KYAMBOGO

UNIVERSI
TY

FACULITY OF SCIENCE
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY
A RESEARCH PROPOSAL ON THE POSSIBLE MITIGATION
OF THE HIGH OIL PPRICING IN UGANDA AND THE
NEIGHBOURING REGIONS.
DONE FROM THE ALBERTINE REGION IN WESTERN
UGANDA WITH THE POSSIBLE ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS
THAT WE CAN EFFECT.
DONE BY
NAME
EMONG CHRISTINE EDNA
NUWAMANYA MARTIN
TUSIIME JOEL AKIIKI
ATIKU GODWIN ECHONI

REGISTRATION NUMBER
14/U//CHD/PD
14/U//CHD/PD
14/U/13350/CHD/PD
14/U//CHD/PD

A RESEARCH PROPOSAL SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY

OF
SCIENCE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS

FOR THE BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN CHEMICAL

ENGINEERING

DECLARATION
We hereby declare that everything written is this report was our original
work that we all actively participated in compiling. This is not a work of
plagiarism but rather a result of our consummated research in the field of
petroleum in Uganda. Any copy made of this work without approval from
all four group members will be deemed illegal.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT
Petroleum is a complex mixture consisting mainly of hydrocarbon gases and liquids
which is formed from the residue of organic waste. Its sources can be obtained from,
plankton floating in seas and land plants, accumulated at bottom of oceans, lakes
and coastal areas, it can be collected beneath layers of sediments, pressure and
underground heat converted organic matter into hydrocarbon and natural gas.
Oil may have various consistencies, which affect both the ease of extraction and the
treatment/ processing; this gives rise to various categories of crude oil, such as;
"light, sweet" oil - with relatively low viscosity and relatively little sulfur, meaning it
requires less effort to be extracted and less refinement before use and heavy
sour with high viscosity and greater amounts of sulfur
Petroleum is composed of the following key elements:
Element

% wt

Carbon

84 87

Hydroge
n

11 14

Sulphur

03

Oxygen

02

Nitrogen

0 0.6

Metals

0 1000
ppm

The Sulphur content is measured in weight %

High sulphur crude sour (typically > 2.5%)
Low sulphur crudes sweet (typically < 0.5%)
Crude oil from different wells have different percentages of sulphur which plays a
major role in determining the price of crude oil

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

In Uganda today, one of the major obstructions to fasttrack growth economically is
the feul pricing of different fuel types. Thats to say PMS, AGO, BIK JF 1
Different fuel companies in Uganda have different fuel prices especially for premium
motor spirit, automotive gas oil and bituminous ignition kerosene which are the
most used form of fuel in Uganda including gases such as methane, propane
etcetera which are used in combustions ie industrial as well aas domestic.

Fuel customers are wondering why they are not seeing fuel prices that are
reflective of crude oil discovered in the Albertine region in western Uganda as
well as cheaper crude on the international market.
Fuel prices are determined by several factors but majorly The cost of the crude
which contributes about 30 to 35 per cent of the total cost and tax. Other factors
include logistical costs, exchange rate impact, other operational costs, inventory
levels etc. Therefore, the price of fuel is not a 1:1 correlation with price of crude.
This is the reasoning of almost all the fuel dealers in the country, who insist that
fuel prices cannot fall immediately when the price of raw material crude oil
plunges.
Notably, according to the petroleum supply department, a small change in crude
price without other factors changing cannot cause an observable change in pump
prices but the discovery of the crude and processing it to acquire its various
components can make a major difference. Other factors at the moment have been
on the upward trend.
On whether there is a plan to reduce the price to accommodate the reality of
cheap crude, the price of petroleum products have fluctuated over the past few
months like the determining factors. The prices today have dropped from
Shs3,900 to Shs3,600 for petrol and Shs3,100 to Shs2,500 for diesel.
This is also supported by all industry players in the country, who insist that fuel
prices cannot fall immediately when the price of crude oil drops. Which rises as
one moves along the fuel path. Say from busia and malaba, kampala, up to the
northern Uganda and the west nile nile region. The fuel price rises gradually.

PROBLEM STATEMENT
In light of discovery of oil in Uganda in the albertine region, there is a growing need
for locally processed crude oil through a fractional distillation plant in the same
region.

Need to curb the high fuel pricing in Uganda and the neighbouring regions
around and lower transport costs in everyday life.

