Question1: Why flash drum is installed between the feed-preheat heat

exchangers and the atmospheric pipe-still furnace.

Answer:
The lower boiling fractions which are vaporized by heat supplied in the
preheat exchangers are separated in the flash drum and flow directly to
the flash zone of the fractionator. The liquid is pumped through the
furnace to the tower flash zone. This results in a smaller and lowercost
furnace and lower furnace outlet temperatures for the same quantity
of overhead streams produced.
Question2: What is the purpose of stabilizing towers?
Answer:
The liquid condensed from the overhead vapor stream of the
atmospheric pipe-still contains propane and butanes which make the
vapor pressure much higher than is acceptable for gasoline blending. To
remove these, the condensed liquid in excess of reflux requirements is
charged to a stabilizing tower where the vapor pressure is adjusted by
removing the propane and butanes from the LSR gasoline stream. Later,
in the product-blending section of the refinery, n-butane is added to
the gasoline stream to provide the desired Reid vapor pressure