VOCATIONAL TRAINING REPORT

INDIAN OIL CORPORATION LTD.

MATHURA REFINERY

Submitted By:
MOHD. MUZZAMMIL QURESHI
B.TECH, CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
INSTITUTE. OF ENGINEERING JIWAJI UNIVERSITY
GWALIOR (M.P.)

1
 PREFACE

Industrial training is the beginning of students’ journey in the corporate

world. Not only does it provide insights about the industry concerned, it also
bridges the gap between theory and practical knowledge. We were fortunate
that we were provided with an opportunity of undergoing Industrial training at
INDIAN OIL CORPORATION Ltd ., Mathura, one of the leading refineries
in India.

The experience gained during this short period was fascinating to say the
least. It was a tremendous feeling to observe the operation of different
equipments and processes. It was overwhelming for us to notice how such a
big refinery is being monitored and operated with proper co-ordination to
obtain desired results.

During our training we realized that in order to be a successful process

engineer one needs to possess a sound theoretical base along with the acumen
for effective practical application of the theory.
Thus, we hope that this industrial training serves as a stepping-stone for us
and helps to be successful in future.

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 Acknowledgement

 I feel immense pleasure and privilege to express my deep sense of gratitude, indebtedness and
thankfulness towards those who generously helped me color the mosaic of this training with their
knowledge, expertise and memories. I shall remain ever grateful to all the persons of I.O.C.L,
who have helped, inspired and encouraged me and above all made me an ever more experienced
person.

I am greatly indebted to my Industry guide Mr. RAM RATAN PASWAAN, Senior Production
Manager who inspired, encouraged and guided me throughout my summer training.

For their invaluable guidance, kind cooperation, inspiration and encouragement during all the
stages of my training, I would like to thank Mr .A.K. KAPADIYA, Mr. VIKAS YADSV
(OM&S 1), Mr. RAJENDRA RAO, Shift Incharge (AVU), Mr. A. K. YADAV shift
incharge (FCCU), Mr. PRABHU DAYAL head in lab., and who all has been of immense
help during my training period and thousands of other I.O.C.L employees whose name I could
not mention just for the lack of space. Last but not least, I would like to convey my hearty and
blossom thanks to my friends and fellow mates who have directly or indirectly helped me in the
compilation of this report

I would also like to express our deep sense of gratitude to Mr. DALIP SINGH (Training and
Development manager) for granting us permission to undergo training at IOCL, Mathura
refinery over a period of one month and for providing us with necessary inputs as and when
needed.

After the completion of the training program, I found it to be of immense help, not only in
supplementing the theoretical knowledge, but also by gaining highly practical knowledge
regarding the actual work carried out in a Refinery Plant. At the end, I again express my
gratitude to all those who helped me in any way to complete my training successfully.

THANKING YOU

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 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this project report is the record of authentic work carried out by us during
the period from 16.06.2015 to 14.07.2015 and has not been submitted to any other factory or
industry for the award of any certificate. I also assure that this report doesn’t contain any
confidential information of IOCL.

Student Signature
(Mohd. Muzzammil Qureshi)

Date : 15/07/2015

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

S.N PROCESS UNIT

O
1) INDIAN OIL REFINERY OVERVIEW
2) MATHURA REFINERY OVERVIEW
3) REFINERY PROCESS
4) PROCESS UNIT DESCRIPTION
4) a) OM&S 1 (Oil Movement and Storage)
4) b) AVU (Atmospheric and Vaccume Unit )
4)c) FCCU (Fluidised Catalytic Cracking Unit)
4)d) VBU (Viscosity Breaking Unit)

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 INDIAN OIL REFINERY: - AN OVERVIEW
Introduction

Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. is India's largest company by sales with a turnover of Rs.271,074
crore and profit of Rs. 10,221 crore for the year 2009-10. 
Indian Oil is the highest ranked Indian company in the latest Fortune ‘Global 500’ listings,
ranked at the 98th position (2011). Indian Oil's vision is driven by a group of dynamic leaders
who have made it a name to reckon with.Indian Oil Company Limited, a wholly owned
Government company was incorporated on 30 June, 1959 to undertake marketing functions of
petroleum products. Later, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOC) was set up on 1st September,
1964 by amalgamating the Indian Refineries Limited (started in August, 1958) with the Indian
Oil Company Ltd., for better coordination between refineries and marketing.Indian Oil
Corporation Limited or IOCL is India’s largest commercial enterprise and the only Indian
company to be among the world’s top 200 corporations according to Fortune magazine. It is also
among the 20 largest petroleum companies in the world. The IndianOil Group of companies
owns and operates 10 of India's 20 refineries with a combined refining capacity of 65.7 million
metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA, .i.e. 1.30 million barrels per day approx.). IndianOil's cross-
country network of crude oil and product pipelines spans 10,899 km with a capacity of 75.26
MMTPA of crude oil and petroleum products and 10 MMSCMD of gas. This network is the
largest in the country and meets the vital energy needs of the consumers in an efficient,
economical and environment-friendly manner.

Indian Oil Corporation has four divisions:

 Marketing Division with Headquarters at Bombay;

 Refineries and Pipelines Division with Headquarters at New Delhi;
 Assam Oil Division with Headquarters at Digboi; and
 Research and Development Centre at Faridabad.

The Assam Oil Division was established on 14th October, 1981 on taking over the refining and
marketing operations of Assam Oil Company Limited.

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The Company wholly owns a subsidiary Company viz. Indian Oil Blending Limited, which is
engaged in the manufacture of lubricants and greases. The products of the subsidiary Company
are also marketed by the Company. IndianOil and its subsidiary (CPCL) account for over 48%
petroleum products market share, 34.8% national refining capacity and 71% downstream sector
pipelines capacity in India.

