TEXT BOOK

Petroleum Refining: Technology and

Economics; 5th Edition. By: James
H. Gary and Glenn E. Handwerk.
Marcel Dekker, Inc. New York, 2007.
Overview of a Petroleum Refinery
INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1
 The 10 largest crude oil producers The 10 largest crude oil consumers
in 2020 in 2019
Country Million bbls/ day Share of world total Country Million bbls/ day Share of world total

United States 18.61 20% United States 20.54 20%

Saudi Arabia 10.81 12% China 14.01 14%

Russia 10.50 11% India 4.92 5%

Canada 5.23 6% Japan 3.74 4%

Russia 3.70 4%
China 4.86 5%
Saudi Arabia 3.18 3%
Iraq 4.16 4%
Brazil 3.14 3%
United Arab Emirates 3.78 4%
South Korea 2.60 3%
Brazil 3.77 4%
Canada 2.51 3%
Iran 3.01 3%
Germany 2.35 2%
Kuwait 2.75 3%
Total top 10 60.69 60%
Total top 10 67.49 72%
World total 100.23
World total 93.86

Source: International Energy Statistics

Largest oil refineries worldwide as of 2019,
based on capacity

(barrels per day)

 Why Do We Refine Crude Oil (Petroleum)

• Petroleum is a mixture of hydrocarbons – chemical combinations

composed mainly of C, H, S, N, and O
• Petroleum is often restricted to the liquid form, but it also
includes natural gas and the solid bitumen or a combination of
these three states.
• Petroleum straight from the ground has some value, but not a lot.
Therefore ;
• Refining Processes breaks Crude Oil down into its valuable
products that can be sold in the market.
 Basics of Hydrocarbon Chemistry

• Properties of HCs depend on the number and

arrangement of the carbon and hydrogen atoms in the
molecules. The simplest HC molecule is one carbon
atom linked with four hydrogen atoms: methane. All
other variations of petroleum HCs evolve from this
molecule.

• Hydrocarbons containing up to 4 carbon atoms are

usually gases, those with 5-19 carbon atoms are usually
liquids, and those with ≥ 20 are solids.
 Basics of Hydrocarbon Chemistry: cont.
• Refining process uses chemicals, catalysts, heat,
and pressure to separate and combine the basic
types of HC molecules naturally found in crude oil
into groups of similar molecules.

• Refining process also rearranges the HC molecules

structures and bonding patterns into different HC
molecules and compounds. Therefore, it is the type
of the HC (paraffinic, naphthenic, or aromatic)
rather than its specific chemical compounds that is
significant in the refining process.
 Elemental Analysis of Crude Oil

Element % by weight
Carbon 84-87
Hydrogen 11-14
Sulfur 0.06-2.0
Nitrogen 0.1-2.0
Oxygen 0.1-2.0
 Crude Oil Composition - Hydrocarbons
Hydrocarbons

Aliphatics Aromatics or the benzene series

CnH2n-6
Benzene, toluene,
Good for high Octane No.

Alkanes or Paraffins Alkenes or Olifiens Cyclic aliphatics or Napthenes

CnH2n+2 CnH2n CnH2n single bond
Methane, i-Butane Not in oil but after processing in most oils: Cyclohexane
nonreactive and stable Undesirable: form gums( ethylene or ethene) Stable

Methane (CH4) Butane (C4H10) Ethylene (C2H4)

Methyl Cyclopentane (C6H12) Benzene (C6H6)

1-Butene (C4H8)

Iso Butane (C4H10)

Isobutene (C4H8) Cyclohexane (C6H12) Naphthalene (C10H8)

 What Happens During Refining?

Refining starts with separation of the crude oil through

distillation
The refinery capacity is reported in terms of its
distillation capacity
• Distillation produces fractions or cuts

• These cuts have volatilities (Boiling range) close

to those of final products

• These cuts are further converted by changing

the size and/or the structure of the molecules
through chemical conversion processes
Basic Refinery Process Flow
 Petroleum Refining Operations
Petroleum refining processes and operations can be separated
into four basic areas:

1- Fractionation (distillation) is the separation of crude oil in

atmospheric and vacuum distillation towers into groups of
hydrocarbon compounds of differing boiling-point ranges
called "fractions" or "cuts."

