BOSICOR PAKISTAN

LIMITED
MKP-1 OIL REFINERY.

INTERNSHIP REPORT
(March17,2009 - April 17,2009)

Dawood college of engineering and technology karachi

Submited by:-
Muqeem khan

1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
Writing this report we felt highly privileged that we have worked as an
Internee in BOSICOR Pakistan limited and this successful knowledge trip would
not have been possible without adequate support of the Esteemed ENGINEERS out
there in BPL we would like to acknowledge some of the most eminent persons
who supported us in not only understanding the theoretical aspects but getting the
knowledge in practical form .We feel highly delightful to acknowledge all of the
Management of BPL especially :

• Engineer Haroon Rasheed Ansari (Manager Technical)

• Engineer Muzaffar Malik (Technical Services)
• Engineer Asad Raza (Technical Services)
• Sheikh Jameel ahmed (Manager Q.L Laboratory)
• Shahzad Kalim khan (Junior officer )
• Iftakhir Ahmed (trainee)
• Engineer Faraz Sheikh (Senior Manager Operations)
• Engineer Furqan Ali (Manager Operations)
• Engineer Arif Rehman (Senior Engineer Operations)
• Engineer Tallat Nabi
• Engineer Nauman Khan (Oil moments & Logistics)
• Engineer Siddique (Oil moments & Logistics)
• Engineer Saud (Shift Incharge)
• Engineer Rizwan Mustufa (Shift Engineer)
• Mr. Malik Abdul Rehman (Shift Operator)
• Mr.Atta muammad (Shift Operator)

Along with Plant Management we would also like to acknowledge the Plant
operators and Foremen who gave us plethora of advices from their practical
experience.

We are affirmative that the knowledge we got over there would accompany
us till our Job Carriers.

Once again WE ARE thankful to all of the concerned personnel who have
supported us in our knowledge seeking trip to BOSICOR PAKISTAN LIMITED
We are LOOKING forward To Working with you soon.

Thank you BOSICOR PAKISTAN LIMITED

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 DAWOOD COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY KARACHI
Federal Degree Awarding Institution

FOREWORD:
Reaching Bosicor Pakistan Limited for internship program I had in my mind
that this Internship was not an opportunity Rather it was a responsibility and in the
field I entered with the passion to learn and understand the true Chemical
engineer’s Dream that is to be a part of a petroleum refinery and we had to get
acquainted with the concepts of operation and we were given great response. We not
only understood the Mechanism but also the types and designs of the Machines that
were being used in BPL along with the Product specifications and the Storage and
Transportation techniques Whatever I got there I have made sure to include that in
this report of INTERNSHIP so as to reflect the inner sense of my Understandings
The Report I am writing it actually is of seven major steps:

i. Bosicor’s Introduction
ii. Petroleum and Its Fractions
iii. Environment, Health & Safety
iv. Laboratory
v. Utilities at Plant site
vi. Equipments
vii. Operation of Bosicor Refinery MKP-1(On Flow Basis)
viii. Oil moments & logistics

From these descriptive topics I have covered all the knowledge that I had
gathered in last 12 weeks. No Doubt I have gained a lot of Knowledge during
internship period.

REGARDS

Engineer Muqeem khan

Dept. of chemical engineering
(Dawood college of engineering and technology Karachi)

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 CONTENTS

S.No. TOPICS Page No.

1. BOSICOR’S PROFILE 5
2. PETROLEUM 6
3. ENVOIRNMENT, HEALTH & SAFETY (EHS) 8
4. LABORATORY 11
5. UTILITIES 15
6. EQUIPMENTS 17
7. OPERATIONS 30
8. OIL MOMENTS & LOGISTICS 49
9. ABBREVIATIONS 54
10. REFERENCE 55

BOSICOR’S PROFILE
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COMPANY NAME Bosicor Pakistan Limited (MKP-1)
OWNED BY BOSICOR GROUP
ESTABLISHED January 1995
1st COMESHNING Dec 2007
REVAMP Sept – Oct 2003
PLANT ADRESS
Mouza Kund Plant, Sub Tehsil Gidani, Near Hub
Power
Company Ltd. Power plant (HUBCO), District
Lasbela,
ADDRESS Balouchistan
MANAGING OFFICE
Bosicor Pakistan Limited Oil Marketing Unit 6th
Floor,
Business Plaza,, Mumtaz Hassan Road, Karachi
Phone: 021-111-222-081 (EXT: 519)
Bosicor Pakistan Ltd is the fifth Oil refinery in
STATUS
Pakistan.
Imported (QATAR MARINE CRUDE OIL) &
CRUDE TYPE IRANIAN CRUDE. Collected from Ships at
ZOT(PSO), Port Qasim & Local crude.
PLANT CAPACITY 30,000-35,000 barrels per day
% CONTRIBUTION TO
TOTAL FUEL
5% to the total Crude Production of Pakistan
PRODUCTION OF
PAKISTAN
Major CLIENTS PSO
Sales(2007) 9999 Million Rs
STATISTICS
Net profit(2007) 633 Million Rs
1. Additional Storage Facility
2. Sub-Sea Pipeline Project (ITT)
FUTURE PROJECTS
3. Isomerization Unit
4. BOPL

PRODUCTION PERCENTAGE OF BPL:

FURNACE OIL 38 – 40 %
HIGH SPEED DIESEL 21 – 22 %
KERO 18 – 21 %
NAPHTA 18 – 20 %
LPG 6–8%
PETROLEUM

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 Petroleum is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid found in rock
formations in the Earth, consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various
molecular weights, plus other organic compounds.

• CHEMISTRY OF PETROLEUM:
Crude petroleum is primarily a liquid of widely varying physical and
chemical properties.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES:

• Color: Common colors are green, brown and black and occasionally almost white
or straw color (although it may be yellowish or even greenish).

• Specific gravity: Specific gravity can range from 0.73 – 1.02; however, most crudes
are between 0.80 & 0.95.

• Viscosity: Data for a large number of crudes indicate kinematics viscosities from
0.007 to 13 stokes at 100oF, though most of them range from 0.023 to 0.23 stoke.

• COMPOSITION:
The hydrocarbons in crude oil are mostly alkanes, Naphthenes
(cycloalkanes) and various aromatic hydrocarbons,
• Alkanes, also known as paraffins, are saturated hydrocarbons with straight or
branched chains which contain only carbon and hydrogen and have the general
formula CnH2n+2.

• Cycloalkanes, also known as napthenes, are saturated hydrocarbons which have

one or more carbon rings to which hydrogen atoms are attached according to the
formula CnH2n. Cycloalkanes have similar properties to alkanes but have higher
boiling points.

• Aromatic hydrocarbons are unsaturated hydrocarbons which have one or more

planar six-carbon rings called benzene rings, to which hydrogen atoms are
attached with the formula CnHn. They tend to burn with a sooty flame, and many
have a sweet aroma.

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 While the other organic compounds contain nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur, and
trace amount of metals such as iron, nickel, copper and vanadium. The exact
molecular composition varies widely from formation to formation but the
proportion of chemical elements varies over fairly narrow limits as follows:

Element % Range
Carbon 83-87%
Hydrogen 10-14%
Oxygen 0.1-2%
Nitrogen 0.1-1.5%
Sulfur 0.5-6%

• CLASSIFICATION:
Crudes are commonly classified according to the residue of their distillation, this
depending on their relative contents of three basic hydrocarbons: paraffins,
naphthenes, and aromatics. About 85% of all crude fall into following three
classifications:
• Asphalt-base: containing very little paraffin wax and a residue primarily
asphaltic (predominantly condensed aromatics). Sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen
contents are often relatively high. Light and intermediate fractions have high
percentages of naphthenes. These crude oils are particularly suitable for
making high quality of gasoline, machine lubricating oils, and asphalt.

• Paraffin-base: containing little or no asphaltic materials, are good source of

paraffin wax, quality motor lube oils, and high-grade kerosene. They usually
have lower non hydrocarbon content than do the asphalt base crudes.

• Mixed-base: containing considerable amounts of both wax and asphalt.

Virtually all products can be obtained, although at lower yields than from
the other two.

Generally Crude consists of following fractions:

Name of fraction Carbon atom range Boiling point range(oC)

Natural gas C1 – C4 Below 20
LPG C3 – C4 Below 20
Light naphtha C6 – C7 60 – 100
Gasoline C5 – C10 40 – 200
kerosene C12 – C18 175 – 325
Gas oil or Diesel oil C12 and higher 250 – 400
Lubrication oil C20 and up Non-volatile liquids

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 ENVOIRNMENT, HEALTH & SAFETY (EHS)

• SAFETY:
Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected against
physical, social, spiritual, financial, political, emotional, occupational, psychological,
educational or other types or consequences of failure, damage, error, accidents,
harm or any other event which could be considered non-desirable. This can take the
form of being protected from the event or from exposure to something that causes
health or economical losses. It can include protection of people or of possessions

• GENERAL SAFETY:
Safety is generally interpreted as implying a real and significant impact on
risk of death, injury or damage to property. Safety measures are activities and
precautions taken to improve safety, i.e. reduce risk related to losses.

• SAFETY AGAISNT FIRE:

The biggest danger which BOSICOR can face is fire. As it is an oil refinery
which deals with the fuel which in any condition can burn steadily and can destroy
the plant area and even the workers working there.

• THE FIRE TRIANGLE:

Fire can be produced by the presence of all the three mediums present in the
fire triangle:
• Fuel.
• Oxygen (20.9% in Air).
• Burning medium or Heat.
If it is needed to remove the fire from any place the fire triangle must be broken.
Meaning any of the 3 members must be removed to stop the fire.

• TYPE OF FIRE:
There are 4 types of fire:
• Solid / Combustible.
• Liquid / Flammable.
• Gas / Electric.

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 • Metal.

