PETROLEUM

REFINERY

Thermophysical Properties of
Petroleum Fractions and Crude
Oils
 Crude Distillation Unit
o Crude distillation unit (CDU) is at the front end of the refinery, also known as
topping unit, or atmospheric distillation unit.
o It receives high flow rates hence its size and operating cost are the largest in the
refinery.
o Many crude distillation units are designed to handle a variety of crude oil types.
o The design of the unit is based on a light crude scenario and a heavy crude
scenario.
o The unit should run satisfactorily at about 60% of the design feed rate.
o Seasonal temperature variation should be incorporated in the design because
changes in the cut point of gasoline can vary by 20 C (36 F) between summer and
winter.
 Crude Distillation Unit
o The capacity of the CDU ranges from 10,000 barrels per stream day
(BPSD) or 1400 metric tons per day (tpd) to 400,000 BPSD (56,000
metric tpd).
o The economics of refining favours larger units.
o A good size CDU can process about 200,000 BPSD.
o The unit produces raw products which have to be processed in
downstream unit to produce products of certain specifications.
o This involves the removal of undesirable components like sulphur,
nitrogen and metal compounds, and limiting the aromatic contents.
 Products from CDU
Typical products from the unit are:
 Gases
 Light straight run naphtha (also called light gasoline or light naphtha)
 Heavy gasoline (also called military jet fuel)
 Kerosene (also called light distillate or jet fuel)
 Middle distillates called diesel or light gas oil (LGO)
 Heavy distillates called atmospheric gas oil (AGO) or heavy gas oil
(HGO)
 Crude column bottoms called atmospheric residue or topped crude.
Process Description
 Process Description
o Crude oil is pumped from storage tanks where it is freed from sediments
and free water by gravity.
o It goes through a series of heat exchangers where it is heated with hot
products coming out from the distillation column and by the exchange
with heat from the pump around liquid streams.
o The temperature of the crude feed can reach 120–150 C (248–302 F).
o The crude oil contains salt in the form of dissolved salt in the tiny
droplet of water which forms a water-in oil emulsion.
 Process Description
o This water cannot be separated by gravity or through mechanical
means.
o It is separated through electrostatic water separation.
o This process is called desalting.
o In the electrostatic desalter, the salty water droplets are caused to
coalesce and migrate to the aqueous phase by gravity.
o It involves mixing the crude with dilution water (5–6 vol%) through a
mixing valve.
o The crude is further heated in product heat exchangers.
 Process Description
o The preheating of the crude using the hot products cools down the
products to the desired temperature for pumping to the storage tanks.
o This is essential for the economics of the unit in terms of energy
conservation and utilization.
o Of course, preheating is not enough, as the crude has to be partially
vaporized to the extent that all products, except for the atmospheric
residue have to be in the vapour phase when the crude enters the
atmospheric distillation column.
o Thus, a furnace is required to boost the temperature to between 330 and
385 C (626 and 725 F) depending on the crude composition.
 Process Description
The partially vaporized crude is transferred to the flash zone of the column
located at a point lower down the column and above what is called the
stripping section.
The main column is typically 50 m (164 ft) high and is equipped with about
30–50 valve trays.
The vapour goes up in tremendous amounts and at a high flow rate,
necessitating a large diameter column above the flash zone.
At the bottom of the stripping section, steam is injected into the column to
strip the atmospheric residue of any light hydrocarbon and to lower the
partial pressure of the hydrocarbon vapours in the flash zone.
 Process Description
o This has the effect of lowering the boiling point of the hydrocarbons
and causing more hydrocarbons to boil and go up the column to be
eventually condensed and withdrawn as side streams.
o As the hot vapors from the flash zone rise through the trays up the
column, they are contacted by the colder reflux down the column.
o In the overhead condenser, the vapors are condensed and part of the
light naphtha is returned to the column as reflux.
o Further reflux is provided by several pump around streams along the
column.
 Process Description
o In the distillation tower, heat required for separation is provided by the
enthalpy of the feed.
o For effective separation heat has to be removed from the tower, in this
case, by the overhead condenser and several pumparound streams along
the tower length.
o The pumparound stream is a liquid withdrawn at a point below a side
stream tray that is cooled by the cold crude feed as part of the preheat
exchangers train.
o It is then returned to the column a few trays above the draw tray.
o This pumparound cooling accomplishes a number of tasks.
 Process Description
1. First, the cold liquid condenses more of the rising vapours thus, providing more reflux
to compensate for the withdrawal of products from the column.
2. Second, heat is removed from the column at higher temperatures.
This is in addition to the heat removal from the condenser which takes place at relatively
lower temperatures, thus the thermal efficiency of the column is improved and the
required furnace duty is reduced.
1. Third, pumparound streams reduce the vapour flow rate throughout the column.
o Therefore, the required column is smaller than what would otherwise be required if
pumparound streams are not present.
o The drawback to using more pumparound streams is that they tend to reduce the
fractionation because a more fractionated liquid is mixed after cooling with a less
fractionated liquid a few trays above.
 Process Description
o The side draw products are usually stripped to control their initial boiling point.
o The strippers contain several trays and the stripping is done using steam at the bottom
of the stripper or reboiler type side stream strippers.
o The end boiling point of the side stream is controlled by the flow rate of the side
stream product.
o The overhead vapour is condensed at the top of the tower by heat exchange with the
cool crude coming into the unit and by air and cooling water.
o The liquid product is called light straight run naphtha.
o Part of this product is returned to the column as an external reflux.
o Down the column, other products are withdrawn, such as heavy straight run naphtha,
kerosene or jet fuel, LGO and HGO.
 Process Description
o All of these products are withdrawn above the feed tray.
o The atmospheric residue is withdrawn from the bottom of the
column.
o The main column is equipped with between 30 and 50 valve trays.
Process Description