Chemical Engineering Study

COMPONENTS OF PETROLEUM

Crude oil is a complex mixture of several different hydrocarbons Each petroleum has physical,
chemical, and different appearances between locations. Physically the colour of crude oil is from clear
to black. Chemically crude oil is composed of 84% C, 14% H, 1-3% S, and less than 1% N2, O2, metal
and salt. Petroleum can be classified according to several parameters between other:

1. According to the hydrocarbon source

Petroleum is a fuel sourced from fossils and further classified as a hydrocarbon resource. Energy
resources that come from Fossils can be divided into two types, namely naturally occurring
hydrocarbons and hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons are formed through a conversion process. The two
types of hydrocarbon sources can be described as organic sediment.

Liquid phase organic sediment in the form of petroleum and gas phase in the form of natural gas can
be classified as a natural sources of hydrocarbons because they can be separated from the
components that make up the hydrocarbons in the absence of a given process. The constituent
components that are separated from petroleum and natural gas are constituents of hydrocarbons in
the source (well). These hydrocarbons. It is the main constituent of petroleum and natural gas. While
coal (coal) and kerogen must go through a heat decomposition process to produce hydrocarbons so
that they do not occur naturally. The heat decomposition process is the reason coal and kerogen are
included in the hydrocarbon category.

Figure 2.1 Classification of organic sediments on earth according to formation and production of
hydrocarbon
 2. According to the components of chemical composition (predominant amount of
hydrocarbons)

Paraffin is a class of hydrocarbon compounds that have a chain structure of straight (normal) and
branched (isomer) chains. The light fraction of paraffin is composed of paraffin straight chains found
in the gas phase and paraffin wax. While paraffin branched present in the heavy fraction with a higher
octane number than n-paraffin. Aromatic are unsaturated hydrocarbons with a ring / cyclic shape
which are generally found in crude oil heavy fraction oil. The simplest form is benzene, while
naphthalene is a combination of two aromatic rings. Naphthene is a saturated hydrocarbon having
the formula In general, CnH2n in the cyclic form is found in all crude oil fractions except very light
fractions. The most commonly found naphthenes are single rings naphthenes C5 and C6.

In crude oil in addition to having a dominant hydrocarbon composition, there is a non-hydrocarbon

composition that complements the content of its constituent compounds. The non-hydrocarbon
components of crude oil include sulfur compounds, nitrogen compounds, oxygen compounds, and
metals.

a. Sulfur Compounds

Compounds that cause unpleasant odors in petroleum processing are acid and causes metal scale and
requires oxidation in oil processing earth. The types of sulfur compounds present in crude oil include:
• Hydrogen sulfide
• Carbon disulfide
• Mercaptans (R-SH)
• Diethyl sulfide (non-corrosive)
• Thiophenes
• Benzothiophenes

b. Nitrogen Compounds

Crude oil has a very small nitrogen content (0.1 - 0.9%) and relatively stable at high enough
temperatures so that it is difficult to decompose during the cracking process simple. Nitrogen
compounds give basic properties to crude oil, and tend to exist in the heavy fraction of crude oil and
more in light crude oil.

c. Oxygen Compounds

The total content of oxygen compounds in crude oil is about 2% by weight. The presence of oxygen in
petroleum is important for several reasons, namely:
• The boiling point of the fraction increases with increasing oxygen content
• Oxygen is in the form of organic, carboxylic, or phenolic acids in the fraction of light or medium
• Extraction methods or techniques based on saponification reactions are useful for
removing/decreasing oxygen content

d. Metal
It is a residue of burning crude oil in the form of soluble inorganic salts in water (chloride, Na2SO4,
K2SO4, MgSO4, CaSO4).
The main groups of inorganic compounds present in petroleum include:
• Zn, Ti, Ca, and Mg
 • Vanadium and nickel (including very small amounts of Fe)
• Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the result of bicarbonate decomposition in crude oil or on steam
equipment in the distillation process
• Naphthenic acid is an organic acid that is corrosive at T = 450 °F

3. According to the United States Bureau of Mines

This classification is the most widely used today with API gravity key fractions Number 1 and Number
2 as the basis for classification or so to speak using a distillation range. The number 1 key fraction is
the petroleum fraction which boils at a temperature of 250 °C – 270 °C (480 °F – 520 °F) at a pressure
of 1 atm, while key fraction Number 2 boils at 275°C – 300°C (525°F – 570°F) at a pressure of 40 mm
Hg. Kerosene is included in the number 1 key fraction and lubricating oil includes the number 2 key
fraction.

API gravity is a function of specific gravity which follows the following equation:

Specific gravity (sg) is the density of a substance compared to the density of water at 60 °F expressed
in Sp gr 60/°F.

4. According to UOP “K” factor

This classification uses the specific gravity and the average boiling point of the petroleum fraction as
the basis for making a correlation index according to the following equation.

C I = 473.7 d – 456.8 + 48,640/K

K = average boiling point of petroleum fraction determined by Bureau of standards Mines

d = specific gravity

C I (correlation index):
0 - 15 = paraffin dominant in oil fraction
15 – 50 = predominantly naphthalene or a mixture of paraffin, naphthalene, and aromatic
> 50 = aromatic dominant

5. According to API (American Petroleum Institute) gravity or specific gravity

The greater the API gravity value, the lighter the fraction there is in crude oil. If the number of carbon
atoms is less and hydrogen atoms are more and the value of The API gravity is large, so crude oil has
a lot of paraffin content and tends to produce gasoline and light fraction products. On the other hand,
if the number of carbon atoms is more large and few hydrogen atoms then crude oil is rich in aromatic
compounds.

6. According carbon Distribution

Useful for determining the distribution of carbon and knowing the percentage of carbon in the
structure aromatic (% CA), naphthenic structure (% CN), and paraffin structure (% CP). Using method
n-d-M where n = refractive index; d = density; M = molecular weight.
Example:
% CA (high) at Td (boiling point) = 500 °C (930 °F) indicates high asphaltenes content in residue.
% CNP (high) at Td (boiling point) = 500 °C (930 °F) indicates wax residue.
7. According viscosity-gravity constant (VGC)
Along with the characterization factor according to UOP is used as an indication of the paraffin
properties of crude oil.

d = specific gravity at 60°/60 °F

v = Saybolt viscosity at 39 °C (100 °F)

8. According Pour Point

Pour Point is the lowest temperature at which the petroleum sample can still flow by itself when
cooled under inspection conditions (ASTM D97). The pour point is an important factor in the
production process regarding efficiency energy to raise the reservoir temperature above the pour
point.
Example :
pour point bitumen = 50 °C – 100 °C (122 °F–212 °F)
deposit temperature = 4 °C–10 °C (39 °F–50 °F)

Reference: petroleum chemistry lecture module, Bayu Wiyantoko, M.sc 2016.