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Energy Procedia
Energy Procedia 00
139(2017)
(2017)000–000
61–66
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

International Conference On Materials And Energy 2015, ICOME 15, 19-22 May 2015, Tetouan,
Morocco, and the International Conference On Materials And Energy 2016, ICOME 16, 17-20 May
2016, La Rochelle, France
The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and Cooling
Modeling the stabilization column in the petroleum refinery
Assessing the feasibility of using the heat demand-outdoor
Ahmed Ould Brahim, Souad Abderafi*, Tijani Bounahmidi
temperature function for a long-term district heat demand forecast
LASPI, Mohammadia Engineering School, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Ibn Sina, B.P. 765, Agdal, Rabat, 10090, Morocco
I. Andrića,b,c*, A. Pinaa, P. Ferrãoa, J. Fournierb., B. Lacarrièrec, O. Le Correc
Abstract
a
IN+ Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research - Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
b
Veolia Recherche & Innovation, 291 Avenue Dreyfous Daniel, 78520 Limay, France
The objectivecDépartement
of this workSystèmes
was toÉnergétiques
model, the etgasoline stabilization
Environnement column to4 get
- IMT Atlantique, a better
rue Alfred use of
Kastler, energy,
44300 increased
Nantes, France yield and
reduced costs of operation. The calculation of the stabilization column was performed by using Soave-Redlich-Kong (SRK)
thermodynamic model with pseudo-component approach. The results given by this model was compared with experimental data
obtained from functioning stabilization column of petroleum refinery and conclusions about the accuracy of the models studied
Abstract
are drawn. Using SRK model, a technical feasibility study was followed to run the stabilization column at an optimum pressure.
The results allowed us to highlight the effect of pressure on the separation of products, recommending the optimal pressure for
District heating
optimizing networks
the energy are commonly
consumption addressed in the literature as one of the most effective solutions for decreasing the
of reboiler.
greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector. These systems require high investments which are returned through the heat
©sales. Due Authors.
2017 The to the changed
Published climate conditions
by Elsevier Ltd. and building renovation policies, heat demand in the future could decrease,
prolonging the investment return period.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of ICOME 2015 and ICOME 2016.
The main scope of this paper is to assess the feasibility of using the heat demand – outdoor temperature function for heat demand
forecast. Modeling;
Keywords: The district of Alvalade,
simulation; located in Lisbon
Soave-Redlich-Kong (Portugal),
EOS; LPG; was used as
Essence; stabilization a case
column; study. The district is consisted of 665
energy
buildings that vary in both construction period and typology. Three weather scenarios (low, medium, high) and three district
renovation scenarios were developed (shallow, intermediate, deep). To estimate the error, obtained heat demand values were
1.compared with results from a dynamic heat demand model, previously developed and validated by the authors.
Introduction
The results showed that when only weather change is considered, the margin of error could be acceptable for some applications
(the error in annual demand was lower than 20% for all weather scenarios considered). However, after introducing renovation
The crude oil refining produces different chemicals components. Particularly, we distinguish Liquefied Petroleum
scenarios, the error value increased up to 59.5% (depending on the weather and renovation scenarios combination considered).
Gas (LPG) beside the gasoline. The separation of these products necessarily requires a distillation column. This
The value of slope coefficient increased on average within the range of 3.8% up to 8% per decade, that corresponds to the
manufacturing
decrease in the process
number isof widely
heating used
hours toof separate oil products,
22-139h during but season
the heating its disadvantage
(depending isonthe thehigh energy consumption
combination of weather and
[1]. Working between a heat source at the bottom (reboiler) and a cold source on the top (condenser),
renovation scenarios considered). On the other hand, function intercept increased for 7.8-12.7% per decade (depending the distillation
on the
column
coupledofscenarios).
petroleum Thefractions can be considered
values suggested as atoheat
could be used modifyengine which receives
the function parametersenergy
for theat scenarios
the reboiler level and
considered, and
rejects
improvea part in the condenser
the accuracy level,estimations.
of heat demand to separate a liquid mixture [2]. Despite efforts which were conducted by many
researchers to minimize energy consumption, the problem is always posed, to achieve separation. So this research
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and
Cooling.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +212-537-687-150; fax: +212-537-778-853.
Keywords: Heat abderafi@emi.ac.ma
E-mail address: demand; Forecast; Climate change

