MARWADI UNIVERSITY PETROLEUM REFINING AND PETROCHEMICALS (09CH0503)
FACULTY OF DIPLOMA STUDIES UNIT: 2 PROPERTIES OF CRUDE AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
UNIT : 2 PROPERTIES OF CRUDE AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
1.1 PRIMARY TREATMENT OF CRUDE OIL
➢ Dehydration and Desalting of crude oil
➢ Crude oil contains water, inorganic salts, suspended solids, and water-soluble trace
metals.
➢ First step in the refining process is to remove salt and solids to reduce corrosion,
plugging, and fouling of equipment and to prevent poisoning of the catalysts in
processing units. Contaminants must be removed by desalting (dehydration).
➢ If the salt content of the crude is greater than 10 lb/1000 bbl (expressed as NaCl), the
crude requires desalting to minimize fouling and corrosion caused by salt deposition
on heat transfer surfaces and acids formed by decomposition of chloride salts.(<1000
lb/bbl).
Most typical methods of crude-oil desalting:
• Chemical and Electrostatic separation: Washing of the salt from crude oil with
water oil and water phases are separated in a settling tank by adding chemicals to
assist in breaking up emulsion or by the application of electrostatic field to collapse
the droplets of saltwater more rapidly.
• Chemical desalting: Water and chemical surfactant (demulsifiers) are added to the
crude, heated so that salts and other impurities dissolve into the water or attach to the
water, and then held in a tank where they settle out.
• Electric desalting: Under charge condition polar molecules get oriented and get
separated. More than 90% of salt can be removed in just less than half an hour.
1.2 VARIOUS REFINERY PRODUCTS
The various refinery products are:
1. Low Boiling Products: methane, ethane, propane, butane, Liquified
Petroleum Gas(LPG), Middle Distillate fuels (such as Jet or turbine fuels
,diesel fuels, and heating oils).
1 DIVYA O.TIRVA
CHEMICAL DEPARTMENT
MARWADI UNIVERSITY, RAJKOT
MARWADI UNIVERSITY PETROLEUM REFINING AND PETROCHEMICALS (09CH0503)
FACULTY OF DIPLOMA STUDIES UNIT: 2 PROPERTIES OF CRUDE AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
2. Atmospheric Gas Oil
3. Bitumen:
4. Asphalt
5. Residual Fuel Oils
Low-Boiling Products:
• The compounds which are in the gas phase at ambient temperatures and
pressures methane, ethane, propane, butane, and the corresponding olefins.
Methane (C1)
• It is usually used as a refinery fuel, but can be used as a feedstock for
hydrogen production by pyrolytic cracking and reaction with steam.
Refinery Gases:
• Ethane (C2) can be used as refinery fuel or as a feedstock to produce hydrogen
or ethylene, which are used in petrochemical processes.
• Ethylene and hydrogen are recovered in the refinery and sold to petrochemical
plants.
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG):
• Mixture of light HCs propane and butane, gases at ambient temperature but
condensed to liquid state by applying moderate pressure.
• Mainly consists of propane, propylene, butane, butene, and iso - butane.
• A significant amount of isobutane is converted to isobutylene which is reacted
with methanol to produce methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE).
• Used as an additive for gasoline.
• n-butane as LPG has the disadvantage of a fairly high boiling point [32 °F (0 °C)
at 760 mmHg] and during the winter is not satisfactory for heating when stored
outdoors in areas which frequently have temperatures below freezing. Isobutane
has a boiling point of 11 °F (12 °C) and is also unsatisfactory for use in
• LPG for heating in cold climates.
• Butane–propane mixtures are also sold as LPG, and their properties and standard
test procedures are also specified by the GPA.
• Use Domestic fuel, feed stock for various chemicals and fuel for IC engine.
Gasoline /Motor Spirit:
• Gasolines are complex mixtures of hydrocarbons having typical boiling ranges from
100 to 400 °F (38 to 200 °C)as determined by the ASTM method.
• Hydrocarbon range: C5-C10(mainly n-paraffins, iso paraffins,naphthenes and
aromatic hydrocarbons).
Distillate Fuels
• Middle Distillate fuels can be divided into three types:
2 DIVYA O.TIRVA
CHEMICAL DEPARTMENT
MARWADI UNIVERSITY, RAJKOT
MARWADI UNIVERSITY PETROLEUM REFINING AND PETROCHEMICALS (09CH0503)
FACULTY OF DIPLOMA STUDIES UNIT: 2 PROPERTIES OF CRUDE AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
• Jet or turbine fuels, diesel fuels, and heating oils.
• Kerosene type jet fuels: mainly used in commercial jet airlines.
Residual Fuel Oils:
• Residual fuel oil : composed of the heaviest parts of the crude and is generally the
fractionating tower bottoms from vacuum distillation.
• Heavy fuel oils: with very low sulfur contents are much in demand and sell at prices
near those of the crude oils from which they are derived.
Bitumen
• Mixture of Bitumen in oil containing much mineral matter
• Bitumen obtained from distillation column is poor in quality.
• Air blowing is done to obtain suitable grade.
Use: High way construction, water proofing coating etc.
