Crude Distillation Chapter Three

Vacuum Distillation

The furnace outlet temperatures required for atmospheric

pressure distillation of the heavier fractions of crude oil are so
high that thermal cracking would occur, with the resultant loss of
product and equipment fouling. These materials are therefore
distilled under vacuum because the boiling temperature decreases
with a lowering of the pressure.
Distillation is carried out with absolute pressures in the tower
flash zone area of 25 to 40 mmHg. To improve vaporization, the
effective pressure is lowered even further (to 10 mmHg or less)
by the addition of steam to the furnace inlet and at the bottom of
the vacuum tower. Addition of steam to the furnace inlet increases
the furnace tube velocity and minimizes coke formation in the
furnace as well as decreasing the total hydrocarbon partial
pressure in the vacuum tower. The amount of stripping steam
used is a function of the boiling range of the feed and the fraction
vaporized, but generally ranges from 10 to 50 lb/bbl feed.
Furnace outlet temperatures are also a function of the boiling
range of the feed and the fraction vaporized as well as of the feed
coking characteristics. High tube velocities and steam addition
minimize coke formation, and furnace outlet temperatures in the
range of 730 to 850°F (388 to 454°C) are generally used.
Typically the highest furnace outlet temperatures are for ‘‘dry’’
operation of the vacuum unit; that is, no steam is added either to
the furnace inlet or to the vacuum column. The lowest furnace
outlet temperatures are for ‘‘wet’’ operation when steam is added
to both the furnace inlet and to the bottom of the vacuum tower.
Intermediate temperatures are used for ‘‘damp’’ operation of the
vacuum unit when steam is added to the furnace inlet only. For
most crude oils the furnaces can be operated from three to five
years between turnarounds.
The effective pressure (total absolute pressure–partial pressure of
the steam) at the flash zone determines the fraction of the feed
vaporized for a given furnace outlet temperature, so it is essential
to design the fractionation tower, overhead lines, and condenser
Crude Distillation Chapter Three

to minimize the pressure drop between the vacuum- inducing

device and the flash zone. A few millimeters decrease in pressure
drop will save in operating costs.
The lower operating pressures cause significant increases in the
volume of vapor per barrel vaporized and, as a result, the vacuum
distillation columns are much larger in diameter than atmospheric
towers. The desired operating pressure is maintained by the use
of steam ejectors and barometric condensers or vacuum pumps
and surface condensers. The size and number of ejectors and
condensers used is determined by the vacuum needed and the
quality of vapors handled. For a flash zone pressure of 25 mmHg,
three ejector stages are usually required. The first stage condenses
the steam and compresses the non-condensable gases, while the
second and third stages remove the non-condensable gases from
the condensers. The vacuum produced is limited to the vapor
pressure of the water used in the condensers.

Process Description

The Figure shows the flow diagram of the vacuum distillation

unit. The atmospheric residue can be sent directly to the vacuum
unit after heat extraction in the crude preheat exchangers train. If
it is sent to storage, the temperature should not be below 150oC
(300oF) to control the viscosity necessary for proper flow. It is
then heated in several exchangers by the hot products and
pumparounds of the vacuum unit. Final heating to 380–415oC
(716–779oF) is done in a fired heater. To minimize thermal
cracking and coking, steam is injected in the heater tube passes.
The feed enters the vacuum tower at the lower part of the column.
As in the case of atmospheric distillation, a 3–5 vol% overflash is
maintained (i.e., 3–5 vol% vapors are produced more than the
total products withdrawn above the flash zone). This is to provide
some fractionation between the HVGO drawoff tray and the flash
zone, thereby controlling its end point. The distillate is withdrawn
as LVGO and two other cuts, MVGO and HVGO. The two cuts
of MVGO and HVGO are necessary to extract heat from the
tower at a more advantageous level from the HVGO pumparound.
Crude Distillation Chapter Three

Vacuum distillation columns are equipped with packing for

fractionation and heat exchange zones. This is in order to reduce
the pressure drop in the column which is necessary for creating a
low vacuum in the lower section of the column. The bottom zone
is equipped with valve trays. The vapors from the flash zone go
through a wash and fractionation zone where the heavy ends are
condensed with HVGO reflux. Further up, the column sections
(consisting of a heat exchange and fractionation zone) are
separated by sprays of liquid from the pumparound or the internal
reflux.
Vacuum distillation units have a system to create the vacuum that
uses either ejectors or a combination of ejectors and liquid ring
pumps. Ejectors recompress the gases through a nozzle where
vapors from the column are sucked into the venturi section of the
nozzle by a stream of medium or low pressure steam. The vapour
phase at the ejector exit is partially condensed in an exchanger
with cooling water. The liquid phase is then sent to the overhead
drum. The vapour phase goes from the condenser to another
ejector-condenser stage. Liquid ring pumps are similar to rotor
gas compressors. One pump can replace two or three stages of
ejectors in dry or wet type vacuum distillation. They do not use
steam and can significantly reduce hydrocarbon-rich aqueous
condensates in a system using ejectors. Systems with ejectors are
much more flexible and rapid to put into operation. The higher
investments required by liquid ring pumps are offset by reduced
steam consumption and lower installation costs.
Crude Distillation Chapter Three
Crude Distillation Chapter Three
Crude Distillation Chapter Three
Crude Distillation Chapter Three