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Crude oil distillation uses atmospheric and vacuum distillation to separate crude oil into different fractions like gasoline, kerosene, diesel, and residual fuel oil. Atmospheric distillation operates at slightly above atmospheric pressure using heat from steam injection and reflux streams to boil and separate lighter fractions overhead. Vacuum distillation operates at lower pressures using steam to reduce temperatures needed to distill heavier fractions and prevent cracking. Proper control of factors like temperature, pressure, flows, and reflux/stripping is needed for stable column operation.

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53 views

$r117hue PDF

Crude oil distillation uses atmospheric and vacuum distillation to separate crude oil into different fractions like gasoline, kerosene, diesel, and residual fuel oil. Atmospheric distillation operates at slightly above atmospheric pressure using heat from steam injection and reflux streams to boil and separate lighter fractions overhead. Vacuum distillation operates at lower pressures using steam to reduce temperatures needed to distill heavier fractions and prevent cracking. Proper control of factors like temperature, pressure, flows, and reflux/stripping is needed for stable column operation.

Uploaded by

Deep Sinojiya
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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CRUDE OIL DISTILLATION

Atmospheric Distillation
Distillation
Preheating Train (HEN)
Difference between conventional and Refinery
distillation

 No Reboiliers
 Heat of vaporization is supplied to the feed stream
rather than reboiling it
 Side streams
 Products of intermediate volatility taken out at various
locations
 Live steam injection
 Injected at the bottom of the column and side strippers
for secondary control of the IBP
Atmospheric Distillation Unit
• Feed: Desalted crude oil

• Passed through heat exchange equipment

• Temperature increased to 2880C by reflux streams


and product

• Further heated to 3990C in a furnace

• Charged to flash zone of atmospheric


fractionators
Pressure in ATU

 Pressures are slightly above the atmospheric

 Raises the boiling point of the light ends so that refinery


cooling water may be used condense some propane and
butane in the overhead distillate

 Pressurize the uncondensed gases to the meant


processing step

 Allow for column pressure drop


Products

• Side streams are taken out in the order of


increasing volatility

• Lighter products come from the overheads

• Heavier products taken from the bottom


Tower

• 30-50 trays

• 5-8 trays required for each side stream

• Same number is required above and below


the plate

• Hence 4 side streams require 30-42 trays


Liquid side stream

• Separate stripping tower (4-10 trays) used to


strip light ends for each side stream

• Steam used for this purpose

• Steam and light ends vented back into the


vapour zones of the atmospheric tower
Overhead condenser

• Condenses pentane and heavier fractions


(Light gasoline)

• Some returned as reflux

• Remainder sent to stabilisation section to


separate butane and propane
Reboilers

• No reboilers are used

• Instead, steam is introduced at the bottom


of each tray

• Function of steam
o Reduces the vapour pressure of hydrocarbons and
lowers the required vaporization temperature
Reflux

• Top Tray Reflux

• Pump back

• Pump around
Top Tray Reflux

 The tower has the reflux at the top tray only


 More vapour is generated

 Requires greater tower diameter

 Quality of fractions not satisfactory


Pump back reflux

 Reflux is provided at regular intervals


 Every plate has good amount of liquid

 Tower is uniformly loaded

 Lesser tower diameter

 More satisfactory operation


Pump around reflux

 Reflux is taken from lower plate, cooled and


fed into the column at higher section by 2-3
plates
Prefractionation

 To recover lighter fractions, when the crude contains


high % of light ends
 A flash drum or prefractionator is provided
 Remainder of crude is sent to ATU
Prefractionation: Design 1
Prefractionation: Design 2
Distillation yield
VACUUM DISTILLATION
Vacuum Distillation

 Need
 Heavier fractions require high temperatures
 Thermal cracking might occur
 Results in loss of product and equipment fouling
 Hence under vacuum BP decreases with decrease in
pressure
Conditions

 25-40 mm absolute pressure


 Effective pressure upto 10 mm by addition of steam to
furnace inlet and to the bottom of the tower
 Pressure is maintained by steam ejectors and
barometric condensers or vacuum pumps and surface
condensers
Need for addition of steam to furnace inlet

 Increases the tube velocity


 Minimizes coke formation
 Decreases the total hydrocarbon partial pressure
 Furnace outlet temp. are of the order of 388-454 0C
Operating conditions

 Dry
 Wet
 Damp
Operating conditions

 Dry
 When no steam is added…. Gives highest temp
 Wet
 When steam is added to furnace inlet and to the bottom
of vacuum tower…. Gives lowest temp
 Damp
 When steam is added to furnace inlet only.. Gives
intermediate temperature
Vacuum Distillation Products

