GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN

PETROLEUM REFINING

It-is essential that you learn the refinerys special brand of terminology in order to
communicate with your fellow workers. The following is only a partial list of the most
common words used. Study them carefully and if necessary discuss their meaning
with your trainer. Pay particular attention to those terms marked by an asterisk (*).

A
ABSORPTION The. process by which one substance draws into itself
another substance. Examples: A sponge picking up
water; an oil recovering gasoline from wet natural gas.

*ACCUMULATOR A vessel for the temporary storage .of a ga~ or liquid;

usually used for collecting sufficient material for a
continuous charge to some refining process.

ALGAE Plants of the group comprising practically all seaweeds

and allied freshwater or nonaquatic forms, such as
pond scums, etc.

ALKALINE Having the properties of an alkali, opposite to acid.

AROMATIC" Derived from, or characterized by, the presence of the

benzene ring. Sweet odor.

ATOM The smallest complete particle of an element which

can be obtained, yet retain all physical and chemical
properties of the element. According to pr&sen{
theory, the atom consists of a nucleus of protons and
neutrons positively charged, surrounded by negatively
charged particles called electrons.

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ATOMIZE. To divide a liquid into extremely minute particles,
either by impact with a jet of steam or compressed
air, or by passage through some mechanical device.

*BACK PRESSURE 1. The pressure on. the outlet or downstream side of a

flowing system. 2. In an engine, the pressure which
acts adve~sely against the piston, causing loss of
power.

*BARREL A common unit of measurement of liquids in the

petroleum, industry; it equals 42 U.S. standard gallons.

BLEEDING Diverting a small portion of the material contained in a

line or vessel, usually by opening a valve slightly.

BLEND Any mixture prepared for a special purpose; e.g~,, the

products of a refinery are blended to suit market
requirements.

BOILING POINT The temperature at which a substance boils, or is

converted into vapor by bubbles, forming within the
liquid; it varies with pressure.

*BOILING RANGE The range of temperature over which the boiling or

distillation of an oil commences, proceeds, and
finishes.

*BOTTOMS The liquid which collects in the bottom of a vessel

(tower bottoms, tank bottoms), either during a
fractionating process or while in storage.

B.T.U. (British Thermal Unit). The quantity of heat required

to raise, by 1 F, the temperature of water at its
maximum density (39.2 F)

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BUBBLE CAP An inverted cup with a notched or slotted periphery to
disperse the vaporin small bubbles beneath the
surface of the liquid on the bubble plate in distillation
column.

BUBBLE TOWER A fractionating tower so constructed that the vapors

rising pass up through layers of condensate on a
series of plates or trays. The vapor passes from one
plate to the next above by bubbling under one or more
caps and out through the liquid onthe plate. The less
volatile portions of vapor condense in bubbling
through the liquid on the plate, overflow to the next
lower plate, and ultimately back into the reboiler.
Fractionation is thereby affected.

BUBBLE TRAY One of the circular, perforated plates having the.

internal diameter of a tower, set at specified distances
in a tower to collect the various fractions produced in
fractional distillation.

* BY PRODUCT A secondary or additional product not of primary

importance.

c
CALIBRATION Determination of the accuracy, of an instrumentby
finding its variation from true measurement.

*CARRYOVER 1. Relatively nonvolatile contaminating material which

is carried over by the overhead effluent from a
fractionating column, absorber, or reaction vessel. It
may be carried as liquid droplets or finely divided soils
suspended in a gas, a vapor, or a discrete liquid. 2)
That portion of a finely divided catalyst which escapes
the cyclones of cracking units.

*..CATALYST A substance which affects, provokes, or accelerates

reactions without itself being altered.

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 CAUSTIC SODA Sodium hydroxide, a very strong alkali.

COMPRESSOR A machine which draws in air or other gas,

compresses it,and discharges it at a higher pressure.

*CONDENSATION 1. In physics and engineering, the act or process of

changing a vapor to liquid by depression of
temperature or increase of pressure.

*CONDENSER Ordinarily, a water-cooled heat exchanger used for

cooling and liquefying oil vapors. Where the cooling
medium used is air, the condenser .is called an air
condenser.