The petroleum products under the scope of this proposal are majorly premium
motor spirit, Automotive gas oil , Bituminous ignition kerosene and Jet A1
The prices of these fuel can be dropped drastically with the construction of a
fractional distillation plant in the Albertine region.
Currently the discovery of crude oil in this region has not in any way lowered the
prices in Uganda as was anticipated by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral
Development in 2006.

Uganda has proven crude oil reserves of 6.5 billion barrels, about 2.2 billion
recoverable. The International Monetary Fund was quoted in 2013 as saying that
these reserves were the fourth largest in sub-Saharan Africa behind Nigeria, Angola

and South Sudan. Some of the Largest oil fields are in the Kaiso-Tonya area in Hoima
sistrict. This area has been selected for Ugandas only oil refinery. The strategy is to
build a refinery that meets the petroleum products needs of Uganda and its regional
neighbours, with any remainder being exported.
In addition to the refinery, Nzizi power Station which is a 52 Megawatt thermal
power plant is also in plan. It will use natural gas and heavy fuel oil as a raw
material. The cost of the refinery is estimated to be US$4.3billion, with 70% of that
amount borrowed and 30% coming from shareholders.
Two intake pipelines and one distribution pipeline, with a total construction bill of
over $200 million are planned to bring crude oil to the refinery and distribute the
finished product to a new terminal in Buloba on the western outskirts of Kampala.

Flow scheme of a modern refinery.

Commercialisation strategies for Oil in Uganda
Short term actions

Test crude oil may be used as an energy source in some industries

Gas for power production

Medium term actions

Oil refinery development

National transport and storage infrastructure development

Long term actions

Development of petrochemical industry

Development of an energy based industry
Refinery expansion

With the proposition of starting crude oil refining in Uganda, in the year 2020, we
have to come up with the necessary equipment to combat the potential
environmental hazards before even mining begins. The scope of our research on
clean air technology, water cleaning by decomposition of the oil spillage that could
be on the surface of water, the different gases that are evolved at the different
stages of cracking, unification and alteration.
OIL EXPLORATION
UPSTREAM
Exploration & Appraisal: Search for petroleum accumulations, Includes
Establishing presence, and Content ease of flow and Extent of distribution.
Development: Preparing reservoir for Production, Preparing facilities for Collection
and Processing, Production: Removal of petroleum from subsurface reservoirs to
the surface, preparing petroleum for Transportation and Refining
Within upstream, processes are often separated by subsurface work and surface
facility work.
MIDSTREAM
Efficient movement of oil and gas products in bulk mainly by pipeline, road tankers,
ocean tankers and rail wagons
Converting oil and gas into marketable products and chemicals
DOWNSTREAM
Marketing and distribution for Customer satisfaction and Profit earning

 General objective
To design a commercialised distillation system of crude oil
Specific objectives
a) To study existing fractional distillation technologies to decide on the most
appropriate design modified to suit the Ugandan economy.
b) To study the composition and molecular structure of crude oil currently being
extracted in the Albertine region. Thats to say viscosity, purity etcetera.
c) To select size, layout and location of the proposed plan.
d) To develop an engineering drawing or blue print of the system.
e) To carry out the financial analysis of the proposed plant and its exact impact
on the environment and the above fuel pricing problem.

Scope .
Before the actual design of the plan is made, samples of the crude oil
in the Albertine region are to be taken in a well equipped laboratory to
determines factors or qualities such as
VISCOSITY
This test method specifies a procedure for the determination of the kinematic viscosity, v, of
liquid petroleum , both transparent and transleuscent, by measuring the time for a fixed volume
of liquid to flow under gravity through a calibrated glass capillary viscometer under a
reproducible driving head and at a closely controlled temperature. The kinematic viscosity is the
product of the measured flow time-T, in seconds and the calibration constant of the viscometer.
The dynamic viscosity can be obtained by multiplying the kinematic viscosity by the density of
the liquid.
The result obtained from this test method is dependent upon the behavior of the sample and is
intended for application to liquids for which primarily the shear stress and shear rates are
proportional (Newtons flow behavior)
Summary
The time is measured for a fixed volume of liquid to flow under gravity through the capillary of
calibrated viscometer under a reproducible driving head and at a closely controlled and known
temperature. The kinematic viscosity is the product of the measured flow time and the calibrated
constant of the viscometer.
Some of the equipments used are shown below

