate for the withdrawal of products from the
column.

 The addition to the heat removal from the condenser. The

thermal efficiency of the column is improved and the required
furnace duty is reduced.

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 Department of
Chemical
Engineering

The efficient operation of the

distillation

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 Department of
Chemical
Engineering

Tower requires the rising vapors

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 Department of
Chemical
Engineering

to mix with liquid on each tray.

This is usually achieved by
installing a bubble caps. The cap
forces the vapor to go below the
surface of the liquid and to bubble
up through it.
Limiting temperature of atmospheric distillation

• It is important not to subject the crude oil to temperatures above

350 °C because the high molecular weight components in the crude
oil will undergo thermal cracking and form petroleum coke .

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 Department of
Chemical
Engineering

•
Formation of coke would result in plugging the tubes in the
furnace and the piping from the furnace to the distillation
column as well as in the column itself.

The constraint imposed by limiting the column inlet crude oil to a

• temperature of less than 350 °C yields a residual oil from the bottom
of the atmospheric distillation column.

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