Humans have been using distillation since at least 3000 bc in the indus valley. Crude water hen hen desalter sour water furnace steam. Pdf crude oil is a fossil fuel, it was made naturally from decaying plants and animals living in ancient seas millions of years ago most places. The production of gas oil did increase slightly in the progressive scheme for light crude, but not substantially enough to compensate for the increased energy. Growth of an oil field schaefer 2005 how is crude oil processed. First flash vapor is water washed to remove soluble contaminants, and the resulting wash water and the first flash liquid are passed to a desalter. To separate topped crude into components, it must be distilled in a vacuum column at a very low pressure and in a steam atmosphere. Distilling exploits the characteristic of the chemicals in crude oil to boil at different temperatures, a phenomenon that engineers chart along distillation curves.
On the other hand, natural gas is composed primarily of methane 85 95% but may also contain ethane, propane and heavier hydrocarbons. Fractional distillation begins when the crude oil, which is a mixture of different hydrocarbons, is put into a highpressure steam boiler. The problem with crude oil is that it contains hundreds of different types of hydrocarbons all mixed together. The crude oil is heated to temperatures up to 1112 fahrenheit. Separating crude oil crude oil, hydrocarbons and alkanes. Finally the bottoms of the towers have valves ensuring safe operation of the pump.
In operation, the working atmospheric crude distillation column must meet three major processing objectives. Fractional distillation an overview sciencedirect topics. The main fractions or cuts obtained have specific boilingpoint ranges and can be classified in order of decreasing volatility into gases, light. In petroleum refining, the crude distillation unit cdu often referred to as the atmospheric distillation unit is usually the first processing equipment through which crude oil is fed. Once in the cdu, crude oil is distilled into various products, like naphtha, kerosene, and diesel, that then serve as feedstocks for all other processing. Its purpose is to distill the crude feedstock into various fractions, according to their boiling point ranges. The first step in the refining of crude oil, whether in a simple or a complex refinery, is the separation of the crude oil into fractions fractionation or distillation. Dynamic modelling of crude distillation unit abstract there is rapid growth in the usage and demand of crude oil in various industrial fields. Cracking is used to convert long alkanes into shorter, more useful hydrocarbons. Primary crude oil cuts in a typical refinery include gases, lightheavy naphtha, kerosene, light gas oil, heavy gas oil and. Petroleum refining processes are the chemical engineering processes and other facilities used in petroleum refineries also referred to as oil refineries to transform crude oil into useful products such as liquefied petroleum gas lpg, gasoline or petrol, kerosene, jet fuel, diesel oil and fuel oils. They can be up to 150 feet 50 meters tall and contain 20 to 40 fractionation trays spaced at regular intervals.
Abstract the aim of this experiment was to determine the distillation characteristics of crude oil that is the volume of distillate of crude oil which yielded. The crude oil distillation unit cdu is the first processing unit in virtually all petroleum refineries. Crude oil is a fossil fuel, it was made naturally from decaying plants and animals living in ancient seas millions of years ago most places you can find crude oil were once sea beds. The principles of vacuum distillation resemble those of fractional distillation commonly called atmospheric distillation to distinguish it from the vacuum method, except that largerdiameter columns are used to maintain comparable vapour velocities at reduced operating pressures. All crude oil entering the refinery passes through the atmospheric topping unit on the way to be further processed in downstream units. To understand the process of fractional distillation and the molecules involved link boiling point, viscosity and flammability to chain length what is crude oil. During distillation, the various types of hydrocarbons are separated into fractions sorted by boiling points. The main fractions or cuts obtained have specific boilingpoint ranges and can be classified in order of decreasing volatility into gases, light distillates, middle distillates, gas.
After desalting the feed is preheated in a series of heat exchangers and then heated to the process temperature in a furnace. Thus, the price of the petrol is rising due to the strongerthanexpected demand for petroleum products. Wetzel graham manufacturing company batavia, new york p aper will discuss in detail design considerations involved in. Examples of uses of distillation include purification of alcohol, desalination, crude oil refining, and making liquefied gases from air. Distillation of crude oil is carried out in two units, first in an atmospheric distillation unit also known as crude distillation unit, cdu, with further processing of the residue from atmospheric distillation in the vacuum distillation unit vdu, as illustrated in figure 4. Refining process hindustan petroleum corporation limited, india. This video describe the complete distillation process in a refinery. Industrial distillation columns do not provide perfectly sharp separations initial calculations using crude oil assays assume that all materials at a certain boiling point goes to one product or another imperfect separations result in light. Jan 14, 20 crude oil distillation process complete.
Petroleum refining petroleum refining vacuum distillation. Crude oils vary in color, from clear to tarblack, and in viscosity, from water to almost solid. Feed enters the distillation column at 25 barg 2973 psig and around. In a crude distillation process, there are valves controlling the flow of the feed into the furnaces. Petroleum refining processes and operations can be separated into five basic areas. On the energy efficiency of strippingtype crude distillation. Process overview crude distillation is the first major process in a refinery.