Significance
Many petroleum products, and some non-petroleum materials, are used as lubricants, and the
correct operation of the equipment depends upon the appropriate viscosity of the liquid being
used. In addition, the viscosity of many petroleum fuels is important for the estimation of
optimum storage, handling, and operational conditions. Thus, the accurate determination of
viscosity isessential in piping. Determining the appropriate length, diameter and thickness of a
pipe transporting the oil into one of the compartments.(distillation fractions).
Density
Classes of crude oil are often reported on the basis of density, sometimes with different meanings.
Acceptable ranges are as follows: Light: less than 870 kg/m3 (greater than 31.1o API) Medium: 870 to
920 kg/m3 (31.1o API to 22.3o API)
This enables the designer to know the thickness of the tubes or transporting pipes to be used.

The project is to be located around or in the Albertine region majorly because it is near the
source of the raw material which will also lower transport costs given the fact that crude oil has a
high density and therefore can be transported through a short distance pipe.

Uganda has proven crude oil reserves of 6.5 billion barrels, about 2.2 billion
recoverable. The International Monetary Fund was quoted in 2013 as saying that
these reserves were the fourth largest in sub-Saharan Africa behind Nigeria, Angola
and South Sudan. Some of the Largest oil fields are in the Kaiso-Tonya area in Hoima
sistrict. This area has been selected for Ugandas only oil refinery. The strategy is to
build a refinery that meets the petroleum products needs of Uganda and its regional
neighbours, with any remainder being exported.

Research methodology
The modes of research or data collection that are being used will be able to help
acquire a more qualitative and analytical information about the project. These
include,

Standard Operating procedures (SOPs)

These are the rudimentary operational methods that define how a recommended reagent is to be
treated or analyzed through a well defined protocol for confirmation to conclude whether or not
it meets the required standards.
Observations
Direct observation was used to learn how things were done or how the analysis is carried out in
order to get the expected results and compile data for report writing.
Consultation.
Through consulting my trainer and other analysts about the petroleum laboratory work a lot of
data was collected that enriched my report with good information.
Carrying out tests.
Tests were carried out on different petroleum products that were brought for analysis in the
laboratory. The procedures and the results obtained were recorded in the file and these were
compiled to make up this report.
Conferences and published journals
From Conferences organized and journals published in newpapers and internent, one can gain a
great deal of knowledge since the main speakers or publishers are always experts in their various
fields and are always more than willing to share their knowledge for the betterment of their
respective fields. An example of such was the fuel marking and monitoring programme where
one can learn a great deal about Global Fluid International and the future prospects of the
ministry of energy and mineral development and Uganda national bureau of standard.

Literature review

Materials to be used
This divided into two. Equipements required for research which majorly include
Viscometer
Hydrometer and survey equipements such as levels
And components of the plant to be put up which includes a furnace, alkylation unit
and fractionating colums.

Time scope
This project is to be done in three phases; research, design and construction
Research.
This will involve going out into the field and doing a geological survey of the
Albertine region to determine the most suitable spot for establishing a plant with
minimum effect to the environment.
Research will also involve taking samples of crude oil from the same region but from
different spots to the lab to determine their physical and chemical properties and
components.
This phase is anticipated to take about 2-3 weeks.
Design
From the research information, a sample plan is designed in correlation to the
specifications from the research phase. This can be done by a well qualified
structural engineer.
After approval by all the concerned legal bodies such as National environment
management authority, Uganda wild life authority and so on, a blue print of the
design which is the final design is made. With all the paper work involved and time
to design da plant, it would probably take about 8-12 weeks.
Construction
When all paper work and design are in order, a bill of quantity can be drafted and
construction commenced. For a standard design with the proper labour force, it
would aleast take a year for the plant to be up and running or operational. This

includes samples of final product being taken and tested to see that they conform to
the required standards set by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards and the
ministry of energy and mineral development.

DETAILED PROCESS OF FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION.