Asphalt
• Residue obtained from CDU.
• Solid at room temperature. Highly viscosity.
• Asphalt: mixture of bitumen in oil containing mineral matter.
Atmospheric Gas Oil:
• ASTM end point 42oC
• Not a market product.
• VGO: Product obtained from vacuum distillation unit. ASTM boiling range 420-600
C.
1.3 DISTILLATION OF CRUDE: ATMOSPHERIC DISTILLATION, VACUUM
DISTILLATION OF CRUDE RESIDUE
Desalted crude flows to atmospheric and vacuum distillation through crude pre flashing
section.
Crude oil distillation consists of atmospheric and vacuum distillation. The heavier fraction of
crude oil obtained from atmospheric column requires high temperature. In order to avoid
cracking at higher temperature the heavier fraction are fractionated under vacuum.
Atmospheric distillation column (ADU) and Vacuum distillation column (VDU) are the main
primary separation processes producing various straight run products, e.g., gasoline to lube
oils/vacuum gas oils (VGO). These products, particularly the light and middle distillates, i.e.,
gasoline, kerosene and diesel are more in demand than their direct availability from crude
oils, all over the world.
3 DIVYA O.TIRVA
CHEMICAL DEPARTMENT
MARWADI UNIVERSITY, RAJKOT
MARWADI UNIVERSITY PETROLEUM REFINING AND PETROCHEMICALS (09CH0503)
FACULTY OF DIPLOMA STUDIES UNIT: 2 PROPERTIES OF CRUDE AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
(Figure: 1 Atmospheric and Vacuum Distillation)
1.3.1 ATMOSPHERIC COLUMN:
Various steps in atmospheric crude oil distillation are
Preheating of Desalted crude
Preflash
Distillation
Stabilization of Naphtha
The desalted crude oil from the second stage desalting process is heated in two parallel heat
exchangers. The preheated crude having temperature of about 180oC is goes to pre flash drum
where about 3-4percent of light ends are removed. The preheated crude from the pre-heater is
further heated and partially vaporized in the furnace containing tubular heater. The furnace
has two zones: radiant section and convection section. The radiant zone forms the combustion
zone and contains the burners. In convection zone the crude is further heated (inside the tube)
by the hot flue gases from the radiant section.
Heated and partially vaporized crude from the fired heaters enters the flash zone of the
column and fractionated in the atmospheric column. The distillation section consist of
4 DIVYA O.TIRVA
CHEMICAL DEPARTMENT
MARWADI UNIVERSITY, RAJKOT
MARWADI UNIVERSITY PETROLEUM REFINING AND PETROCHEMICALS (09CH0503)
FACULTY OF DIPLOMA STUDIES UNIT: 2 PROPERTIES OF CRUDE AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
overhead section, heavy naphtha section, kerosene section, light gas oil section, heavy gas oil
section and reduced crude section each section contains circulating reflux system.
Naphtha stabilizer, caustic wash and naphtha splitting section: The unstabilized naphtha from
the atmospheric distillation column is pumped to the naphtha stabilizer section for separation
of stabilized overhead vapours which is condensed to recover LPG which is treated in caustic
and amine treating unit. The stabilized naphtha is further separated into light, medium and
heavy naphtha.
PRODUCTS of ADU: Major products from atmospheric column is light gases and
LPG, light naphtha, nmedium naphtha, heavy naphtha, kerosene, gas Oil(diesel),atmospheric
residue.
• Unstabilized Naphtha consists of LPG, naphtha and light gases (C-5 115 oC)
• Intermediate Naphtha (Bombay High) (135oC) Solvent Naphtha
• Heavy Naphtha (130-150 oC) routed to diesel or naphtha.
• Kero/ATF (Aviation Turbine Fuel) (140-270/250oC)
• Light Gas Oil (250/270-320oC)
• Heavy Gas Oil (320-380oC)
• Reduced Crude Oil
1.3.2 VACUUM DISTILLATION COLUMN (VDU)
The bottom product also called reduced crude oil, from the atmospheric column is
fractionated in the vacuum column. Reduced crude oil is very heavy compared to crude oil
distilling under pressure requires high temperature. Distillation under vacuum permits
fractionation at lower temperature which avoids cracking of the reduced crude oil and coking
of the furnace tube. Vacuum is maintained using three stage steam ejector. The reduced crude
oil from atmospheric column at about 360oC is heated and partially vaporized in the furnace.
The temperature in the flash zone of the tower is controlled by the furnace coil outlet
temperature. The preheated and partially vapourised reduced crude enters the flash zone of
vacuum column where it is fractionated into various streams.
PRODUCTS FROM VDU: Various products from VDU are Light gas oil, Heavy gas
oil, light lube distillate, medium lube distillate, and heavy lube distillate and vacuum column
residue
OPERATING PRESSURE OF VACUUM COLUMN:
About 90-95 mm Hg at the top and
About 135-140 mm Hg at the bottom
(LINK:https://www.e-education.psu.edu/fsc432/content/atmospheric-and-vacuum-
distillation-units)
5 DIVYA O.TIRVA
CHEMICAL DEPARTMENT
MARWADI UNIVERSITY, RAJKOT
