PETROLEUM REFINERY

ENGINEERING AND
PETROCHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY

CHE 528/PET 525

DR. P.A.L ANAWE
DR C.I.O. KAMALU
DR O.A MAMUDU

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 COURSE OUTLINE
• Week 1: Introduction: The Origin, Constituents and Classification of
Crude Oil.
• Week 2: Role, Definition and Classification of Refineries
• Week 3: An insight into Nigeria Petroleum Refineries
• Week 4: Various Refining Physical Process (Atmospheric and Vacuum
Distillation Units)
• Week 5: Various Refining Chemical Process (Coking, Viscosity
Breaking, Steam Cracking, Catalytic Reforming,
Isomerization, Catalytic Cracking, Hydro treating and
Hydrocracking)
• Week 6: Various Refining Chemical Process II, LUBE OIL PRODUCTION
and Product Blending.

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 COURSE OUTLINE
• Week 7: Mid Semester Assessment
• Week 8: Introduction into Petrochemical: Primary and Secondary raw
Materials ( 𝑪𝟐 − 𝑪𝟒 Olefins, 𝑪𝟔 − 𝑪𝟖 Aromatic Hydrocarbons
and Synthesis Gas)
• Week 9: Chemicals Based on Methane, Ethane and Higher Paraffin-
Based Chemicals
• Week 10: Chemicals Based on Ethylene Propylene and Benzene. C4
Olefins and Di-olefins- Based Chemicals
• Week 11: Polymerization and Synthetic Petroleum Based Chemicals
• Week 12: An insight into Nigeria Petrochemical Industry
• Week 13: Petrochemical precursor, Socio-economics, Socio-Political
and Geographical Implication of the Petrochemical
Industry.
• Week 14: Revision

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 COURSE STRUCTURE
• Assignment/term paper 10%
• Test 20%
• Final Exam - 70%

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 RELEVANCE
EXPLORATION DRILLING REFINING

REFINED
FINAL DISTRIBUTION PRODUCTS
CONSUMERS

WE NEED EACH OTHER

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 CRUDE OIL AND ITS ORIGIN
• Deep underground where the remains of plants
and animals from millions of years ago have
been heated and pressurized over time.

• Principally found in oil reservoirs associated

with sedimentary rocks beneath the earth
surface.

• brownish to blackish flammable liquid with a

characteristic odor (chemical compounds
containing sulfur and nitrogen)
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 CRUDE OIL COMPOSITION
• Complex mixture of hydrocarbon
compounds, non-hydrocarbon
compounds with different quantities
of metallic compounds
• The metallic compounds occur
either in the form of inorganic salts
or organometallic compounds.
• It is also known to contain different
quantities of water and gas
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 HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS
ALKANES (PARAFFINS)
• Alkanes are saturated hydrocarbons having the general
formula
o Normal alkanes (n-alkanes, n-paraffin) are straight-chain
hydrocarbons having no branches.
o The simplest alkane, methane (CH4), is the principal
constituent of natural gas.
o Methane, ethane, propane, and butane are gaseous
hydrocarbons at ambient temperatures and atmospheric
pressure
o Branched alkanes are saturated hydrocarbons with an
alkyl substituent or a side branch from the main chain
o A branched alkane with the same number of carbons
and hydrogens as an n-alkane is called an isomer

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HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS
• Cyclo-paraffins (Naphthenes)
o Saturated cyclic hydrocarbons

o The lower members are cyclopentane,

cyclohexane, and their mono-substituted
compounds.

o They are normally present in the light and the

heavy naphtha fractions.

o Cyclo-hexanes, substituted cyclo-pentanes, and

substituted cyclo-hexanes are important
precursors for aromatic hydrocarbons. They are
normally present in the light and the heavy
naphtha fractions
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 HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS
• Aromatic Compounds
• Lower members are present in small
amounts in light petroleum fractions.
• The simplest compounds are benzene
(C6H6). Toluene (C7H8) and xylene
(C8H10) (BTX)
• Benzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTX) are
important petrochemical intermediates as
well as valuable gasoline components.
• Although present in low concentrations.
Enriching a naphtha fraction with these
aromatics is possible through a catalytic
reforming process.

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 NON HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS
• Although various types exist, the most important are the

organic sulfur, nitrogen, and oxygen compounds.

• Traces of metallic compounds are also found in all crudes.

• The presence of these impurities is harmful and may cause

problems to certain refining processes.

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 NON HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS
• Sulfur Compounds

o Sulfur in crude oils is mainly present in the form of

organosulfur compounds
o Organosulfur compounds may generally be classified
as acidic and non-acidic
o Acidic sulfur compounds are the thiols (mercaptans)
while Thiophene, sulfides, and disulfides are examples
of non-acidic sulfur compounds
o Hydrogen sulfide is the only important inorganic sulfur
compound found in crude oil. Its presence, however, is
harmful because of its corrosive nature.
o High-sulfur crudes are less desirable because treating
the different refinery streams increases production
costs. Hydro treatment however takes care of all forms
of sulfur.
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 NON HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS
Nitrogen Compounds
• Organic nitrogen compounds occur in a
simple heterocyclic form as in pyridine
(C5H5N) and pyrrole (C4H5N), or in a
complex structure as in porphyrin.
• The nitrogen content in most crudes is
very low and does not exceed 0.1 wt.%.
In some heavy crudes, however, the
nitrogen content may reach up to 0.9 wt.
%.
• Nitrogen compounds are more thermally
stable than sulfur compounds and
accordingly are concentrated in heavier
petroleum fractions and residues.
• Hydro-treatment helps remove Nitrogen
compounds because they poison many
processing catalysts.
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 NON HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS
• Oxygen Compounds
o More complex than the sulfur
types, however, their presence in
petroleum streams is not
poisonous to processing
catalysts.
o Occur mainly as are weakly
acidic (carboxylic acids, cresylic
acid, phenol, and naphthenic
acid)
o Naphthenic acids are mainly
cyclo-pentane and cyclohexane
derivatives having a carboxyalkyl
side chain
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 NON HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS
• Oxygen Compounds

Non-acidic oxygen compounds

such as esters, ketones, and

amides are less abundant than

acidic compounds. They are of

no commercial value

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