1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of ICOME 2015 and ICOME 2016.
1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and Cooling.
1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of ICOME 2015 and ICOME 2016
10.1016/j.egypro.2017.11.173
62 Ahmed Ould Brahim et al. / Energy Procedia 139 (2017) 61–66
2 A. Ouel Brahim et al. / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

will firstly devote to model the distillation column of petroleum fractions especially the gasoline stabilization
column. Secondly, use the accurate and reliable model to get a better use of energy, increased yield and reduced
costs of operation.

Nomenclature.
Mi: molecular mass of the compound i
N: Feed flow rate (kmol/h)
Pis Saturation pressure (bar)
Q: heat flow (G Cal/h)
SG : Specific gravity, at 15°C
R: ideal gas constant = 8314.5 J/kmol/K
xi: liquid phase mole fraction of component i
yi : vapor phase mole fraction of component i
zi : mole fraction of component i

2. Industrial Process

The petroleum is a complex mixture of different hydrocarbons fractions, small amounts of sulfur and trace
amounts of oxygen, nitrogen and metals. Separation is effected by heated the mixture to an elevated temperature of
about 400°C, then injected into an atmospheric pressure distillation column. Distillation is the separation of
completely miscible mixtures of liquids according to the difference of the boiling point and volatility of the
components in the mixture. However, the lighter products, as butane, are obtained at the head of the column and the
heavier components such as gasoline, kerosene and gas oil (diesel oil) remains successively lower [3]. As for the
residue that cannot be distilled, even at very high temperatures remain at the bottom of the distillation column.

Of the tray 13 of distillation column is drawn off the naphtha which feeds stabilization column. The purpose of
the latter is to achieve the separation of the total naphtha in its various constituents and prepare the load of catalytic
reforming [4]. Stabilization column is equipped with a partial condenser, 30 bubble cap trays and a reboiler (Figure
1). Stabilization column operation is similar to that of the atmospheric distillation column, except that it does not
have the side streams. The power supply is disposed at the sixteenth tray (the trays are numbered from top of the
column to bottom of the column). The effluent recovered at the column head is the fuel gas. At the first tray level of
this column, we obtain the LPG consisting, principally of propane and butane. At the bottom of this column, we get
a cut of heavy gasoline containing hydrocarbon chains type C6, C7, C8, C9 and C10 [4].

2.1. Modeling

The set of equations that govern the operation of the column is obtained using the equations of balance material
and energy and the equations relating to conditions of Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium (VLE). The figure 1 shows the
diagram for principle of an equilibrium stage. Each stage, j receives a diet feed Fj, a fluid flow, Lj-1 from the upper
stage and a steam flow, Vj+1 of the lower stage, a liquid extraction Uj, a steam extraction Wj and a heat input Qj can
be considered [5]. All these equations required for modeling are written, at each tray of the column and are given
below:
• Material balance equation is given by:

L j −1 xij −1 − (V j + W j ) yij − ( L j + U j ) xij + V j +1 yij +1Fj zij = 0 (1)

• Energy balance equation is given by:

L j −1h j −1 − (V j + W j ) H ij − ( L j + U j ) h j + V j +1hij +1 Fj hFj − Q j = 0 L- h- -V + W H -L + U h +

 Ahmed Ould Brahim et al. / Energy Procedia 139 (2017) 61–66 63
A. Ouel Brahim et al. / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 3

V h F h -Q  = 0 (2)

Where, V and L are vapor and liquid flow rate, respectively (in kg/h); U and W liquid and vapor side stream flow,
respectively (in kg/h).

• The heat quantities in the boiler and in the condenser are calculated from the following equations:
Q1 = V2 h2 − (U1 + L1 ) h1 − V1h1 (3)
Qn = Vn hn + U n hn − Ln −1hn −1 (4)
Where, Q1 is heat flow of condenser and Qn is heat flow of reboiler.

