Technology for underwriters 27 Crude oil refineries

PART I: BASIC PRINCIPLES

Mnchener Rck Munich Re Group

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01 A row of heat exchangers 02 Two columns in a refinery complex

Crude oil refineries

1 CRUDE OIL Crude oil is of organic origin. As early as the 18th century its chemical composition was described as a mixture of several hydrocarbons in different quantitative proportions. Oil deposits have been found on all continents of the world except the Antarctic, albeit in a wide range of qualities. The individual types of crude oil differ greatly in appearance, ranging from a thin-bodied mass with a light straw colour to a black, viscous, malodorous and occasionally even semi-solid substance. They also differ substantially in terms of their specific weight. Crude oil is essentially comprised of the chemical elements carbon (weight percentage 8387%) and hydrogen (less than 16%). The other chemical elements it contains are impurities and these need to be removed during the production process. Crude oil contains 1 to 2% sulphur, its most important chemical impurity. Other trace elements are, for example, oxygen, nitrogen and various metals. Hydrocarbons Carbon is a quadrivalent element, i.e. it has four bonds to other atoms, whereas hydrogen is monovalent and can bond with only one other atom. Unlike the majority of other elements, carbon atoms can string together to form chain or ring structures. Longer chains can branch off and form new substances with the same number of carbon atoms in one molecule. Hydrocarbon molecules are subdivided into the following four main groups:

Paraffins Paraffins form open linear carbon chains. They contain the largest possible number of hydrogen atoms and are therefore referred to as saturated hydrocarbons. They are chemically stable under normal conditions. The following paraffins are economically significant: methane, ethane, propane and butane.

Olefins Olefins also contain chains of carbon atoms. However, since some hydrogen atoms are missing, the neighbouring carbon atoms form double bonds. Such compounds are known as unsaturated hydrocarbons or olefins. They easily react with other substances, thus lending themselves as an ideal raw material for the petrochemical industry. Special processes (cracking and reforming) are used to produce olefins from other hydrocarbons. The following compounds are mainly used: ethylene, propylene, n-butylene, hexene and hexadiene.

Methane (CH4)

Butane (C4H10)

Ethylene (C2H4)

Hexene (C6H12)

Naphthenes Saturated hydrocarbons in which the carbon atoms form rings and not open chains are known as naphthenes or cycloparaffins. Their properties are comparable to those of paraffins. Naphthenes of economic importance include cyclohexane and cyclopentane.

Aromatic hydrocarbons Aromatic hydrocarbons are obtained by separating hydrogen atoms from naphthenes and forming three symmetrical double bonds between the carbon atoms. The chemical properties of aromatic hydrocarbons differ in many respects from those of the three types of hydrocarbons described above. Aromatic hydrocarbons form the basis for a number of synthetic processes in the petrochemical industry. The following aromatic hydrocarbons are of considerable economic significance to the petrochemical industry: benzene, toluene, xylene and naphthalene.

Cyclohexane (C6H12)

Cyclopentane (C5H10)

Benzene (C6H6)

Toluene (C7H8)

2 WHAT IS A REFINERY? A refinery comprises various production facilities typical of the mineral oil industry, combining the processes of separating, converting, purifying and mixing. The objective is to set up the most economical configuration possible to process the hydrocarbon fractions of the raw materials into products that satisfy market demands in terms of quantity and quality. The configuration varies from refinery to refinery because of the considerable diversity not only in the composition and impurities of the various crude oil types but also in the individual product specifications due in part to the requirements of environmental protection. And since both the properties of crude oil and the demands on the quantity and quality of the product change over time, it is obvious that changes must be made even at refineries that are already in operation.

A refinerys configuration is also determined in particular by its main line of production. The term fuel refinery is used when the predominant production activity is the manufacture of motor gasoline, kerosene, diesel oil and light fuel oil (domestic heating oil). The term petrochemical refinery is used when the main purpose is the manufacture of initial products for the petrochemical industry such as ethane and aromatic hydrocarbons. Such operations, however, may expand into a petrochemical complex involving the manufacture of a wide range of petrochemical products which may even include plastics and synthetic fibres. The main task of a lubricating oil refinery is the production of lubricating oils and greases. Of course, combinations of these different types of refineries are possible. There is no standard type of refinery since an appropriate solution must be found for each specific task.

03 Crude oil refinery during the construction phase (Leuna 2000 Project)

fuel gas
04 Block flowchart of a typical crude oil refinery

gas plant

alkylation liquified petroleum gas

crude oil

CDU

naphtha HDT

from FFC

gasoline super/regular petroch. naphtha catalytic reformer middle distillates jet fuel/diesel heating oil

VDU

gas oil HDT

distillation plants VGO HDS hydrotreating plants gasoline prod. plants conversion/ cracking plants other process plants products hydrogen visbreaker hydrogen sulphide hydrogen production fluid catalytic cracker sulphur recovery unit sulphur

FCC LPG sweetening

FCC gasoline sweetening

partial oxidation unit

methanol

methanol bitumen

3 MAIN PROCESSES AND PLANT SECTIONS The following list is intended to show where the various processes take place in the individual process steps or plant sections. In some cases the names under which the respective processes are known and licensed in North America are given in brackets. Oil-gas separation Treatment of the oil-gas-water mixture drawn from the ground, usually by dehydration and electrostatic demineralization of crude oil

Distillation of crude oil Thermal separation into crude oil fractions such as naphtha, diesel, fuel oil in: condensing distillation units (CDU) vacuum distillation units (VDU) Hydrogenation (HDS, HDT) Removal of sulphur compounds, unsaturated hydrocarbons and other trace elements with the aid of catalysts: gasoline hydrogenation vacuum gas oil hydrogenation (VGO) catalytic extraction (Merox process)

Reforming, isomerization, alkylation Conversion of light hydrocarbon fractions into higher grade products, e.g. to increase the octane number in gasoline: catalytic reforming (gasoline reformer, CCR platforming) isomerization (C5/C6 isomerization) alkylation Conversion Cracking heavy hydrocarbons with the aid of catalysts or thermally with steam: hydrocracking fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) thermal conversion (coker, visbreaker) Deasphalting Extraction of asphalts and metals from heavy residue, for example, for the production of bitumen (solvent deasphalting)

Oxidation Changing the quality of bitumen grades by oxidation Dehydrating Conversion of saturated hydrocarbons into unsaturated hydrocarbons Separation and transformation of aromatic hydrocarbons extraction separation with the aid of solvents adsorption separation with the aid of molecular sieves catalytic separation isomerization or alkylation in order to obtain higher grade products Gas post-treatment (gas plant) Treatment of liquids and residual gases that occur in the plant (distillation or absorptive separation of gases)

4 ANCILLARY PLANTS In addition to the actual production facilities, refinery construction also embraces the ancillary plants that are required for the safe and reliable operation of such large-scale technical facilities. These plants include: tank farms for storing raw materials and intermediate components as well as finished products mixing facilities for product-mixing operations loading facilities for inland waterway, rail and road transport safety devices such as flare- and fire-extinguishing systems facilities for supplying the refinery with operating materials either from the company's own stations or from contracted backup supplier stations for the production of steam, electrical current, cooling water, process water and service water, air, heating media and chemicals

disposal systems for process water, other waste water, condensate, sludge, oil-water mixtures, etc. buildings such as control rooms, laboratories, switchgear stations for electrical facilities, workshops, fire service, administration, etc.
Key CCR CDU FCC HDS HDT VDU VGO

continuous catalyst regeneration condensing distillation unit fluid catalytic cracking hydrodesulphurization hydrotreating vacuum distillation unit vacuum gas oil

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