Refining: A Historical Perspective

The Early Years

The Industry Begins to Change
Refining in the Modern Era
Refining: The Process & The Units
The Basic Refining Process
The Units and Their Functions
When Theory & Reality Collide
How You Fit In
Chemical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Timeline
1850
Event
Kerosene lamps are invented.
Kerosene lamps soon became
the standard for oil lamps.
Kerosene is found in rock oil,
which today we call crude oil.

Timeline
1850
1859
Event
Edwin Drake searches for rock
oil in Titusville, Pennsylvania.
On August 29
th
, Drake strikes
an oil pocket and is successful.
Drakes drilling method is still
used today, even for wells over
1 mile below ground.
Timeline
1850
1859
1870
Event
John D. Rockefeller establishes
Standard Oil.
Standard Oil eventually grows
into the largest oil company in
the world.
Timeline
1850
1859
1870
1890
Event
Economical automobiles were
coming to the mass market,
and they required gasoline.
Gasoline, a waste product,
would become the refiners
most important product..
Timeline
1850
1859
1870
1890
1901
Event
The Lucas gusher blows,
initiating the Texas Oil Boom.
The Texas Company (Texaco)
and Gulf Oil Corporation are
founded to process the oil.
Texaco and Gulf Oil build
refineries in Port Arthur, Texas.
Timeline
1850
1859
1870
1890
1901
1910
Event
Gasoline demand has grown
beyond what refiners supply.
A method for converting trash
oil into gasoline was needed.
The answer was cracking, a
process invented by Vladimir
Shukov in 1891.
The waste oil was heated until
some of the trash oil broke up
into usable gasoline liquids.
Timeline
1850
1859
1870
1890
1901
1910
1911
Event
The Supreme Court rules that
Standard Oil is a monopoly.
Standard Oil is broken into
smaller Baby Standards.
Notable Baby Standards:
Standard Oil of New Jersey
Standard Oil Co. of New York
Standard Oil of California
Standard Oil of Indiana
Humble Oil & Refining Company