Jun 12, 2016 crude oil distillation simplified process shows in animation that how crude oil process is separates the the crude oil in its basic components before refining them to end product. Animation description will help you to understand the things better. Fortunately there is an easy way to separate things, and this is what oil refining. Fractional distillation separates a mixture into a number of different parts, called fractions a tall fractionating column is fitted above the mixture, with. Refining process hindustan petroleum corporation limited. Crude oil distillation is a large energy consumer and a large waste generator, so refiners need to balance the economics of processing crude oil to viable fractions. Heat recovery to reduce investment required and to reduce energy.
Environmental and economic impacts of crude oil and. Fractionation distillation is the separation of crude oil in atmospheric and. Distillation column with bubblecap trays modern crude distillation towers can process 200,000 barrels of oil per day. You have to separate the different types of hydrocarbons to have anything useful. Pdf distillation process of crude oil researchgate. Petrol and other fuels are produced from it using fractional distillation. The most common method of refining crude is the process of fractional distillation. Crude oil distillation an overview sciencedirect topics.
Crude oil distillation unit the crude oil distillation unit cdu is the first processing unit in virtually all petroleum refineries. Heat recovery to reduce investment required and to reduce energy costs. For crude oil to be used effectively by modern industry, it has to be separated into its component parts and have impurities like sulfur removed. Crude oil is first washed in desalting to remove salts and metals that could cause corrosive damage or catalyst deactivation in downstream units. Fractional distillation lesson interactive scientific. An evaluation of a progressive crude oil distillation scheme. Fractional distillation of crude oil cracking chemistry. The distillation process of crude oil is the main concern of this paper. But first the useful ones must be extracted from the crude oil and separated from one another. All the vapour from the crude oil flows to the top of the column and leaves it through a pipe. Crude oil is made up of a mixture of hydrocarbons, and the distillation process aims to separate this crude oil into broad categories of its component hydrocarbons, or fractions.
For example, if a continuous flow distiller is located away from the point of use in the kitchen, a special tap and distillation process of c rude oil crude oil is a fossil fuel, it was made naturally from decaying plants and animals living in ancient seas millions of years ago. Once the oil is extracted the extraction methods of crude oil will be discussed in greater detail throughout the paper the first process it undergoes is distillation. The first step in the refining process is the separation of crude oil into various fractions or straight run cuts by distillation in atmospheric and vacuum towers. Therefore, it is the first processing unit to be exposed to hot crude oil feedstock and provides feedstock for all of the rest of the units in the refinery. For example, you wouldnt put crude oil in the gas tank of your car. Unlike a still, a distilling column contains a set of trays that allow heated vapors to rise and collect at different levels, separating out the various liquids derived from crude oil. A crude oil refinery is a group of industrial facilities that turns crude oil and other inputs into finished petroleum products. Once in the cdu, crude oil is distilled into various products, like naphtha, kerosene, and diesel, that then serve as feedstocks for all other processing units at the refinery. Crude oil distillation simplified process shows in animation that how crude oil process is separates the the crude oil in its basic components before.
Most sour crudes have sulfur levels in the range of 1. In the simplest case, the products of a distillation process are limited to an overhead distillate and a bottoms, whose compositions. Identify data sources, gather, process and analyse information from secondary sources to identify the industrial separation processes used on a mixture obtained from the biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere or atmosphere. Once crude oil is extracted from the ground, it must be transported and refined into petroleum products that have any value. These fractions are mixtures containing hydrocarbon compounds whose boiling points lie within a specified range. Crude distillation step 1 in the refining process is the separation of crude oil into various fractions by distillation in atmospheric and vacuum towers. Initial separation of the crude oil for downstream processing. This can be a single crude oil or a mixture of several different crude oil grades. Most crude oil is dark brown or black but it could also occur in green, red or yellow colour. Crude oil distillation unit cdu is significant in refinery, and retrofitting a crude oil distillation unit is more common than building a new one as consideration of the enormous investment cost. Step 0 in the refining process is to remove these contaminants. Crude oil often contains water, inorganic salts, suspended solids, and water soluble trace metals. Lighter fractions like naphtha, kerosene and gas oil are separated from the crude oil at. The cdu distills the incoming crude oil into various fractions of different boiling ranges, each of which are then processed further in the other refinery processing units.
