Extraction, better known as Solvent

Extraction is a process basically used to

purify products in the refinery. It involves the
use of a solvent to extract or remove the
unwanted components present in the
products.
To remove components present in the
product that could lead to corrosion in
subsequent processing steps
To remove components present in the
product that could lead to catalyst
poisoning in subsequent processing steps
To remove components that would
otherwise reduce the quality of the
product.

Aromatics: These are Benzene, Toluene
and Xylene collectively referred to as BTX
Dissolved metals: These include nickel,
vanadium and copper.
Organic compounds containing sulphur,
nitrogen and oxygen.
Inorganic salts
Double salts that were present in the
crude feedstock
DISSOLUTION: The impurities have a
higher solubility in the solvent than they
do in the feed so that when they come
in contact with the solvent, they get
drawn into it.

PRECIPITATION: The impurities are caused
to precipitate out of the product.
Naphtha
Kerosene
Gas oils
Lubricating oil

EXTRACTION: The extraction process takes
place in an extractor which consists of a
vertical column with numerous contactor
plates.

EXTRACTOR
A
B C
E
D
KEY:
A = Aromatic-rich reformate feed
B = Solvent
C = Non-aromatic raffinate
D = Non-aromatic-heavy recycle
stream
E = Aromatic-rich solvent
Fig. 1: A simplified diagram of extraction step in solvent extraction process
SOLVENT STRIPPING: This is the step where
the used solvent from the extractor is
separated from the absorbed aromatics. It
is carried out in the solvent stripper.

SOLVENT
STRIPPER
B
A D
E
C
KEY:
A = Aromatic-rich solvent (from extractor)
B = Condensed stripper overhead stream
containing mainly solvent with trace
hydrocarbons
C = BTX product stream
D = mixed raffinate/aromatic/solvent
stream
E = Nearly hydrocarbon-free solvent
stream
Fig. 2: A simplified diagram of stripping step in solvent extraction process
EXTRACT WASHING: The extract (BTX)
from the Solvent Stripper is washed with
water to remove residual solvent before
being sent for further processing.

RAFFINATE WASHING: Raffinate leaving
the Extraction Tower is washed with
water to remove residual solvent before
being sent for further processing.

SOLVENT CONDITIONING: These are steps
taken to maintain the solvent purity. The
solvent degrades over time due to the
accumulation of various high boiling and
polar contaminants causing it to lose
efficacy. Examples of such solvent
conditioning processes include filtration,
adsorption and batch distillation.
S/N PROCESS SOLVENT USED
1 The Udex extraction process Diethylene glycol
2 The Sulfolane process Tetrahydrothiophene 1-
1 dioxide (sulfolane)
3 The Tetra process tetraethylene glycol
4 The Carom Process A proprietary
glycol/glycol ether mix
5 The Lurgi Arosolvan Process N-methyl-2-
pyrrolidinone mixed
with water or glycol
6 The dimethyl sulfoxide process Dimethyl sulfoxide
(DMSO) and butane
7 The Formex process N-formylmorpholine
8 The Morphylex Process N-formylmorpholine
Table 1: A summary of some solvent extraction processes
S/N PROCESS SOLVENT USED
9 The Redex process (Recycle
Extract Dual Extraction)
-
10 Mofex Process Monomehtylformamide
solvent mixed with water
11 Arex Process N-Methyl -caprolactam
12 Dou-Sol Process Selecto or Selectox (which is
a mixture of phenol and
cresylic acids) and liquid
Propane
13 CIS Process Propylene carbonate
14 Carmex Process Methyl carbonate
Briggs, Terry and Patel, Vijay P. (1978) Evaluation of Benzene-Related
Petroleum Processing Operations. Retrieved September 21, 2014
from:
http://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi/91009Y36.PDF?Dockey=91009Y3
6.PDF
C&I Engineering, Inc. (2014) Aromatics Extraction Retrieved
September 21, 2014 from: http://www.cieng.com/a-111-319-ISBL-
Aromatics-Extraction.aspx
Comyns, Alan E. (Ed.) (2000) Encyclopedic Dictionary of Named
Processes in Chemical Technology. Retrieved September 21, 2014
from: http://lib.lhu.edu.vn/ViewFile/11122
Dyke, Kate Van (1997) Fundamentals of Petroleum 4th Ed. Austin, TX:
Petroleum Extension Service, the University of Texas at Austin.
How Products Are Made (2014) Kerosene Retrieved September 20,
2014 from: http://www.madehow.com/Volume-7/Kerosene.html
King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah (no date) Aromatic
hydrocarbons [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved September 21,
2014 from:
www.kau.edu.sa/Files/0053956/Files/60695_Chap%202B%20p
etro.ppt
Mohammed-Dabo, I. A. and Balarabe, Y. U. (2014). CHEN 807
Module Two Petroleum Refining: Lecture notes. Ahmadu Bello
University, Nigeria.
Oil refinery (2014). Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia. Retrieved
September 17, 2014 from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_refinery
Rousseau, Ronald W. (1987) Handbook of Separation Process
Technology. John Wiley & Sons. Google books . Available from:
http://books.google.com
Rydberg, Jan (2004) Solvent Extraction Principles and Practice,
Revised and Expanded. CRC Press. Google books. Available
from: http://books.google.com