What Goes On In An Oil
Refinery?
--------AIChE Speaker--------this presentation is probably too long; pick and
choose from this material
Introduction
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Introduce Yourself
Explain Why You Are Here
Explain Why You Are Talking About Refineries
Agenda
this presentation is probably too long, select from:
Introduction
 What is the Purpose of an Oil Refinery?
 What Goes In/Out of the Refinery
 How Do You Get from Crude Oil to
Products?
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– Separations
– Chemical Reactions
cont...
Agenda - Cont.
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How Do You Get from Crude Oil to
Products?
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Separations
Chemical Reactions
Major Equipment
Minimizing Pollution
What do The Chemical Engineers Do?
Overview
THE PURPOSE OF AN OIL REFINERY
IS TO TRANSFORM RELATIVELY
LOW VALUE CRUDE OIL INTO
HIGH VALUE PRODUCTS AS
EFFICIENTLY, PROFITABLY AND
ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND A
WAY AS POSSIBLE
Overview - Cont.
The price and quality of crudes is constantly
changing. The price and specifications of the
products is constantly changing. Government
regulations add additional constraints. There is
not much differential between the price of crude
and products.
HOW DO I KEEP IN BUSINESS?
How Do I Keep In Business ?
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I need to design and revamp the plant utilizing the
latest technology to be more efficient
I need to make the plant more flexible and
responsive
I need to operate (control) the plant in the most
efficient manner possible
I need to keep the equipment running all the time
I NEED CHEMICAL ENGINEERS!
OK, But...
WHAT GOES ON IN AN OIL
REFINERY?
Very Simplified
Petroleum and
Petrochemical
Flowchart
THE REFINERY
Natural
Gas
RX
Propane &
Butane RX
Naphtha
(C5 - C10)
Ethylene
RX
Gas Stove
Polyethylene (Glad Bags)
Polymers (7 UP Bottles)
RX
RX
Gasoline
Organic Chemicals (Aspirin, Hair Spray)
More Polymers (Football Helmet, Astro
Turf, Nylon)
Jet Fuel
Gas Oils (C10+)
Separations
and
Purifications
Crude Separations
Oil
Conversions
Kerosene &
Oil
Well
Diesel Fuels
Home Heating
Oil, Lubricating
Oil, Wax
Coke
(Carbon Material Similar to Coal)
Asphalt
Purifications remove sulfur and heavy metals
RX = Chemical Reactions
Fuel
(Barbeque Grills)
Roads
Fuel
Steel Making
Graphite Fibers
(Tennis Racquets)
Pot Holes
What Is Crude Oil?
Crude Oil is a liquid mixture of thousands
of organic chemicals found underground. It
is the result of organic matter decaying over
thousands of years; hence the name fossil
fuel
 Crude oil is found all over the world and
varies tremendously in its density,
aromatics, sulfur, and metals content
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Major Refinery Products
LPG (Propane/Butane)
 GASOLINE (hundreds of blends)
 JET FUELS
 DIESEL FUELS
 HEATING OILS
 GREASES
 ASPHALTS
 COKE (not the kind you drink )
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Gasoline Specifications
Gasoline must meet many criteria which change with
the time of year and geographic location. Some
critical specifications are:
 Vapor Pressure
 Octane
 Aromatics / Benzene Content
 Sulfur Content
Gasolines are always a blend of a number of streams
in the refinery
Other Specifications
Other refinery products must meet other
specifications such as:
 Cetane number
 Density
 Pour Point
 Flash Point
 Viscosity
So, How Do You Make Good
Stuff Out Of That Gooey Crude?
So, How Do You Make Good
Stuff Out Of That Gooey Crude?
So, How Do You Make Good
Stuff Out Of That Gooey Crude?
REACTIONS
&
SEPARATIONS
So, How Do You Make Good
Stuff Out Of That Gooey Crude?