The various components of crude oil have different sizes, weights and boiling
temperatures; so, the first step is to separate these components. Because they
have different boiling temperatures, they can be separated easily by a process
called fractional distillation. The steps of Fractional distillation are as follows;

The mixture of two or more substances which have different boiling points is
heated to a high temperature at the bottom of the Fractionating column
which is arranged in a way that the highest temperature is down and the
lowest temperature for the substance with the least boiling point is highest.
Heating is usually done with high pressure steam to temperatures of about
600C.
The mixture boils forming vapour (gases) as most substances go into the
vapour phase.
The vapour enters the bottom of a long column (fractionating column) that is
filled with trays or plates. The trays have many holes or bubble caps (like a
loosened cap on a soda bottle) in them to allow vapour to pass through. They
increase the contact time between the vapour and the liquids in the column
and help to collect liquids that form at various heights in the column. There is
a temperature difference across the column (hot at the bottom and cool at
the top).
The vapour rises in the column and as the vapour rises through the column it
cools.
When a substance in the vapour reaches a height where the temperature of
the column is equal to that substances boiling point, it will condense to form
a liquid. (The substance with the lowest boiling point will condense at the
highest point in the column; substances with higher boiling points will
condense lower in the column.).

The trays collect the various liquid fractions. The collected liquid fractions
may pass to condensers, which cool them farther, and then go to storage
tanks, or may go to other areas for farther processing.

Fractional distillation is useful for separating a mixture of substances with narrow

differences in boiling points and the most important step is the refining process.
CHEMICAL PROCESSING
You can change one fraction into another by three methods:
1) Breaking large hydrocarbons into smaller pieces (cracking).
2) Combining smaller pieces to make larger ones (unification).
3) Re-arranging various pieces to make desired hydrocarbons (alteration).

CRACKING
Cracking takes large hydrocarbons and breaks them into smaller ones. There are
several types of cracking; Conversion of higher-molecular-weight constituents into
lower-molecular-weight products has been achieved through the application of
processes such as;
Octane Processing which increases the yield of gasoline and increases the yield
of high octane blending
components

1) Hydro processing- is the process by which unwanted materials such as

Sulphur, Nitrogen, Metals are removed from the crude oil.
Hydrotreating; removes; sulphur, nitrogen, metals, aromatics, olefins but does not
significantly alter boiling range of feedstock.
Hydrocracking is a more severe operation which also reduces the boiling range.
Involves the addition of hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst.

Figure showing a hydrocracker.

2) Thermal cracking; here you heat the hydrocarbons at high temperatures
(sometimes high pressures as well) until they break apart.

Steam- high temperature steam (816C) is used to break ethane, butane and
naphtha into ethylene and benzene which are used to manufacture
chemicals.
Vibsbreaking- residual from the distillation tower is heated (900F/482C),
cooled with gas oil and rapidly burned (flashed) in a distillation tower. This
process reduces the viscosity of heavy weight oils and produces tar.
Coking- residue from the distillation tower is heated to temperatures above
482C until it cracks into heavy oil, gasoline and naphtha. When the process
is done, a heavy, almost pure carbon residue is left (coke); the coke is
cleaned from the cokers and sold.
3) Catalytic cracking; this type uses a catalyst to speed up the cracking
reaction. Catalysts include zeolite, aluminium hydrosilicate, bauxite and
silica-alumina.
Fluid catalytic cracking- a hot fluid catalyst (480-540C) cracks heavy oil
gas into diesel oils and gasoline.
Hydrocracking- similar to fluid catalytic cracking, but uses a different
catalyst, lower temperatures, higher pressure and hydrogen gas. It takes
heavy oil and cracks it into gasoline and kerosene (jet fuel).
Catalytic Reforming- increases octane of gasoline, produces Hydrogen
Isomerization- increases octane of light naphtha
After various hydrocarbons are cracked into smaller hydrocarbons, the products go
through another fractional distillation column to separate them.

UNIFICATION
Sometimes you need to combine smaller hydrocarbons to make larger ones, this
process is called unification. The major unification process is called catalytic
reforming and uses a catalyst (platinum, platinum-rhenium mix) to combine low
weight naphtha into aromatics, which are used in making chemicals and in blending
gasoline. A significant by product of this reaction is hydrogen gas, which is then
either used for cracking or sold.