It has a portfolio of powerful and a much-loved energy brand that includes IndaneLPGas,
SERVO lubricants, XtraPremium petrol, XtraMile diesel, PROPEL, petrochemicals, etc.
Validating the trust of 56.8 million households, Indane has earned the coveted status of
'Superbrand' in the year 2009 and now has a customer base of 61.8 million. IndianOil has a keen
customer focus and a formidable network of customer touch-points dotting the landscape across
urban and rural India. It has 20,421 petrol and diesel stations, including 3517 KisanSevaKendras
(KSKs) in the rural markets. With a countrywide network of 36,900 sales points, backed for
supplies by 140 bulk storage terminals and depots, 3,960 SKO/LDO dealers (60% of the
industry), 96 aviation fuel stations and 89 LPGas bottling plants, IndianOil services every nook
and corner of the country. Indane is present in almost 2764 markets through a network of 5456
distributors (51.8% of the industry). About 7780 bulk consumer pumps are also in operation for
the convenience of large consumers, ensuring products and inventory at their doorstep.
IndianOil's ISO-9002 certified Aviation Service commands an enviable 63% market share in
aviation fuel business, successfully servicing the demands ofdomestic and international flag
carriers, private airlines and the Indian Defense Services. The Corporation also enjoys a 65%
share of the bulk consumer, industrial, agricultural and marine sectors. 

With a steady aim of maintaining its position as a market leader and providing the best quality
products and services, Indian Oil is currently investing Rs. 47,000 crore in a host of projects for
augmentation of refining and pipelines capacities, expansion of marketing infrastructure and
product quality up gradation.

Objectives

The objectives of the Company as approved (June, 1984) by Government are as follows:

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  To serve the national interests in the oil and related sectors in accordance and consistent
with Government policies.
 To ensure and maintain continuous and smooth supplies of petroleum products by way of
crude refining, transportation and marketing activities and to provide appropriate
assistance to the consumer to conserve and use petroleum products most efficiently.
 To earn a reasonable rate of return on investment.
 To work towards the achievement of self-sufficiency in the field of oil refining, by setting
up adequate domestic capacity and to build up expertise for pipe laying for
crude/petroleum products.

 To create a strong research and development base in the field of oil refining and stimulate
the development of new petroleum products formulations with a view to eliminate their
imports, if any .

Products Services I.O.C Refineries:

 Auto LPG  Refining  Digboi Refinery,

 Aviation Turbine  Pipelines  Guwahati Refinery,
Fuel (ATF  Marketing  Barauni Refinery
 Bitumen  Training  Gujarat Refinery
 High Speed Fuel  Research &  Haldia Refinery 
 Industrial Fuels Development  Mathura Refinery 
 Liquefied Petroleum  Panipat Refinery
Gas  Bongaigon Refinery
 Lubricants and
Greases
 Marine Fuels
 MS/Gasoline

Petrochemicals

8
MATHURA REFINERY

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10
The Mathura Refinery, owned by I.O.C.L is situated in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. It is the sixth
refinery of Indian Oil was commissioned in 1982 with a capacity of 8.0 MMTPA to meet the
demand of petroleum products in north western region of the country, which includes National
Capital Region. Refinery is located along the Delhi-Agra National Highway about 154 KM away
from Delhi. The refinery processes low sulfur crude from Bombay High, imported low sulfur
crude from Nigeria, and high sulfur crude from the Middle East.

The refinery, which cost Rs.253.92 crores to build, was commissioned in January;
1982.Construction began on the refinery in October 1972. The foundation stone was laid by
Indira Gandhi, the former prime minister of India. The FCCU and Sulfur Recovery Units were
commissioned in January, 1983. The refining capacity of this refinery was expanded to 7.5
MMTPA in 1989 by debottlenecking and revamping. The present refining capacity of this
refinery is 8.00 MMTPA.

The major secondary processing units provided were Fluidised Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCCU),
Vis-breaker Unit (VBU) and Bitumen Blowing Unit (BBU). The original technology for these
units was sourced from erstwhile USSR, UOP etc. Soaker drum technology of EIL was
implemented in VBU in the year 1993. For production of unleaded Gasoline, Continuous
Catalytic Reforming Unit (CCRU) was commissioned in 1998 with technology from Axens,
France. A Diesel Hydro Desulfurisation Unit (DHDS) licensed from Axens, France was
commissioned in 1999 for production of HSD with low Sulfur content of 0.25% wt. (max). With
the commissioning of once through Hydrocracker Unit (licensed from Chevron, USA) in July
2000, capacity of Mathura Refinery was increased to 8.0 MMTPA. 

Diesel Hydro-treating unit (DHDT) & MS Quality Up-gradation Unit (MSQU) were installed
with world class technology from Axens and UOP respectively in 2005 for production of Euro-
III grade HSD & MS w.e.f. 1st April 2005 as per Auto Fuel Policy of Govt. of India. Project for
FCC Gasoline Desulfurization (FCCGDS) and Selective Hydrogenation Unit (SHU), the Prime-
G technology of Axens, France was commissioned in February 2010 and supply of Euro-IV
grade MS and HSD started on continuous basis from February 2010. 
Mathura Refinery is having its own captive power plant, which was augmented with the
commissioning of three Gas Turbines (GT) and Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) in
phases from 1997 to 2005 using Natural Gas (NG) as fuel to take care of environment. 

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For upgrading environmental standards, old Sulfur Recovery Units (SRU) was replaced with
new Sulfur Recovery Units with 99.9 % recovery in the year 1999. Additional Sulfur Recovery
Unit is under implementation as a hot standby. Mathura Refinery had also set up four nos. of
continuous Ambient Air Monitoring Stations far beyond the working area before commissioning
of the Refinery in 1982 as a mark of its concern towards the environment and archaeological
sites. Its close proximity to the magnificent wonder Taj Mahal adds extra responsibility towards
maintaining a cleaner environment. 

Mathura Refinery has planted 1,67,000 trees in surrounding areas including refinery & township
and 1,15,000 trees in Agra region around Taj Mahal. The Ecological Park which is spread across
4.45 acres is a thriving green oasis in the heart of sprawling Refinery. 
At Mathura Refinery, technology & ecology go hand in hand with continuous endeavour for
Product Quality up-gradation, Energy Conservation and Environment Protection. Mathura
Refinery is the first in Asia and third in the world to receive the coveted ISO-14001 certification
for Environment Management System in 1996. It is also the first in the World to get OHSMS
certification for Safety Management in 1998.

