Refinery Definitions – FAQ

Laboratory Terms

1. API Gravity - An arbitrary scale of the American Petroleum Institute for

measuring the density of oils.
2. Baume Gravity - A unit of measurement of specific gravity used in the chemical
industry. We use for caustic and acid.
3. A.S.T.M. DISTILLATION - The standard procedure of the American Society
for Testing Materials for determining the boiling range of petroleum distillates.
4. SPECIFIC GRAVITY - The ratio of the weight of a volume of a body to the
weight of an equal volume of some standard sub-stance. In the case of liquids
and solids, the standard is water; and in the case of gases, the standard is air.
5. VISCOSITY - A test to determine the internal friction or resistance to flow. It is
measured by the number of seconds required for a sample to pass through a
standard opening or orifice at a specified temperature.
6. REID VAPOR PRESSURE - A test that indicates the volatility of a liquid by
measuring the amount of pressure generated in a bomb at a specific temperature
(70 °F).
7. COLOR-SAYBOLT - A test used for determining the color of gasoline and
burning oils - range from 30 for gasoline to -16 for furnace oils.
8. A.S.T.M. - UNION - A test for determining the color of furnace oils and heavier
products - range from 0 for clear oils to 10 for dark oils.
9. FLASH POINT - A test designed to determine the lowest temperature at which a
petroleum product forms vapor, under specified conditions, at a rate sufficient to
produce a momentary flash when a small flame is passed over it.
10. OCTANE NUMBER - A test to determine the anti-knock properties of a
gasoline sample. It is performed by burning a sample in a gasoline motor and
comparing its performance with reference fuels (iso-octane: 100 octane number
and normal heptane: 0 octane number). The octane is the percent of iso-octane in
a mixture of iso-octane and heptane that matches the performance of the sample.
11. POUR POINT - A test which determines the lowest temperature at which oil will
flow when chilled under prescribed conditions.
Equipment Names

1. ABSORBER - A tower or column in which contact is caused between rising gases

and falling liquid so that part of the gas may be taken up by the liquid. For
example, a Gas Plant has a tower that absorbs butane and propane from the gases
charged to it.
2. ABSORPTION OIL - The oil used in an absorption tower, usually in the range of
kerosene or heating oil.
3. ACCUMULATOR - A vessel for the temporary storage of a liquid or gas, usually
used for collecting sufficient material for a continuous charge or reflux.
4. ATMOSPHERIC TOWER - A distillation column operated at nearly atmospheric
pressure.
5. ATOMIZER - A nozzle device used to break fuel oil into a fine spray so that the
oil may be brought into more intimate contact with the air in the combustion
chamber.
6. BAFFLE - A partial restriction, generally a plate located to change the direction,
guide the flow or promote mixing within the equipment in which it is installed.
(Example - heat exchanger).
7. BAROMETRIC CONDENSER - Equipment for maintaining a partial vacuum on
a refinery tower or steam turbine by condensing the vapors from it by direct
contact with sprayed water.
8. BARREL - A standard unit of measurement of liquids in the petroleum refining
industry. It contains 42 U.S. standard or 35 Imperial gallons at 60 °F.
9. BATTERY - A series of stills or boilers operated as a unit.
10. BATTERY LIMITS - The outer boundaries of the area assigned to a unit or
battery.
11. BLANK OFF - To place a metal disk between pipe flanges so that flow is halted or
prevented. A safety measure during shutdowns or when welding or working inside
a vessel.
12. BLEEDER - A connection consisting of a nipple and a valve located at a high or
low spot in a line or vessel. Used for sampling, drawing off gas, water, etc.
13. CATALYST - A material which will increase or decrease the speed of a chemical
reaction without changing its own chemical identity.
14. CHANNELING - Flow through process equipment where most of the fluid, due to
poor distribution, coking, etc., flows through certain portions of the bed or
equipment, bypassing other portions.
15. CHARGE - Feedstock to a refinery processing unit.
16. CHECK VALVE - A valve which permits fluids to flow in only one direction by
automatically closing when the flow attempts to reverse.
17. CUT - A petroleum fraction obtained by distillation.
18. CYCLONE - A cone-shaped vessel for separating solids or liquids from a gas.
19. DAMPER - A device for regulating the flow of flue gases in a chimney, thus
controlling the amount of excess air to the furnace.
20. DOWNCOMER - The conduit or overflow pipe in a distillation tower through
which the liquid from one tray enters and is distributed to the tray below.
21. DRAW OFF - A connection which allows liquid to flow from the side or bottom
of a vessel.
22. ETHYL FLUID (Tetra-ethyl Lead) - A chemical which retards the tendency for
gasoline to pre-ignite in an internal combustion engine.
23. EXPANSION JOINT - A type of joint used in piping. It usually contains a
telescoping section or a bellows to absorb strain caused by expansion or
contraction due to changes of temperature or other forces.
24. FEED WATER - The water supplied to a boiler to make up for evaporation and
boiler blow down.
25. FIRE WALLS - Earthen banks or concrete walls built around storage tanks or
other equipment containing oil to prevent its spread in case of fire or run over.
26. FLOATING HEAD - The end of a heat exchanger bundle not attached to the shell
so as to allow for expansion.
27. FLUE GASES - Gases from the combustion of fuel. Their heating potential having
been substantially spent, they are discarded to the flue or stack. They consist
primarily of CO2-CO-O2-N2 and water vapor.
28. FOAMITE - A preparation used to extinguish fires. It consists of two solutions
which, on mixing, produce a thick foam which will cover a surface and smother a
fire.
29. FRACTIONATING TOWER - The vertical cylindrical vessel which separates
components of a liquid mixture in a distillation process.
30. FURNACE OIL - A light fuel oil primarily used in home heating systems.
31. GAUGE - To measure, such as to gauge the level in a tank. Also, an instrument for
measuring, such as a pressure gauge.
32. HEAD - Pressure of a fluid upon a system due to the height at which the surface
on the fluid stands above the point where the pressure is taken. The discharge
pressure of a pump is sometimes referred to as the pump head and expressed as
feet of fluid.

