How Is Crude Oil Formed

By: Jaceson Maughan

Crude oil formed millions of years ago when environmental and geological conditions combined to create
an item that could be converted into various forms of energy, resulting in a billion-dollar business.
Learning how crude oil formed and understanding the variations of crude oil can lead to a better
understanding of how crude oil commodities drive the oil industry.
Ancient History
Ocean plants and animals that lived millions of years ago settled on the bottom of the sea when they
died. Their bodies were covered with sediment over time, and they were compressed by intense heat and
pressure. Over the years, the remains turned into a yellowish-black substance known as crude oil. The
same process also created the natural gas that is used today.
The only way to reach these pockets of crude oil is by drilling deep into the earth. Oil rigs called derricks
drill down into the earth's crust and open up access to the crude oil. Pumps, pipes and other mechanical
means bring the crude oil to the surface, where it is sent to refineries to separate the crude oil from other
elements.
Chemical Composition
Depending on the types of plants and animals that created the crude oil pocket, the crude oil contains a
different chemical makeup. Primarily, crude oil is made up of hydrocarbons, plus a variety of other
chemical compounds, depending on the region. For example, some crude oil contains lots of sulfur and it
is termed "sour," while crude oil with very little sulfur is called "sweet crude." Crude oil can also be thicker
or thinner, depending on its location. Crude oil is made into gasoline, airplane fuel, diesel fuel and other
petroleum products depending on its chemical makeup. Crude oil also provides the basis for plastics.
Geography
Since crude oil is in limited supply, it is big business for the countries that have access to it. Saudi Arabia
is the world's leading crude oil producer, followed by Russia, the United States, Iran and China. Within the
United States, Alaska and Texas are the top states to produce crude oil. California, Oklahoma and
Louisiana are also major producers, as are the offshore drilling sites in the Gulf of Mexico.

Petroleum (L. petroleum, from Greek: (rock) + Latin: oleum (oil)[1][2][3]) is a naturally
occurring, yellow-to-black liquid found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface,
which is commonly refined into various types of fuels. It consists of hydrocarbons of various
molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds.[4] The name petroleum covers both
naturally occurring unprocessed crude oil and petroleum products that are made up of refined
crude oil. A fossil fuel, petroleum is formed when large quantities of dead organisms, usually
zooplankton and algae, are buried underneath sedimentary rock and subjected to intense heat and
pressure.
Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling. This comes after the studies of structural
geology (at the reservoir scale), sedimentary basin analysis, reservoir characterization (mainly in
terms of the porosity and permeability of geologic reservoir structures).[5][6] It is refined and
separated, most easily by boiling point, into a large number of consumer products, from gasoline
(petrol) and kerosene to asphalt and chemical reagents used to make plastics and
pharmaceuticals.[7] Petroleum is used in manufacturing a wide variety of materials,[8] and it is
estimated that the world consumes about 90 million barrels each day.
The use of fossil fuels such as petroleum has a negative impact on Earth's biosphere, releasing
pollutants and greenhouse gases into the air and damaging ecosystems through events such as oil
spills. Concern over the depletion of the earth's finite reserves of oil, and the effect this would
have on a society dependent on it, is a concept known as peak oil.
Zooplankton /zo.plktn/ are heterotrophic (sometimes detritivorous) plankton. Plankton are
organisms drifting in oceans, seas, and bodies of fresh water. The word "zooplankton" is derived from
the Greek zoon (), meaning "animal", and planktos (), meaning "wanderer" or "drifter".[1]
Individual zooplankton are usually microscopic, but some (such as jellyfish) are larger and visible with
the naked eye.
Crude oil is found trapped in some of the sedimentary rocks of the Earth's crust.
Millions of years ago, huge numbers of microscopic animals and plants - plankton - died and fell to the
bottom of the sea. Their remains were covered by mud.
As the mud sediment was buried by more sediment, it started to change into rock, as the temperature and
pressure increased. The plant and animal remains were cooked by this process, and slowly changed
into crude oil.
Oil is less dense than the water in the rocks and will rise as a result of pressure from below, often
escaping altogether if the rocks are permeable.
If some of the rocks above the oil are impermeable, the oil cannot rise through them, so it gets trapped
underneath.
Distillation
Distillation is a process that can be used to separate a pure liquid from a mixture of liquids. It works when
the liquids have different boiling points. Distillation is commonly used to separate ethanol - the alcohol in
alcoholic drinks - from water.
The mixture is heated in a flask. Ethanol has a lower boiling point than water so it evaporates first. The

