LOGO

Petroleum Processing
WILMARK T. PALACIOS BSChE-4
v
 Petroleum

From the Latin words petra rock and

oleum - oil
also known as Crude oil or as Black gold
When extracted from underground, it
ranges in density from very light to very
heavy and in color, from yellow to black
 Petroleum

a complex mixture of various hydrocarbons,

(mainly, alkanes), along with traces of other
chemicals and compounds (e.g. Sulfur)
can be categorized as either
"sweet crude" (where the sulphur content
less than 0.5%)
"sour crude," (where the sulphur content is
at least 2.5%)
Typical Composition by weight Hydrocarbon
Paraffins 30%; Naphthenes49%: Aromatics15% Asphaltene 6%
 Early History

The modern era of oil

Abraham Gesner usage began in 1846 when
(1797-1864) Gesner perfected the art
of paraffin distillation.

California was the center of

activity in the early 1900s,
famous for its gushers.

Californian oil gusher

Black Shale

Where sediment contains

more than 5% organic matter from
plankton and animal remains,
it eventually forms a rock
known as a Black Shale

Earth Science World Image Bank

 Cooking

As Black Shale is buried, it is heated.

Organic matter is first changed by the

Kerogen increase in temperature into kerogen,
which is a solid form of hydrocarbon

Around 90C, it is changed into a liquid

Oil
state, which we call oil

Gas
Around 150C, it is changed into a gas

www.oilandgasgeology.com/oil_gas_window.jpg
 Reservoir Rocks
The permeable strata in an oil trap
is known as the Reservoir Rock

Earth Science World Image Bank Image #h5innl

 Seismic Surveys

Drill here!

Earth Science World Image Bank Image #h5inor Earth Science World Image Bank Image #h5inpj

Seismic surveys are used to locate likely rock structures

underground in which oil and gas might be found
Shock waves are fired into the ground. These bounce off layers
of rock and reveal any structural domes that might contain oil
 Exploration Techniques

Gravimetric Method
measurement of the variations in gravitational
field by a gravimeter

Magnetometric Method
Measurement of the variations in magnetic field
by a magnetometer
 Exploration Techniques

Stratigraphy
Correlations are established between wells,
fossils, rock and mud properties, before and
during drilling operations for the final prediction
Seismic Survey

Remote Sensing Method

Observations are done via satellite to predict
the subsurface structure. Final image is
obtained using a GIS(Geological Imaging
Software)
 Tar sands
also referred to as oil sands
a combination of clay, sand, water,
and bitumen, a heavy black viscous oil.
 Oil Shale

refers to any sedimentary rock that

contains solid bituminous materials
(called kerogen) that are released as
petroleum-like liquids through pyrolysis
contains enough oil that it will burn
without any additional processing, and it is
known as "the rock that burns".

www.downloadpowerpointtemplates.com
 Oil Shale
It must first be mined and then heated to
a high temperature (a process called
retorting) the resultant liquid must then
be separated and collected

in situ retorting involves heating the oil

shale while it is still underground, and then
pumping the resulting liquid to the surface.

www.downloadpowerpointtemplates.com
 Transportation
barrel
is the standard unit of measure for oil
production and transportation

Modes:
1. Oil Tankers
2. Pipelines
 2: CONSTITUENTS OF PETROLEUM

o Aliphatics
o Ring Compounds
o Lesser Components- trace metals and
non-metals
 Aliphatics or Open-chain hydrocarbons