• QUENCHING THE FIRE:

Following are some of the ways through which we can remove the fire:
• Smothering
• Starvation
• Cooling

Few types of equipment are used which help us controlling fire:

• DCP (Dry Chemical Powder)
• Carbon dioxide
• Foam (Chemical and mechanical)
• Water

• SAFETY DEPARTMENT:
BOSICOR has it department for safety. The work of this department is to
monitor all the plant area and take all the precautions to protect the plant and even
to protect all the workers at the plant. More then that it is also capable for tackling
any emergency situation at the plant area or at the whole covered area.
The objectives of this department are as follow:
• To ensure there is no fire at the plant area, and taking it out if any.
• To ensure that fire extinguishers are placed at the plant in good and
working condition where ever it is needed.
• To ensure that every worker at the plant is wearing PPE (Personal
Protective Equipments).
• To ensure no one carries any thing which can burn or can help burning. e.g.
(match boxes, lighters, mobile phones, or batteries).
• To provide electronic equipments with IS (Intrinsically Safe) batteries.

• PRACTICING THE CAPABILITIES:

Apart from all the safety provided by the department, this department also
tests its and the workers skills at times:
• Fire drills are held time to time to train workers of different department.
• Safety alarms are rung to prepare workers for any emergency situation.
• To check emergency equipments from time to time.

• PRECAUTIONS:
BOSICOR uses the following sources or equipments for safety:
PPEs (Personal Protective Equipments):
Safety features are followed by every worker at the industry. All the workers wear
PPEs for their safety. This includes:
• Hard Helmets
• Safety Shoes
• Safety Cover (Dungaree)

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 • Gloves, Air Filters, Goggles at sensitive areas
• Body Safety Harness at height.

• SAFETY EQUIPMENTS:
This includes equipments which help in alerting from emergency situations:
• Fire Alarms
• Smoke Detectors
• PCV (Pressure Control Valves)
• TCV (Temperature Controlling Valves)
• LCV (level Control Valves)
• Trippers
• Safety Valves
• Triggers

• WORK PERMITS (PTW):

These permits are classified by the work that is required to be done:
• Hot Work Permit: This includes the work in which sparks are produced.
• Cold Work Permit: Activates involve working in plant areas
• Excavation Work Permit: Including civil work
• Confined Space Entry Certificate: e.g. Work inside Confined Spaces.

Quality control section of BOSICOR

The laboratary of BPL is a well equipped lab. Even though it is not an ISO 17004
certified lad but the apparatus are regularly calliberated and record is well
maintained. The staff is very helpful and hardworking and they have command over
their work. Research work is also carried out for the better product yield and best
quality products. During my visit research work was taking place to bring down the
pour point of furnace oil according to the demand of the customer. The laboratary
works 24 hrs a day.

• QUALITY TEST:
Quality is controlled in the industry to make there products marketable.
Standards are set and maintained which is an important thing. The quality is tested
time by time and is reported to the engineers where they compare the results with
the standard.

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 • Compounds being tested in BPL LAB
1. Qatar marine crude oil
2. LPG
3. Naphtha
4. Motogas
5. Kerosene
6. HSD
7. Furnace oil
8. Boiling and cooling water

• General test performed in BPL LAB

TEST TEST METHOD

1. canradson carbon residue ASTM-D189

2. ASTM colour ASTM-D156

3. Cloud point and Pour point ASTM-D97

4. Oxidation stability of Gasoline -

5. Sulphur in petroleum products ASTM-D1551

6. Doctors test for petroleum ASTM-D484

distillate

7. Cu strip test ASTM-D130

8. Distillation of petroleum products ASTM-D484

Flash point ASTM-D93

10. Specific gravity ASTM-D1298

11. Reid Vapor pressure ASTM-D323

12. Otane no research ASTM-D2699

13. Cetane index ASTM-D976

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 • LABORATORY SPECIFICATIONS
LPG:
Time: 11:00 pm
TEST # V-4: Batch # 030/08

TEST RESULTS
Specific Gravity 0.5620
Weathering +1
Cu Strip Ia
Vapor Sulfur 36
RSH 32
Vapor Pressure 140

• QATAR MARINE CRUDE OIL:

TMB COMPOSITE TOP MID BOTTOM
Specific Gravity 0.8776 0.8768 0.8768 0.775
Bs & W 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.5

• DISTILLATION:
IBP 5% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
(OC)
60 92 122 178 233 287 333 358
Cracking Point = 363; Total Recovery =63 %
KEROSENE:
20 % Recovery max 200 C
E.pt max 300 C

• DISTILLATION:
TEST RESULTS
Specific Gravity Max. 0.820
Color Min. 20
Flash Min. 37oC
Smoke Point Min. 22oC
Total Sulfur max 0.15
Doctor Test -ve
Odor marketable

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MOTOR SPIRIT:
Specific Gravity = 0.7687
DISTILLATION:
IBP 5% 10% 20% 30% 50% 70% 90% 95% F.B.P
(OC)
47 60 77 178 103 115 130 144 153 159

TEST RESULTS
RVP Max.9
RSH <0.01
Cu Corrosion Ia
Ex. Gum Max.4
Oxidant Stability > 240
Doctor Test -ve
RON Min. 85

• HSD (ULTRA WINTERIZED):

Specific Gravity = 0.8221
DISTILLATION:
IBP (OC) 10% 50% 90% F.B.P
167 189 238 309 338

TEST RESULTS
COLOUR max 3
Total Sulfur max 1
Flash Point min 65 C
Viscosity 44 ssu
Cloud Point max 30
Pour Point max 20
CCR max 0.1
Ash max 0.1
Sediments max 0.1
Water max 0.05
CI max 47
TAN max 0.5
SAN NIL

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 • FURNACE OIL:
Specific Gravity = 0.9 – 0.97

TEST RESULTS
Total Sulfur max3.5
Flash Point min 660 C
Viscosity 600-1000
Pour Point max 240 C
CCR min 0.25
Ash max 0.1
Sediments max 0.15
Water max 0.5
CV 17400
SAN NIL

• BOILER FEED WATER:

TEST RESULTS
PH 8.2-10
Total Hardness max 2 ppm

• BOILER BLOW DOWN WATER:

TEST RESULTS
PH 10.5-11.5
TDS, ppm max 3500ppm
OH alkalinity, ppm min 100ppm
Sulphite, ppm 30-70ppm
Phosphate, ppm 20-50ppm
T. Iron, ppm max 2 ppm

• COOLING WATER:
TEST RESULTS
PH 8-9
TDS 1500-1800 ppm
Total Hardness max 800 ppm
Total Alkanity 250-300 ppm
Total Zinc 2-3 ppm
Free Chlorine 0.3-0.6 ppm
T. Iron max 1 ppm

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 UTILITIES
Utilities play an important role in process of any Industry. Following are few
of the utilities used in BOSICOR:

• BOILER:
The steam requirement of the industry is fulfilled by two boilers in
BOSICOR.
Types of both of them are:
• Fire Tube Boiler
• Water Tube boiler

Water from reservoir is soften first by the help of chemical injection and all salts of
Mg+2 and Ca+2 which produce hardness are converted into the salts of Na+ which
don’t produce hardness.
• Capacity: 10 ton
• Pressure: 120 psi
Then it is passed through Deaerator where salts of PO4-3 and SO3-1 are injected
where oxygen is removed from the water. After that it is injected to Economizer and
then to the Boiler. Where water is converted into steam and then it is used further.

sBoiler on panel specification:-

S.No RANGES Results
Feed water totalizer flow 4900lb/hr 4800
Steam flow totalizer flow 4400lb/hr 4300
Steam pressure 115psi 114psi
Steam temperature 200C 176C
Stack temperature - 206C
Fueal oil flow 130lb/hr 120lb/hr 15
Water level gauge 50 46.7
 • COOLING TOWERS:
Cooling towers are heat removal devices used to transfer process waste heat
to the atmosphere. Cooling towers may either use the evaporation of water to
remove process heat and cool the working fluid to near the wet-bulb air
temperature or rely solely on air to cool the working fluid to near the dry-bulb air
temperature.
It is an important part of any refinery it is used to cool hot water circulated from
the refinery, which is re-used after cooling.
In BOSICOR we have two cooling towers:
• THE OLD TOWER:
The old cooling tower consists of six fans and it is of counter current type.
• THE NEW TOWER:
The new tower consists of one fan which is cross flow type.

• CHEMICAL DOSING:
Following are few of the chemicals which are injected in cooling water:
• SCGon 345
• SCGon 019
• Biocon 975
• Calcium Hypo chloride
There chemicals are for different purposes:
• Corrosion inhibiters and Anti- scaling
• Hardness maintaining
• Maintains the pH
• Anti- microbes

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 TEST RANGES
pH 8-9
TDS 1500
TH 1000
T, A 250
Zinc 2-3
Fe Max. 1

• ELECTRIC GENERATION:
BPL has its own dependable electric power generation facility consist of 6
generators out of which 4 meets plant requirements, 3 in working condition ,1
stand-by. Each having 1.5 MW capacity producing 60Hz of electricity. Apart from
that 2 for electrical official requirement, 1 in working 1 stand-by producing
500KVA 50Hz.

• INSTRUMENTAL AIR:
Nearly all of the instruments are pneumatic. So pressurized air is required
for there working.
The air is supplied by the compressors one of which is in working condition
and other is stand-by. The compressor has its capacity 650 m3/hr and its working
pressure is 7.6 – 8.4 bar. The other standby is 345 m3/hr it can produce 6.5 – 8.5 bar
pressure.

EQUIPMENTS:
In this section the brief detail of some most important equipments, which

17
acts as a backbone of an oil refinery, is given,without the knowledge of which, it is
impossible to understand the processs.

• HEAT EXCHANGER:
A heat exchanger is a device built for efficient heat transfer from one medium to
another; both the Medias are separated by a solid wall so that they never mix. They
are extensively used in petroleum refineries over a wide range for various
purposes, such as:
• Heating the crude streams up to desired temperature before entering the
desalters.
• Cooling the product streams to ambient temperatures. e.t.c.
• As a condenser for condensing the vapors.
• As a reboiler for maintaining the columns bottom temperature.