HEAD - The removable end plate of an exchanger or the bolted plate over a tower
or tank opening.

33. HEADER - A common manifold to which two or more pipes or tubes are
connected. Headers in a heater have plugs that can be removed for cleaning.
34. HEATER - A furnace used for heating oil or gas for a unit. The portion where the
burners are located is called the fire box or furnace. The fluid to be heated is
flowing through tubes in the heater. The tubes visible to the fires are called the
radiant section, and the tubes heated by combustion gases are called the convection
section.
35. HEAT EXCHANGER - A piece of equipment having a tubular piping
arrangement which effects the transfer of heat from a hot to a relatively cool
process stream by conduction through the tube walls.
36. HYDROMETER - A graduated instrument used in determining API or Baume
gravities.
37. IMPELLER - The moving part of a centrifugal pump or compressor which
consists of a set of vanes attached to a central hub.
38. IMPINGEMENT - The contact of flame with the tubes in a furnace, usually
undesirable.
39. FORCED DRAFT - Air supplied to a furnace, cooling tower, or exchanger, by
means of a fan or blower, which force air through the equipment.
40. INDUCED DRAFT - Air supplied to a furnace, cooling tower, or exchanger, by
means of a fan or blower, which pulls air through the equipment.
41. INERT GAS – Un reactive; will not support combustion. In refinery use is
generally nitrogen or CO2 (carbon dioxide) (flue gas).
42. INHIBITOR - A chemical additive put in oils to prevent or slow down unwanted
reactions, usually oxidation or gum formation. A chemical added to cooling towers
or process stream to prevent corrosion.
43. INSULATION - A material applied to equipment to prevent the transfer of heat.
44. MERCURY - An element; a silver colored liquid at ordinary temperatures used
extensively in instruments: thermometers - manometers - gauges, etc. It is a great
deal heavier than water, having a specific gravity of 13.5.
45. METER CONSTANT - The numerical constant which must be multiplied by the
number of meter divisions to determine the flow through the meter.
46. MOLECULE - The smallest unit into which a substance can be divided and retain
all of its chemical and physical properties.
47. MOLECULAR WEIGHT - The sum of the atomic weights of the atoms in a
molecule. Example: methane (CH4) (Carbon 12) (Hydrogen 1) = 12 + 4 = 16.
48. ON STREAM - The period of time a refinery processing unit is in actual
production.
49. ORIFICE - A device to restrict the flow through a pipe line.
50. ORIFICE METER - An instrument which measures the flow through a pipe by
means of measuring the difference in pressure on the upstream and downstream
sides of an orifice plate.
51. OUTAGE - The distance from the top of a container to the surface of the liquid in
the container.
52. PISTON - A cylindrical device which reciprocates in a cylinder, causing fluid to
enter and leave the cylinder.
53. PREHEAT - Heat added to a fluid prior to an operation performed on that fluid.
54. PRESSURE DROP - The decrease in pressure, due to friction, which occurs when
a liquid or gas passes through a pipe, vessel, or other piece of equipment.
55. PARTIAL CONDENSER - A condenser (heat exchanger) sometimes located at
the top of the tower that furnishes sufficient cooling to condense a part of the
overhead vapors.
56. PRIMING - A violent intermittent action resulting in the throwing of slugs of
boiler water over with the steam, similar to the agitation when water is boiled in an
open vessel.

The filling of the liquid end of a pump with liquid to remove vapors present and
eliminate the tendency to become vapor bound or lose suction.