Figure. 1. (a) Diagram relating to the stabilization column; (b) Principle of an equilibrium stage

• Calculation of VLE:
The calculations of VLE are realized by mean of equality of temperature, pressure and fugacity in each liquid and
vapor phase. The equation of the latter is written as:

f = f fi L = fiV

(5)

Where, f and fi L are fugacities of component, i in vapor and liquid phase, respectively, at the same temperature
and pressure, expressed by:

fi L = xiφiL P (6)

fiV = yiφiV P (7)

Where, xi and yi are the liquid and vapor phase mole fraction of component and ϕi, is fugacity coefficient.

3. Thermodynamic model

VLE calculation requires a thermodynamic model like an equation of state (EOS). Among the many cubic EOS
of Van der Waals type currently available, the equation proposed by SRK is widely used due to its simplicity and
flexibility, for hydrocarbons fractions [6]. This model has the following form for a pure component [7]:

 RT a (T ) 
P= − (8)
 V − b V (V − b ) 
 
Where, P is the absolute pressure, T is the absolute temperature, V is the volume and R is the ideal gas constant.
64 Ahmed Ould Brahim et al. / Energy Procedia 139 (2017) 61–66
4 A. Ouel Brahim et al. / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

The volume and energy parameters of the SRK EOS (a and b), are calculated from the following correlations:
RTc
b = 0, 086640. (9)
Pc
( R T c )2
(1 + m (1 − ))
2
a (T )= 0, 42748 Tr (10)
Pc

Where, subscripts c and r denote critical and reduced conditions, respectively; m depend on the acentric factor, ω:

m = 0, 48 + 1,57ω + 0,172ω 2 (11)

For extending SRK EOS to mixtures, it is necessary to include composition. Many algebraic relations have been
suggested for this purpose. We elected to choose those recommended for SRK EOS [8]. They are the classic Van
der Waals one-fluid mixing rules, used to calculated am and bm mixture parameters from:

∑∑x x ( a a ) (1 − k )
0.5
am = i j i j ij (12)
i j

bm = ∑x b
i
i i (13)

kij is the binary interaction parameter between component, i and j; with kij=kji and kii=0

3.1. Physicochemical Properties

To calculate thermodynamic properties of complex petroleum fluids by using SRK model approximation pseudo
component is used. The complex mixture can be regarded as a pseudo-binary liquid mixture, consisting of two
pseudo component: LPG and gasoline [9]. To calculate the parameters a, b and m of these two pseudo components,
only the critical temperature (Tc), critical pressure (Pc) and acentric factor are needed. These different
physicochemical properties can be calculated from the following equations [10]:
1
Tpc = ∑ zi M iTci (14)
∑ zi M i
1 (15)
Pp c = ∑ z i M i Pc i
∑ zi M i

ω p = ∑ ziωi (16)

Where, Tpc, Ppc and ωp are critical temperature, critical pressure and acentric factor of pseudo component. The
obtained values for these properties are calculated in this study and summarized in Table 1.

Table 1. Critical properties and acentric factors for LPG and gasoline.
Pseudocomponent Tpc (K) Ppc(bar) ωpc
LPG 398.35 44.30 11.96
Gasoline 549.09 49.11 35.11

4. Results and discussion

In the first time experimental data are used to test the accuracy of thermodynamic simulation model. These data
were collected from a sample of the stabilization column (Table 2). The feed of this unit derived from the
atmospheric distillation is composed of traces of H2 and H2S, small amounts of the hydrocarbon type C1, C2, C3, C4
and C5, as well as a heavy gasoline fraction containing hydrocarbon chains of type C6, C7, C8, C9, C10 and traces of
 Ahmed Ould Brahim et al. / Energy Procedia 139 (2017) 61–66 65
A. Ouel Brahim et al. / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 5

C11. The Fuel Gas is recovered at the top of the column. At the first tray, the LPG is obtained, at a pressure equal to
13.7 bar. The stabilized gasoline is recovered at the bottom column, at a pressure equal to 14.1 bar. Using the SRK
EOS with kij=0 and with the help of the Pro II, process simulation software, the calculated results are compared to
the experimental data by calculating the error thanks to the following relationship:
Ve − Vc
E (%) = × 100 (17)
Ve

Where, Vc and Ve are the calculated and the experimental values, respectively.
This comparison allowed us that the results are satisfactory if we consider the experimental error.