• SHELL & TUBE HEAT EXCHANGERS:

The shell & tube heat exchanger is a bundle of tubes connected together at
each end in plates called tube sheets. The tube sheet provides the seal between the
tube bundle & the shell, which isolates the process from the service. It is very
important that the seals are leak-proof to prevent cross-contamination of the fluids
on the tube & shell sides. The basic shell & tube heat exchanger serves equally well
as a cooler, heater, evaporator, condenser with minor design changes in shape and
arrangement.
The shell is a cylinder into which the tube bundle is housed. The ends of the shell
are sealed with plates called heads. The head can be flat or dish-shaped in design.
Following are the few main parts of the heat exchanger:
• Shell
• Tubes
• Floating head
• Channel head

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• Baffles

• CONDITION THAT AFFECTS HEAT TRANSFER:

• Proper Mixing of Medium
• Transfer Area
• Evaporation of Medium
• Arrangement of Shell and Tubes

• Flow arrangement
Heat exchangers may be classified according to their flow arrangement. In
parallel-flow heat exchangers, the two fluids enter the exchanger at the same end,
and travel in parallel to one another to the other side. In counter-flow heat
exchangers the fluids enter the exchanger from opposite ends. The counter current
design is most efficient, in that it can transfer the most heat from the heat
(transfer) medium. See countercurrent exchange. In a cross-flow heat exchanger,
the fluids travel roughly perpendicular to one another through the exchanger.
For efficiency, heat exchangers are designed to maximize the surface area of the
wall between the two fluids, while minimizing resistance to fluid flow through the
exchanger. The exchanger's performance can also be affected by the addition of
fins or corrugations in one or both directions, which increase surface area and may
channel fluid flow or induce turbulence.
The driving temperature across the heat transfer surface varies with position, but
an appropriate mean temperature can be defined. In most simple systems this is
the log mean temperature difference (LMTD). Sometimes direct knowledge of the
LMTD is not available and the NTU method is used.

Fig. 2: Shell and tube Fig. 3: Shell and tube heat

Fig. 1: Shell and tube
heat exchanger, 2-pass exchanger, 2-pass shell side, 2-
heat exchanger, single
tube side (1-2 pass tube side (2-2
pass (1-1 parallel flow)
crossflow) countercurrent)

• FOULING:
Deposition of undissolved particles in the exchngers that reduces the flow is
called fouling can be caused by:

19
• Frequent use of the Heat Exchanger.
• Not cleaning the Heat Exchanger regularly.
• Reducing the velocity of the fluids moving through the heat exchanger.
• Over-sizing of the heat exchanger.

FURNACE:
An industrial furnace or direct fired heater is equipment used to provide heat
for a process or can serve as reactor which provides heats of reaction, and is used in
all petroleum refineries. Furnace is that part of petroleum refinery which controls
the economics of whole plant. So efficient operation of furnace is vital.
Fuel flows into the burner and is burnt with air provided from an air blower. The
flames heat up the tubes, which in turn heat the fluid inside in the first part of the
furnace known as the radiant section or firebox. In this chamber where combustion
takes place, the heat is transferred mainly by radiation to tubes around the fire in
the chamber. The heating fluid passes through the tubes and is thus heated to the
desired temperature. The gases from the combustion are known as flue gas. After
the flue gas leaves the firebox, most furnace designs include a convection section
where more heat is recovered before venting to the atmosphere through the flue gas
stack. Following are some of the main parts of the furnace:

• Radiant Section: The radiant section is where the tubes receive almost all
its
heat by radiation from the flame.
• Convection section: The convection section is located above the radiant
section. Heat transfer takes place by convection here, and the tubes are finned to
increase heat transfer.

• Burner : The burner in the vertical, cylindrical furnace is located in the floor and
fires upward. The burner is made of high temperature refractory and is where the
flame is contained in. Air registers located below the burner. A furnace can be lit by
a small pilot flame. Most pilot flames now a days are lit by an ignition transformer
(much like a car's spark plugs). The pilot flame in turn lights up the main flame.

20
When using liquid fuels, an atomizer is used, otherwise, the liquid fuel will simply
pour onto the furnace floor and become a hazard.

• Furnace draft: This draft, or difference of pressure is caused by the difference

between the weight of the vertical column of the hot flue gas in the furnace stack
and the weight of the column of the cooler outside air of the same height. The cooler,
outside air is heavier. As outside air enters the opening around the furnace burners,
it’s greater weight causes it to rush through these opening and push the lighter,
hotter flue gases up the stack.. In this manner the movement of air through the
furnace becomes continuous.

• Soot blower: Soot blowers are found in the convection section. As this section
is above the radiant section and air movement is slower because of the fins, soot
tends to accumulate here. Soot blowing is normally done when the efficiency of
the convection section is decreased.

• Stack: The flue gas stack is a cylindrical structure at the top of all the heat
transfer chambers. The breeching directly below it collects the flue gas and
brings it up high into the atmosphere where it will not endanger personnel.

• Insulation: Insulation is an important part of the furnace because it prevents

excessive heat loss. Refractory materials such as firebrick, castable refractories
and ceramic fiber, are used for insulation.

• Centrifugalpump
A centrifugal pump is a rotodynamic pump that uses a rotating impeller to increase
the pressure of a fluid. Centrifugal pumps are commonly used to move liquids
through a piping system. The fluid enters the pump impeller along or near to the
rotating axis and is accelerated by the impeller, flowing radially outward into a
diffuser or volute chamber, from where it exits into the downstream piping system.

Centrifugal pumps are used for large discharge through smaller heads

21
How it works

A centrifugal pump works by the conversion of the rotational kinetic energy,

typically from an electric motor or turbine, to an increased static fluid pressure.
This action is described by Bernoulli's principle. The rotation of the pump
impeller imparts kinetic energy to the fluid as it is drawn in from the impeller eye
(centre) and is forced outward through the impeller vanes to the periphery. As the
fluid exits the impeller, the fluid kinetic energy (velocity) is then converted to
(static) pressure due to the change in area the fluid experiences in the volute
section. Typically the volute shape of the pump casing (increasing in volume), or
the diffuser vanes (which serve to slow the fluid, converting to kinetic energy in to
flow work) are responsible for the energy conversion. The energy conversion
results in an increased pressure on the downstream side of the pump, causing flow.
Multistage Centrifugal Pumps
A centrifugal pump containing two or more impellers is called a multistage
centrifugal pump. The impellers may be mounted on the same shaft or on different
shafts. A multistage centrifugal pump has the following two important functions:
• To produce a high head, and
• To discharge a large quantity of liquid.
If a high head is to be developed then the impellers are mounted on same shaft
(series) while for large quantity of discharge of liquid, the impellers are mounted
on different shafts (parallel).

• Net Positive Suction Head

NPSH is an acronym for Net Positive Suction Head. It shows the difference, in any
cross-section of a generic hydraulic circuit, between the pressure and the liquid
vapor pressure in that section.
NPSH is an important parameter, to be taken into account when designing a
circuit : whenever the liquid stagnation pressure drops below the vapor pressure,
liquid boiling occurs, and the final effect will be cavitation: vapor bubbles may
reduce or stop the liquid flow. Centrifugal pumps are particularly vulnerable,

22
whereas positive displacement pumps are less affected by cavitation, as they are
better able to pump two-phase flow (the mixture of gas and liquid), however, the
resultant flow rate of the pump will be diminished because of the gas
volumetrically displacing a disproportion of liquid.
The violent collapse of the cavitation bubble creates a shock wave that can literally
carve material from internal pump components (usually the leading edge of the
impeller) and creates noise that is most often described as "pumping gravel".
Additionally, the inevitable increase in vibration can cause other mechanical faults
in the pump and associated equipment.
Considering the circuit shown in the picture, in 1-1 NPSH is :
NPSH = P0 + H − Y − Vt
(to be solved with coherent measuring units), where Y is the friction loss between
0-0 and 1-1, and Vt the liquid vapour pressure at the actual temperature in section
1-1.
In pump operation, two aspects of this parameter are called respectively NPSHA
or NPSH (a) Net Positive Suction Head (available) and NPSHR or NPSH(r) or
NPSH-3 Net Positive Suction Head (required), where NPSH(a) is the suction
pressure presented at the pump inlet port, and NPSH(r) is the suction pressure
limit at which the pump's total differential head performance is reduced by 3%
due to cavitation. It's important to note that cavitation occurs at suction pressure
levels above the NPSH-3 level and pump damage can occur from cavitation even
though the pump may continue to provide the expected hydraulic performance.

DISTILLATION COLUMN
Design and operation of a distillation column depends on the feed and desired
products. Given a simple, binary component feed, analytical methods such as the
McCabe-Thiele method or the Fenske equation can be used to assist in the design.
For a multi-component feed, computerized simulation models are used both for
design and subsequently in operation of the column as well. Modeling is also used
to optimize already erected columns for the distillation of mixtures other than
those the distillation equipment was originally designed for.
When a continuous distillation column is in operation, it has to be closely
monitored for changes in feed composition, operating temperature and product
composition. Many of these tasks are performed using advanced computer control
equipment.
Column feed
The column can be fed in different ways. If the feed is from a source at a pressure
higher than the distillation column pressure, it is simply piped into the column.
Otherwise, the feed is pumped or compressed into the column. The feed may be a
superheated vapor, a saturated vapor, a partially vaporized liquid-vapor mixture,

23
a saturated liquid (i.e., liquid at its boiling point at the column's pressure), or a
sub-cooled liquid. If the feed is a liquid at a much higher pressure than the column
pressure and flows through a pressure let-down valve just ahead of the column, it
will immediately expand and undergo a partial flash vaporization resulting in a
liquid-vapor mixture as it enters the distillation column.
Improving separation

Fig1: Simplified chemical engineering schematic of Continuous Fractional

Distillation tower separating one feed mixture stream into four distillate and one
bottoms fractions
Although small size units, mostly made of glass, can be used in laboratories,
industrial units are large, vertical, steel vessels known as "distillation towers" or
"distillation columns". To improve the separation, the tower is normally provided
inside with horizontal plates or trays as shown in fig2, or the column is packed
with a packing material. To provide the heat required for the vaporization
involved in distillation and also to compensate for heat loss, heat is most often
added to the bottom of the column by a reboiler, and the purity of the top product
can be improved by recycling some of the externally condensed top product liquid
as reflux. Depending on their purpose, distillation columns may have liquid outlets
at intervals up the length of the column as shown in fig1.
Reflux
Large-scale industrial fractionation towers use reflux to achieve more efficient
separation of products. Reflux refers to the portion of the condensed overhead

