What Goes On In An Oil

Refinery?
 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?
– Separations
– Chemical Reactions cont...
 Agenda - Cont.
● How Do You Get from Crude Oil to
Products?
– 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 ?
● 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?
 THE REFINERY
V e r y S im p lif ie d N a tu r a l G a s S to v e
P e tr o le u m a n d G as R X E th y le n e
R X P o ly e th y le n e ( G la d B a g s )

P e tr o c h e m ic a l
P ro p a n e & F uel
B u ta n e R X ( B a r b e q u e G r ills )
P o ly m e r s ( 7 U P B o ttle s )

F lo w c h a r t N a p h th a
(C 5 - C 10) R X O r g a n ic C h e m ic a ls
G a s o lin e
( A s p ir in , H a ir S p r a y )
R X M o r e P o ly m e r s ( F o o tb a ll H e lm e t, A s tr o
T u r f , N y lo n )

K e ro s e n e &
J et F uel
G a s O ils (C 1 0 + ) D ie s e l F u e ls
Conversions

Purifications
Separations
O il C ru d e H o m e H e a tin g

and
S e p a r a tio n s O il, L u b r ic a tin g
W e ll O il
O il, W a x

C o ke F uel
( C a r b o n M a te r ia l S im ila r to C o a l)
S te e l M a k in g
G r a p h ite F ib e r s
( T e n n is R a c q u e ts )
A s p h a lt
R oads P o t H o le s
P u r ific a tio n s r e m o v e s u lf u r a n d h e a v y m e ta ls
R X = C h e m ic a l R e a c tio n s
 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
 Major Refinery Products
● LPG (Propane/Butane)
● GASOLINE (hundreds of blends)
● JET FUELS
● DIESEL FUELS
● HEATING OILS
● GREASES
● ASPHALTS
● COKE (not the kind you drink )
 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?
● 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

● HUGE DISTILLATION COLUMNS

– ATMOSPHERIC DISTILLATION
– VACUUM DISTILLATION
● TYPICAL SIZE: 150,000 BARRELS/DAY
● 750 DEGREES F
 OTHER SEPARATIONS
● FLASH
● DISTILLATION
● ABSORPTION
● ADSORPTION
● SETTLING (WATER/OIL)
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
 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!
 WHAT HAPPENS TO THE
BAD STUFF IN THE CRUDE?
● Sulfur
– converted to elemental sulfur
– in high sulfur fuel oil
– in coke
● Heavy Metals (nickel, vanadium)
– in high sulfur fuel oil and coke
● 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
 Other Ways Chemical Engineers
Support The Refining Industry
● Research & Development Engineers
● Technical Sales Engineers
● Engineering & Construction Engineers
● Governmental Regulators (EPA)
● University Professors
 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
 Where to get more information
● Other training sessions
● List books, articles, electronic sources
● Consulting services, other sources
 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