MAJOR UNITS IN MATHURA REFINERY

UNIT PRESENT FEED SPECIAL FEATURES

CAPACITY(T
MTPA)  Fuels refinery & propylene
CDU 8000 Bombay high

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 imported- high sulfur  Product pipeline
and low sulfur crude o MJPL:3.7 MMTPA
FCCU 1350 Vacuum gas oil ex- o Mathura tundia:1.2
IMP. LS & OHCU MMTPA
bottom o MBPL: 1MMTPA
OHCU 1200 VGO ex.IMP. HS  Bit. Drum filling: by Mktg
CCRU 466 Naphtha  LPG bottling: by Mktg.
VBU 1000 Vacuum residue(VR)  Crude Recipient thru SMPL
DHDS 1100 Straight run gas oil,  Captive Power Plant
total cycle oil  Mode of product despatch –
DHDT 1800 Straight run gas oil tank truck, tank wagon and
and total cycle oil pipeline
Biturox 750 Vacuum residue
PENEX(MS Naphtha, FCC
Quality Up 440 Gasoline heart cut
gradation)
PRIME G+ FCC Gasoline splitter
(FCC Gasoline 525 bottom
desulfurisation)

PRODUCTS:
Finished products from this refinery cover both fuel oil products as well as lube oil base stocks.

1. Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG)

2. Fuel Oil Products:
 Motor Spirit (MS)
 Mineral Turpentine Oil (MTO)
 Superior Kerosene (SK)
 Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF)
 Russian Turbine Fuel (RTF)
 High Speed Diesel (HSD)
 Jute Batching Oil (JBO)
 Furnace Oil (FO)
 Naphtha
 Gasoline
3. Lube Oil Products:
 Inter Neutral, Heavy Neutral & Bright Neutral HVI

4. Other Products:

 Slack Wax
 Carbon Black Feed Stock
 Bitumen
 Sulfur

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 REFINERY PROCESS

The refining process depends on the chemical processes of distillation (separating liquids by
their different boiling points) and catalysis (which speeds up reaction rates), and uses the
principles of chemical equilibria. Chemical equilibrium exists when the reactants in a reaction
are producing products, but those products are being recombined again into reactants. By altering
the reaction conditions the amount of either products or reactants can be increased.
Refining is carried out in three main steps.

Step 1 - Separation
The oil is separated into its constituents by distillation, and some of these components (such as
the refinery gas) are further separated with chemical reactions and by using solvents which
dissolve one component of a mixture significantly better than another.

Step 2 - Conversion
The various hydrocarbons produced are then chemically altered to make them moresuitable for
their intended purpose. For example, naphthas are "reformed" from paraffinsand naphthenes into
aromatics. These reactions often use catalysis, and so sulfur isremoved from the hydrocarbons
before they are reacted, as it would 'poison' the catalystsused. The chemical equilibria are also
manipulated to ensure a maximum yield of thedesired product.

Step3 - Purification
The hydrogen sulfide gas which was extracted from the refinery gas in Step 1 is convertedto
sulfur, which is sold in liquid form to fertiliser manufacturers.

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 PROCESS

UNIT

DESCRIPTION

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 OIL MOVEMENT AND STORAGE FIRST

INTRODUCTION

The Oil Movement & storage (OM&S) is a part of Production Department. The OM&S
Division of the Mathura Refinery has been divided into two parts viz. OM&S-1 and OM&S-2.
Furthermore the OM&S-1 has two branches one is Receipt and Blending , other is Dispatch. The
broad function of OM&S-1 are as follows;

1. Receipt , storage accounting preparation and supply of crude oil to distillation units.
2. Receipt , storage preparation and supply of feed to secondary processing units.
3. Receipts, and storage of intermediate and finished product from the units.
4. Blending of intermediate products.
5. Measurement of petroleum product-gauging and sampling etc.
6. Supply of internal fuel oil to units /TPS.
7. Custom and Excise formalities.
8. Oil accounting.
9. Dispatch of MS SKO & HSD and all finished products to other company viz. HPC , BPC
&IBP through HPC and also to receive on spec MS SKO & HSD from OMC in case of
MR shutdown.

List of Process units;

1. Atmospheric & Vacuum Unit (AVU).

2. Naphtha Splitter Unit(NSU).
3. Naphtha Hydro treating Unit (HTU).
4. Continuous Catalytic Reforming unit (CCRU).
5. Fluidized Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCCU).
6. Vis Breaker Unit (VBU).
7. Once Through Hydrocracker Unit (OHCU).

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 8. Diesel Hydro Desulphurization Unit (DHDS).
9. Hydrogen Generation Units (HGU 1&2).
10. Diesel Hydro treating Unit (DHDT)
11. Reformate Splitter Unit (RSU).
12. PENEX
13. Merox.
14. Bitumen Blowing Unit (BBU).
15. Amine Recovery Unit (ARU).
16. Sulphur Recovery Unit (SRU 1,2 & 3)
17. Nitrogen Generation Unit.
18. Prime G unit.
19. OM & S-1.
20. OM & S-2.
21. ETP

GENERAL DISCRIPTION OF THE TANK FARM:

The tank farm in the receipt and blending section of OM&S consists of
different storage tanks for the different intermediate as well as finished
products. Some of the important points are:

(A) DIP OR PRODUCT IN A STORAGE TANK: It is the height of the

oil from the datum plate up to the top oil level.

(B)DATUM PLATE: Inside the tank there is a small horizontal plate

located approximately 5cms above the tank bottom surface. At the time
of taking the dip of oil leveling a tank the bob connected with the dip
tape first touches the above plate. This plate is called the datum plate.

(C) TANK PAD :It is the developed area with brickwork, concrete and
other bituminous material upon which the whole tank shell is resting.

(D) TANK DYKE: In is a bound made up of soil surrounding the tank. The
purpose of providing dyke is that oil will not spread out in the event to
any leakage from the tank shell.

(E) SAFE FILLING HEIGHT: It is the height up to which the tank can
be filled up safely.

(F) REFERENCE HEIGHT: It is the difference in height between the

datum plate and the sharp edge in the rectangular groove provided at
the top of the dip hatch pipe.