24
liquid product from a distillation tower that is returned to the upper part of the
tower as shown in fig1. Inside the tower, the downflowing reflux liquid provides
cooling and partial condensation of the upflowing vapors, thereby increasing the
efficacy of the distillation tower. The more reflux that is provided, the better is the
tower's separation of the lower boiling from the higher boiling components of the
feed. A balance of heating with a reboiler at the bottom of a column and cooling by
condensed reflux at the top of the column maintains a temperature gradient (or
gradual temperature difference) along the height of the column to provide good
conditions for fractionating the feed mixture. Reflux flows at the middle of the
tower are called pumparounds.
Changing the reflux (in combination with changes in feed and product
withdrawal) can also be used to improve the separation properties of a continuous
distillation column while in operation (in contrast to adding plates or trays, or
changing the packing, which would, at a minimum, require quite significant
downtime).
Plates or trays

fig2: Cross-sectional diagram of a binary fractional distillation tower with bubble-

cap trays.
Distillation towers (such as in fig1) use various vapor and liquid contacting
methods to provide the required number of equilibrium stages. Such devices are
commonly known as "plates" or "trays".Each of these plates or trays is at a
different temperature and pressure. The stage at the tower bottom has the highest
pressure and temperature. Progressing upwards in the tower, the pressure and
temperature decreases for each succeeding stage. The vapor-liquid equilibrium for

25
each feed component in the tower reacts in its unique way to the different pressure
and temperature conditions at each of the stages. That means that each component
establishes a different concentration in the vapor and liquid phases at each of the
stages, and this results in the separation of the components. Some example trays
are depicted in fig2. A more detailed, expanded image of two trays can be seen in
the theoretical plate article. The reboiler often acts as an additional equilibrium
stage.
If each physical tray or plate were 100% efficient, than the number of physical
trays needed for a given separation would equal the number of equilibrium stages
or theoretical plates. However, that is very seldom the case. Hence, a distillation
column needs more plates than the required number of theoretical vapor-liquid
equilibrium stages.
Overhead system arrangements
Fig1 and 2 assume an overhead stream that is totally condensed into a liquid
product using water or air-cooling. However, in many cases, the tower overhead is
not easily condensed totally and the reflux drum must include a vent gas outlet
stream. In yet other cases, the overhead stream may also contain water vapor
because either the feed stream contains some water or some steam is injected into
the distillation tower (which is the case in the crude oil distillation towers in oil
refineries). In those cases, if the distillate product is insoluble in water, the reflux
drum may contain a condensed liquid distillate phase, a condensed water phase
and a non-condensible gas phase, which makes it necessary that the reflux drum
also have a water outlet stream.

COMPRESSORS
A gas compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by
reducing its volume.Compressors are similar to pumps: both increase the pressure
on a fluid and both can transport the fluid through a pipe. As gases are
compressible, the compressor also reduces the volume of a gas. Liquids are
relatively incompressible, so the main action of a pump is to pressurize and
transport liquids.
Types of compressors
The main types of gas compressors are illustrated and discussed below:

• Centrifugal compressors
Centrifugal compressors use a muskan rotating disk or impeller in a shaped
housing to force the gas to the rim of the impeller, increasing the velocity of the
gas. A diffuser (divergent duct) section converts the velocity energy to pressure
energy. They are primarily used for continuous, stationary service in industries

26
such as oil refineries, chemical and petrochemical plants and natural gas
processing plants. Their application can be from 100 hp (75 kW) to thousands of
horsepower. With multiple staging, they can achieve extremely high output
pressures greater than 10,000 psi (69 MPa).

(Centrifugal compressors)
Reciprocating compressors
Reciprocating compressors use pistons driven by a crankshaft. They can be either
stationary or portable, can be single or multi-staged, and can be driven by electric
motors or internal combustion engines.[1][4] [5] Small reciprocating compressors
from 5 to 30 horsepower (hp) are commonly seen in automotive applications and
are typically for intermittent duty. Larger reciprocating compressors well over
1,000 hp (750 kW) are still commonly found in large industrial and petroleum
applications. Discharge pressures can range from low pressure to very high
pressure (>6000 psi or 41.4 MPa). In certain applications, such as air compression,
multi-stage double-acting compressors are said to be the most efficient
compressors available, and are typically larger, noisier, and more costly than
comparable rotary units.

• Diaphragm compressors
A diaphragm compressor (also known as a membrane compressor) is a variant of
the conventional reciprocating compressor. The compression of gas occurs by the
movement of a flexible membrane, instead of an intake element. The back and
forth movement of the membrane is driven by a rod and a crankshaft mechanism.
Only the membrane and the compressor box come in touch with the gas being
compressed.

27
 ELECTRICAL DESALTER:
An electrical desalter is a process unit on an oil refinery that
removes salt
from the crude oil by meals of electrical field. The salt is
dissolved in the water in
the crude oil, not in the crude oil itself.

• WHY DESALT CRUDE?

• The salts that are most frequently present in crude oil are Calcium, Sodium and
Magnesium Chlorides. If these compounds are not removed from the oil several
problems arise in the refining process. The high temperatures that occur
downstream in the process could cause water hydrolysis, which in turn allows
the formation of hydrochloric acid.
• Sand, Silts, Salt deposit and Foul Heat Exchangers.
• Water Heat of Vaporization reduces crude Pre-Heat capacity.
• Sodium, Arsenic and Other Metals can poison Catalysts.
• Environmental Compliance, i.e., By removing the suspended solids, which
might otherwise become an issue in flue gas opacity norms, etc.,
A typical desalter comprised of a vessel, electric transformer, oil outlet header,
electrodes, inlet header, water effluent header, mud wash header and mixing valve.
The vessel is a horizontal gravity settling vessel in which brine water is separated
from the crude oil..
Electrical desalting process consists of two steps. the first step consist of forming an
emulsion of crude oil & water. Second step is a demulsification process in which the
emulsion of crude oil & water formed in the first step is broken by means of an
electrical field.

• DESALTER PRINCIPLE:
Oil/water separation in desalter based on a gravitational separation. Because

28
water has a higher density than oil, water droplets have a tendency to settle down.
Stokes’ Law: which results,
“If the particles are falling in the viscous fluid by their own weight due to gravity,
then a terminal velocity, also known as the settling velocity, is reached when this
frictional force combined with the buoyant force exactly balances the gravitational
force. The resulting settling velocity (or terminal velocity) is given by:

where:
• Vs is the particles' settling velocity (m/s) (vertically downwards if ρp > ρf,, in this
case ρp = ρw & ρf = ρcrude
• g is the gravitational acceleration (m/s2),
• ρp is the mass density of the particles (kg/m3), and
• ρf is the mass density of the fluid (kg/m3).
• Μ is the dynamic viscosity of the fluid, through which the particles are falling.

29
 OPERATIONS
• PROCESS FLOW:
This portion includes the brief discussion of, process flow of BPL (MKP-1),
nearly all the aspects are covered including the decantation up to shipping, detail of
various equipments has been covered in the last portion, but further explanation of
technicalities involved in process is also discussed wherever necessary. Also the
PFD’s of different unit’s are given for better understanding of process.
The whole process flow is divided into three segments.

• PRE-REFINING FLOW:
In this division various operations, which are performed before refining area, are
discussed.

• DECANTING SECTION:
This section serves for unloading crude oil being transported from ZOT
through bowsers. Before receiving the crude oil bowsers are inspected for the crude
level by dip rod for any loss during transportation. After inspecting the level
bowsers are allowed to move towards oil gantries, where crude is pumped from
bowsers to the storage tanks located nearby. There are 16 gantries, so at a time 16
bowsers are unloaded. Crude bowsers have nearly 50,000-60,000 Lit. capacity. It
takes nearly 45 minutes to withdraw the crude from bowsers.

• STORAGE TANKS:
There are four storage tanks for crude oil having the total storage capacity of
200000 bbl (approx.). Oil from bowsers is pumped to storage tanks (TK-
01/02/03/05), where settling time of 3-4 hr. is provided for settling the water down by
gravity, after which water is drained out through drainage line, after this mixer is
turned on for homogenizing the crude mixture & mixing the sludge (mainly the
heavier particles of crude), settled down at bottom during settling time provided for
settling of water.

• BOOSTER PUMPS:Crude oil from storage tanks flows into the suction of
crude booster pumps D3-0452 A/B. these pumps provide part of necessary
head required to move the crude oil through the crude charge system.

• REFINING:
This section includes various operations & processes performed with crude.
This section is further sub-divided into different sections on the basis of different
units of MKP-1.

30
 • CRUDE DISTILLATION UNIT:
This unit performs the basic distillation process and separates the crude feed
into different fractions. This section includes mainly desalters, PF tower, furnace,
distillation column, naphtha splitter& strippers. After fractionation the different
fractions goes to different units for further processing.

MAIN PFD LINEUP:

• CHEMICAL INJECTION:

31
 Two chemicals are injected into crude oil line ahead of crude charge pumps
by PD pumps, for diverse purposes. Chemicals & their relative details are given in
the table.