CONDUCTION
__ The flow of heat by contact.

CONVECTION The flow of heat through liquid or gas by actual

mixing of the fluids (physical turbulence).

*COOLER A heat exchanger whose primary purpose is to reduce

the temperature of one of the passing fluids.

CRACKING A phenomenon by which large oil molecules are

decomposed into smaller, lower boiling molecules; at
the same time, certain of these molecules, which are
reactive, combine with one another to give even larger
molecules than those in the originalstock. The more
stable molecules leave the system as cracked
gasoline, but the relative ones polymerize, forming tar
and even coke. (Editors note: Cracking may b~ in
either the liquid or vapor phase. When a catalyst is
used to bring about the desired chemical reaction, this
is called catalytic cracking; otherwise, it is assumed
to be thermal cracking.)

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CRUDE OIL A synonym for petroleum. A naturally occurring
mixture consisting predominately of hydrocarbons
and/or sulfur, nitrogen, and oxygen derivatives 6f
hydrocarbons which is removed from the earth in a
liquid state or is capable of being so removed.

DESALTING Removal of mineral salts (mostly chlorides) from crude

oils.

*DISTILLATE That portion of a liquid which is removed as a vapor

and condensed during a distillation Process.

DISTILLATION Vaporization of a liquid and its.subsequent

condensation in a different chamber. The separation
of one group of petroleum constituents from another
by means of volatilization in some form of closed
apparatus, such as a still, by the aid of heat.

DIAPHRAGM A dividing membrane or thin partition.

*DISCHARGE LINE Product line usually under pressure due to a pumping

force being applied.

*DRAWOFF A connection which allows liquid to flow from the side

or bottom of a vessel.

*EFFLUENT Outflow

EMULSION A dispersion of fine particles of one liquid in another.

The tendency to do this is called emulsibility.

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EXTRACTION The process of separating a material, by means of a
solvent, into a fraction soluble in the solvent (extract)
and an insoluble residue.

_F
FLAMMABLE Capable of being easily set on fire; combustible.

FLASH 1. A sudden release in pressure resulting in partial or

complete vaporization. 2. A sudden burst of light; a
momentary blaze.

*FLASH POINT The lowest temperature at which vapors arising from

the oil will ignite momentarily (i.e. flash) on application
of a flame under specified conditions.

FLOODING In a fractionating column, the filling up with a liquid.

FLUE GAS Gas from the combustion of fuel, the heating value of
which has been substantially spent and which is,
therefore, discarded to the flue or stack.

FRACTION~TING COLUMN A column arranged to separate various fractions .of

petroleum by a single distillation. The column may be
tapped at different points along its length to separate
various fractions in the order of their condensing
temperatures (boiling points).

*FUEL OIL Any liquid or liquefiable petroleum product burned for

the generation of heat in a furnace or firebox, or for
the generation of power in an engine, exclusive of oils
with a flash point below 100 F (Tag closed-cup tester)
and oils burned in cotton- or wool-wick burners.

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*GAS OIL A petroleum distillate with a viscosity and boiling
range between those of kerosene and lubricating oil.

*GASOLINE A light petroleum fraction having an approximate

boiling range of 100 to 460 degrees Fahrenheit and
obtained by distillation, cracking, polymerization, and
other processes.

Cracked Product of high temperature and high pressure

distillation ofpetroleum, during which heavy
hydrocarbons are broken down to lighter
hydrocarbons.

Natural Product recovered from natural gas by absorption,

compression, or refrigeration. Normally contains C4to
C6 hydrocarbons.

Polymer Product of polymerization of normally gaseous olefin

hydrocarbons to hydrocarbons in the gasoline range.

Straight Run Product of distillation of crude petroleum. It is the

gasoline naturally occurring in the crude.

GOVERNOR An automatic attachment to an engine, turbine, etc, to

control its speed.

*GRAVITY 1. The ratio of the weight of a volume of any liquid to

the weight of an equal volume of distilled water at 60
F. 2. The downward force which the earth exerts
upon all objects.

Specific Gravity The ratio of the weight of a volume of a body to the

weight of an equal volume of some Standard
substance, in the case of liquids and solids, the
standard is water; in the case of gases, the standard
is hydrogen or air.