Timeline
1850
1859
1870
1890
1901
1910
1911
1912
Event
Amocos William Burton
makes refining history by
starting the first thermal
cracking unit.
Refiners can now economically
produce more gasoline by
upgrading trash oil.
Timeline
1850
1859
1870
1890
1901
1910
1911
1912
1920
Event
The 18
th
Amendment is passed
and the era of Prohibition
begins.
Chemists who used to work
for the alcohol industry are
suddenly out of work.
They find work in the refining
industry, and they introduce
fractional distillation to the
refining process.
Timeline
1850
1859
1870
1890
1901
1910
1911
1912
1920
1936
Event
Eugene Houdry introduced a
new cracking process based on
a fixed bed and a catalyst.
His new design doubled
gasoline production versus
thermal cracking.
In 1946, Esso built the first
fluidized catalytic cracking unit
(FCCU) in Baton Rouge.
The FCCU would become a
major part of US refineries.
Timeline
1850
1859
1870
1890
1901
1910
1911
1912
1920
1936
1960
Event
Wilbur Nelson publishes a new
metric of refinery
performance in the Oil & Gas
Journal.
The Nelson Complexity Index
becomes an industry standard
measurement tool and
changes the refining industry
forever.
Timeline
1850
1859
1870
1890
1901
1910
1911
1912
1920
1936
1960
1980
Event
The Coast States Gas Corp.
undergoes what became
Americas largest ever spinoff.
Valero Energy Corporation is
created from this spinoff.
Timeline
1850
1859
1870
1890
1901
1910
1911
1912
1920
1936
1960
1980
1994
Event
The Environmental Protection
Agency introduces the Tier I
standard.
Tier I regulates allowable
sulfur in gasoline to 300ppm.
Timeline
1850
1859
1870
1890
1901
1910
1911
1912
1920
1936
1960
1980
1994
1998
Event
British Petroleum merges with
Amoco to form BP Amoco.
Timeline
1850
1859
1870
1890
1901
1910
1911
1912
1920
1936
1960
1980
1994
1998
1999
Event
Exxon merges with Mobil to
form ExxonMobil.
TOTAL merges with Petrofina.
Timeline
1850
1859
1870
1890
1901
1910
1911
1912
1920
1936
1960
1980
1994
1998
1999
2000
Event
British Petroleum acquires
Atlantic Richfield.
TotalFina merges with Elf
Aquitaine, forming
TotalFinaElf. (The company
renamed itself Total S.A. later.)
Timeline
1850
1859
1870
1890
1901
1910
1911
1912
1920
1936
1960
1980
1994
1998
1999
2000
2001
Event
Chevron Corp. acquires
Texaco.
Valero finishes acquiring
UltramarDiamondShamrock.
Timeline
1850
1859
1870
1890
1901
1910
1911
1912
1920
1936
1960
1980
1994
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
Event
Conoco merges with Philips
Petroleum Company to form
ConocoPhilips.
Timeline
1850
1859
1870
1890
1901
1910
1911
1912
1920
1936
1960
1980
1994
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2004
Event
The Environmental Protection
Agency introduces the Tier II
standard.
Tier II regulates allowable
sulfur in gasoline to 30ppm, a
90% reduction in allowable
sulfur content.
Timeline
1850
1859
1870
1890
1901
1910
1911
1912
1920
1936
1960
1980
1994
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2004
2005
Event
Valero purchases Premcor Inc.
to become Americas largest
independent refiner.
Hydraulic fracturing of the
Marcellus Shale deposit
begins.
Timeline
1850
1859
1870
1890
1901
1910
1911
1912
1920
1936
1960
1980
1994
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2004
2005
2008
Event
The Great Recession begins
and the oil & gas industry
suffers major reductions in
profit margins.
Refiners are hit especially
hard.
Oil & gas companies begin
closing or divesting their
refining operations.
Keystone XL is proposed,
changing US energy policy
debate forever.
Timeline
1850
1859
1870
1890
1901
1910
1911
1912
1920
1936
1960
1980
1994
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2004
2005
2008
????
Event
Direction of industry changes:
Integrated oil & gas companies
propose lifting US oil export ban.
Refiners propose US/Canadian
oil trading agreement
Ethanol blend wall & E15?
Tier III gasoline standard begins;
gasoline prices increase further.

