Intro:

Petroleum is considered to be a complex mixture containing thousands of different organic hydrocarbon

molecules, composed of 83-87% Carbon, 11-15% Hydrogen and 1-6% Sulfur. Refining petroleum has
evolved continuously in response to changing consumer demand for better and different products. In fact,
the original requirement was to produce kerosene as a cheaper and better source of light than whale oil,
but the development of the internal combustion engine had further led to the production of gasoline and
diesel fuels.

This process is actually divided intro three basic steps: separation referring to the process of distillation;
conversion for the transformation of one kind of hydrocarbon into another and; treatment which includes
the combining of processed products to create various octane levels and other special properties that can
be utilized in extreme environments. Furthermore, petroleum refineries are large, capital-intensive
manufacturing facilities with extremely complex processing schemes. They convert crude oils and other
input streams into dozens of refined (co-)products, including LPG, gasoline, jet fuel, diesel and such. In
addition to this, present-day refineries produce a variety of products including many required as feedstock
for the petrochemical industry.

Additional info:

The Philippines' downstream oil industry is dominated by three companies: Petron; Pilipinas Shell (Royal
Dutch/Shell's Philippine subsidiary); and Caltex (Philippines). Petron is the Philippines' largest oil refining
and marketing company. Overall, Philippine refineries run at around 80% of capacity, and there is not a
great deal of demand for new refinery construction.

As petroleum refining has developed in recent years into one of the leading industries of the nation, with a
growing rate of 4 to 8 percent annually, air pollution problems have increased, through the corporations
involved have, as a result of research, produced control methods for some of the pollutants. Some of the
pollutants emitted contribute to photochemical smogs and have harmful effects on the public in congested
industrial areas. Hence, the evolution of petroleum refining from simple distillation to today's sophisticated
processes has created a need for health and safety management procedures and safe work practices

Process Pollutant Impact RA

Hydrocracking SO2, -Breathing problems RA 8749
H2S and -Health problems RA 9725
Contaminant metals
Fluid Catalyctic SO2, Reduction of the RA 8749
Cracking CO oxygen-carrying
capacity of the blood
that could cause other
illnesses and health
problems

Hydrocracking is a catalytic process that employs high pressure, high temperature, a catalyst, and
hydrogen. Hydrogenation occurs in fixed hydrotreating catalyst beds to improve H/C ratios and to remove
sulfur, nitrogen, and metals. This is followed by one or more reactors with fixed hydrocracking catalyst beds
to dealkylate aromatic rings, open naphthene rings, and hydrocrack paraffin chains.

In the first stage, preheated feedstock is mixed with recycled hydrogen and sent to the first-stage reactor,
where catalysts convert sulfur and nitrogen compounds to hydrogen sulfide and ammonia. The hydrocarbon
is then cooled and liquefied and run through a hydrocarbon separator. The hydrogen is recycled to the
feedstock. The liquid is charged to a fractionator. The fractionator bottoms are again mixed with a hydrogen
stream and charged to the second stage. Like the outturn of the first stage, the second stage product is
separated from the hydrogen and charged to the fractionator.

Fluid catalytic cracking or "cat cracking," is the basic gasoline-making process. Using intense heat (about
1,000 degrees Fahrenheit), low pressure and a powdered catalyst (a substance that accelerates chemical
reactions), the cat cracker can convert most relatively heavy fractions into smaller gasoline molecules.

A typical FCC process involves mixing a preheated hydrocarbon charge with hot, regenerated catalyst as
it enters the riser leading to the reactor. The charge is combined with a recycle stream within the riser,
vaporized, and raised to reactor temperature (900°- 1,000°F) by the hot catalyst. As the mixture travels up
the riser, the charge is cracked at 10-30 psi. In the more modern FCC units, all cracking takes place in the
riser. The "reactor" no longer functions as a reactor; it merely serves as a holding vessel for the cyclones.
This cracking continues until the oil vapors are separated from the catalyst in the reactor cyclones. The
resultant product stream (cracked product) is then charged to a fractionating column where it is separated
into fractions, and some of the heavy oil is recycled to the riser.

The FCC process uses a catalyst in the form of very fine particles that act as a fluid when aerated with a
vapor. Fresh feed is preheated in a process heater and introduced into the bottom of a vertical transfer line
or riser with hot regenerated catalyst. The hot catalyst vaporizes the feed, bringing both to the desired
reaction temperature, 470 to 525°C (880 to 980°F) The high activity of modern catalysts causes most of
the cracking reactions to take place in the riser as the catalyst and oil mixture flows upward into the reactor.
The hydrocarbon vapors are separated from the catalyst particles by cyclones in the reactor. The reaction
products are sent to a fractionator for separation. The spent catalyst falls to the bottom of the reactor and
is steam stripped as it exits the reactor bottom to remove absorbed hydrocarbons. The spent catalyst is
then conveyed to a regenerator. In the regenerator, coke deposited on the catalyst as a result of the
cracking reactions is burned off in a controlled combustion process with preheated air. Regenerator
temperature is usually 590 to 675°C (1100 to 1250°F). The catalyst is then recycled to be mixed with fresh
hydrocarbon feed.