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 An arbitrary scale expressing the gravity or density of
liquid petroleum products. The measuring scale is
calibrated in terms of degrees API.

Baume Specific gravity of liquids expressed as degrees on the

Baume scale. Used for chemicals (caustic, acid, etc.)

*HEADER A common manifold in which a number of pipelines

are united. Also refers to the U-bend connections
between, two consecutive tubes in the coil.

*HEAT EXCHANGER Apparatus for transferring heat from one fluid to

another. Specifically, a piece of equipment having a
tubular piping arrangement which effects the transfer
of heat from a hot to a relatively cool material by
conduction through the tube walls.

HEATER The furnace-and-tube arrangement which furnishes the

principal heating element in a processing unit.

HYDROCARBON A compound containing only hydrogen and carbon.

The simplest hydrocarbons are gases at ordinary
temperatures; but with increasing molecular weight,
they change to the liquid form and finally, to the solid
state. They form the principal constituents of
petroleum.

Paraffin That series of hydrocarbons having the general

formula C,H2, plus 2, and having no double bonds
saturated.

Olefin An open chain, unsaturated hydrocarbon, having one

double bond.

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 Naphene A saturated hydrocarbon having the general formula
C.H2. and a cyclic molecular structure; cyclo-propane,
cyclo-butane, cyclo-pentane.

Aromatic The name usually applied to the benzine series of

hydocarbons; derived from the characteristic odor of
the series.

HYDROMETER A graduated instrument for determining the gravity of

liquids, usually made of hollow glass and weighted at
one end so as to float upright. On immersion, the
lighter the liquid, the lower the instrument sinks
because the buoyant force is less. Some hydrometers
are marked to read percentage of constituent, or some
other property related to gravity. The instruments
used in measuring petroleum products usually read
degrees API or specific gravity directly (see API
gravity; specific gravity).

IMPELLER Consists of a set of vanes attached to a central hub.

The vanes may be enclosed between two discs of
shrouds forming an enclosed impeller or there .may
be a shroud on one side only, in which case it is
referred to as a semi-open or semi clesed impeller.
If no shrouds are used, the impeller is an open-
impeller.

IMPINGEMENT The contact of flame in the furnace with tubing.

IMMISCIBLE Not capable of mixing; tending to form two layers, as

to oil and water.

INDUCED DRAFT Air drawn, rather than forced, into a furnace.

,

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INERT GAS A noncombustible gas such as nitrogen or carbon
dioxide.

*INHIBITOR A substance, the presence of which, in small

amounts, in a petroleum product prevents or retards
undesirable chemical changes from taking place in the
product, or in the condition of the equipment in which
the product is used. In general, the essential function
of inhibitors is to prevent or retard oxidation or
corrosion.

INNAGE Either the volume or the measured height o.f liquid in a

tank or container, as measured from the bottom of the
tank. (see also outage)

KEROSENE A refined petroleum distillate suitable for use as an

illuminant when burned in a wick lamp.

*KNOCKOUT DRUM A drum or vessel constructed with baffles, .through

which a mixture of gas and liquid is passed to
disengage One from the other. As the impact frees
the gases and allows them to pass overhead; the
heavier substance falls to the bottom of the drum.

LEAN OIL 1. Absorption oil from which gasoline fractions have

been removed. 2. Oil leaving the stripper.

LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GASLight hydrocarbon material, gaseous at atmospheric

temperature and pressure, held in the liquid state by
pressure to facilitate storage, transport, and handling.
Commercial liquefied gas consists essentially of
propane, butane, or mixtures thereof.

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 L
LOADING RACK A structure built alongside railroad tracks for the
purpose of loading railroad tank and truck cars with
products.

MANIFOLD A piping arrangement which allows one stream of

liquid or gas to be divided into two or more streams,
or which allows several streams to be collected into
.one.

MERCAPTAN One of the organic compounds having the general

formula R-SH, meaning that the thiol group, -SH, is
attached to a radical such as CH3, C2Hs, etc. The
simpler mercaptans have strong, repulsive, garlic-like
odors which become less pronounced with increasing
molecular weight and higher boiling points.