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Separate crude into fractions
Convert low octane components to higher octane
components
Convert the very heavy stuff to heavy oils
Convert heavy oils to gasoline,diesel,jet fuel
Remove sulfur/nitrogen through reaction
Blend intermediate streams together to meet
product specifications
SEPARATIONS
SEPARATIONS CRUDE FRACTIONATION
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HUGE DISTILLATION COLUMNS
– ATMOSPHERIC DISTILLATION
– VACUUM DISTILLATION
TYPICAL SIZE: 150,000 BARRELS/DAY
 750 DEGREES F
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OTHER SEPARATIONS
FLASH
 DISTILLATION
 ABSORPTION
 ADSORPTION
 SETTLING (WATER/OIL)
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REACTIONS
REACTIONS
Almost all the reactions in the refinery use
special catalysts that increase the rate and
selectivity of the reaction. This improves
efficiency and reduces unwanted
byproducts.
Reactions to Make Higher Octane
ISOMERIZATION
C-C-C-C-C-C --> C C
nC6
C-C-C-C iC6
REFORMING
C-C-C-C-C-C-C --> C
nC7
C
C-CH3
C
C toluene
C
Reactions To Make Higher Octane
ALKYLATION
C
C
C=C-C + C-C-C --> C-C-C-C-C
C
propylene isobutane
isoheptane (2,2,dmp)
Reactions To Convert Heavy Oils
HYDROCRACKING
H2 + heavy oil --> gasoline + diesel
550 F
300 F 450 F
use boiling point to describe oils
CAT CRACKING
heavy oil --> gasoline + propylene, butane,
other “light ends”
550 F
300 F
Reactions To Convert Resid
Resid is the “bottom of the barrel” - the
material that is left in the bottom of the
crude/vacuum distillation towers
COKING
resid + heat --> coke + heavy oil
> 900 F
solid
550 F
Reactions To Remove Sulfur
HYDRODESULFURIZATION
2 R-SH + H2 --> 2 R + 2 H2S
mercaptan
hydrocarbon
SULFUR RECOVERY
convert H2S to elemental sulfur:
2 H2S + 2 O2 --> SO2 + S + 2 H2O
2 H2S + SO2 --> 3S + 2 H2O
MAJOR REFINERY EQUIPMENT
Vessels-Reactors, Separators, Storage Tanks
 Pumps & Compressors
 Furnaces
 Heat Exchangers
 Instruments (measure flow, temperature,
pressure, composition)
 Control Systems
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MINIMIZING POLLUTION
Operate Furnaces Efficiently
 Waste Material Goes To The Flare Stack
 Avoid Spills & Accidental Releases
 Special Treatment of Sewer Water
 Lots of Paper Work!
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WHAT HAPPENS TO THE
BAD STUFF IN THE CRUDE?
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Sulfur
– converted to elemental sulfur
– in high sulfur fuel oil
– in coke
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Heavy Metals (nickel, vanadium)
– in high sulfur fuel oil and coke
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Nitrogen (organic nitrogen)
– most is converted to ammonia and neutralized
– in high sulfur fuel oil and coke
WHAT ROLE DO
ENGINEERS PLAY IN THE
REFINERY?
What Role Do Chemical Engineers Play?
Operations Engineer
 Maintenance Engineer
 Control Systems Engineer
 Design Engineer
 Health/Safety/Environmental Engineer
 Planning / Scheduling Engineer
 Reliability Engineer
 Plant Manager
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Other Ways Chemical Engineers
Support The Refining Industry
Research & Development Engineers
 Technical Sales Engineers
 Engineering & Construction Engineers
 Governmental Regulators (EPA)
 University Professors
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Other Engineering Disciplines In
The Refinery
Mechanical Engineers - design &
maintenance of compressors, vessels …
 Electrical Engineers - electrical,
instrumentation, controls
 Computer Scientists - main plant control &
information systems
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Where to get more information
Other training sessions
 List books, articles, electronic sources
 Consulting services, other sources
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Summary
Refineries are very complicated chemical
processing plants that use reactions and
separations to convert crude oil into
gasoline and other valuable products
 Chemical engineers play an important role
in keeping these plants running safely and
efficiently
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