CRUDE OIL DISTILLATION.

Distillation is used to separate mixtures of liquids by

exploiting differences in the boiling points of the different
components.

The technique is widely used in industry, for example in

the manufacture and purification of nitrogen, oxygen and

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the rare gases.

One of its best known uses is the refining of crude oil into
its main fractions:
• Naphtha
• Kerosine and
• Gas oil

This is the first stage of converting oil into compounds

which are then used to manufacture everything:
 from plastics to medicines.
 DISTILLATION.

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The steam cracking plant at Carling (near Metz in Eastern France) is dominated by the
distillation towers. The plant produces ethene and propene which are converted on
site to poly(ethene) and poly(propene).
By kind permission of Total.
DISTILLATION.

Distillation of crude oil.

Crude oil is a mixture of many hundreds of liquid

hydrocarbons.

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Dissolved in it are many other hydrocarbons some of which
are solids and some gases (the lower members of the
alkane family, predominantly methane and ethane but
often with some propane and butane).

There may also be some hydrocarbon gases trapped

above the oil, as for example in some of the oil fields in
the North Sea.
DISTILLATION.
When the refinery is close to the oil field, the oil and
gases are pumped from the field to the refinery either
together or in separate pipes.

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Normally, much of the dissolved gas is separated out
at the oil field, before transportation, to avoid pressure
build up in transit.

Where the oil is found well away from where it is to be

refined, the gases are removed and either used as a fuel
or for chemical manufacture or, where this is not
economically viable, they are ‘flared’.

Flaring is where the gases are simply burnt at the oil

field, but this practice is being actively discouraged.
DISTILLATION.

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Construction of an oil rig in the Nelson Oil Field,
about 200 km east of Aberdeen.
By kind permission of Shell International Ltd.
DISTILLATION.

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A pipeline being laid to connect to the Andrew Oil Field
which is about 200 km north east of Aberdeen.
By kind permission of BP.
DISTILLATION.

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A diver going to examine a section of the pipeline bringing oil from the
Cormorant Field, over 500 km north east of Aberdeen.
By kind permission of Shell International Ltd.
DISTILLATION.
Methane and ethane are separated from the other gases by
fractionation.

Methane, is more commonly known as natural gas.

The mixture of propane and butane is known as liquefied

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petroleum gas (LPG).

If needed as chemical feedstocks, propane and butane are

separated by distillation.

Once the gas is removed, the crude oil is said to be

stabilized.

The crude oil is then transported to a refinery by a variety of

means. For example by road, pipeline or by ship. This is why the
refineries are built close to the coast.
DISTILLATION.
In the refineries the oil is distilled into liquid fractions with
different boiling points which are then further processed.

The crude oil is heated in a furnace (at 650 K) and the

resulting mixture fed as a vapour into a fractionating tower

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which can have a height of 25-100 m, handling volumes of over
40000 m3 a day.

If PEMEX has produced 2500000 barrels of

crude oil per day in average, how many
fractionating towers with a capacity of 40000
m3 a day do they need?
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Planta Etileno XXI, Braskem-IDESA, Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz. 2016.
Alumnos de Química Industrial.
UNAM, FES-Zaragoza.
Al fondo la torre de destilación más grande de latinoamérica. Altura 92 m.
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Planta Etileno XXI, Braskem-IDESA, Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz. 2016.
Alumnos de Química Industrial.
UNAM, FES-Zaragoza.
Al fondo la torre de destilación más grande de latinoamérica. Altura 92 m.
DISTILLATION.
The column may contain 40-50 steel ‘sieve trays’ which fit
horizontally across the column and are designed to ensure there is
intimate mixing between the descending liquid, formed by
condensation, and the rising vapour.

To effect this close contact, the trays have holes in them (‘the

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sieve’) through which the vapour flows up into the liquid collecting
on the trays.
DISTILLATION.

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Trays in a fractionating column.
 DISTILLATION.
Alternatively, there may be valves fitting over the holes, which lift up
when the pressure of the vapour below the tray is greater than
the pressure on the tray.

These are considered to be more efficient in fractionation than sieve

trays without valves.

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A temperature gradient exists in the tower:
• The top being cooler than the bottom.

When the rising vapour reaches a tray containing liquid whose

temperature is below the boiling point (bp) of the vapour, it partially
condenses.

As some of the vapour condenses to a liquid, the dissipated latent

heat then heats more liquid, and the more volatile components in
the liquid evaporate joining the remaining vapour and passing up the
tower.

The less volatile liquid flows across the tray and down a pipe to
the tray below.
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Valve trays.
DISTILLATION.
DISTILLATION.

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This FLEXITRAYTM valve tray is a steel sheet on which liftable valves
are mounted. They are much more efficient than sieve trays.
By kind permission of Koch-Glitsch, LP.
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 DISTILLATION.
This process occurs continuously in each tray:
• The least volatile vapour components
condensing and the most volatile
evaporating.

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This results in each tray containing products
with a comparatively narrow boiling point
range (called a ‘close cut’ of products).

This leads to the low relative molecular mass

products (low bp) accumulating near the top of
the tower and high relative molecular mass
constituents (high bp) collecting near the
bottom.
DISTILLATION.

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The fractional distillation of crude oil.
 TOP Uses Carbon chain length
(bp <300K) 1-2%Gas Uncondensed vapour from 1 -4
top of tower.
May be used as fuel on site
or as liquefied fuel. Also
feedstock for chemicals

Naphtha 15-30% light (bp Petrol and chemicals 5 -10

Temperature in tower 300-470 K) feedstock by (steam
decreasing 5-10% heavy (bp 403-493 cracking).

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K)
Kerosine (bp 450-530 K) Feedstock for jet fuel, 10 -16
10-15% paraffin and domestic oil
production.

Gas oil and heavy gas oil Diesel fuel and for blending
(bp 530-620 K) 15-20%
Residue from atmospheric
distillation. 50%
14 -20
fuel oil.
Feedstock for chemicals
(catcracking).
For industrial heating and > 20
feedstock for vacuum
distillation.
This yields feedstock for
catalytic cracking and
lubricating oil.
Waxes and bitumen.

BOTTOM
Major fractions from the primary distillation of crude oil.
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DISTILLATION.
The high boiling point residue from the crude oil is then
transferred to another column and distilled under vacuum.

• Lowering the pressure reduces the boiling point

and ensures constituents distil at temperatures
below their decomposition temperature.

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• From this process, lubricating oils and waxes are
obtained.

• The final residue from the process is bitumen.

The constituents in crude oil vary from one oil field to another
(for example, the proportion of naphtha from North Sea oil is
considerably greater than that from Middle East oil) so the
numbers given are approximate.
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