Fig2
ALTERATION
Sometimes, the structures of molecules in one fraction are re-arranged to produce
another. Commonly, this is done using a process called alkylation. In alkylation, low
molecular weight compounds such as propylene and butylene, are mixed in the
presence of a catalyst such as hydrofluoric acid or sulphuric acid (a by-product from
removing impurities from many oil products. The products of alkylation are high
octane hydrocarbons which are used in gasoline blends to reduce knocking

Fig3
TREATING AND BLENDING THE FRACTIONS.
Distilled and chemically processed fractions are treated to remove impurities, such
as organic substances containing sulphur, nitrogen, oxygen, water, dissolved metals
and inorganic salts. Treating is usually done by passing the fractions through the
following;

A column of sulphuric acid removes unsaturated hydrocarbons (those with

carbon-carbon double bonds., nitrogen compounds, oxygen compounds and
residual solids (tars, ashphalt).
An absorption column filled with drying agents to remove water.
Sulphur treatment and hydrogen-sulphide scrubbers to remove sulphur and
sulphur compounds.

After the fractions have been treated they are cooled and blended together to make
various products such as;

Gasoline of various grades, with or without additives.

Lubricating oils of various weights and grades e.g.(10W-40, 5W-30)
Kerosene of various grades
Jet fuel
Diesel fuel
Heating oil
Chemicals of various grades for making plastics and other polymers.

GASOLINE KEROSENE AND DIESEL

The crude oil pumped out of the ground is a black liquid called petroleum. This
liquid contains aliphatic hydrocarbons, hydrocarbons composed of nothing but
hydrogen and carbon. The carbon atoms link together in chains of different lengths.
It turns out that hydrocarbon molecules of different lengths have different
properties and behaviors. For example a chain with just one carbon atom in it (CH 4)
is the lightest chain. Methane is a gas so light that it floats in air like helium. As the
chains get longer they get heavier. The first four chains, CH4 (methane), C2H6 (ethane),
C3H8 (propane), and C4H10 (Butane), are all gases and they boil at (-107C, -67C,
-43C and -18C). The chains up through C18H32 or so are all liquids at room
temperature, and the chains above C19 are all solids at room temperature.
The different chain lengths have progressively higher boiling points, so they can be
separated out by distillation. This is what happens in a refinery, crude oil is heated
and different chains are pulled out by their vaporization temperatures.
The chains in the C5, C6 and C7 range are all very light, easily vaporized, clear liquids
called naphthas. They are used as solvents- dry cleaning fluids can be made from
these liquids, as well as paint solvents and other quick drying products.
The chains from C7H16 through to C11H24 are blended together and used for gasoline.
All of them vaporize at temperatures below the boiling point of water. Thats why if
you spill gasoline on the ground it evaporates quickly. Next is kerosene in the C 12 to
C15 range, followed by Diesel fuel and heavier fuel oils (like heating oil for houses).

These are followed by the lubricating oils. These oils no longer vaporize in any way
at normal temperatures. For example, engine oil can run all day at 121C without

vaporizing at all. Oils go from very low (like 3-in-1 oil) through various thicknesses of
motor oil through very thick gear oils and then semi solid greases.
The chains above C20 range from solids starting with paraffin wax, then Tar and
finally asphaltic bitumen, which is used to make asphalt roads. All these substances
come from crude oil and the only difference is the length of carbon chains.
Products

Uses

Fuel gas

Fuel/chemical feedstock

Liquefied gases

Fuel/Chemical feedstock

Gasoline

Motor transportation

Naphtha

Chemical feedstock

Jet fuel

Aviation fuel

Diesel fuels

Motor, rail roads, etc.

Lubricating oils

Machines lubrication

White oils

Electrical installations

Waxes

Coatings, polishes, candles, etc.

Bitumen

Road making and water proofing

Petroleum Coke

Fuel or electrodes

GASOLINE
If the fuel ignites during compression, then the engine knocks

 This damages the engine and reduces performance

The tendency to cause knock is measured by the Octane Number (0 100)
Higher octane --> Tune engine to higher compression --> More power, more
acceleration better fuel efficiency

DIESEL
In a diesel engine the fuel is ignited by heat generated by compression, so the
octane number is not relevant
Instead, we measure the delay before ignition
Short delay -- > High octane number
Long delay --> Low octane number
Long delays cause misfiring, poor engine performance, smoky exhaust and
difficulty starting in cold weather

KEROSENE
Kerosene was originally sold as lamp oil (Keros means light in Greek)
Now most commonly used as fuel for jet engines. For jet fuel, the freeze point
is a key parameter giving the temperature at which fuel freezes (- 40C) and
the smoke point, measured in mm of flame height at which smoke is
detected.

Budget of the fractional distillation project