NATURAL GAS Naturally occurring mixtures of hydrocarbon gases and

vapors, the more important of which are methane,
ethane, propane, butane, pentane, and hexane.

OCTANE NUMBER A term numerically indicating the relative anti-knock

value of a gasoline. For octane numbers 100 or
below, it is based upon a comparison with reference
fuels is_~ooctane (100 octane number) and heptane (0
octane number). The octane number of an unknown
fuel is the percent by volume of is._~ooctane fuel with
nheptane which matches the unknown fuel in
knocking tendencies under a specified set of
conditions. Above 100, the octane number of a fuel is
based on the engine rating, in terms of milliliters of
tetraethyllead in is._~ooctane, which matches that of the
unknown fuel.

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Rev. 0, August 1992 Section 1, page 60
*ORIFICE A device for restricting the flow through a pipe. The
difference in pressure on the two sides of an orifice
plate can be used to measure the volume of flow
through the pipe.

ON-PLOT/OFF PLOT On-plot-located within plant boundaries/Off plot -

located outside plant boundaries.

OUTAGE The difference between the full or the rated capacity

and the actual contents of a barrel, tank, or tank car.
The vertical distance between the surface of the liquid
in a barrel, tank, or tank car, and on the top of the
container. (see also INNAGE).

PACKED TOWER A fractionating or absorber tower which is filled with

small objects (packing) to effect an intimate contact
between rising vapor and falling liquid.

PETROLEUM A material occurring naturally in the earth,

predominately composed of mixtures of chemical
compounds of carbon and hydrogen with or without
nonmetallic elements such as sulfur, oxygen, ni.trogen,
etc. Petroleum may contain, or be composed of, such
compounds in the gaseous, liquid and/or solid state,
depending on the nature of these compounds and the
existent conditions of temperature and pressure.

PETROLEUM NAPHTHA A generic term applied to refined, partly.refined, or

unrefined petroleum products and liquid products of
natural gas, not less than 10 percent of which distill
below 347 F (175 C), and not less than 95 percent of
which distill below 464 F (24-0 C) when subjected to
distillation in accordance with ASTM Method D-86.
NOTE: The "naphas" used for specific purposes, such
as cleaning, manufacture of rubber, manufacture of
paints and varnishes, etc., are made to conform to
specifications which may require products of
considerably greater volatility than that set by the
limits of this generic definition.

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Rev. 0, August 1 992 Section 1, page 61
 _P
.*pH VALUE A "pH number" indicates the degree of alkalinity or
acidity of a fluid. Distilled water or a neutral solution
has a pH of 7.0. Acid solutions have pH numbers less
than 7.0 - the lower the number, the more
concentrated the acid. Alkaline solutions have pH
numbers greater than 7.0. The higher the number the
more alkaline or basic the solution.

*PREHEATER Any form of apparatus in which heat is applied to a

material prior to its introduction into the main heating
apparatus. The application of heat is usually
accomplished by means of hot bodies which have to
be cooled and whose heat would otherwise be
wasted. See also (HEAT EXCHANGER)

* PRESSURE DROP The decrease in pressure due to friction, which occurs

when liquid or gas passes through a pipe, vessel, or
other piece of equipment.

*PRESSURE VESSEL An enclosed container in which greater than

atmospheric pressure is maintained.

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

PUMPS:

Centrifugal (Volute Type) consists of one or more impellers

mounted on a rapidly rotating shaft. The liquid enters
the impellers at the center, or "eye, and is thrown
outward at a high velocity into the volute of the pump
casing. The function of the volute is to catch the
impeller discharge and convert, velocity head into
pressure head while conducting the liquid to the
discharge nozzle of the pump casing.

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 _P
Duplex A reciprocating pump that has two liquid cylinders.
Duplex pumps have a more steady discharge pressure
than do simplex pumps.

Multi-stacte Centrifugal pump which has two or more impellers

mounted on the same shaft. The discharge from one
impeller is conducted to the suction eye of the next
impeller, etc. Pumps with up to 14 stages and
developing over 3,000 pounds discharge pressure are
in use.

