LUBE OIL REFINERY

LUBES AND ITS USES.

 Lubes are the substance that posses specific

properties, that gives great values to it.
 A lubricant (lube oil) is a substance that is
introduced to reduce friction between surfaces in
mutual contact.
 They are used to remove heat generated by
friction.
 Prevent corrosion.
GLOBAL SCENARIO.
 Global demand is around 41 million kilo liters.
 Automotive lubricants – 54%

 Industrial lubricants – 41%

 Marine lubricants – 5%

 Asia is the 3rd largest consumer in the world. Its market

has increased from 22% to 25% in span of 5 years.
INDIAN SCENARIO.
 India is the sixth largest lube oil market in the world .
 Its consumption is around 1.12 million kiloliters in the end
of 2000.
 The market shares of the key players in the industry is as
shown the chart.
 Long residue(350+) from the ADU is the primary feedstock
for lube oil manufacturing.

 The crude oil from which the base stock for this lube has to
posses basic properties like,
 the specific gravity of crudes should range between 0.80 and
0.97 grams/milliliter.
 The viscosity should be as high, so that it meets the
specifications to meet the global scenario.

 These days re-refining the used lube oils is concentrated more

due to,
Less availability of lube bearing crudes
 Increase yield percentage.
 A lubricant manufacturer use a series of steps to improve
certain desirable lubricant properties. These include:
 Viscosity Index
 Oxidation

 Heat Resistance

 Low Temperature Fluidity

 Those series of steps are as follows,

 Vacuum Distillation
 Solvent Deasphalting Process

 Solvent Extraction

 Solvent Dewaxing

 Hydro Finishing
 In this process the long residue is split into various heavy waxy
distillates like:
 Spindle oil
 Light oil
 Heavy oil cuts
 Short residue

 Here lube distillates

are produced with help
of vacuum.
 The required vacuum is maintained by Steam ejector system.
 The long residue from ADU is heated and vaporized in fired
heater up to 390 - 400ºC at 120mm of Hg.
 The weight percentage of the yield is as shown below:
 Gas oil 5%wt
 Spindle oil 11%wt
 Light oil 18.5%wt
 Heavy oil cuts 8.5%wt
 Short residue 45%wt

 The kinematic viscosity of these distillates ranges from 1.55 to

1140 cSt.
 This is employed in the process to remove asphalt from
vacuum residues(short residues) to produce bright
stocks.
 This process came into the process to produce more
relatively sulphur and metal free feedstocks from
vacuum residues.
 50-80% of the vacuum residues can be converted to bright
stocks for the cracking process.
 Propane is the commonly used solvent.
 Operating condition:
 Temp 50-85ºC
 Pressure 3.5 – 4 MPa

 Solvent feed ratio(vol./vol.) is 5-13

 Product yield(wt%):
 Deasphalted oil 33%
 Asphlat + loss 67%
 This method is mainly used to remove the aromatics and other
undesirable constituents from the lube oil fractions.
 The most common solvents used today in this process are
 Furfural
 Phenol

 N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone(NMP)

 Furfural(C5H4O2) is the commonly used Solvent in this process

as it has got better physical properties and selectivity.
 Sometime these solvents will create toxic compounds, so the
selection of these solvents should be done carefully.
 The solvent used in the process undergoes various process so that
maximum part of it is to be recovered for future uses.
 The product obtained by this process is generally called as
raffinate which is mostly blended with petroleum products to
reduce emissions.
 The operating temp. ranges from 55-185º depends on the
feedstock used.
 This method is mainly used to remove the waxy
substances present in the crude oil.
 This is the most costly method as it uses both the solvent
handling and refrigeration facilities.
 Relatively high Paraffinic crude is used.
 The solvents used in this process are:
 Methyl ethyl Ketone
 Methyl isobutyl Ketone

 Toluene

 Methyl ethyl Ketone is the mainly used solvent used in

this process.
 Dewaxing temperature is maintained between -10 to -20ºC.
 Solvent oil ratio ranges from 3.8 to 6.4
 This method is used to stabilizes the undesirable
components by catalytic hydrogenation process.
 This method is used to remove a series of undesirable
compounds like:
 Sulphur
 Oxygen

 Nitrogen

 These compounds causes:

 Corrosion
 Change in color

 Affect oxidation stability

 Operating condition
 Reactor pressure(kg/cm2) 30-50
 Reactor Temp. ºC 280-340
 Keep moving parts apart
 Reduce friction

 Transfer heat

 Carry away contaminants & debris

 Transmit power

 Protect against wear

 Prevent corrosion

 Seal for gases

 Stop the risk of smoke and fire of objects

 Prevent rust.
 The design and operation of a lube refinery has a
marked influence on the economy of a country, as the demand
for them increases day by day.
India is lacking behind in the global lube market,
though it is the third largest consumer of lubes as our
reservoirs give us crudes that are not much suited for the
manufacture of lubes.
1. Petroleum refining technology by Dr. Ram Prasad.
2. Lubart.com
3. Wikipedia