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(G)DIP HATCH PIPE: It is the cylindrical pipe extending from the
bottom of the tank to the top with a cover at the top. Through this pipe
only, the dip tape with bob is allowed to enter inside the tank for the
purpose of taking dip.

(H)CRITICAL ZONE OF FLOATING ROOF TANK: Depending on

the height of the leg provided with the pontoon roof of floating roof of
the tank starts floating at a certain dip with increase in dip. Between
these two dips the pontoon remains slightly in tilting condition. When
the dip of any floatation roof tank falls between the above two dips, the
dip of the tank is said to be in critical zone.

(I) ROOF DRAIN: In floating roof tank, there is a pipe with swivel joint
from the center of the pontoon roof. The line extends inside the tank
and comes outside the shell from the lower portion of the tank.
Rainwater gets out through this drain line.

(J) SYPHON DRAIN: At the lower portion of the tank shell, one siphon
drain nozzle has been provided to get the water drained from the
bottom of the tank after being settled.

(K)EMERGENCY ROOF DRAIN:In a floating roof tank, If there is any

leakage in the roof drainpipe inside the tank, it cannot be operated .In
that case the roof drain on the top has to be blinded. An emergency
drain has been provided for draining water.

STORAGE TANKS:
There are three types of storage tanks,

(A) FIXED ROOF TANKS: Fixed roof tanks are used for storing low
volatile products. These are vertical cylindrical vessel. The fixed roof is
provided with internal truss support.

(B) FLOATING ROOF TANKS: Floating roof tanks are for storing
products having high vapor pressure. These tanks have an increased
operation at safety bought about by the absence of vapor space above
the liquid as the roof rests on the fluid.

(C) FLOATING CUM FIXED ROOF TANKS: These tanks have got the
advantages of both fixed and floating roof tanks and are particularly
suited to volatile products in which entry of rain water is not
permissible.

OPERATIONS AT BLENDING STATION:

Blending station operations are as following:

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(1) VB BLENDING FACILITY: Light residue (LR) from atmospheric
distillation column and short residue(SR) from vacuum distillation
column are blended and stored in two tanks 707 and 708.

(2) VBN, FCC GASOLINE BLENDING FASCILITY: FCC Gasoline

of unit from VBU is blended through R/D line stored in tanks.

(3) FFS BLENDED FACILITY: For FFS the LR of AVU, SR of AVU,

VGO(s)/HVGO OF AVU, VBFO of VBU, LCO of FFCU are blended
and stored in FFS tanks.

(4) FO BLENDING FACILITY: LR, VBFO, LGO, LCO,

VGO(s)/HVGO and CLO are blended and stored in FO tanks.

(5) HSD BLENDING FACILITY: LGO, HGO, from AVU, SKO, LVGO
and LDO are blended for blending and stored in HSD tanks.

(6) LDO BLENDING FACILITY: For LDO Blending LGO, HGO, LCO,
SKO, LR, LVGO, LDO are blended and stored in LDO tanks.

(7) TEL BLENDING STATION:The pump station provides facilities for

blending the following things;
(a) TEL (Tetra ethyl lead)
(b) Dye
(c) Antioxidant.
TEL is a poisonous compound. It may be absorbed into the body
through the skin when exposed to it. Hence it must be handled carefully.
The addition of TEL is required to improve the octane number of
motor spirit .The Dye is added to meet the statutory regulation for
identification of the product.
The actual dosing rate of TEL depends upon the base octane, the
proportion of the intermediate product mix of the components such as FCC.
Gasoline line, HAN VB naphtha and is decided by R&D section.

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 ATMOSPHERIC AND VACUUM DISTILLATION UNIT

THE UNIT CONSISTS OF FOUR SECTIONS:

Section 1: Crude Oil Desalting

Section 2: Prefractionator column and Stabilisation of Naphtha.

Section 3: Atmospheric Distillation of Crude oil.

Section 4: Vacuum Distillation of Reduced Crude oil.

1.1. STREAM DAYS: 345 days per year.

1.2. TYPES OF CRUDE:

Low Sulfur Indian : Bombay high.

Nigerian: Girasol, Escravos, Farcados, Bonny light

High SulfurImported: Arab Mix, Kuwait, Dubai, Ratawi, Basra etc.

COMPOSITION OF CRUDE OIL

Crude oil is a complex mixture of thousands of hydrocarbons. (i.e paraffins, napthenes &
aromatics). It is brownish black in colour and colloidal in nature. It contains small amounts
of non-hydrocarbon impurities in the form of organic compounds of sulphur, oxygen,
nitrogen, metals, water and salts.

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21
1.3. PRODUCTS OF AVU

The unit is to produce the following products designated by T.B.P. cuts also:-

Product Stream Use / Using secondary units

LPG Sent to MEROX unit for treatment

C5 - 120 °C cut Naphtha Component

C5 - 118 °C cut CCRU / NSU feed

120 - 135 °C cut (BH) Heavy Naphtha for blending with Diesel

118 - 142 °C cut (AM) Can be used as Naphtha component

135 - 255 °C cut (BH) Used as Superior kerosene

142 - 255 °C cut (AM) Sent as ATF to MEROX for treatment

255 - 296 °C cut (BH) Used as Superior kerosene

255 - 300 °C cut (AM) Used as Cutter stock / HSD component

296 - 325 °C cut (BH)

HSD component (Light Gas Oil)
300 - 330 °C cut (AM)

325 - 380 °C cut (LS) HSD component (Heavy Gas oil)

HVGO component
330 - 386 °C cut (AM)
(Heavy Atmospheric Gas Oil)

Light Vacuum Gas Oil

HSD component
(<380 °C cut )

Light Diesel Oil

380 - 425 °C cut
(also HVGO component)

