Flow sheet of Modern Refinery

Crude distillation products

Petroleum Products
High Conversion Refinery
Refining Processes
 Physical Separation Processes:

 Crude Distillation: Crude first desalted >Atmospheric distillation

column(with steam)>Vacuum distillation column (50 mm Hg).

 Solvent Deasphalting: Only physical process where carbon is rejected

from heavy petroleum fraction such as vacuum residue. Propane in liquid
form (at moderate pressure) is used to dissolve the whole oil, leaving
asphaltene to precipitate.This low sulfur and low metal DAO is called “Bright
Stock” and is used as feed stock for lube oil plant. Also sent to cracking
units to increase light oil production.

 Solvent Extraction: Lube oil stock is treated by a solvent, such a s N-

methyl pyrrolidone(NMP), which can separate aromatics into the extract
phase. Solvent is then removed from both the phases and the raffinate is
dewaxed.

 Solvent Dewaxing: The raffinate is dissolved in a solvent (MEK) and the

solution is gradually chilled, during which high molecular weight paraffin
(wax) is crystallized, and the remaining solution is filtered. Extracted and
dewaxed oil is called “lube oil”.
Refining Processes
 Chemical Separation Processes:

 Catalytic Reforming: Supported Pt catalyst used to reconstruct

naphtha(C6-C10) into aromatics and isoparaffins. This produced
naphtha reformate used in gasoline formulation and as a feedstock
for aromatic production (BTX).

 Hydrotreating: Hydrogen used to clean petroleum fractions from

impurities such as sulphur, nitrogen, oxy-compounds, chloro-
compounds, aromatics, waxes and metals using hydrogen (cobalt
and molybdenum oxides on alumina).

 Catalytic Hydrocracking: ARs and VGO are cracked in the

presence of hydrogen to get light products.
Refining Processes
 Chemical Separation Processes:

 Catalytic Cracking: FCCU uses zeolite based catalyst to crack

VGO to gasoline and small quantities of gas oil and refinery gases.

 Alkylation: Process in which isobutane (collected mainly from FCC

and delayed coker) reacts with olefins such as butylene (C4=).

 Isomerization: Isomerization of light naphtha is the process in

which low octane number hydrocarbons (C4, C5, C6) are
transformed to a branched product with the carbon number. Main
advantage of this process is to separate hexane (C6) before it
enters thereformer.
Refining Processes
 Chemical Separation Processes:
 Thermal Chemical Conversion Processes:
 Delayed coking: This process is based on the thermal cracking
of vacuum residue by carbon rejection forming coke and lighter
products such a s gases, gasoline, and gas oils.

 Flexicoking: In this thermal process, most of the coke is gasified

into fuel gas using steam and air. Products are gases, gasoline and
gas oils with very little coke.

 Visbreaking: This is a mild thermal cracking process used to

break the high viscosity and pour points of vacuum residue.
Products include gases, gasoline, gas oil and unconverted residue.
Refinery-Petrochemical Integration