Power A reciprocating, pump in which the liquid pistons are

driven by othermeans than direct-acting steam
pistons and rods.

Reciprocating A positive displacement type of pump consisting of a

plunger or a piston moving back or forth within a
cylinder. With each strokeof the plunger or piston, a
definite volume of liquid is pushed out through the
discharge valves.

Rotary A positive displacement pump used mainly to pump

liquids which are either too viscous or too difficult to
pick up suctions with a centrifugal pump. There are
many types of rotary pump designs, one of the. most
commmon being the gear type - in which two gears
mesh and rotate toward each other within a very close
fitting casing. The .liquid is trapped between the gear
teeth and the casing and carried around to the
discharge side of the pump. The meshing gear teeth
prevent the liquid from returning to the suction side.

Simplex A reciprocating pump that has one liquid cylinder on a

single drive.

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 _P
*PURGING The displacement of one material with another in
process equipment; frequently, displacement of
hydrocarbon vapor with steam or inert gas.

*QUENCH To suddenly cool hot material discharging from a

cracking coil, usually by injecting cool oil into the
discharge line; its purpose is to check the cracking
reaction quickly.

RADIATION The act of emitting energy, particularly rays of light or

heat.

RASCHING RING Tower packing consisting of a small, hollow cylinder

with length equal to its diameter; may be made of
metal, stoneware, carbon, or other material.

*REACTOR The vessel in which the major part of a reaction or

conversion takes place. In catalytic cracking it is the
enlarged space.in which hot oil is contacted and
cracked with the catalyst; in isomerization, it isthe
vessel containing catalyst in which the hydrocarbon is
isomerized; in alkylation plants, it is the vessel
containing emulsified acid in which most of the
alkylation occurs..

*REBOILER An auxiliary of a fractionating tower designed to

supply additional heat to the lower portion. Liquid is
usually withdrawn (or pumped) from the side or
bottom of the tower and is reheated by means of heat
exchange. The vapors and residual liquid, separately
or together, are reintroduced to the tower.

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Rev. 0, August 1992 Section 1, page 64
*RECYCLE 1. A type of operation in which the part of the
product is continuously fed back for reprocessing, in
contrast to once-through operation. 2. That portion of
the product which is fed back.

REGENERATION !. The process of restoring a material to its original

strength or properties. 2. In a catalytic process, the
revivification or reactivation of the catalyst,
sometimes done by burning off the coke deposits
under carefully controlled conditions of temperature
and oxygen content of the regeneration gas stream.

REGULATOR A valve which directly controls the flow of liquid or

gas through a line. More commonly, a control valve.

*REFLUX In fractional distillation that part of the distillate which

may be returned to the column to assist in making a
better separation into desired fractions. This operation
is called refluxing. Reflux may beeither circulating or
induced. Circulating reflux is liquid which is
withdrawn hot, cooled, and pumped back to the
tower. Induced reflux is liquid formed within a
fractionation tower by condensation of vapors by
means of an internal cooling coil.

*RESIDUE Heavy oil or bottoms left in the still after gasoline and
other relatively low-boiling constituents have been
removed.

RICH OIL The oil drawn off the bottom of an absorber tower
containing fractions absorbed from a gas.

*RISER That portion of the bubble plate assembly which

channels the vapor and causes it to flow downward to
escape through the liquid.

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*RUNDOWN TANK . One of the tanks in which are received the
condensates from the stills, agitators, or other refinery
equipment, and from which the distillates are pumped
to larger tanks known as work tanks or storage tanks.
Rundown tanks are also known as "pans" or receiving
tanks. If the condensates were received directly into
the large storage tanks, the puking of a still would
contaminate unnecessarily perhaps thousands of
barrels of distillate.

SCRUBBING Purifying a gas by washing with water or chemical;

less frequently, the removal of entrainment. The
equipment used to give intimate contacting of the
material to be purified is called a scrubber.

SEPARATOR A holding vessel used to aid in the separation of light

and heavy gravity material.

SOUR CRUDE Crude oil containing an abnormally large amount of

sulfur compounds which~ upon refining, liberate
corrosive sulfur compounds.