ethanol vapour is then cooled and condensed inside the condenser to form a pure liquid. The
thermometer shows the boiling point of the pure ethanol liquid. When all the ethanol has evaporated from
the solution, the temperature rises and the water evaporates.
This is the sequence of events in distillation:
heating evaporating cooling condensing
Fractional distillation
Fractional distillation differs from distillation only in that it separates a mixture into a number of different
parts, called fractions. A tall column is fitted above the mixture, with several condensers coming off at
different heights. The column is hot at the bottom and cool at the top. Substances with high boiling points
condense at the bottom, and substances with low boiling points condense at the top. Like distillation,
fractional distillation works because the different substances in the mixture have different boiling points.
First of all it takes high pressures and temperatures to yield crude oil. It also takes time, millions of years.
Ill let you in on a little secret. Crude oil is not the only substance created from plants and animals.
Bitchuman is also formed but under different pressures and temps. There are a plethora of other
materials that can be formed from same organic compounds. Depends on the depth at which the material
is stored. Animal deposits found at 8000 feet down will have different characteristics than animal deposits
at 4000 feet simply because of lithostatic pressure and temp.

How is natural gas formed?

There are two theories as to how natural gas is formed. The most widely accepted theory, the biogenic theory,
maintains that natural gas formation begins with photosynthesis, where plants use energy from the sun to convert
carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and carbohydrates. The remains of these plants and the animal forms that
consume them are buried by sediment and as the sediment load increases, heat and pressure from burial converts
the carbohydrates into hydrocarbons. Natural gas formation takes place in source rocks, usually fine-grained black
shales. Continued pressure from burial forces the natural gas to migrate from source rocks into more porous and
permeable rock such as sandstone and limestone, which, if overlain by impermeable strata such as shale, form
reservoirs that contain the gas.
The other theory of natural gas formation, the abiogenic theory, speculates that hydrocarbons were trapped inside the
earth as it formed and are migrating to the surface.
There are several types of traps.
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Normal fault
Normal fault traps occur where reservoir rock on one side of the fault is positioned against impermeable rock
on the other side of the fault.
Thrust fault
Thrust fault traps occur where reservoir rock overlain by impermeable cap rock has first been folded, then
thrust-faulted over itself.
Stratigraphic pinch-out
Stratigraphic pinch-outs occur where reservoir rock loses its porosity due to cementing or other diagenetic
processes, or where reservoir rock gradually thins out and is surrounded by impermeable rock.
Reef
Ancient reefs built by corals and other communal organisms often develop porosity that, if sealed by
impermeable rock, forms prolific reservoirs. Porous rocks draping over the reef may form separate reservoirs.
Anticline
Compression folds rocks into anticlines (hills) and synclines (valleys). If reservoir rock is overlain by
impermeable rock, traps form at the crests of the anticlines.
Salt dome
Salt domes occur when salt at depth is forced toward the surface by the weight of surrounding rock. As the

salt deposits bulge upward, traps are formed in upturned reservoir rocks flanking the domes and folded
reservoir rocks overlying the domes.
In a reservoir containing more than one fluid, natural gas overlies oil which overlies water because of density
stratification