CHEMICAL NAME PURPOSE FEED RATE/RATIO

Caustic solution Controlling the pH 10-20 ppm
Demulsifier Breaking the emulsion. 0-10 ppm

• CHARGE PUMPS:
The crude pumped by booster pumps divided into two streams ahead of
crude charge pumps & then flows separately into the suction of crude charge pumps
D3-201/202 & D3-601A/B. These pumps provide remainder necessary head required
to move the crude oil through the crude charge system. Crude from the\ discharge
of charge pumps then separately flows into heat exchanger trains (named old &
new), for recovering the heat (energy) from hot product streams & attaining the
temperature necessary for desalting & again exchanging heat separately with
various streams for achieving the temperature necessary for pre-flash tower
operation (note: exchanger trains are sub-classified as A & B on the basis of pre-
desalter & post-desalter streams)

• OLD TRAIN (A):

Crude from charge pump D3-201/202 via FCV-609 divided into two parallel
streams, one flowing to the tube side of crude v/s FFO exchangers (D2-204-A/B/C) &
other flowing to the tube side of heat exchanger (D2-205-A/B/C). Both streams
leaving the exchangers recombine and flow to tube side of crude v/s OH exchanger
(D2-201) & then flowing to the tube side of crude v/s FFO exchanger (D2- 206). The
stream from here goes to the desalter 2.

• NEW TRAIN (A):

Crude from discharge of charge pump D3-601-A/B divided into two streams,
one flowing through shell side of crude v/s TPA exchanger(D2-601) & the other
flowing through crude v/s HSD exchanger(D2-602), the two streams leaving the
exchangers recombine & then again splitting into two stream, one flowing through
tube side of crude v/s kero exchanger(D2-603) & other flowing through crude v/s
FFO exchanger(D2-604-A/B). The two streams then recombine and flowing to the
tube side of crude v/s TPA exchanger (D2-605). This stream then goes to desalter 1.

• DESALTERS:
Streams from old & new exchanger trains separately flows to desalter-2(D8-
VXX20) & desalter-1 (D8-207) respectively. At the inlet of desalters fresh water is
injected at the rate of 4-5%vol. of crude into these two streams, which then passes
along with crude through the static mixer to form the emulsion. In the desalters the
water with salts is separated from crude oil, drawn up from vessels by means of
interface level controllers and then flows through the shell side of desalter water

32
exchanger where it is cooled, by exchanging heat with fresh water inlet stream of
desalters, and sent to oily sewer.

• OLD TRAIN (B):

Crude from desalter-2 enters the shell side of crude v/s HSD exchanger (D2-
213) and than passes from tube side of crude v/s HSD (D2-208) exchanger, then
splitting into two streams one flowing through the tube side of crude v/s FFO
exchanger(D2-216-A/B) & other flowing through tube side of crude v/s FFO(D2-
210) exchanger. The two streams then combine and then flow through HE (D2-610)
& goes to pre-flash tower.

• NEW TRAIN (B):

Crude from desalter-1 enters the tube side of crude v/s HSD exchanger (D2-
606), then splitting into two streams, one flowing through the shell side of HE (D2-
608-A/B) & other flowing through the tube side of crude v/s HSD exchanger (D2-
607).The two streams then recombine and pass through shell side of crude v/s FFO
exchanger (D2-609-A/B) and then goes to pre-flash tower.

• PRE-FLASH TOWER:
Crude through new train & old train by a PCV-680 & PCV-670 combines
and enters at the tray#16 of pre-flash tower (D8-601). Pre- flash tower recover most
of the light ends and a part of the light naphtha. PF tower OH via fan cooler (D2-
613) goes to PF OH drum. Where un condensates (gases) are removed from top &
from bottom naphtha is obtained, a part of which returns back to the tower as a
reflux & remaining part is sent to the naphtha splitter. PF tower bottom is pumped
by the pumpD3-604-A/B, then divided into two streams, one flowing through PF
bottom v/s HSD exchanger (D2-615) & the other flowing through PF bottom v/s
FFO exchanger (D2-614), the two streams then combine and again splitted into two
streams, one flowing through shell side of HE (D2-616) & the other flowing through
tube side of HE (D2-617-A/B). The two streams then combine and goes to born
heater.
• BORN HEATER:
Crude from bottom of PF tower after exchanging heat in various heat
exchangers flows to the born heater which provides the temperature necessary for
desired distillation. Crude before entering the heater divided into two streams, the
flow of both streams is controlled by FCV-604 & FCV-605. These two streams enter
the convection section of heater, where it is heated by the hot flue gases. Saturated
steam also enters the convection section & gets superheated, which is in turn use for
injecting into crude tower. Crude oil from convection section then enters into tubes
located in radiation section and heated up to temperature of 350~360oC. After
attaining the required temperature the crude streams leave the heater and combines
then goes to crude tower. Crude oil entering the crude tower has the vapor-liquid
composition of 60% &40% respectively. Heater has 10 burners and is dual fired

33
thus having the both options of firing with fuel oil or fuel gas, or with both at a time.
Fuel oil comes through PCV------& fuel gas through PCV-118. Atomizing steam is
also provided for proper dispersion of fuel oil which is necessary for good &
complete combustion of fuel oil; otherwise fuel will not burn completely &falls on
floor. For proper atomizing the SH steam & FO mixture in the ratio of 1.5:1 is good
choice.
• CRUDE TOWER:
The vapor liquid mixture of crude oil from crude heater enters the flash zone
of crude tower (D8-02010) for desired distillation. Also the SH steam is injected at
the bottom of tower for stripping (removing) the lighter ends from reduced crude.
Above the designed capacity steam feed rate will add to the heat liad of the tower.

Steam rate below the designed rate will allow excessive amount of middle
distillates to be included in the reduced crude from the bottom of tower.

• CRUDE TOWER TOP REFLUX:

The top reflux controls the tower top temperature. The crude tower OH
vapors along with stripping steam is condensed first in HE(D2-201), then in air
cooler(D2-202) and finally in trim cooler(D2-203) & then accumulated in OH reflux
drum(D8-205). Pressure in reflux drum is controlled 8 – 10 psig. The liquid
hydrocarbon from OH reflux drum are pumped by reflux pump(D3-203) as top
reflux to tower. Top reflux flow controls the tower top temperature. The remaining
liquid from drum under level controller is sent as feed to naphtha splitter.

• TOP PUMP AROUND REFLUX (TPA):

34
 To provide reflux for the middle / upper section of the tower, a hot stream
from plate#08 is taken out. TPA pumps(D3-205) pumps this stream to shell side of
crude v/s TPA exchanger(D2-605) & then passes through shell side of HE(D2-602)
where it preheats the crude, TPA is further cooled in air cooler(D2-207). The cooled
TPA returns to crude tower plate#06.

• NAPHTHA SPLITTER:
Naphtha from PF tower & crude tower OH system through pumps D3-603-
A/B & D3-203/204 respectively is pumped to PF tower. Both the streams combine
ahead of splitter tower to form a single stream. Which then flows through the tube
side of splitter feed v/s bottom reboiler(D2-330) and through the tube side of hot oil
v/s naphtha feed reboiler(D2-331) temperature of feed is controlled through TCV-
262 by controlling the hot oil flowing through the reboiler. The stream then enters
the splitter tower (D8-330). In which light & heavy naphtha fractions are separated.
Light naphtha from OH flows to the fan cooler (D2-332-A/B) & then through the
trim cooler (D2-333) and ultimately goes to reflux drum (D3-331). The reflux drum
is installed in vertical position and is operated at maximum liquid level to avoid
separation of LPG from liquid. Light naphtha from including LPG from reflux
drum os drawn off by pump D3-331/332. Part is sent back to splitter as reflux, and
remaining portion is sent as a feed to LPG unit for the separation of LPG. An
independent stream is drawn from the bottom of the splitter. It passes through the
shell side of splitter reboiler (D2-334) where it is heated by hot oil passing through
the tube side of reboiler, hot oil flow is controlled by TCV-233 to control splitter
bottom temperature. Reboiler stream is flashed back into splitter. The flashed hot
liquid vaporizes the light ends from the heavy naphtha flowing down in splitter.
Heavy naphtha from the bottom of splitter is pumped by pump D3-333/334 to shell
side of HE (D2-330) where it is cooled by splitter feed. The heavy naphtha is further
cooled in air cooler (D2-335) and then in trim cooler (D2-211-A/B) wherefrom it is
sent to HDT feed tank. This can be routed to merox unit for sweetening.

• STRIPPERS:
All side streams drawn from crude tower first flow through the strippers for
the removal of lighter ends from respective streams. Steam is injected at the bottom
of strippers for stripping the lighter ends. There are two strippers in function at
present. One stripper (D8-203) strips the lighter ends from kero. Kero is drawn
from the tray#19 of crude tower. The second stripping column (D8-204) strips the
lighter ends from HSD, HSD is drawn from tray#24, the lighter ends removed from
HSD are returned back to tray#26. HSD obtained from the bottom of column is sent
to storage. While kero is sent to merox unit for sweetening.

• LPG SEPARATION UNIT:

This unit separates the LPG from light naphtha, simply by removing
propane & butane from L/N & thus this unit also serves as naphtha stabilizing unit.
L/N from the top of naphtha splitter is the feed of this unit, which comes to LPG
feed tank 21-T-1, wherefrom it is pumped to depropanizer column (21-D-2). In this

35
column propane is removed from L/N. one side stream is drawn from the top side
which after passing through HE(21-E-5) goes to reflux drum(21-T-3) where one
stream is drawn from the bottom and pumped by pump(21-P-4-A/B), a part of this
stream goes back to the top of the column, Top flow is controlled by FCV-11, and
remaining part is sent to storage which is propane. One stream is drawn from the
bottom which goes to kettle type reboiler (21-E-6), where it is heated by hot oil
circulation. Two streams are drawn from reboiler, one goes back to the column for
maintaining the column bottom temperature, and the other stream is sent as feed to
debutanizer (21-D-3). In this column butane is removed. One stream is drawn from
the top side which after passing through HE (21-E-7-A/B) goes to reflux tank (21-T-
4), the bottom stream is pumped by (21-P-5-A/B), a part of this stream goes back as
reflux & remaining part is the butane which is sent to LPG storage. The stream
drawn from the bottom of debutanizer column passes through reboiler (21-E-8)
from where a part is sent back as boilup and remaining part after passing through
HE (21-E-9-A/B) is sent to light naphtha merox unit for sweetening.

