Reduced Crude Separation

The reduced crude from the bottoms stream of the atmospheric distillation unit is also to be
separated into different fractions, which is done through the use of a vacuum distillation unit. The
reduced crude feed is composed of heavy fractions of crude oil that could not be separated at
temperatures below 350 °C. The flash zone and overhead of the vacuum distillation unit is typically
operated at pressures 25 - 30 mmHg and 5 mmHg, respectively, and temperatures up to 350 °C
and 150 °C, this to avoid cracking which usually occurs above 410 °C (Pujado & Jones, 2006;
Speight, 2006).
Vacuum distillation operations are typically done through wet or dry operations, which are
represented in Figure 1 and Table 1, respectively. The main difference between the ideas behind
the two processes is simply that the wet operation makes use of steam together with the entering
feed. The steam is used to reduce the partial pressure of the hydrocarbons to reduce the temperature
required to attain the same amount of volatilization from dry operation. The difference between
the equipment used in both operations also revolves around the same idea (Kaes, 2000).

Ejectors Ejectors
Steam
Vacuum LVGO Vacuum LVGO
Atmospheric Atmospheric
Distillation Hot Well Accumulator Distillation Hot Well Accumulator
Residue Residue
Unit Unit

HVGO HVGO

Boot
Steam Stripper
Cooler
Vacuum Vacuum
Residue Residue

Figure 1. Wet operation (left) and dry operation (modified from Kaes, 2000)
Table 1. Advantages and disadvantages of wet and dry vacuum operation (Kaes, 2000; Maverick
Engineering Inc., 2016)
Operation Wet Operation Dry Operation
Advantages  Coking is relatively avoided  Coking is generally avoided
 The operating temperature of the  Equipment includes mainly the
distillation column is lower vacuum distillation column,
compared to the dry operation. ejectors, and a boot cooler.
Generally, only the distillation
column requires heat.
  No steam is injected into the
column.

(cont.) Table 22. Advantages and disadvantages of wet and dry vacuum operation (Kaes, 2000; Maverick
Engineering Inc., 2016)
Disadvantages  Includes the vacuum distillation  Higher operating temperature
column, ejectors, stripping zone compared to the wet operation.
and a pre-condenser for the  Cooling is required to avoid
overhead gases before entering the coking.
ejectors. Some equipment for this
operation requires greater
amounts of heating compared to
the dry operation, which are the
distillation column with a
stripping zone and the pre-
condenser.
 Steam is injected into the entering
feed and into the stripping section.
Similar to the equipment, the feed
requires more heat for this
operation compared to the dry
operation.

The selection in which of the operation would be used with their respective weights and
rating are as shown in Table 2. The capital cost and product yield and purity are given higher
priority to be able to meet the demands, which is the payback time of 7 years and the sulfur content
of the diesel produced.
Table 2. Selection metrics of the wet and dry operations
Weighted Score
Criteria Weight
Wet Operatioon Dry Operation
Process Flexibility 10 % 0.1 0.1
Capital Cost 15 % 0.3 0.15
Operating Cost 10 % 0.1 0.2
Operating Conditions 10 % 0.1 0.2
Product Yield and Purity 15 % 0.15 0.15
Complexity 10 % 0.2 0.1
Safety and Health Effects, 0.1 0.1
Environmental Acceptance and 10 %
Impact
 Technological Maturity 10 % 0.1 0.1
Availability of Data 10 % 0.1 0.1
Total 100% 1.25 1.2
Ranking points: 1 – highest; 2 – intermediate; 3 – lowest
Weighted Score: Ranking point x Weight %

It is shown in the selection metrics that the dry operation is considered as the better choice.
The small difference may indicate that the wet operation may also be used, but for the given
demand mentioned before, the dry operation is more favorable.