It runs modern society and fuels serious political tension. But where does oil really come
from, and how much is left? The far-out possibilities might surprise you.
Nature has been transmuting dead life into black gold for millions of years using little more than
heat, pressure and time, scientists tell us.
But with gas prices spiking more than $1 per gallon in the United States this year and some
experts predicting that the end of oil is near, scientists still don't know for sure where oil comes
from, how long it took to make, or how much there is.
A so-called fossil fuel, petroleum is believed by most scientists to be the transformed remains of
long dead organisms. The majority of petroleum is thought to come from the fossils of plants and
tiny marine organisms. Larger animals might contribute to the mix as well.
"Even some of the dinosaurs may have gotten involved in some of this," says William Thomas, a
geologists at the University of Kentucky. "[Although] I think it would be quite rare and a very
small and insignificant contribution."
But another theory holds that more oil was in Earth from the beginning than what's been
produced by dead animals, but that we've yet to tap it.
How it works
In the leading theory, dead organic material accumulates on the bottom of oceans, riverbeds or
swamps, mixing with mud and sand. Over time, more sediment piles on top and the resulting
heat and pressure transforms the organic layer into a dark and waxy substance known as kerogen.
Left alone, the kerogen molecules eventually crack, breaking up into shorter and lighter
molecules composed almost solely of carbon and hydrogen atoms. Depending on how liquid or
gaseous this mixture is, it will turn into either petroleum or natural gas.
So how long does this process take?
Scientists aren't really sure, but they figure it's probably on the order of hundreds of thousands of
years.
"It's certainly not an instantaneous process," Thomas told LiveScience. "The rate at which
petroleum is forming is not going to be the solution to our petroleum supplies."
The United States' latest reminder of its petroleum dependency occurred when hurricanes Katrina
and Rita struck the Gulf of Mexico, where the majority of the country's oil platforms and

refineries are located. Many analysts predicted gas prices would surge to $4 and $5 per gallon,
but the fears turned out to be overblown. Many of the structures suffered only glancing blows
and were operating again soon afterwards.

Distillation Column Internals

A fractionating column or fractionation column is an essential item used in distillation of

liquid mixtures so as to separate the mixture into its component parts, or fractions, based on the
differences in volatilities. Fractionating columns are used in small scale laboratory distillations
as well as for large-scale industrial distillations.

Contents
[hide]

1 Laboratory fractionating columns

2 Industrial fractionating columns

3 See also

4 References

5 External links

Laboratory fractionating columns[edit]

Figure 1: Fractional distillation apparatus using a Liebig condenser

A laboratory fractionating column is a piece of glassware used to separate vaporized mixtures of
liquid compounds with close volatility. It can also be called a fractional column. Most commonly
used is either a Vigreux column or a straight column packed with glass beads or metal pieces
such as Raschig rings.
Fractionating columns help to separate the mixture by helping the mixed vapors to cool,
condense, and vaporize again in accordance with Raoult's law. With each condensationvaporization cycle, the vapors are enriched in a certain component. A larger surface area allows
more cycles, improving separation. This is the rationale for a Vigreux fractionating column or a
packed fractionating column. Spinning band distillation achieves the same outcome by using a
rotating band within the column to force the rising vapors and descending condensate into close
contact, achieving equilibrium more quickly.
In a typical fractional distillation, a liquid mixture is heated in the distilling flask, and the
resulting vapor rises up the fractionating column (see Figure 1). The vapor condenses on glass
spurs (known as trays or plates) inside the column, and returns to the distilling flask, refluxing
the rising distillate vapor. The hottest tray is at the bottom of the column and the coolest tray is at
the top. At steady-state conditions, the vapor and liquid on each tray reach an equilibrium. Only
the most volatile of the vapors stays in gas form all the way to the top, where it may then proceed
through a condenser, which cools the vapor until it condenses into a liquid distillate. The

separation may be enhanced by the addition of more trays (to a practical limitation of heat, flow,
etc.).