2- Conversion processes change the size and/or structure of

hydrocarbon molecules. These processes include:
- Decomposition (dividing) by thermal and catalytic cracking
- Unification (combining) through alkylation and
polymerization.
- Alteration (rearranging) with isomerization and catalytic
reforming.
 Petroleum Refining Operations: cont.
3- Treatment processes are intended to prepare hydrocarbon
streams for additional processing and to prepare finished
products. Treatment may include:
– Removal or separation of aromatics and naphthenes as
well as impurities and undesirable contaminants.
– Chemical or physical separation such as dissolving,
absorption, or precipitation using a variety and
combination of processes including desalting, drying,
hydro-desulfurizing, solvent refining, sweetening,
solvent extraction, and solvent dewaxing.

4- Formulating and Blending is the process of mixing and

combining hydrocarbon fractions, additives, and other
components to produce finished products with specific
performance properties.
 Other Petroleum Refining Operations
• Light-ends recovery
– Process- and cooling-water treatment
– Storage and handling
– Hydrogen production
– Acid and tail-gas treatment
– Sulfur recovery.
 Auxiliary Operations and Facilities
– Steam and power generation
– Process and fire water systems
– Flares and relief systems
– Furnaces and heaters
– Pumps and valves
– Alarms and sensors
– Noise and pollution controls
– Laboratory, control room, maintenance, and
administrative facilities.
 Refinery Configuration

• Refining Configuration depends on the demand for gasoline,

diesel, fuel oil, and petrochemicals feed.
•The most widely used conversion processes are: catalytic
hydrotreating, catalytic cracking and catalytic reforming.
• Catalytic hydrocracking is used more particularly in Europe
compared to catalytic cracking due to high demand for diesel
and jet fuel.
• Refinery complexity is measured by estimating the % of
conversion capacity from the distillation capacity.
Petroleum Fuel Gas
Refinery Sweetening
Gas Plant
Process Sweetening
LPG
Chart
SRG
Sweetening Isomerization
To Gasoline
Blending
Naphtha
Hydrotreating Reforming
Crude Jet Fuel
Unit Jet Fuels
Dist. Hydrotreating
Diesel Diesel
Crude Jet Fuel
Hydrocracking
Oil

HGO Alkylation
Fluid Catalytic
Cracking To Gasoline
Bottoms (FCC) Blending
Sweetening

Coker
Diesel
HGO Coke to Sales
 Industry Characteristics

Not two crude oils are the same

Each crude oil produced in the world has a unique chemical
composition,
Crude oils differs in terms of gravity, sulfur content, acid
content
Over 150 crude oil grades are traded
Each refinery is unique
Refinery configuration, size, sophistication, and cost are
different from refinery to another depending on location,
crude type and products they produce
 Refinery Economics

Refinery economics are complicated. It depends on:

plant configuration, crude oil price, product prices, strategic
decisions, operating cost
Refinery net margins are about $0.5-4/bbl
$35 million per year for a 100,000 BPSD
Decision to upgrade, enhance, or modify existing configuration
Environmental investments incur expenses but do not
produce revenues and do not result in lower cost or
increased output, and so are expected to reduce ROI.
• If a 100,000 BPCD distillation unit costs
$10 Million, the cost per BPCD is $100.
• » If a 20,000 BPCD catalytic reforming unit
costs $10 Million, the cost per BPCD is
$500.
• » Catalytic reforming is 500/100=5 times
more complex than atmospheric distillation.
 Classification Name Complexity
range

Very simple Topping <2

Simple Hydroskimming 2–5

Complex Cracking, 5–14

conversion
Very complex Coking, deep >14
conversion
Specialty Lube oils, asphalt >5

Source :DOI 10.1007/s12182-016-0137-y