Heavy Vacuum Gas Oil

425 - 530 °C cut
Used as OHCU / FCCU feed

Vacuum Slop Blended with SR for VDU feed

Atmospheric Residue Used as IFO component in LS run

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 RCO  

Vacuum Residue Feed for BBU in AM run

SR Feed/Hot feed for VBU in all runs

  IFO component in LS run

Hydrocarbon Gas Used as Refinery Fuel gas

1.5. PROCESS DESCRIPTION AND PRODUCT ROUTING:

1.5.1. ATMOSPHERIC DISTILLATION UNIT

The ADU (Atmospheric Distillation Unit) separates most of the lighter end products such as gas,
gasoline, naphtha, kerosene, and gas oil from the crude oil. The bottoms of the ADU are then
sent to the VDU (Vacuum Distillation Unit). Crude oil is preheated by the bottoms feed
exchanger, further preheated and partially vaporized in the feed furnace and then passed into the
atmospheric tower where it is separated into off gas, gasoline, naphtha, kerosene, gas oil and
bottoms.
Atmospheric and Vacuum unit (AVU) of Mathura Refinery is designed to process 100%
Bombay High Crude and 100% Arab Mix crude (consisting of Light and Heavy crude in 50:50
proportion by weight) in blocked out operation @ 11.0 MMTPA. Crude is received from the tank
and is pumped through a series of heat exchangers(1st stage preheat) before sending it to
desalters.Indesalters, salts bottom sediments and water are removed from crude by injecting
water and separating out brine with the help of electrodes. This desalted crude is then passed
through another chain of exchangers(2nd stage preheat).After that crude is sent to prefractionator
column where IBP- 100o C, IBP – 110oC cut naphtha product BH and AM operation
respectively, is recovered from crude oil in the prefractionator column as overhead product
whereas topped crude from bottom is sent another chain of exchangers(3rd stage preheat).The
topped crude is heated further in furnaces. This heated crude is sent to atmospheric distillation
column where fractionation of crude is sent into different products takes place. Column profile is
maintained by regulating CRs. Different parameters are maintained to maintain product quality.

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1.5.1. VACUUM DISTILLATION UNIT:

Bottom residue of 11C-1(Atmospheric Distillation Column)is again processed in vacuum column

to increase distillate yield(and profitability).

RCO from 11C-1 is heated further in vacuum furnace before processing it in 12C-1(Vacuum
Distillation Column). In vacuum column, pressure is maintained at around 60mmHg at column
top pressure using ejectors. Fractionation of RCO into different products under reduced pressure
takes place. Different parameters are maintained to adjust and control the product quality.

The finished products are then sent to storage tanks before extracting heat in heat exchangers,
which can be used for crude preheating (ENCON).

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1.6. PROCESS FLOW DESCRIPTION

1.6.1. FEED SUPPLY

Crude oil is stored in eight storage tanks (eight tanks each having a nominal capacity of 50,000
m3 whereas remaining other 2 tanks are of 65,000 m3 nominal capacity). Booster pumps located
in the off-sites are used to deliver crude to the unit feed pumps. Filters are installed on the
suction manifold of crude pumps to trap foreign matter. For processing slop, pumps are located
in the off-site area, which regulate the quantity of slop into the crude header after filters.
Provision to inject proportionate quantity of demulsifier into the unit crude pumps suction header
with the help of dosing pump is available.   

1.6.2. SYSTEM DESCRIPTION:

Crude Oil is heated up to 136 -141 ºC in the first train of heat exchangers operating in two
parallel sections up to the desalter which is connected in series.  Desalting temperature as
required can be maintained manually by operating the bypass valve of heat exchangers.

A two-stage desalter has been designed for 99% salt removal. It is designed to use stripped sour
water for desalting which is being taken ex stripped sour water unit.  Provision to use DM water/
services water is also provided.  The electric field in the desalter breaks the emulsion and the
outlet brine from the 1st stage desalter is sent to ETP on level control. 

1.7. FURNACE OPERATION: 

1. CDU Fired Heater

2. VDU Fired Heater

1.7.1. CDU Fired Heater:

The convection section has 8 rows of tubes with 8 nos. tubes in each. The two rows of shock
tubes, i.e. the two rows just above the radiant section are plain tubes without studs. The rest six
rows are of extended surface type having cylindrical studs. All the convection bank tubes are of
152 mmx8mm dimension and 5Cr 1/2 Mo material of construction. Of these 64 tubes in the
convection section, 4 no’s studded tubes are for the service of superheating MP steam for

25
strippers; and the rest 60 nos. tubes are for crude oil service. Crude oil to be heated enters the
convection section in four passes. From outlets of the convection bank, it passes through
crossovers provided inside the furnace into bottom coils of the radiant section. Steam flow is of
single pass to superheating coils. 

1.7.2. VDU Fire Heater:

Like any conventional process heater, these heaters are also having two distinct heating sections:
(I) a radiant section, and (ii) convection section.

The convection section has 13 rows of tubes with 8 nos. tubes in each. The top three rows are for
the service of superheating LP steam for vacuum column and the rest 10 rows are for RCO
service. The three rows of shock tubes, i.e. the three rows just above the radiant section are plain
tubes without studs. The next seven rows are of extended surface type having cylindrical studs.
Provision exists to vent out MP steam ex- super heating coils of furnaces to atmosphere through
silence. 

The floor of furnace is elevated above grade and the hot air duct (supplying combustion air to
burners) runs across the length of the furnace below the furnace floor. The skin temperature of
tubes is limited to 542 0C. 

The furnaces are of balanced draft type with forced draft (FD) fans to supply combustion air and
induced draft (ID) fan to take suction of the flue gases through air-preheating system and
discharge the same to stack.  
 

1.8. CRUDE DISTILLATION UNIT: 

The column is provided with 56 trays of which 8 are baffle trays in the stripping section. Heated
and partly vaporized crude feed coming from fired heater enters the flash zone of the column at

26
27
.  tray no. 46 at 355 ºC/365 ºC.   Hydrocarbon vapors flash in this zone and get liberated.  Non-
flashed liquid moves down which is largely bottom product, called RCO.   

 MP steam having some degree of superheat is introduced in the column below tray no. 46 at
approximately3.5 kg/cm2 (g) and 290 ºC for stripping of RCO.  Steam stripping helps to remove
lighter constituents from the bottom product (RCO).

Reduced crude oil product is collected at the bottom of the column and the overhead vapors are
totally condensed in Overhead air Condenser and train condenser.  This condensed overhead
product is separated as hydrocarbon and water in the reflux drum. Water is drawn out under
inter-phase level control and sent to sour water drums.   
 