Figure 2: Typical industrial fractionating columns

Industrial fractionating columns[edit]

Fractional distillation is one of the unit operations of chemical engineering.[1][2] Fractionating
columns are widely used in the chemical process industries where large quantities of liquids have
to be distilled.[3][4][5] Such industries are the petroleum processing, petrochemical production,
natural gas processing, coal tar processing, brewing, liquified air separation, and hydrocarbon
solvents production and similar industries but it finds its widest application in petroleum
refineries. In such refineries, the crude oil feedstock is a complex, multicomponent mixture that
must be separated, and yields of pure chemical compounds are not expected, only groups of
compounds within a relatively small range of boiling points, also called fractions. That is the
origin of the name fractional distillation or fractionation. It is often not worthwhile separating
the components in these fractions any further based on product requirements and economics.
Distillation is one of the most common and energy-intensive separation processes. In a typical
chemical plant, it accounts for about 40% of the total energy consumption.[6] Industrial
distillation is typically performed in large, vertical cylindrical columns (as shown in Figure 2)
known as "distillation towers" or "distillation columns" with diameters ranging from about 65
centimeters to 6 meters and heights ranging from about 6 meters to 60 meters or more.

Figure 3: Chemical engineering schematic of a continuous fractionating column

Figure 4: Chemical engineering schematic of typical bubble-cap trays in a fractionating column

Industrial distillation towers are usually operated at a continuous steady state. Unless disturbed
by changes in feed, heat, ambient temperature, or condensing, the amount of feed being added
normally equals the amount of product being removed.
It should also be noted that the amount of heat entering the column from the reboiler and with the
feed must equal the amount heat removed by the overhead condenser and with the products. The
heat entering a distillation column is a crucial operating parameter, addition of excess or
insufficient heat to the column can lead to foaming, weeping, entrainment, or flooding.
Figure 3 depicts an industrial fractionating column separating a feed stream into one distillate
fraction and one bottoms fraction. However, many industrial fractionating columns have outlets
at intervals up the column so that multiple products having different boiling ranges may be
withdrawn from a column distilling a multi-component feed stream. The "lightest" products with
the lowest boiling points exit from the top of the columns and the "heaviest" products with the
highest boiling points exit from the bottom.
Industrial fractionating columns use external reflux to achieve better separation of products.[3][5]
Reflux refers to the portion of the condensed overhead liquid product that returns to the upper
part of the fractionating column as shown in Figure 3.
Inside the column, the downflowing reflux liquid provides cooling and condensation of
upflowing vapors thereby increasing the efficacy of the distillation tower. The more reflux and/or
more trays provided, the better is the tower's separation of lower boiling materials from higher
boiling materials.
The design and operation of a fractionating column depends on the composition of the feed and
as well as the composition of the desired products. Given a simple, binary component feed,
analytical methods such as the McCabeThiele method[5][7][8] or the Fenske equation[5] can be
used. For a multi-component feed, simulation models are used both for design, operation, and
construction.
Bubble-cap "trays" or "plates" are one of the types of physical devices, which are used to provide
good contact between the upflowing vapor and the downflowing liquid inside an industrial
fractionating column. Such trays are shown in Figures 4 and 5.
The efficiency of a tray or plate is typically lower than that of a theoretical 100% efficient
equilibrium stage. Hence, a fractionating column almost always needs more actual, physical
plates than the required number of theoretical vaporliquid equilibrium stages.

Figure 5: Section of fractionating tower of Figure 4 showing detail of a pair of trays with bubble
caps
In industrial uses, sometimes a packing material is used in the column instead of trays, especially
when low pressure drops across the column are required, as when operating under vacuum. This
packing material can either be random dumped packing (13 in or 2.57.6 cm wide) such as
Raschig rings or structured sheet metal. Liquids tend to wet the surface of the packing, and the
vapors pass across this wetted surface, where mass transfer takes place. Differently shaped
packings have different surface areas and void space between packings. Both of these factors
affect packing performance.
DISTILLATION COLUMNS (or TOWERS)
Distillation columns or towers are constructed to behave in the same way as a series of separate
stills as discussed earlier. Each 'still' section consists of a number of 'TRAYS' or contacting devices
arranged vertically above one another in the column. These trays or contactors bring liquid and
vapour into intimate contact in order to obtain the required separation of the mixture. The height of
the tower and the number of trays or contacting devices it contains, depends upon the purity of the
'Fractions' required.
Columns for the distillation process can be of the following types:
1. The 'PACKED' Tower
2. The 'TRAY' Tower