n-Paraffin Series or Alkanes, 2+2

Comprises a larger fraction of most crudes
Have poor antiknock properties

Iso-paraffin Series or Iso-alkanes , 2+2

Perform better in ICE than alkanes and thus more
desirable
Formed by catalytic reforming, alkylation,
polymerization, or isomerization
Olefin, or Alkene Series, 2
Generally absent in crudes but produced by refining
Improve antiknock quality of gasoline but not as effective
as iso-alkanes
 Ring Compounds
Naphthene Series or Cycloalkanes, 2
Second most abundant compounds in crudes
Lower members are good fuels(cyclopentanes and
cyclohexanes)
Higher members are predominant in gas and lubricating
oils
Aromatic or Benzenoid Series,
Only small amounts in most common crudes
Very desirable in gasoline because of high antiknock
value, good storage stability and many uses besides
fuels.
 PETROLEUM REFINING
1. Desalting or Dewatering- removal of water
and the constituents of brine to protect the pipes
and equipment from fouling.
2. Distillation- separation of crude oil into
fractions using heat. These fractions can be
classified of decreasing volatility.
1. ATMOSPHERIC DISTILLATION-heating the crude oil at
atmospheric pressure and a temperature ranging from
350 to 370 dec C.
2. VACUUM DISTILLATION- a process mainly focused on

the production of lubricating oils

- Heating at 10 to 100 mmHg vacuum at same temp. range
3. Chemical Conversion- production of
petrochemicals
www.downloadpowerpointtemplates.com
Desalting or Dewatering

www.downloadpowerpointtemplates.com
Atmospheric Distillation

www.downloadpowerpointtemplates.com
www.downloadpowerpointtemplates.com
Vacuum Distillation

www.downloadpowerpointtemplates.com
 PRODUCTS OF REFINING

1. Precursor of Petrochemicals-crude refining

products which produces petrochemicals upon
chemical reaction

2. Light Distillates
Naphtha
Petroleum solvents
Jet-fuel
Kerosene
Gasoline-most important light distillate because of its use as
a fuel
www.downloadpowerpointtemplates.com
3. Intermediate Distillates
- mainly for transportation fuels
Gas oil
Light and heavy domestic furnace oils
Diesel fuels
4. Heavy Distillates
Converted into lubricating oils
Some are refined to obtain wax
Used for bunker fuel for ships and large power plants
5. Residues
Constituents not volatile enough to be distilled
even under vacuum
Includes:
Asphalt
Residual fuel oil
Coke
Petrolatum/petroleum jelly
 PROCESSING OR REFINING

1. Unit Operations
-Separation
2. Unit Processes
-Chemical Conversion
a. Cracking/Pyrolysis
b. Reforming
c. Catalytic Reforming
d. Coking
 Unit Operations
1. Distillation
Extractive distillation- low volatility
solvent is added to depress the volatility of
one component
Ex. Butene-Butane separation using furfural
as extractant
2. Absorption
-separate high-boilers from gases
Ex. Gas oil is used. It absorbs natural gasoline from
wet gases
 Unit Operations
3. Adsorption
-recovers heavy materials from gases

4. Crystallization
-removal of undesirable waxes

5. Filtration
-remove precipitated wax from wax-containing
distillates

6. Extraction
-removal of a component by selectively
dissolving it in a liquid
 Unit Processes
1. Thermal cracking/ Pyrolysis
Breaking down of a hydrocarbon into two or more
fragments using heat
One fragment is always an olefin
2. Reforming
-Converts straight run gasolines, natural gasolines
and naphthas with low octane into branched-chain
and aromatic compounds with high antiknock
ratings
3. Catalytic Reforming
-converts hydrocarbons into aromatic compounds
-catalysts: Pt on alumina, silica-alumina, chromia
on alumina, Rhenium
4. Coking
-upgrades material called bottoms from the
atmospheric or vacuum distillation column into
higher-value petroleum coke(a coal-like material)
Flexicoking
The coke is gasified into fuel gas using steam
and air. The products are primarily gases, gasoline
and gas oils.
 Test Methods for Petrochemicals
High Performance Liquid
Chromatography (HPLC) is an analytical
technique which separates, identifies, and
quantitates semi- and nonvolatile materials in
various sample matrices.
Gas Chromatography (GC) is an analytical
technique that measures the content of various
components in a sample.
Thermal Analysis- the method is used to
measure the properties of materials as a function
of temperature or time over a wide temperature
range, starting at 150 C.

www.downloadpowerpointtemplates.com
LOGO