1.9. VACUUM DISTILLATION UNIT:

Hot RCO from the atmospheric column bottom at 355 ºC is mixed with slop recycle from
Vacuum Column, heated and partially vaporized in 8-pass vacuum furnace and introduced to the
flash zone of the vacuum column.  The flash zone pressure is maintained at 115-120 mm of Hg.
Steam (MP) is injected into individual passes and regulated manually. Three injection points
have been provided on each pass.  This is to maintain required velocities in the heater, which is
Fuel Gas, Fuel Oil or combination fuel fired.  Each cell is provided with 10 burners fired
vertically upshot from furnace floor along the centerline of the cell.

The vaporized portions entering the flash zone of the column along with stripped light ends from
the bottoms rise up in the vacuum column and is fractionated into four side stream products in 5
packed sections.  The hydrocarbon vapors are condensed in the Vac Slop, HVGO, LDO and
LVGO sections by circulating refluxes to yield the side draw products. Vacuum is maintained by
a two-stage ejector system with surface condensers. The condensed portion from the condensers
are routed to the hot well from where the non-condensable are sent to the vacuum furnace low-
pressure burners or vented to the atmosphere

28
29
 FLUID CATALYTIC CRAKING UNIT (FCCU)

In this process Heavy Gas Oil cut (Raw Oil) from Vacuum Distillation Section of AVU is
catalytically cracked to obtain more valuable light and middle distillates. The present processing
capacity of the unit is about 1.48 MMT/Yr. It consists of the following sections: 

 Catalytic section,
 Fractionation section and
 Gas concentration section.

The unit is designed to process two different types of feed i.e. Arab Mix HVGO, Bombay High
HVGO.

. 
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2.1. CRACKING SECTION

Cracking process uses high temperature to convert heavy hydrocarbons into more valuable
lighter products. This can be accomplished either thermally or catalytically. The catalytic process
has completely superseded thermal cracking as the catalyst helps the reactions to take place at
lower pressures and temperatures.  At the same time, the process produces a higher octane
gasoline, more stable cracked gas and less of the undesirable heavy residual product.  The
process is also flexible in that it can be tailored to fuel oil, gas oil operations producing high
yields of cycle oils or to LPG operations producing yields of C3-C4 fraction. 

The fluid Catalytic Cracking process employs a catalyst in the form of minute spherical particles,
which behaves like a fluid when aerated with a vapour. This fluidized catalyst is continuously
circulated from the reaction zone to the regeneration zone. The catalyst also transfers heat carried
with it from one zone to the other viz. in the vessels reactor and regenerator.  The reaction and
regeneration zones form the heart of the catalytic cracking unit. 

 Catalyst section consists of the reactor of the reactor and regenerator, which together with the
standpipes and riser form the catalyst circulation circuit.  The catalyst circulates up the riser to
the reactor, down through the stripper to the, regenerator across to the regenerator standpipe and
back to the riser. The vertical riser is in fact the reactor in which the entire reaction takes place.
The reactor is a container for cyclone separators at the end of vertical riser. 

Coke is deposited on the catalyst in the reaction zone.  The spent catalyst flows downwards into
the stripping section of the reactor. After steam stripping to remove oil vapours from it the
catalyst flows from the reactor standpipe to the regenerator through a slide valve in the
regenerator, the coke is burnt off, oxygen for burning being supplied by an air blower.  Air from
the blower is uniformly given to the regenerator through a pipe grid at its bottom.  The heat of
combustion raises the catalyst temperature to more than 600 (C. Most of the heat in the catalyst
is given to the feed in the reactor riser to raise it to the reaction temperature and to provide the
heat of reaction.  The regenerated catalyst from the standpipe flows into the riser through a slide
valve to complete the catalyst circulation cycle. Catalyst particles in the flue gas leaving the
regenerator are separated at the top of regenerator by three sets of two-stage cyclones.  The flue
gas contains both CO and CO2 as carbon is burnt off partly to CO and partly to CO2 in the

31
regenerator.  The sensible and chemical heat in flue gas is utilized to generate steam in CO
Boiler. The flue gas is passed through' the orifice chamber & regenerator. Pressure is controlled
by double disc slide valve.  Orifice chamber holds backpressure downstream of double-disc slide
valve.  By reducing the pr. drop across slide valve, operating life of slide valve is greatly
extended by avoiding sudden accelerations of catalyst, bearing flue gas stream. The unit is
designed for use of high ZEOLITE catalyst (Fresh catalyst), which is microspheriadical in
shape.  

2.2. CATALYTIC SECTION 

The fluid Catalytic Cracking process employs a catalyst in the form of minute spherical particles,
which behaves like a fluid when aerated with a vapour. This fluidized catalyst is continuously
circulated from the reaction zone to the regeneration zone.

Feed to the FCC Unit is gas oils obtained by vacuum distillation of long residue from the crude
distillation unit.  In our unit the vacuum cut boiling in the range 380-530°C is used as feedstock
to the FCC Unit.

.  Catalyst section consists of the reactor of the reactor and regenerator, which together with the
standpipes and riser form the catalyst circulation circuit. The catalyst circulates up the riser to the
reactor, down through the stripper to the, regenerator across to the regenerator standpipe and
back to the riser. The vertical riser is in fact the reactor in which the entire reaction takes place.
The reactor is a container for cyclone separators at the end of vertical riser

Fresh feed after heating up to 350 °C in a feed pre-heater along with recycle streams enters the
base of the riser. In the riser the combined feed is vaporized and raised to the reactor temperature
by the hot catalyst flowing upward through the riser. Cracking reactions start immediately as the
gas oil comes into contact with the hot catalyst. Entrained catalyst and hydrocarbon vapors, after
cracking, flow upwards and pass through two cyclone separators attached to top of the reactor. 
These cyclones remove most of the entrained catalyst. Oil vapors containing a small quantity of
catalyst pass overhead through the vapour line into the fractionator.