Hydrodesulfurization
Hydrodesulfurization (HDS) is a catalytic chemical process widely used to remove
sulfur (S) from natural gas and from refined petroleum products such as gasoline or
petrol, jet fuel, kerosene, diesel fuel, and fuel oils. The purpose of removing the
sulfur is to reduce the sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions that result from using those
fuels in automotive vehicles, aircraft, railroad locomotives, ships, gas or oil burning

36
power plants, residential and industrial furnaces, and other forms of fuel
combustion. Another important reason for removing sulfur from the naphtha
streams within a petroleum refinery is that sulfur, even in extremely low
concentrations, poisons the noble metal catalysts (platinum and rhenium) in the
catalytic reforming units that are subsequently used to upgrade the octane rating of
the naphtha streams.

The industrial hydrodesulfurization processes include facilities for the capture and
removal of the resulting hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas. In petroleum refineries, the
hydrogen sulfide gas is then subsequently converted into byproduct elemental
sulfur.

The hydrodesulphurization reaction takes place in a fixed-bed reactor at elevated

temperatures ranging from 300 to 400 °C and elevated pressures ranging from 30 to
130 atmospheres of absolute pressure, typically in the presence of a catalyst
consisting of an alumina base impregnated with cobalt and molybdenum.
Hydrogenation is a class of chemical reactions in which the net result is the addition
of hydrogen (H). Hydrogenolysis is a type of hydrogenation and results in the
cleavage of the C-X chemical bond, where C is a carbon atom and X is a sulfur,
nitrogen (N) or oxygen (O) atom. The net result of a hydrogenolysis reaction is the
formation of C-H and H-X chemical bonds. Thus, hydrodesulphurization is a
hydrogenolysis reaction. Using ethanethiol (C2H5SH), a sulfur compound present in
some petroleum products, as an example, the hydrodesulphurization reaction can be
simply expressed as

Ethanethiol + Hydrogen Ethane + Hydrogen sulfide

C2H5SH + H2 C2H6 + H2S

The liquid feed is pumped by pump (D3-301/302) up to the required elevated

pressure and is joined by a stream of hydrogen-rich recycle gas; the pressure of gas
is controlled by PCV-340 the resulting liquid-gas mixture is preheated by flowing
through a heat exchanger (D2-301). The preheated feed then flows through a fired
heater (D1-301) where the feed mixture is totally vaporized and heated to the
required elevated temperature before entering the reactor (D8-301) and flowing
through a fixed-bed of catalyst where the hydrodesulfurization reaction takes place.
The hot reaction products are partially cooled by flowing through the heat
exchanger (D2-301) where the reactor feed was preheated, then flows through fan
Cooler (D2-302)and then flows through a trim cooler(D2-303). The resulting
mixture of liquid and gas enters the gas separator (D8-302)) vessel at about 35 °C
and 3 to 5 atmospheres of absolute pressure.
Most of the hydrogen-rich gas from the gas separator vessel is recycle gas
which is routed through an amine contactor for removal of the reaction product
H2S that it contains. The pressure of gas is controlled by PCV-235. The H2S-free
hydrogen-rich gas is then recycled back for reuse in the reactor section. Any excess
gas from the gas separator vessel joins the sour gas from the stripping of the
reaction product liquid.

37
 The liquid from the gas separator vessel flows to the suction of pump (D3-
311/312) routed through a reboiled stripper distillation tower. The bottoms product
from the stripper is the final desulfurized liquid product from hydrodesulfurization
unit.

Process description
In an industrial hydrodesulfurization unit, such as in a refinery, the
hydrodesulfurization reaction takes place in a fixed-bed reactor at elevated
temperatures ranging from 300 to 400 °C and elevated pressures ranging from 30 to
130 atmospheres of absolute pressure, typically in the presence of a catalyst
consisting of an alumina base impregnated with cobalt and molybdenum.

The image below is a schematic depiction of the equipment and the process flow
streams in a typical refinery HDS unit.

Schematic diagram of a typical Hydrodesulfurization (HDS) unit in a petroleum

refinery

The liquid feed (at the bottom left in the diagram) is pumped up to the required
elevated pressure and is joined by a stream of hydrogen-rich recycle gas. The
resulting liquid-gas mixture is preheated by flowing through a heat exchanger. The
preheated feed then flows through a fired heater where the feed mixture is totally
vaporized and heated to the required elevated temperature before entering the
reactor and flowing through a fixed-bed of catalyst where the hydrodesulfurization
reaction takes place.

38
The hot reaction products are partially cooled by flowing through the heat
exchanger where the reactor feed was preheated and then flows through a water-
cooled heat exchanger before it flows through the pressure controller (PC) and
undergoes a pressure reduction down to about 3 to 5 atmospheres. The resulting
mixture of liquid and gas enters the gas separator vessel at about 35 °C and 3 to 5
atmospheres of absolute pressure.

Most of the hydrogen-rich gas from the gas separator vessel is recycle gas which is
routed through an amine contactor for removal of the reaction product H2S that it
contains. The H2S-free hydrogen-rich gas is then recycled back for reuse in the
reactor section. Any excess gas from the gas separator vessel joins the sour gas from
the stripping of the reaction product liquid.

The liquid from the gas separator vessel is routed through a reboiled stripper
distillation tower. The bottoms product from the stripper is the final desulfurized
liquid product from hydrodesulfurization unit.

The overhead sour gas from the stripper contains hydrogen, methane, ethane,
hydrogen sulfide, propane and perhaps some butane and heavier components. That
sour gas is sent to the refinery's central gas processing plant for removal of the
hydrogen sulfide in the refinery's main amine gas treating unit and through a series
of distillation towers for recovery of propane, butane and pentane or heavier
components. The residual hydrogen, methane, ethane and some propane is used as
refinery fuel gas. The hydrogen sulfide removed and recovered by the amine gas
treating unit is subsequently converted to elemental sulfur in a Claus process unit.

• REFORMER UNIT:
This unit accounts for increasing the octane rating of gasoline and HOBC
(reformate) is the product of this unit. This unit consists of following units.

Catalytic reforming is a chemical process used to convert petroleum refinery

naphthas, typically having low octane ratings, into high-octane liquid products
called reformates which are components of high-octane gasoline (also known as
petrol). Basically, the process re-arranges or re-structures the hydrocarbon
molecules in the naphtha feedstocks as well as breaking some of the molecules into
smaller molecules. The overall effect is that the product reformate contains
hydrocarbons with more complex molecular shapes having higher octane values
than the hydrocarbons in the naphtha feedstock. In so doing, the process separates
hydrogen atoms from the hydrocarbon molecules and produces very significant
amounts of byproduct hydrogen gas for use in a number of the other processes
involved in a modern petroleum refinery. Other byproducts are small amounts of
methane, ethane, propane and butanes.

This process is quite different from and not to be confused with the catalytic steam
reforming process used industrially to produce various products such as hydrogen,

39
ammonia and methanol from natural gas, naphtha or other petroleum-derived
feedstocks. Nor is this process to be confused with various other catalytic reforming
processes that use methanol or biomass-derived feedstocks to produce hydrogen for
fuel cells or other uses.

• Typical naphtha feedstocks

A petroleum refinery includes many unit operations and unit processes. The first
unit operation in a refinery is the continuous distillation of the petroleum crude oil
being refined. The overhead liquid distillate is called naphtha and will become a
major component of the refinery's gasoline (petrol) product after it is further
processed through a catalytic hydrodesulfurizer to remove sulfur-containing
hydrocarbons and a catalytic reformer to reform its hydrocarbon molecules into
more complex molecules with a higher octane rating value. The naphtha is a
mixture of very many different hydrocarbon compounds. It has an initial boiling
point of about 35 °C and a final boiling point of about 200 °C, and it contains
paraffin, naphthene (cyclic paraffins) and aromatic hydrocarbons ranging from
those containing 4 carbon atoms to those containing about 10 or 11 carbon atoms.

The naphtha from the crude oil distillation is often further distilled to produce a
"light" naphtha containing most (but not all) of the hydrocarbons with 6 or less
carbon atoms and a "heavy" naphtha containing most (but not all) of the
hydrocarbons with more than 6 carbon atoms. The heavy naphtha has an initial
boiling point of about 140 to 150 °C and a final boiling point of about 190 to 205 °C.
The naphthas derived from the distillation of crude oils are referred to as "straight-
run" naphthas.

It is the straight-run heavy naphtha that is usually processed in a catalytic reformer

because the light naphtha has molecules with 6 or less carbon atoms which, when
reformed, tend to crack into butane and lower molecular weight hydrocarbons
which are not useful as high-octane gasoline blending components. Also, the
molecules with 6 carbon atoms tend to form aromatics which is undesirable because
governmental environmental regulations in a number of countries limit the amount
of aromatics (most particularly benzene) that gasoline may contain.

It should be noted that there are a great many petroleum crude oil sources
worldwide and each crude oil has its own unique composition or "assay". Also, not
all refineries process the same crude oils and each refinery produces its own
straight-run naphthas with their own unique initial and fina Before entering the
reactors two chemicals are injected into the feed:
• PERC
• Methanol
The purpose of there chemicals is to maintain the chloride level and to support
metallic reactions thus increase the rate of reaction.

40
Following reaction takes place in the Reformer Unit:
• Naphtene Dehydrogentaion
• Naphtene Isomerisation
• Paraffins Dehydrogentaion
• Paraffins Isomerisation
• Hydrocracking
• Demethylation
• Aeromatic Dealkylation

l boiling points. In other words, naphtha is a generic term rather than a specific
term.

Some refinery naphthas include olefinic hydrocarbons, such as naphthas derived

from the fluid catalytic cracking and coking processes used in many refineries.
Some refineries may also desulfurize and catalytically reform those naphthas.
However, for the most part, catalytic reforming is mainly used on the straight-run
heavy naphthas, such as those in the above table, derived from the distillation of
crude oils.

The reaction chemistry

There are a good many chemical reactions that occur in the catalytic reforming
process, all of which occur in the presence of a catalyst and a high partial pressure
of hydrogen. Depending upon the type or version of catalytic reforming used as well
as the desired reaction severity, the reaction conditions range from temperatures of
about 495 to 525 °C and from pressures of about 5 to 45 atm.

