What Goes On In An Oil What Goes On In An Oil Refinery?Refinery?

--------AIChE Speaker---------

this presentation is probably too long; pick and choose from this material

Introduction

Introduce Yourself Explain Why You Are Here Explain Why You Are Talking About Refineries

Agendathis 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?

Very SimplifiedPetroleum andPetrochemical

Flowchart

OilW ell

CrudeOil

Separations

Con

vers

ions

Sepa

ratio

nsan

dPu

rific

atio

ns

NaturalGas

Propane &Butane

Naphtha(C 5 - C10)

G as S tove

Fuel

G asoline

Jet Fuel

Fuel

R X Ethylene Polyethylene (G lad Bags)R X

R X Polym ers (7 UP Bottles) (Barbeque G rills)

R X

R X O rganic Chem icalsM ore Polym ers

(Aspirin, Hair Spray)(Football Helm et, AstroTurf, Nylon)

Hom e HeatingO il, LubricatingO il, W ax

D iesel Fuels

Kerosene &

Gas Oils (C 10+)

Coke(Carbon M ateria l S im ilar to Coal)

Steel M aking

AsphaltRoads Pot Holes

Purifications rem ove sulfur and heavy m etals

R X = Chem ical Reactions

G raphite F ibers(Tennis Racquets)

THE REFINERY

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 SpecificationsGasoline 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 OctaneISOMERIZATION

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 H2O2 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