With this process, a distillation curve can be developed, which is a plot of temperature on one scale and the percent evaporated on the other. Practica in process engineering ii distillation introduction distillation is the process of heating a liquid solution, or a liquidvapor mixture, to derive o a vapor and then collecting and condensing this vapor. Dynamic modelling of crude distillation unit by tan weng khim. Fractional distillation of crude oil free download as word doc. Bitumen is produced by fractional distillation of crude oil. This is a tank that makes the oil boil and turn to vapor, much like boiling water turns into water vapor. Crude oil refinery flow diagram showing process chemical additives financial benefits whether it be extending equipment life due to corrosion inhibition, increasing production output due to enhanced deposit control, or shortening the the startup time during. Distillation is the most widely used method of achieving separation and this is the key operation in any crude oil process refinery. Distillation is the process of separating components of a mixture based on different boiling points. The distillation process can be carried out in continuous, batch or. Here, we reported the ideas of different processes of distillations and their steps. This involves heating crude oil to about 350 degrees celsius, to turn it into a mixture of gases. The distillation towers have valves controlling the flow of product, reflux and stripping steam. Each type of crude oil has a unique distillation curve that determines what kinds of chemical compounds are in the crude figure 3.
Heated hydrocarbon crude oil is passed into a first flash zone wherein it is separated into a first flash vapor and a first flash liquid. In the refining process, crude oil is refined to produce different petroleum products. Design of vacuum systems for crude oil vacuum tower distillation d. A part from that, crude oil products are also vital feedstock for. Apr 16, 2014 distillation of crude oil is carried out in two units, first in an atmospheric distillation unit also known as crude distillation unit, cdu, with further processing of the residue from atmospheric distillation in the vacuum distillation unit vdu, as illustrated in figure 4. In an attempt to achieve the demand for purer products, coupled with the need for greater efficiency, refinery operators have promoted continued research into the techniques. The distillation of the crude oil using the preliminary distillation unit at a temperature of 00c3000c results to the separation of crude oil by fractional distillation were the distillates gets separated using the difference of their boiling temperature. Reviewing crude oil extraction methods and investigating.
Refining adds value by converting crude oil which in itself has little enduse value into a range of refined products, including transportation fuels. The crude distillation unit is the first major unit in the refinery. Krishna1 definition and brief history desalination can be defined as any process that removes salts from water. Many useful products can be made from these hydrocarbons. Refinery crude oil distillation process complete full hd. In an attempt to achieve the demand for purer products, coupled. Crude oil can range from light, volatile oils that are highly fluid to highly viscous oils.
There objective is to separate the mixture into several fractions like naphtha, kerosene, diesel and gas oil. On the energy efficiency of strippingtype crude distillation shuncheng ji and miguel bagajewicz university of oklahoma, 100 east boyd street, t335, norman, oklahoma 73019 in this article, the energy efficiency of crude fractionation using strippingtype columns is. Crude oil refinery flow diagram showing process chemical. Explain how fractional distillation works 7 write balanced symbol equations for the complete combustion of hydrocarbons with a given formula 8 lesson objectives. The oil refining process is the central activity of downstream oil and gas companies. A schematic diagram of an atmospheric crude fractionation unit is shown in figure 11. Crude oil refinery flow diagram showing process chemical additives financial benefits whether it be extending equipment life due to corrosion inhibition, increasing production output due to enhanced deposit control, or shortening the the startup time during sulphidation operations, we have resolved to provide you. It was concluded that the preliminary distillation of crude oil yielded various products including straightrun gasoline, naphtha and kerosene. From crude oil how oil refining works howstuffworks. Opportunities and challenges congressional research service 2 background by crss recent count, some 115 refineriesrefinery complexes process roughly 18 million barrels per day mbd of crude oil in the united states.
Design of vacuum systems for crude oil vacuum tower. The primary input to an atmospheric distillation unit is crude oil. Crude oil is first heated and then put into a distillation column, also known as a still, where different products boil off and are recovered at different temperatures. The oil refining process starts with a fractional distillation column. Pdf operation and control of crude oil refining process using. The aim of this experiment was to determine the distillation characteristics of crude oil that is the volume of distillate of crude oil which yielded naphtha, kerosene and straight run gasoline and also the distillation loss of crude oil during the.
Atmospheric distillation process fundamental concepts. Kayode coker, in ludwigs applied process design for chemical and petrochemical plants fourth edition, volume 2, 2010. Step 1 in the refining process is to remove these contaminants so as to reduce corrosion, plugging, and fouling of equipment and to prevent poisoning catalysts in processing units. A refinerys capacity refers to the maximum amount of crude oil designed to flow into the distillation unit of a refinery, also known as the crude unit the diagram above presents a stylized version of the distillation process. Crude oil distillation is more complicated than product distillation, in part because crude oils contain water, salts, and suspended solids. Overview of crude units crude units are the first units that process petroleum in any refinery. This is a tank that makes the oil boil and turn to vapor, much like boiling water turns into. Crude oil distillation and the definition of refinery. This process separates the different components of crude oil so that they can be further refined. When distilled at atmospheric pressures, the crude oil decomposes and polymerizes and will foul equipment. In the vacuum distillation unit, topped crude is heated with a process heater to temperatures. A refinery may also re process a mixture of unfinished or offspec products called slops by blending with fresh crude oil and sending the blend to the distillation unit. In the refining industry, crude oil is called sweet low sulfur if its sulfur level is less than a threshold value e.