The commonly used catalytic reforming catalysts contain noble metals such as
platinum and/or rhenium, which are very susceptible to poisoning by sulfur and
nitrogen compounds. Therefore, the naphtha feedstock to a catalytic reformer is
always pre-processed in a hydrodesulfurization unit which removes both the sulfur
and the nitrogen compounds.

The hydrocracking of paraffins is the only one of the above four major reforming
reactions that consumes hydrogen. The isomerization of normal paraffins does not
consume or produce hydrogen. However, both the dehydrogenation of naphthenes
and the dehydrocyclization of paraffins produce hydrogen. The overall net
production of hydrogen in the catalytic reforming of petroleum naphthas ranges
from about 50 to 200 cubic meters of hydrogen gas (at 0 °C and 1 atm) per cubic
meter of liquid naphtha feedstock. In the United States customary units, that is
equivalent to 300 to 1200 cubic feet of hydrogen gas (at 60 °F and 1 atm) per barrel
of liquid naphtha feedstock.[12] In many petroleum refineries, the net hydrogen
produced in catalytic reforming supplies a significant part of the hydrogen used
elsewhere in the refinery (for example, in hydrodesulfurization processes). The
hydrogen is also necessary in order to hydrogenolyze any polymers that form on the
catalyst.

41
 • CATALYTIC REFORMING:
The liquid feed from hydrodesulfurization unit is pumped through pump -
up to the reaction pressure (5 to 45 atm) and is joined by a stream of hydrogen-rich
recycle gas. The resulting liquid-gas mixture is preheated by flowing through a HE
(D2-307). The preheated feed mixture is then totally vaporized and heated to the
reaction temperature in fired heater (D1-303) before the vaporized reactants enter
the first reactor (D8-305). As the vaporized reactants flow through the fixed bed of
catalyst in the reactor, the major reaction is the dehydrogenation of naphthenes to
aromatics which is highly endothermic and results in a large temperature decrease
between the inlet and outlet of the reactor. To maintain the required reaction
temperature and the rate of reaction, the vaporized stream is reheated in the second
fired heater (D1-304) before it flows through the second reactor (D8-306). The
temperature again decreases across the second reactor and the vaporized stream is
again be reheated in the third fired heater (D1-305) before it flows through the third
Reactor (D8-307). As the vaporized stream proceeds through the three reactors, the
reaction rates decrease and the reactors therefore become larger. At the same time,
the amount of reheat required between the reactors becomes smaller. Usually, three
reactors are all that is required to provide the desired performance of the catalytic
reforming unit.
The hot reaction products from the third reactor are partially cooled by
flowing through the heat exchanger (D2-307) where the feed to the first reactor is
preheated and then flow through a fan cooler (D2-308) & then through water-cooled
heat exchanger(D2-309).this cooled stream goes to the gas separator(D8-308).
Most of the hydrogen-rich gas from the gas separator vessel returns to the
suction of the recycle hydrogen gas compressor and the net production of hydrogen-
rich gas from the reforming reactions is exported for use in hydrodesulfurization.
The liquid from the gas separator vessel is routed into a fractionating column called
a stabilizer (D8-310). The overhead offgas product from the stabilizer contains the
byproduct methane, ethane, propane and butane gases produced by the
hydrocracking reactions as explained in the above discussion of the reaction
chemistry of a catalytic reformer, and it may also contain some small amount of
hydrogen. That offgas is routed to the refinery's central gas processing plant for
removal and recovery of propane and butane. The residual gas after such
processing becomes part of the refinery's fuel gas system.
The bottoms product from the stabilizer is the high-octane liquid reformate
that will become a component of the refinery's product gasoline.

REFORMER UNIT CATALYST QUANTITY IN EACH REACTOR

42
 Type of Type of Catalyst Catalyst quantity
Reactor
loading catalyst percentage (Kg)
Reactor
Dense R-56 15% 1214
1
Reactor
Dense R-56 28% 2267
2
Reactor
Dense R-56 57% 4615
3
Total 8096

Catalyst R-56 contains following metal composition.

Platinum = 0.25 wt%
Rhenium = 0.40 wt%
Total quantity of Platinum in catalyst = (0.0025) (8096) = 20 kg
Total quantity of Rhenium in catalyst = (0.0040) (8096) = 32 kg

MEROX

43
Merox is an acronym for mercaptan oxidation. It is a proprietary catalytic chemical
process developed by UOP used in oil refineries and natural gas processing plants to
remove mercaptans from LPG, propane, butanes, light naphthas, kerosene and jet
fuel by converting them to liquid hydrocarbon disulfides.

The Merox process requires an alkaline environment which, in some of the process
versions, is provided by an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide (NaOH), a strong
base, commonly referred to as caustic. In other versions of the process, the alkalinity
is provided by ammonia, which is a weak base.

The catalyst in some versions of the process is a water-soluble liquid. In other

versions, the catalyst is impregnated onto charcoal granules.

Processes within oil refineries or natural gas processing plants that remove
mercaptans and/or hydrogen sulfide (H2S) are commonly referred to as sweetening
processes because they results in products which no longer have the sour, foul odors
of mercaptans and hydrogen sulfide. The liquid hydrocarbon disulfides may remain
in the sweetened products, they may be used as part of the refinery or natural gas
processing plant fuel, or they may be processed further.

The Merox process is usually more economical than using a catalytic

hydrodesulfurization process for much the same purpose.

Types of Merox process units

UOP has developed many versions of the Merox process for various different
applications:

• Conventional Merox for extraction of mercaptans from LPG, propane,

butanes or light naphthas.

• Conventional Merox for sweetening jet fuels and kerosenes.

• Minalk Merox for sweetening of naphthas. This process continuously injects

just a few ppm of caustic into the feed naphtha.

• Caustic-free Merox for sweetening jet fuels and kerosenes. This process
injects small amounts of ammonia and water (rather than caustic) into the
feed naphtha to provide the required alkalinity.

• Caustic-free Merox for sweetening of naphthas.[7] This process also injects

small amounts of ammonia and water (rather than caustic) into the feed
naphtha to provide the required alkalinity.

In all of the above Merox versions, the overall oxidation reaction that takes place in
converting mercaptans to disulfides is:

44
 4 RSH + O2 → 2RSSR + 2H2O

In some of the above Merox process versions, the catalyst is a liquid. In others, the
catalyst is in the form of impregnated charcoal granules.

Process flow diagrams and descriptions of the two conventional versions of the
Merox process are presented in the following sections.

• Conventional Merox for extracting mercaptans from

LPG
The conventional Merox process for extraction and removal of mercaptans from
liquefied petroleum gases (LPG), such as propane, butanes and mixtures of propane
and butanes, can also be used to extract and remove mercaptans from light
naphthas. It is a two-step process. In the first step, the feedstock LPG or light
naphtha is contacted in the trayed extractor vessel with an aqueous caustic solution
containing UOP's proprietary liquid catalyst. The caustic solution reacts with
mercaptans and extracts them. The reaction that takes place in the extractor is:

2RSH + 2 NaOH → 2NaSR + 2 H2O

In the above reaction, RSH is a mercaptan and R signifies an organic group such as
a methyl, ethyl, propyl or other group. For example, the ethyl mercaptan
(ethanethiol) has the formula C2H5SH.

The second step is referred to as regeneration and it involves heating and oxidizing
of the caustic solution leaving the extractor. The oxidations results in converting the
extracted mercaptans to organic disulfides (RSSR) which are liquids that are water-
insoluble and are then separated and decanted from the aqueous caustic solution.
The reaction that takes place in the regeneration step is:

4NaSR + O2 + 2H2O → 2RSSR + 4NaOH

After decantation of the disulfides, the regenerated "lean" caustic solution is

recirculated back to the top of the extractor to continue extracting mercaptans.

The net overall Merox reaction covering the extraction and the regeneration step
may be expressed as:

4 RSH + O2 → 2RSSR + 2H2O

The feedstock entering the extractor must be free of any H2S. Otherwise, any H2S
entering the extractor would react with the circulating caustic solution and interfere
with the Merox reactions. Therefore, the feedstock is first "prewashed" by flowing
through a batch of aqueous caustic to remove any H2S. The reaction that takes place
in the prewash vessel is:

45
 H2S + NaOH → NaSH + H2O

The batch of caustic solution in the prewash vessel is periodically discarded as

"spent caustic" and replaced by fresh caustic as needed.

Flow diagram

Conventional Merox process unit for extracting mercaptans from LPG

The flow diagram below depicts the equipment and the flow paths involved in the
process. The LPG (or light naphtha) feedstock enters the prewash vessel and flows
upward through a batch of caustic which removes any H2S that may be present in
the feedstock. The coalescer at the top of the prewash vessel prevents caustic from
being entrained and carried out of the vessel.

46
The feedstock then enters the mercaptan extractor and flows upward through the
contact trays where the LPG intimately contacts the downflowing Merox caustic
that extracts the mercaptans from the LPG. The sweetened LPG exits the tower and
flows through: a caustic settler vessel to remove any entrained caustic, a water wash
vessel to further remove any residual entrained caustic and a vessel containing a bed
of rock salt to remove any entrained water. The dry sweetened LPG exits the Merox
unit.

The caustic solution leaving the bottom of the mercaptan extractor ("rich" Merox
caustic) flows through a control valve which maintains the extractor pressure
needed to keep the LPG liquified. It is then injected with UOP's proprietary liquid
catalyst (on an as needed basis), flows through a steam-heated heat exchanger and is
injected with compressed air before entering the oxidiser vessel where the extracted
mercaptans are converted to disulfides. The oxidizer vessel has a packed bed to keep
the aqueous caustic and the water-insoluble disulfide well contacted and well mixed.

The caustic-disulfide mixture then flows into the separator vessel where it is allowed
to form a lower layer of "lean" Merox caustic and an upper layer of disulfides. The
vertical section of the separator is for the disengagement and venting of excess air
and includes a Raschig ring section to prevent entrainment of any disulfides in the
vented air. The disulfides are withdrawn from the separator and routed to fuel
storage or to a hydrotreater unit. The regenerated lean Merox caustic is then
pumped back to the top of the extractor for reuse.