32
Coke is deposited on the catalyst in the reaction zone.  The spent catalyst flows downwards into
the stripping section of the reactor. After steam stripping to remove oil vapours from it the
catalyst flows from the reactor standpipe to the regenerator through a slide valve in the
regenerator, the coke is burnt off, oxygen for burning being supplied by an air blower. The heat
of combustion raises the catalyst temperature to more than 600 °C. Most of the heat in the
catalyst is given to the feed in the reactor riser to raise it to the reaction temperature and to
provide the heat of reaction.  The regenerated catalyst from the standpipe flows into the riser
through a slide valve to complete the catalyst circulation cycle. Catalyst particles in the flue gas
leaving the regenerator are separated at the top of regenerator by three sets of two-stage
cyclones.

2.3. Type of catalyst

The unit requires two types of catalyst, viz.

(1)  Fresh catalyst

(2)  Equilibrium catalyst 

2.4. FRACTIONATION SECTION 

33
In this section, the vapors coming out of the reactor top at very high temperature are fractionated
into wet gas and un-stabilized gasoline overhead products, heavy naphtha, and light cycle oil as
side products. Heavy cycle oil drawn from the column is totally recycled along with the feed
after providing for the recycle stream to the column. 

The column bottom slurry containing a small quantity of catalyst is sent to a slurry settler. From
the settler bottom, the thickened slurry is recycled back to the riser for recovering catalyst is sent
to a settler and from the settler bottom, the thickened slurry is recycled back to the riser for
recovering catalyst and further cracking. From the top of slurry settler, clarified oil product is
taken out after cooling which goes for blending in Fuel Oil.  

34
Heavy naphtha and light cycle oil streams after steam stripping are used as gas oil blending
components. The un-stabilized gasoline and wet gas are sent to Gas Concentration Unit for
further processing. Both heavy naphtha and light cycle oil being blending components for HSD
can be blended in the unit and sent to product blending station, as a single stream. In addition,
light cycle oil, if required for blending in FO, fertilizer feed, etc. can be diverted to the extent
required for product blending in a separate line.  
 

2.5. GAS CONCENTRATION SECTION

The wet gas from the fractionator overhead receiver is compressed in a two-stage centrifugal

compressor and sent to a high-pressure (HP) receiver after cooling. Gas from the HP receiver is
sent to the Primary Absorber for recovery of C3's and heavier components by absorption with
stabilized gasoline taken from the debutanizer column bottom and un-stabilized gasoline from
main column overhead receiver. Rich gasoline from Absorber bottom is recycled back to the HP
receiver. The stripped gasoline is further stabilized in the debutanizer removing C3 and C4

35
components from it as cracked LPG and bottom product as stabilized FCC gasoline. Both LPG
and gasoline are Merox treated before routing to storage.

2.6. CO BOILER

The flue gas leaving the regenerator via orifice chamber contains 8-13% carbon monoxide, the
rest being inert like nitrogen, steam, carbon dioxide, etc. In the CO Boiler, flue gas is burnt with
air converting, carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide, thus releasing the heat of combustion of CO
in the boiler. This heat as well as the sensible heat in flue gas available at a high temperature is
utilized for raising medium pressure steam

.  

36
 VIS-BREAKING UNIT

3.1. Introduction:

The Visbreaker Unit is designed for processing a mixture of Atmospheric and Vacuum Residue
from 1:1 mixture of Light Arabian and North Rumaila Crudes. It reduces the viscosity and pour
point of heavy petroleum fractions so that product can be sold as fuel oil. The nominal capacity
of the plant is 0.8 MMTPA of mixed Feed. However, the design capacity has been kept as 1.0
MMTPA to take care of Fluctuations in the Bitumen production. The unit produces Gas,
Naphtha, and Heavy Naphtha, VB Gas Oil, Visbreaker fuel oil (a mixture of VB gas oil and VB
tar). In actual practice design feed was not available. So long residue and short Residue of
Nineteen type of imported crudes e.g. Arab Mix, Arab Light, Arab Heavy, Rostam, Solman,
Light Iranian, Algerian, Heavy Iranian, Lagos medio,
Basrah,Ummshaif, Iran Mix, Iran blend, AbooAlbakoosh, Dubai, Kuwait, Haut. Oman, Nigerian
and two types of Indegeneous crude Bombay High and Ratnabad had to be processed in the unit
from the very commissioning. Long And short residue proportion also varied to a large extent
depending on tank Ullage position etc. A provision is also made by a small modification to route
V B Gas oil to HSD / LDO pool over and above its original routing provision to V B tar.
At present all the Short residue and vac slop produced in BH run in AVU is routed to VBU for
HPS production. Short residue and vac slop in Nigerian crude run along with BH cold feed is
routed to VBU for HPS production. Nigerian SR and vac slop is also routed to VBU (limited to
20% of blend) for FO production with HS as cold feed .Balance Nigerian SR is routed along with
RCO for IFO top up. Short residue produced in HS run is routed to Bitumen unit and balance SR
along with vac slop is routed to VBU. Following table summaries shows the mode of operation
in VBU and their feed streams.

Feed Stream Design Capacity,MMTPA

Atmospheric Residue 400
Vacuum Residue 600
 
3.2. THEORY OF VISBREAKING

37
The Visbreaker is essentially a Thermal cracking unit designed to operate at mild conditions and
to retain all the cracked light oils in the bottom product. This results in reduction of viscosity of
bottom product. In the Thermal cracking reaction, heavy oil is kept at a high temperature for a
certain amount of time and this causes the larger molecules to break up. The resulting product
has a random distribution of molecular sizes resulting in products ranging from light gas to
heavy gas oil. These products are characterized as "Cracked" products and contain a certain
percentage of olefinic compounds. Whenever a molecule breaks one of the resulting molecules is
an olefin.

CH3-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH3CH3-CH2-CH=CH2 + CH3-CH2-CH3

Cracked products are unstable and form gum. The cracked naphtha has higher octane number
than straight run gasoline. During the cracking operation, some coke is usually formed. Coke is
the end product of polymerizations reaction in which two large olefin molecules combine to form
an even larger olefinic molecule.