STABILIZER A fractionating tower for removing light hydrocarbons

from an oil to reduce vapor pressure; particularly
applied to gasolines.

*STEAM Water in the vapor state.

Liv~e As contrasted to exhaust steam, steam coming

directly from a boiler before being utilized for power or
heat.

Water vapor which does not contain entrained water

droplets.

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 Superheated Water vapor heated above the saturation temperature
at a given pressure.

Wet Steam containing entrained water droplets.

Exhaust Used steam pressure.

STRIPPING Removal of the iightest fractions from a mixture. The

process is usually carried out by passing the hot liquid
from a flash drum or tower into a stripping vessel or
section (stripper), through which open steam or inert
gas is passed to remove the more volatile components
of the cut.

SUCTION LINE Intake line leading from storage to pump or

compressor suction.

SURGE DRUM A vessel or accumulatorwhich serves as a reservoir

for liquid being pumped through a line, thereby
overcoming fluctuations in the rate of flow caused by
the pump.

SWEET Having a good odor; pleasant to the sense of smell;

negative to the doctor test. (See also SOUR)

T
TANK Storage for all stocks, raw, intermediate and finished
products, under 25# RVP.

TEL-AUTO,GRAPH A device used to receive and record sample returns

from Laboratory to Plant Control Room.

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 T
TEMPERATURE An arbitrary measurement of the amount of molecular
energy of a body, or the degree of heat possessed by
it, It should be distinguished from heat itself, Heat is
a form of energy; temperature is a measurement of its
intensity,

THERMOCOUPLE The junction of two wires of dissimilar metals, which

develops an electrical potential that is a function of
the temperature; an instrument for measuring
temperature by means of the electrical potential
produced at a heated junction of two dissimilar.
metals.

THERMOMETER An instrument for measuring temperature. May be

either the graduated mercury column type or a pointer
and dial actuated by a bi-metallic element.

THERMOWELL A tube having one end closed, inserted into a vessel,

pipe, or furnace as protection .for a thermocoupleor
thermometer bulb.

.THIEVE(Thieve a Tank) A procedure for measuring the water level at the

bottom of a tank of oil. A paste which turns color on
contact with water is used.

..

THROTTLING To control a flow by operating a valve by hand,.

making moves in small increments; such as closing a
valve in the steam line of a boiler for controlling the
flow of steam to any apparatus.

*TREATING The contacting of petroleum products with chemicals

-to improve the quality.

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 T
TURNAROUND Time necessary to clean and make repairs on refinery
equipment after a normal run. It is the elapsed time
between drawing the fires (shutting the unit down)
and putting the unit onstream again.

VALVE A fitting in a flowing stream to stop or regulate flow.

VAPOR LOCK The. displacement of liquid fuel in a feed line by vapors

generated from the fuel, resulting in interruption of
normal motor operation. It is caused by the
vaporization of light ends in gasoline when, at some
point in the fuel system, temperature exceeds the
boiling points of these volatile fractions.

VAPOR PRESSURE The pressure exerted by the vapors released from any
material, at a given temperature, when enclosed in a
vaportight container.

*VENTING The venting of the line back to LPG drums to relieve

pressure when loading trucks, trailers, nd tank cars,

*VESSEL A closed container to hold. gas and/or liquid under

pressure or vacuum. It may be used solely for
storage, in which case it is often .called a drum, e.g.,
butane drum, reflex drum, etc. Process vessels will
permit volume fluctuations, settling of mixed stocks
demisting of vapors, or reactions (such as treaters or
reactors).

VISCOSITY The measure of the internal friction or the resistivity to

flow of a liquid. In measuring viscosities of petroleum
products, the values of the viscosity are usually.
expressed as the number of seconds required for a
certain volume of oil to pass through a standard orifice
under specified conditions.

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VOLATILITY The extent to which liquids vaporize; the relative
tendency to vaporize,

WATER HAMMER The energy developed by the sudden stoppage of fluid

in motion.

*WEATHERING The exposure of crude oils or light oils to the weather,

with subsequent evaporation of volatile constituents,
resulting in loss. Also Weathering Test.

WET GAS A gas containing a relatively high proportion of

hydrocarbons which are recoverable as liquids.

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