• Conventional Merox for sweetening kerosene

The conventional Merox process for the removal of mercaptans (i.e., sweetening) of
jet fuel or kerosene is a one-step process. The mercaptan oxidation reaction takes
place in an alkaline environment as the feedstock jet fuel or kerosene, mixed with
compressed air, flows through a fixed bed of catalyst in a reactor vessel. The catalyst
consists of charcoal granules that have been impregnated with UOP's proprietary
catalyst. The oxidation reaction that takes place is:

4 RSH + O2 → 2RSSR + 2H2O

As is the case with the conventional Merox process for treating LPG, the jet fuel or
kerosene sweetening process also requires that the feedstock be prewashed to
remove any H2S that would interfere with the sweetening. The reaction that takes
place in the batch caustic prewash vessel is:

H2S + NaOH → NaSH + H2O

47
 The Merox reactor is a vertical vessel containing a bed of charcoal
granules that have been impregnated with the UOP catalyst. The charcoal granules
may be impregnated with the catalyst in situ#chemistry and chemical engineering or
they may be purchased from UOP as pre-impregnated with the catalyst. An alkaline
environment is provided by caustic being pumped into reactor on an intermittent, as
needed basis.

The jet fuel or kerosene feedstock from the top of the caustic prewash vessel is
injected with compressed air and enters the top of the Merox reactor vessel along
with any injected caustic. The mercaptan oxidation reaction takes place as the
feedstock percolates downward over the catalyst. The reactor effluent flows through
a caustic settler vessel where it forms a bottom layer of aqueous caustic solution and
an upper layer of water-insoluble sweetened product.
The caustic solution remains in the caustic settler so that the vessel contains a
reservoir for the supply of caustic that is intermittently pumped into the reactor to
maintain the alkaline environment.The sweetened product from the caustic settler
vessel flows through a water wash vessel to remove any entrained caustic as well as
any other unwanted water-soluble substances, followed by flowing through a salt
bed vessel to remove any entrained water and finally through a clay filter vessel.
The clay filter removes any oil-soluble substances, organometallic compounds
(especially copper) and particulate matter, which might prevent meeting jet fuel
product specifications.The pressure maintained in the reactor is chosen so that the
injected air will completely dissolve in the feedstock at the operating temperature.

48
 OIL MOVEMENTS & LOGISTICS
• STORAGE:
The storage and shipments of crude, intermediate and finished products is a necessary part
of the refining operations. The purpose of the storage tanks is to ensure the availability of
the stocks in adequate quantities for continuous operation or provide storage for the feed
stocks to the units on blocked out operation or to have sufficient quantities for the bulk
shipments. The storage and shipping operations are carried out by the Oil Movement and
Storage Division.
The broad functions of the OM & S Division are:
(a) (Decanting)

Receiving crude oil and transfer to booster pump

(b) (Booster Pump)

Storing and feeding the units with respective feed stocks of crude oil.

(c) (Tank Farm)

Receiving the products into tanks, blending of the components produced in

the units into finished products, moving finished products and oil recovery
from the API separator system.

(d) (Shipping)

Shipment all products including LPG, PMG, Naphtha, HSD & Furnace Fuel
Oil.

The storage tanks of the products can be broadly classified into two categories:
(a) Pressure tanks, (b) Atmospheric tanks. The high vapor pressure products like
LPG are stored in the pressure tanks and the low vapor pressure products are
stored in atmospheric tanks. The products like gasoline naphtha which have vapor
pressure not high enough for pressure tanks, but high enough to have losses due to
evaporation are stored in floating roof tanks to minimize the loss of product due to
evaporation. The crude oil is brought from ZOT by tankers and is pumped from
Decanting to the crude tanks. The crude is then pumped to Plant by Booster
pumpD3-201 & D3-202.The LPG, naphtha, kerosene and high speed diesel are
received from the units directly in the product tanks.

• LOGISTICS:
DECANTING SECTION:
This section serves for unloading crude oil being transported from ZOT
through bowsers. Before receiving the crude oil bowsers are inspected for the crude
level by dip rod for any loss during transportation. After inspecting the level
bowsers are allowed to move towards oil gantries, where crude is pumped from
bowsers to the storage tanks located nearby. There are 16 gantries, so at a time 16

49
bowsers are unloaded. Crude bowsers have nearly 50,000-60,000 Lit. capacity. It
takes nearly 45 minutes to withdraw the crude from bowsers.

• CRUDE OIL TANKS:

Type: EFRT
Particulars Tank no 01 Tank no 02 Tank no 03 Tank no 05

Volume in liter / mm 727 727 731 731

Tank Dia (mm) 30000 30000 30500 30500

Total Height (mm) 16000 16000 16000 16000
Decant line Dia (inch) 10 10 10 10

Feed line Dia (inch) 10 10 10 10

Drain line Dia (inch) 2 2 2 2

• PMG TANKS:
Type: FRT
Particulars Tank no 11 Tank no 12 Tank no 13 Tank no 14 Tank no 15

Volume in liter / mm 86 86 86 86 86

Tank Dia (mm) 10467 10467 10467 10467 10467

Total Height (mm) 9146 9258 9146 9231 9224

R/D line Dia (inch) 2 2 2 2 3

CR line Dia (inch) 3x2 3x2 3x2 3 3x2

Shipment line Dia (inch) 6 6 6 6 6

Drain line Dia (inch) 2 2 2 2 2

50
 • NAPHTHA TANKS:
Type: IFRT
Particulars Tank no 16 Tank no 17 Tank no 18 Tank no 19

Volume in liter / mm 87 86 182 87

Tank Dia (mm) 10527 10467 15226 10527

Total Height (mm) 9146 9000 13500 9225

R/D line Dia (inch) 2 4 4 2

CR line Dia (inch) ** ** ** **

Shipment line Dia (inch) 6 6 6 6

Drain line Dia (inch) 2 2 2 2

• HSD TANKS:
Type: FRT
Tank no Tank no Tank no Tank no Tank no Tank no Tank no
Particulars
22 23 24 25 26 31 33

Volume in liter / mm 86 86 114 114 114 72 114

Tank Dia (mm) 10467 10467 12050 12050 12050 12050 12050

Total Height (mm) 9146 9243 10500 10500 10836 6000 10893

R/D line Dia (inch) 6 6 6 6 6 3 6

CR line Dia (inch) 6 6 6 6 6 * 6

Shipment line Dia 6 6 6 6 6 3 6

(inch)

Drain line Dia (inch) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

51
 • FFO TANKS:
Type: FRT
Particulars Tank no 27 Tank no 28 Tank no 29 Tank no 32

Volume in liter / mm 182 182 182 182

Tank Dia (mm) 15226 15226 15226 15226

Total Height (mm) 11000 11000 11299 11327

R/D line Dia (inch) 6 6 6 6

CR line Dia (inch) 6 6 6 6

Shipment line Dia (inch) 8 8 8 8

Drain line Dia (inch) 2 2 2 2

• KEROSINE JP-1 OIL TANKS:

Type: FRT
Particulars Tank no 21 Tank no 34

Volume in liter / mm 86 86

Tank Dia (mm) 10467 10467

Total Height (mm) 9146 9146

R/D line Dia (inch) 3 3

CR line Dia (inch) 3x2 3

Shipment line Dia (inch) 6 6

Drain line Dia (inch) 2 2

52
LPG BULLET VESSELS:
Particulars Vessel no 1 Vessel no 2 Vessel no 3 Vessel no 4

Capacity (bbl) 718 815 819 816

Volume < 80% < 80% < 80% < 80%

Pressure (Psig) <140 <240 <240 <240

• SLOP TANK:
Particulars Tank no 04

Volume in liter / mm 86

Tank Dia (mm) 10467

Total Height (mm) 9000

Recover line Dia (inch) 6

Transfer line Dia (inch) 6

Drain line Dia (inch) 2

• API SEPARATOR & SLOP OIL TANK:

The oil from different sampling points before every new sampling is drained
from the lines which then through pipe lines go to the API separator, also any
leakage of plant is forced to go to this separator. This separator is simply the tank
where water is allowed to settle down under the gravity action and is drained to
water pond located nearby through pump. The oil from top is then pumped to the
slop oil tank no.04 wherefrom it goes to the booster pump through pipeline and
mixed with the feed line of crude oil to plant. Also if any product becomes out of
desired set points goes to this slop oil tank

53
 ABBREVIATIONS
• API: American petroleum Institute
• BPA: Bottom Pump Around
• BPL: Bosicor Pakistan Limited
• BS&W: Base Sediments and Water
• CDU: Crude distillation Unit
• FCV: Flow Control Valve
• FFO: Furnace Fuel Oil
• FO: Furnace Oil
• HDT: Hydro Theater
• HE: Heat Exchanger
• HOBC: High Octane Blending Component
• HSD: High speed Diesel
• JP: Jet Fuel
• Kero: Kerosene
• Lit: Liters
• L/N: Light Naphtha
• LCV: Level Control Valve
• LPG: Liquid Petroleum Gas
• OH: Over Head Reflux
• PCV: Pressure Control Valve
• PD Pump: Positive Displacement Pump
• PFD: Process Flow Diagram
• PMG: Premier Motor Gasoline
• PR tower: Pre- flash tower
• RON: Research Octane Number
• SH: Steam Super Heated Steam
• TCV: Temperature Control Valve
• TDS: Total Dissolved Salt
• TPA: Top Pump Around

54
 REFRENCE:
• BOOKS:

• PETROLEUM REFINERY ENGINEERING BY W.L.NELSON.

• Petroleum processing hand book by William. F. Bland.
• Unit Operations of Chemcial Engineering by Warren L.
Mc. Cabe.
• Process technology by Thomas. D .Felder.

• WEB-SITES:

• WWW.WIKIPEDIA.COM.
• WWW.API.COM
• WWW.AMSWERS.COM
• WWW.BOSICOR.COM.PK
• WWW.GOOGLE.COM
• WWW.CHEMICALRESOURCES.COM

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