C10H21-CH=CH2 + CH2=CH-C10H21C10H21-CH=CH-CH2-CH2-C10H21

When above reaction gets repeated several times, the end product is coke. This is usually found
inside the walls of furnace tubes and other spots where oil may remain at high temperature and
soak heat for some time. Severity of over-all reaction is determined by residence time and
temperature of cracking. Residence time in the unit can be varied by varying charge rate and
steam injection rate of DMW injection into furnace coils. Temperature can be varied as per
requirement. The cracking reaction usually does not become evident until transfer temperature
crosses 400 °C. When transfer temperature reaches 460 °C; sufficient cracking of oil takes place.
Gas and Naphtha are produced, the viscosity of product is lowered and simultaneously coke
deposits in the furnace tubes & soaker.
Increased severity results in shorter run lengths and more unstable fuel oil with sediments in it.

3.3. System Description

The feed passes through the furnace, where cracking reaction take place and the conversion in
the coil is about 50 to 60%. The effluent from the furnace is routed to the soaker drum for

38
completion of visbreaking reaction. The soaker effluent is quenched before entering fractionator
by injecting column bottom product (VB Tar). The quenched effluent ten enters the VB
fractionator. In the bottom of the fractionator, steam is introduced to remove lighter fractions.
VB Tar is removed as the bottom product. The overhead fraction is unstable naphtha and gas.
The naphtha is stabilized and sent to merox unit for sweetening.

3.4. Visbreaker Furnaces

Visbreaker unit is provided with two identical natural draft furnaces. They are up-right steel
structures with outer steel casing lined with refractory material. Each of the furnaces is
independent with radiation section at the bottom. Convection section is at the top of the radiation
section and above convection section is the stack. The convection further heat from the flue
gases leaving the radiation section. It is having numbering 6, 10 and 14 respectively. The
radiation section houses the radiation tubes numbering 30 in each pass. In this section heat is
transferred primarily by radiation by flame and hot combustible gases.
VBU furnace tubes skin temperature is measured by skin thermocouples provided on tubes in
radiation zone. Furnaces are provided with thermocouple in radiation and convection zones for
measuring tube skin temperatures, box temperatures before and after steam coils, and flue gas to
stack temperatures. Thermocouples are also provided inside furnace tubes for measuring liquid
temperatures at different points. The maximum allowed tubes skin and box temperature in the
heaters is 650 oC and 750 oC respectively.
There is a provision for on-stream analyzer of SO2 emission from both the stacks. The purpose of
the water, injection is to maintain suitable velocity in the furnace tubes and to minimize coking.
Effluent from these passes is gathered and sent to soaker drum. It enters from the bottom and
leaves from the top. Thermal cracking of the feed, which is initiated in the furnace, gets
completed in soaker drum. Residence time of the order of half an hour is given in soaker.
To arrest cracking reactions, materials from each pass of the two furnaces are individually
quenched by the injection of cooled VB tar at 223 0C. To increase turbulence and to prevent coke
deposit in the coils, there is provision to inject steam in each pass. The purpose of the water
injection is to maintain suitable velocity in the furnace tubes and to minimize coking.

39
V.B. FRACTIONATOR
Soaker effluent after quenching enters fractionator. Temperature in the flash zone is around 420
oC. From the column, gas & gasoline are separated as overhead, gas oil as side stream and the
VB tar as bottoms. The fractionator has 26 valve trays and one blind tray. Feed enters flash zone
below the 26th Valve tray.The overhead vapours from the column are condensed and cooled in
heat exchangers.
The liquid vapour mixture is separated in the reflux drum. Gasoline from flash fractionator is
picked up by reflux pumps and partly pumped to column top as reflux. The remaining gasoline is
routed to stabilizer under reflux drum level controller, which is cascaded with flow controller.
The sour water is drained from the drum boot under interface level controller and routed to sour
water stripper. Main reflux drum and its water boot are having level glasses. Uncondensed gas
from Gas oil stripper goes to FCC/AVU furnaces / Flare. Column top pressure around 4.5kg/cm2
(g). Column overhead line is provided with working and controlled safety valves.
The heavy naphtha at a temperature of about 170 oC is withdrawn from tray no. 10 under
level controller. It is stripped in the stripper to maintain its flash point. The heavy naphtha is
routed to HSD. Gas oil at a temperature of about 260 oC is withdrawn from the blind
accumulator tray under tray level controller. It is steam stripped in the stripper ot maintain its
flash point. Vapor from stripper top returns back to column just above the blind accumulator
tray. A part of gas oil from air cooler is used for washing VB tar filters Blind accumulator tray
and strippers are provided with level glasses.

40
41
To remove extra heat and to maintain desired temperature profile in column, a portion of gas oil
from blind tray is taken and pumped in two streams. One stream is used as heating media in
steam generator where it is cooled from 260 oC to 214 oC. The second stream supplies re-boiling
heat to stabilizer re-boiler and gets cooled from 260 oC to 215 oC. To protect column bottom
against coking, cooled VB tar condensed in air cooler and go to reflux drum. Safety valve is
provided to release gas and protect the vessel from over pressure.
Tar is cooled from 351 oC to 225 oC in feed exchangers and further cooling to 214 oC is done.
Pumps are having two filters in the suction line with gas oil flushing facilities. Only one filter is
kept in service while the other remains as spare. Cooled VB tar is partly used as quench to
1. Fractionator column bottom. Bottom temperature is maintained at 355 oC.
2. Transfer lines of the two furnaces. Temperature of the combined effluent entering
main fractionator is maintained at 427 oC.
3. Gas oil stripper bottom should be protected against coking. Bottom temperature is
maintained at 351 oC.
VB tar is then cooled in boiler feed water exchanger from 232 oC to 210 oC. It is further cooled to
90 oC and sent to storage with gas oil.

3.5. Stabilizer
Un-stabilized gasoline from reflux drum is picked up by reflux pump and then it is pumped to
stabilizer through stabilized gasoline exchanger. In heat exchanger, feed is heated from 43 oC to
120 oC while stabilized gasoline is cooled from 180 oC to 120 oC. The column has 30 trays and
the feed enters on the 19th.The overhead product at 60 oC goes to water condensers. The
condensed liquid is collected in the reflux drum. Uncondensed gas from the drum goes to
FCC/unit fuel gas header. Pressure at the drum is maintained at 8.4kg/cm2 (g).

42
43