1. THE PACKED TOWER

As its name implies, the packed tower is a vertical, steel column which contains 'Beds' of packing
material which are used to bring the rising vapours into intimate contact with falling liquid within the
tower. The heat added to the mixture before entering the tower partially vaporises the mixture and
the vapours rise up the tower and begin to cool.

The liquid falls towards the bottom of the tower. At the tower bottom, in general, more heat is added
to the liquid by a 'Reboiler' which may be steam heated or a fuel fired furnace type.
The addition of heat here causes more vapours to rise up the column. As the two phases of the
mixture - falling liquid and rising vapour - come together, light components are stripped out of the
liquid and enter the gas phase while heavy components in the vapour are condensed into the liquid
phase.
In this way, as the vapour rises and gradually cools, it becomes lighter and, as the liquid falls, it
becomes hotter and heavier.
With this type of distillation column there is generally only a top and bottom product. The quality of
the products depends upon the height of the tower, the number of contacting devices, the tower
temperature and pressure and their control, and the velocity of the rising vapours.
The type of packing materials used, also plays a part in the separation process. The packing can be
of such types as:
Ceramic Raschig Rings, Stainless Steel Pall Rings or Ceramic Saddles .. etc. See Figure: 10.

Figure: 10

2. THE TRAY TYPE TOWER

This is also a tall, cylindrical column. Inside, a series of trays are placed, one above the other. The
trays are used to bring the rising vapour and falling liquid into intimate contact. Tray towers do the
same job as packed towers but they are very much more efficient in the separation process than
packed towers and, they are also more costly. There are various types of tray in use and the type
selected depends upon the degree of product purity required, the type of fluids, fluid velocity and
other process parameters of the system.
The types of tray used in distillation columns are as follows:
1. THE SIEVE TRAY is simply a metal plate containing drilled holes through which the rising
vapour can pass into the liquid flowing across the tray. Figure: 11
2. THE VALVE TRAY is similar to the sieve type but, each hole is fitted with a flapper valve
which opens as vapour passes through the hole. This type is used where vapour velocity is
not constant and the valves prevent liquid from dumping through the holes at times of low
gas velocity. Figure: 12
3. THE BUBBLE-CAP TRAY is the most efficient separation device but, is also the most costly.
It consists of a number of 'Chimneys' or 'Risers' (small, short pipes set into the tray), through
which the vapour can pass. Fitted over the riser is a 'Cap' which causes the rising vapour to
turn through 180 . This forces the gas to 'Bubble' through the liquid flowing across the tray.
The liquid level on the tray is maintained below the top of the riser to prevent dumping of
liquid down the tower. Figure: 13
Each of the above trays also has a 'WEIR' that maintains the liquid level on the tray. As the liquid
flows over the weir, it enters a 'DOWNCOMER' - (a short pipe), that carries the liquid down to the

tray below. The downcomer outlet is below the surface of the liquid on the tray below, acting as a
seal to prevent gas from bypassing the tray above.

Figure: 11
The liquid is prevented from dumping through the perforations by the velocity of the up-flowing gas
passing through them. The 'WEIR' maintains the liquid level on the tray and the gas is forced to
bubble through the liquid. This gives intimate contact between the gas and liquid.
With the 'VALVE' tray, a non-return valve is fitted over each hole. This will close due to the weight of
liquid at times of low gas velocity.
See Figure: 12

OPERATION OF VALVE TRAYS

Figure: 12
OPERATION OF BUBBLE-CAP TRAYS

Figure: 13

Figure: 14

SIMPLE CONTINUOUS DISTILLATION PROCESS

Refer to Figure: 14, as you read on. This represents a basic Crude Oil distillation column where the
feed to, and the products from, the unit is a continuous operation.
In the distillation process, the crude oil feed is first heated by exchanging heat with some of the hot
products leaving the column. This cools the products and, at the same time reduces the fuel
requirements in the main heater - the fuel fired furnace.