Table.2. Experimental data for stabilization column.

Zi
Compound Alimentation Gasoline LPG
H2 6,97E-02 0,10137
H2S 2,56E-03 0,02816
C1 3,35E-02 0,08873
C2 2,13E-02 0,08661
C3 3,20E-02 0,15846
i C4 2,90E-02 0,00042 0,15309
n C4 6,49E-02 0,00135 0,34013
i C5 7,46E-02 0,09218 0,03469
n C5 7,69E-02 0,10214 0,00876
C6 1,49E-01 0,20160 0,00001
C7 1,45E-01 0,19591
C8 1,48E-01 0,19985
C9 7,75E-02 0,10469
C10 7,34E-02 0,09916
C11 1,99E-03 0,00269
N (kmol/h) 84716.09 65371.6 10964.3
SG 0.65 0.74 0.60
P (bar) 19.8 14.1 13.7
Te (°C) 132 122.5 50

In the second time, the parametric sensitivity study was tested for pressure, at the top of the column. By choosing
different pressure values below 13 bar, we had tried to obtain the experimental data related to the boiling
temperature, mol flow rates and the specific gravity (SG), at 15°C of LPG and gasoline. The result allowed us to
conclude that the minimum pressure required at the top of the stabilization column is 9 bar. The simulation results
given for this pressure are summarized in the Table 3.

Table 3. Simulation results at 9 bar.

LPG Gasoline
Vc E(%) Vc E(%)
Te (°C) 51.89 3.78 122.68 0.15
N (Kmol/ h) 10963 0.07 65332.08 0.06
SG 0.56 6.67 0.70 5.41

Calculating heat flow, of condenser and of reboiler, were also performed for different pressures studied. The
results obtained are grouped in Table 4, which shows that for the use of a pressure equal to 9 bar, the heat flow of
the reboiler decreases, which enables us to save 1.2 Gcal / h.

The decrease pressure at the top of column leads to the lowering of the circulation of the vapor and liquid in the
trays. The reduction of the vapor-liquid circulation in the distillation column is the reduction of the irreversibility of
distillation system. The contribution to the irreversibility is mainly due to thermal effects in the reboiler and in the
condenser, which explains the decrease in energy consumption of the reboiler [11].
6 A. Ouel Brahim et al. / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000
66 Ahmed Ould Brahim et al. / Energy Procedia 139 (2017) 61–66

Table 4. Comparison of Heat Flux.

P (bar) Condenser (Gcal/h) Reboiler (G cal/h)
13.7 1.8 5
9 1.8 3.8

5. Conclusions

In the present study, attention is given to get a better use of energy for the distillation column of petroleum
fractions, especially the gasoline stabilization column. In a first time, equations to modeling this column, in the oil
process are described, for each equilibrium stage. These equations are based on the balance of material and energy
and conditions of VLE. The SRK EOS was used to calculate thermodynamic properties of complex petroleum
fluids, using the pseudocomponent approach. The naphtha which feeds stabilization column was considered as a
pseudo-binary liquid mixture, consisting of two pseudocomponent: LPG and gasoline. The accuracy of the model
was tested successfully, by comparing the prediction of the boiling temperature, mol flow rates and the specific
gravity at 15°C of LPG and gasoline, to corresponding experimental data obtained from functioning crude oil
distillation column of Moroccan refinery.
In the second time, a technical feasibility study was followed to run the stabilization column at an optimum
pressure. The optimized value of pressure and that usually applied in refinery were used to calculate heat flow of
condenser and of reboiler. The results allowed us to high light the effect of pressure on the separation of products.
From an economic point of view, stabilization with optimal pressure may contribute to a decrease in expenses
related to the energy consumption of reboiler.

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge support provided by Moroccan Petroleum refinery SAMIR (Société
Anonyme Marocaine de l’Industrie du Raffinage).

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