Product Uses

Light Vacuum Gas Oil (LVGO) a) Blending component for LDO


b) Feedstock for catalytic cracker/hydrocracker

Heavy Vacuum Gas Oil (HVGO) a) A feed component for visbreaker


b) Feedstock for catalytic cracker/hydrocracker

Vacuum Residue a) Bitumen Production


b) A feed component for visbreaker
Auxiliary Equipment

 Flash drum between feed preheat exchanger and


furnace
 To separate the lower boiling fractions which directly
flow into the flash zone of distillation column
 Stabilizer in crude distillation section
 To remove the propanes and butanes from overhead
condensed stream
Operation of Fractionating Column

 Temperature
 Column Pressure
 Flow rates
 Reflux
 Stripping Stream
Temperature

 Top temperature is the dew point of the overhead


product
 Bottom temperature is the bubble point of the bottom
product
 Side stream temperature is the temperature at which
the desired product will be in the liquid state
How to increase or decrease the IBP or
FBP
 Top product: by increasing or decreasing the top tray
temperature

 IBP of the first side stream can be improved by


increasing the top tray temperature
How to increase or decrease the IBP or
FBP
 FBP of a side product can be increased by by opening
the side draw off valve and closing the side draw off
valve of the next lower product.
 IBP can be increased by closing the side draw off valve
and opening the draw off valve of the next higher
product.
 Finally they are controlled by stream stripping
Furnace outlet temperature

 Maintained just below the temperature at which the


crude begins to crack

 It is the temperature at which the total vaporization is


enough to give all the distillate products above the top
tray and a quantity of overflash
Furnace outlet temperature

 Maintained just below the temperature at which the


crude begins to crack

 It is the temperature at which the total vaporization is


enough to give all the distillate products above the top
tray and a quantity of overflash

For what and how much?


Why is overflash required?

 To provide reflux in the diesel section for washing


down heavier material

 Usually 3-6% weight of crude


Pressure

 It is the lowest possible pressure which permits the


satisfactory condensation of the top product with the
available cooling medium

 Kept slightly higher than required so as to decrease the


vapour load and subsequently reduce the column
diameter.
Flow rates

 Determined by feed composition and the degree of


separation
 These are function of reflux rates
Reflux

 Purpose
 To provide liquid in the rectifying section to cause
vapour liquid contact resulting in fractionation
 To maintain temperature gradient in the column
Stripping steam

 Reduces the partial pressure of the liquid in the


distillation column. Reduces the distillation
temperature and hence decreases fuel consumption
 Maximum amount of steam is subject to following
constraints
 Load on condenser
 Lowest side product does not become coloured

 Column does not get flooded.


Stability of the column operation

 Excessive vapour or liquid load leads to


 Pulsation
 Dumping

 Coning

 Blowing

 Entrainment

 Flooding
Pulsation

 Amount of vapour passing through a tray is small


 The bubble caps pass the vapours intermittently
 This causes pulsating conditions on the tray

 Result
 Poor vapour liquid contact
 Liquid dumps through the cap riser to the tray below
and causes short circuiting of the liquid
Dumping

 High liquid loads when bubble caps donot pass vapour


 This occurs when the KE of the liquid stream is greater
than vapour driving force
Coning

 Vapours pass to the tray above without contacting the


liquid
 This happens when the combination of weir height
and the liquid crest over the weir does not adequately
seal the cap slots
 A liquid seal of 0.5 inches can prevent coning
Blowing

 The amount of vapour passing through tears holes in


the liquid on the tray
Entrainment

 Two types
 A relatively fine mist is carried to the tray above by
superficial vapour velocity
 Large droplets of liquid are jetted from one tray to the
next

 Remedy
 A proper distribution of feed and reflux can avoid
entrainment
Flooding

 Liquid foam mixture in the downpipe builds up and


overflows to the tray above
 Liquid builds up in the column
 Liquid flows out of the top of the column
 Inoperative condition
Reducing energy requirement in
columns
 Excessive reflux and reboil should be avoided
 Reducing the column pressure
 Controlling overflash

 Maximizing pumparounds

 New trays and packings of higher efficiency

 Feed should be preheated

 Feed point should be identified correctly


Reducing energy requirement in
columns
 Trays function at maximum loading. Loading can be
adjusted by changing
 pressure
 % of feed vapourization

 throughput

 Reduce the consumption of stripping stream


 By conducting plant trials
Reducing energy requirement in
columns
 Installation of intermediate boilers
 Less heat required which can be satisfied by low grade
heat sources

 Overhead vapour recompression with heat pump


 Overhead vapours are compressed and condensed to
supply the required heat of vaporization to the bottom
product

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