The hot feed now enters the tower into the 'Flash Zone'. At this point, due to the greatly increased
volume of the column, the lighter components of the crude oil ' Flash Off ' (vaporise), and rise up the
column. The hot liquid will fall towards the column bottom.
The bottom section of the column, below the Flash Zone, called the 'Stripping Section', contains
trays - generally Bubble-cap or Sieve type. The tower bottom liquid is re-circulated & re-heated in a
steam or fired 'Reboiler' which drives off vapours of light ends and some of the heavy ends
contained in the liquid. These vapours rise upwards through the trays and contact the down-flowing
liquid. This action further removes (strips out), light ends from the liquid.
The top section of the tower, above the flash zone, is called the 'Rectifying Section'. Here again,
the rising vapour passing through the trays, contacts the liquid flowing across them.
Action of the Trays Each tray in the tower is acting like a single still as discussed in 'Batch
Distillation'. As we rise above the flash zone, each succeeding tray is slightly cooler than the tray
below.
The down-flowing liquid, as it passes across the trays is becoming hotter and heavier as light ends
boil off into the vapour phase. Conversely, the rising vapour is becoming cooler and lighter as
heavier ends condense into the liquid on the tray.
The down-flowing liquid is called 'Internal Reflux' and works in the same way as in Figure: 7 (Page
14), where the liquid is returned to the preceding still.
At pre-determined points in the column, the process conditions (mainly temperature and pressure),
are such that, the liquid components are at the required purity to meet the specification desired as a
product - like 'Kerosene' for example. At these points, the tower will contain 'Collecting Pans' from
which the desired product can be drawn from the tower.
The lightest components of the crude oil mixture leave the top of the tower as vapour. This is fed
through condensers - generally water-cooled -and the condensate, usually Naphtha and water,
passes into the 'Overhead Receiver or Accumulator'.
In the receiver, light gases also build up. The control of these gases, (to a fuel system or flare), also
controls the pressure on the distillation process at the required level.
The Naphtha liquid forms an interface above the water. The water is drained away under control, to
disposal. The Naphtha, also under level control, is divided into two - some is returned to the tower
top tray as 'External Reflux' which is used to control the tower top temperature and thereby help to
control the naphtha quality.
The remaining naphtha from the receiver is piped to storage and / or to other processes. The
products leaving the side of the column -called 'Side-streams', are usually passed through 'Stripping

Towers' where an injection of superheated steam removes final traces of light ends to meet the
specification required for the product. The light ends and steam are passed back into the tower.
The control of the quality of the side-stream products is generally helped by a controlled flow of
'Intermediate Reflux' of some of the product into the column just above the section producing the
product.
The side-stream products pass from the stripping towers through feed / product exchangers and
water coolers to storage.
The tower bottom product as already mentioned, is reheated in a reboiler to remove light ends and
to provide stripping gases in the tower. The final bottom product, such as heavy fuel oil is pumped
away via feed/product heat exchangers and water coolers to storage. In some distillation systems,
superheated steam may be injected into the tower bottom to assist the stripping process.
Crude oil distillation is often carried out under vacuum conditions. The vacuum is produced by
pulling the overhead vapour from the tower by steam ejectors via surface condensers.
The explanation of crude oil separation given above, is that of a basic system. Crude oils also
produce chemicals, waxes, gasolines, lubricants and many other products in everyday use.