57. PUMP - A machine for moving a liquid by taking energy from some other source
and transferring it to the liquid. Common types are as follows:

a. CENTRIFUGAL - A pump in which fluid movement is developed

primarily by the action of centrifugal force (whirling action). No
valves.
b. MULTI-STAGE - A centrifugal pump which has two or more impellers
mounted on the same shaft. The discharge from one impeller is
conducted to the suction eye of the next impeller. This type is used to
obtain high differential pressure between suction and discharge.
c. RECIPROCATING - A positive dis-placement type of pump consisting
of a plunger or piston moving back and forth within a cylinder. Liquid
is pumped with every stroke of a double acting pump. Liquid is
pumped only when the piston is moving in one direction (every other
stroke) in a single acting pump.
d. DUPLEX - A reciprocating pump that has two or more liquid cylinders,
each having its individual drive. Duplex pumps have a more steady
discharge pressure than do simplex pumps.
e. SIMPLEX - A reciprocating pump that has one liquid cylinder on a
single drive. Usually used on lubricators, chemical injectors, etc.
f. ROTARY - A positive displacement pump with a fixed casing
containing the rotating element or elements consisting of gears, cams,
screws, vanes or modifications of these elements. Suitable for pumping
viscous liquids or where high vacuums are required.

58. CAVITATION - A condition inside a pump wherein the liquid being pumped
partly vaporizes due to temperature, pressure drop, etc. It can be identified by
noisy operation and erratic discharge pressure. It can cause excessive wear on the
impeller and case. This can often be remedied by increasing the pressure on the
pump, usually by raising the level of liquid being fed to the pump, or else by
decreasing the flow rate through the pump.
59. REACTOR - The vessel in which all or at least the major part of a reaction or
conversion takes place. On most units this will be the vessel in which the catalyst
is located.
60. REBOILER - A part of a fractionation tower designed to supply all or a portion of
the heat to the tower. Liquid is withdrawn from the bottom of the tower and heated
in the reboiler. The vapors formed are returned to the tower. The remaining liquid
may or may not be returned to the tower. Heat may be furnished by oil circulated
through a heater, bottoms from some other tower, or by steam.
61. RECYCLE - Continuous circulation without withdrawing a product from the
system, or that part of the product that is returned to the system.
62. REFLUX - Liquid that is returned to a fractionating tower to control temperatures
and increase the efficiency of separation.
63. REGULATOR - A valve which directly controls the flow of liquid or gas through
a line, usually actuated by an instrument to control temperature, pressure, level, or
flow conditions.
64. RUNNING TANK - A tank to which a product from a unit is continuously
pumped or from which a unit is charged.
65. SAFETY VALVE - A preset valve to release excessive pressure on a vessel or
system.
66. SODIUM HYDROXIDE (NaOH) CAUSTIC SODA - Lye used in treating oils.
67. SOUR - Ill smelling; a petroleum fraction or gas having a bad odor caused by
mercaptans or hydrogen sulfide.
68. SPLIT TUBE - A crack or break in a heater or exchanger tube due to mechanical
failure — corrosion or overheating. If this occurs in a heater, it is usually followed
by a fire.
69. STABILIZER - A tower that separates high vapor pressure hydrocarbons from
gasoline so that the gasoline will meet vapor pressure specifications.
70. STATIC PRESSURE - Acting by mere weight without motion.
71. STEAM-LIVE - Water vapor which does not contain entrained water droplets
(usually high pressure).
72. STEAM-EXHAUST - Low pressure steam which has already been used for some
purpose (from a pump, compressor or electric generator).
73. STEAM-SUPERHEATED - Water vapor heated above the saturation temperature
at a given pressure. Usually used in towers, heaters, strippers, etc.
74. STEAM-WET - Steam containing entrained water.
75. STRAIGHT RUN - A material produced by distillation of crude oil without
appreciable cracking or alteration of the molecules in the product.
76. STRIPPER - A vessel which strips off the light ends of a side cut from the main
fractionating tower. Superheated steam is usually injected into the stripper bottom
to improve this separation.
77. SUPERHEATER - A heating apparatus (usually tubes) which imparts to a material
more heat than is required for vaporization.
78. SURGE DRUM - A vessel or accumulator which serves as a reservoir for liquid
flowing through a system, thereby overcoming fluctuations in the rate of flow.
79. SWEET - Having a good odor. Negative to the doctor test.
80. THIEF - A device for drawing samples of oil from a tank at various levels.
81. THIEF ROD - A rod used to measure the depth of water in a tank.
82. TUBE BUNDLE - A group of fixed parallel tubes, such as is used in a heat
exchanger. The tube bundle includes the tube sheets with the tubes, the baffles,
and the spacer rods.
83. TUBE STILL - A still in which heat is applied to the oil while being pumped
through a coil or series of coils or tubes arranged in a suitable firebox.
84. TURBINE - A machine for producing power activated by the expansion of steam
on a series of curved vanes in an impeller attached to a central shaft.
85. VACUUM JETS - Steam ejectors for removing air and non-condensable gases.
86. VAPOR LOCK - Occurrence of air pockets or formation of vapor in a line or
pump causing interruption of flow or loss of suction.