Techno Economic Report of Oil Processing Unit

Major Components Incorporated:

Number Component Quantity
1 Heat Exchangers 01
2 Pumps 07
3 Reboiler 01
4 Preheaters 11
5 Furnace 01
6 Distillation column 01
7 Desalter 01
8 Side cut tower 01

Plant lay out:

Flow Procedure and Economic Descriptions:
The incoming crude oil is preheated by exchanging heat with some of the hot, distilled fractions and other
streams. It is then desalted to remove inorganic salts (primarily sodium chloride).
Following the Desalter, the crude oil is further heated by exchanging heat with some of the hot, distilled
fractions and other streams. It is then heated in a fuel-fired furnace (fired heater) to a temperature of about
398 °C and routed into the bottom of the distillation unit.
The cooling and condensing of the distillation tower overhead is provided partially by exchanging heat with
the incoming crude oil and partially by either an air-cooled or water-cooled condenser. Additional heat is
removed from the distillation column by a pump around system as shown in the diagram below.
As shown in the flow diagram, the overhead distillate fraction from the distillation column is naphtha. The
fractions removed from the side of the distillation column at various points between the column top and
bottom is called side cuts. Each of the side cuts (i.e., the kerosene, light gas oil and heavy gas oil) is cooled by
exchanging heat with the incoming crude oil. All of the fractions (i.e., the overhead naphtha, the side cuts and
the bottom residue) are sent to intermediate storage tanks before being processed further.

I. Distillation Column

Design considerations

1. Sizing of Columns

Size of the column is directly related to the capital investment and the maintenance cost. Bigger the size
higher will be the cost but better will be refining. So compromise is made between the purity and
investment.

Trays Selection

Valve tray:

Valve trays are perforated sheet metal decks on which round, lift able valves are mounted. The
vapor flows through valves which are installed parallel to the outlet weir. Valve trays combine
high capacity and excellent efficiency with a wide operating range.
Its Advantages are,

 Excellent liquid/ vapor contacting.

 Higher capacity.
 Higher flexibility than sieve trays.
 Can handle higher loadings.
 Low-pressure drop than bubble cap.

Sieve tray:
Sieve trays are flat perforated plate in which vapor rises through small holes in tray floor, &
bubbles through liquid in fairly uniform manner. They have comparable capacity as valve trays.
Its advantages are,
 Simple construction and Low entrainment,
Low maintenance cost
Low fouling tendency

And disadvantage is,

Less-flexible to varying loads than other two types

Bubble cap tray:

Vapor rises through risers or uptakes into bubble cap, out through slots as bubbles into
surrounding liquid on tray. It is mainly used in special applications.
Benefits are,

Good capacity handling

Most flexible (high & low vapor & liquid rates)
Can provide excellent turndown.

Its advantages are,

High entrainment,
High fouling tendency
High cost,
High pressure drop

2. Material of Construction and metallurgy

Material of construction will decide the upper and lower limits of operating parameters such as
temperature, pressure etc. High strength material will provide more room for severe operational
conditions but ultimately will need more investment. So there is compromise between price and material
strengths. When dealing on such large scale we prefer outer shell of Cast iron and carbon Steel while
inner surface is lined with some corrosion resistant material or Stain less Steel.

Products of Distillation column and Temperature:

1) Naphtha (100- 180 C)
2) Kerosene Oil (180 – 250)
3) Gas Oil (250 – 320 C)
4) Residue

II. Furnace:

The temperature of the furnace is up to 1400 degree C. Furnace linings or kiln furniture made of
carbon fiber reinforced carbon composite materials have a considerably lower mass compared with
metallic structures and, thus, are more easily handled and improve furnace efficiency and controllability.
The furnace has two sections radiant and convective section. Feed is enter from upper section and out
from bottom section. We preheat the Oil before furnace to increase the temperature of the fuel before
furnace to easily control the heat of furnace and maintain the load easily in the furnace.
 III. Desalter
The purpose of desalter is to remove the brine from the crude oil the temperature kept high before
the desalter to make the separation efficient and to easily control the process and minimize the heat
requirement.it is require minimizing the fouling.

Configuration of Desalter:

 Flowing the crude oil through two stages in series and recycling part of the brine from the
second stage for use as wash water to the first stage.

 Flowing the crude oil through two stages in series with no recycle of brine from the second
stage.

 Using multiple electrostatic fields in a single vessel so as to create, in effect, two or three
stages of desalting within that single vessel.

Performance of Desalter: When a Desalter has been well-designed and well-operated, it will
achieve an average of 85 to 95% removal of inorganic salts from the crude oil and the water
content of the desalted crude oil will be less than 0.2 volume percent of the crude oil

IV. Heat Exchangers

Process Parameter

Whether it is gas operating unit or oil refining facility, same four factors decides selection of exchanger.

1. Flow rates of hot and cold fluids

2. Temperatures of hot and cold fluids and exchanger duty
3. Allowable pressure drops
4. Characteristics of fluids

Designing Considerations

1. Type of Exchanger used

For high flow rates normally we go for shell and tube type exchanger. As in our case we are dealing with
continuous high flow rate process so shell and tube will be the first preference.

2. Exchanger internals and passes

Exchangers are designed in such a way so that we can get maximum heat transfer per unit area which is
possible by producing turbulence in the system and increasing contact time and area. Turbulence and
contact time is increased by installing baffles but at the cost of pressure drop. Number of passes will also
help for effective heat transfer but again it will vary pressure drop and hence pumping cost will increase.

3. Material of Construction

Corrosive solvents and acidic sour gases are involved in the system so material of construction should be
such that it can withstand the severity of the system.

V. Pumps

Process Parameters

1. Desired outlet Pressure and flow rates

2. Operating temperature and fluid properties

Designing Considerations

1. Type of Pump

Out of five given pumps, four or even five pumps are most preferably centrifugal due to high flow rates
involved in the system. But for BFW, as high flow rate plus high discharge pressure (870 PSI) is required
so it could be centrifugal or positive displacement pump.

2. Material of Construction and Lining

The pump used for lean solution transfer will be internally lined with corrosion resistant material to
protect it from amines or carbonate solutions. All pumps could be of simple carbon steel based because
high grade material will increase cost without any reason.