DISTILLATION COLUMN CONTROL

1. REFLUX RATIO
2. TEMPERATURE GRADIENT

1. REFLUX RATIO
The reflux to a tower top is used to control the top temperature thereby controls the purity of the
overhead product.
The amount of reflux compared to the product is known as the 'Reflux Ratio'.
An example of this is as follows:
The overhead liquid from a distillation column is divided into 4 m3 per hour reflux and 2 m3 per hour
product. Therefore:

When reflux ratio is increased, the amount of reflux increases. Reflux represents cooled, condensed
top product returned to the tower top and, as such it is being reprocessed. The top product will
therefore be purer. In general, the higher the reflux ratio, the fewer the number of trays required for a
given separation.
However, too high a ratio may cause flooding in the tower resulting in poor separation and causing
'off-spec' products throughout the system. The reflux rate is normally controlled by a temperature
controller in the vapour outlet which operates a control valve in the reflux pump discharge. An
increase in tower top temperature will cause the valve to open, increasing the reflux rate, and vice
versa.

2. TEMPERATURE GRADIENT

Temperature (and pressure) control of a distillation tower will govern the purity of the products. The
control of top temperature is as discussed above in 'reflux'. Control of the feed inlet temperature and
that of the reboiler are also very important.
Again, if feed and bottom temperatures are too high, too much heavy vapour will rise up the tower
and put side-stream products off-spec. This condition, combined with high reflux rate will again lead
to flooding and poor separation. Opposite conditions can lead to liquid starvation across the trays
and again, a very upset process will result.
The careful control of top temperature, feed and reboiler temperatures, together with pressure
control, will give the desired temperature profile across the tower.
Remember, changes in pressure will affect the boiling points of the components in the crude oil. The
vapour pressures therefore, will also be affected and again, if the control parameters are incorrect,
the system will be inefficient.
Examples:

High top temperature will result in heavy components in the overhead product.
Low top temperature will result in a lighter top product.
High feed temperature will give heavier side-streams and vice-versa.
High reboiler temperature will produce heavier bottoms product and pass heavier vapours up
the tower to affect the side-streams.
Increased pressure in the system will give lighter components in the overhead LIQUID
product and decrease its Initial Boiling Point, whereas the FBP is governed by the tower top
temperature.

It can be seen that careful, accurate control of the variables is very important in order to achieve the
required quality control of the products.
Also, with regard to the purity of the side-streams, control of the stripping towers' steam supply is
very important.
A further point is, that high water content in the crude feed will cause pressure surges as the water
vaporises in the tower. The crude oil should be as water free as possible.
Many modern distillation units are operated under high vacuum. This method, due to the vacuum
decreasing the BP's of the components of the mixture to be separated, also reduces the amount of
heat energy needed to vaporise the components.
VACUUM DISTILLATION TOWER OVERHEADS SYSTEM

Figure: 15
In the above diagram, the surface condenser is a 'Total Condensing' unit. This means that all fluids
that can be condensed are changed to liquid. Due to this, a vacuum is formed in the tower the level
of which depends upon the degree of condensation allowed to take place. This is governed by the
level of distillate and how much of the condensing surface is covered. The liquid level and therefore
the amount of condensing surface available will decide the level of vacuum (Absolute Pressure) of
the system.
The PRC is therefore controlling the available condensing area on the cooling tubes. Increasing
absolute pressure (decreasing vacuum), will open the control valve, the liquid level in the condenser
will fall thus presenting more condensing area to the vapour. More vapour will condense and therfore
the pressure will drop back again - and vice-versa.

A small quantity of uncondensible gases will tend to build up in the tower and the surface condenser
which, if allowed to build up, will slowly destroy the vacuum.
The ejector is used to remove the uncondensibles which are passed into the separator after passing
through the ejector condenser which condenses the ejector steam thus helping to maintain the
vacuum, while the uncondensed gases are fed via a check-valve or control valve to atmosphere or
flare system. The barometric seal loop holds a head of liquid which will prevent the vacuum pulling
gases back out of the separator.