0.00%
1.00%
2.00%
3.00%
4.00%
5.00%
6.00%
10 20 30 40 50 60 70
S
u
l
f
u
r

C
o
n
t
e
n
t

API Specific Gravity
Crude Oil Characteristics
Light Crude
Medium Crude
Heavy Crude
Separation
Cracking
Reshaping
Combining
Treating
Crude Distillation Unit
Crude oil is initially heated by
pumping through a series of
heat exchangers.
Heated oil is then purified by
desalting & sediment removal.
The oil is heated once more
before being pumped into the
distillation tower.
The crude oil separates into
various streams & the bottoms
are sent for more distillation.
Vacuum Distillation Unit
The VDU receives atmospheric
bottoms & attempts to distill it
under more severe conditions.
The VDU produces two main
fractions: Light Vacuum Gas
Oil & Heavy Vacuum Gas Oil.
LVGO & HVGO are pumped off
for cracking in FCCUs & HCUs.
VDU residuum is pumped off
for the harshest form of
cracking: the coker unit.
Fluidized Catalytic Cracking Unit
FCCU or cat cracker units
take atmospheric bottoms and
light vacuum gas oil as feed.
The feedstock is mixed with a
catalyst to promote the
cracking process.
The mixture is sent to a
reactor; the catalyst is recycled
while the upgraded oil is sent
off for distillation & to join the
other product streams.
Hydrocracker Unit
The HCU is a newer cracking
technology that accepts heavy
vacuum gas oil & usually
converts it to diesel and
kerosene.
The feedstock is typically
reacted 3 times, each time
drawing off fractions that are
sent to the distillation column.
Anything left over is sent off to
the coker.
Delayed Coker Unit
Cracking option of last resort.
Residual oil is heated and
pumped into a drum under
extremely high heat and
pressure, so high that the
liquid converts to a solid
substance called coke.
The coke is then cut, drained
from the tank, dehydrated,
and transported for waste
holding.
Catalytic Reforming Unit
Naptha, a product stream
from the distillation units, has
a low octane rating & makes a
poor fuel blending feedstock.
Catalytic reforming takes the
low octane strait-run naptha
and rearranges the molecules
to a higher octane naptha
called reformate.
This process is also generically
known as isomerization.
Alkylation Unit
Most crude blends contain a
portion of light hydrocarbons
like butane.
Additionally, cracking &
reshaping activities tend to
crack some hydrocarbons
more than intended.
Alkylation units accept light
hydrocarbons & react them
with an acid catalyst to form
heavier hydrocarbon chains.
Hydrotreating Unit
Oil is laden with impurities.
Impurities lower fuel quality,
degrade engine performance,
& cause environmental issues.
Hydrotreaters purify the oil by
vaporizing the crude, mixing it
with hydrogen & a catalyst, &
recovering the purified oil.
Sulfur, the primary impurity, is
extracted as a gas called
hydrogen sulfide or H
2
S.
Amine Treating Unit
H
2
S is highly toxic & refineries
have to destroy it for safety.
Amine compounds are an
effective carrier for H
2
S & are
used to capture the H
2
S
generated by hydrotreating.
The amine treating unit
recovers the H
2
S and sends it a
sulfur recovery unit (SRU) for
destruction.
Sour Water Stripper Unit
Similarly, other refinery units
contaminate water with H
2
S.
This water cannot be released
to the environment with H
2
S.
A sour water stripper (SWS)
unit serves a similar purpose
to the amine treating unit.
H
2
S from the SWS unit is sent
to the SRU for destruction.
Sulfur Recovery Unit
The SRU accepts H
2
S streams
from the ATU & SWS.
H
2
S is flammable & a portion
of the H
2
S is mixed with air to
support combustion.
The remaining H
2
S is heated
until the hydrogen & sulfur
separate.
The SRU uses a series of
heaters & condensers to
recover the liquid sulfur.
Refinery Flow Diagram
Modern refineries have many
process streams: raw liquids,
intermediates, final products,
off-spec, utilities, & more.
No two refineries are exactly
alike, so process stream
portfolios vary by facility.
What happens if a refinery
finds itself with unbalanced
process streams?
Remember Wilbur Nelson & his Complexity
Index? This is where he becomes important.
Nelson noticed that there was a relation between
types of units in a refinery & the refinerys profits.
Crackers, reformers, alky units, etc. process less oil
and are more complex to operate, but generate
higher per unit profits.
The Nelson Complexity Index provides a means to
analyze a refinerys expected costs & profits.
Sample problem:
Refinery A builds a 300K bpd distillation unit.
The Nelson Complexity Index assigns distillation a complexity factor
of 1, so the refinerys NCI equals 1.
If we assume that the refinery buys crude at $100 per barrel & sells
the distilled products at $110 per barrel, the refinery earns
$3,000,000 in profits per day.
Refinery B builds a 300K bpd delayed coker unit.
DCUs get a Nelson Complexity factor of 6, so the refinerys NCI equals
6.
The DCU buys vacuum resid at $105 per barrel and converts it to
gasoline, worth $125 per barrel. Refinery B earns $6,000,000 in
profits per day.
Moral of the story: Higher NCI rating means higher potential
profits. Therefore, a refinerys NCI score is very important.
Assist Process Engineers in unit optimization.
Calculate mass balances, energy balances, etc.
Improve unit yields and energy efficiency.
Troubleshoot unit operations.
Initiate and justify unit upgrades.
Identify HSE issues that impact refinery
operations and personnel.

Develop area classifications and safety standards.
Maintain electrical one-line drawings.
Maintain electrical testing records and programs.
Manage refinery electrical power distribution
system.
Troubleshoot and maintain DCS and PLC systems.
Install field instruments, develop process control
schemes, and advanced process control
technologies.
Assist Mechanical Engineers, Inspectors &
Metallurgists in maintaining equipment reliability.
Mechanical equipment design, service fitness,
material selection, root cause analysis
Develop equipment maintenance programs.
Calculate fluid flow, mechanical stress, heat
transfer, remaining life calculations
Work with process engineers to execute unit
upgrades.