how to refine crude oil
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1,111,111 TRP = 11,111 USD
1,111,111 TRP = 11,111 USD
1,111,111 TRP = 11,111 USD
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Oil Refining Process
Refining converts crude oil into usable products like gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel through these key steps:
Distillation: Crude oil is heated in a furnace and fed into a distillation column. Components separate by boiling points:
Light gases (top), naphtha (gasoline precursor), kerosene (jet fuel), diesel, and heavy residues (bottom).
Conversion: Heavy residues undergo processes like:
Cracking: Breaks large molecules into lighter ones (e.g., fluid catalytic cracking).
Reforming: Enhances gasoline quality by rearranging molecules.
Treatment: Impurities (sulfur, nitrogen) are removed via hydrotreating to meet environmental standards.
Blending: Products are mixed to achieve desired specifications (e.g., octane ratings).
Support Processes:
Alkylation: Combines gases to form high-octane gasoline.
Isomerization: Converts straight-chain molecules to branched ones for better performance.
Outputs: Gasoline (46%), diesel (26%), jet fuel (10%), petrochemical feedstocks, and asphalt.
Modern refineries optimize efficiency and minimize emissions using advanced catalysts and automation. Environmental regulations drive cleaner technologies, such as sulfur recovery units.
Basic Refining Process
Separation
The initial step is separating crude oil into different components called fractions, based on their boiling points. This is done in distillation units, typically using atmospheric and sometimes vacuum distillation units. The crude oil is heated in a furnace, causing it to vaporize, and the vapors are then condensed in distillation towers into fractions like gasoline, kerosene, diesel, and heavy oils. Light fractions move to the top, while heavier ones settle at the bottom.
Conversion
After separation, some fractions are processed further to improve their qualities or to produce other valuable products. The most common conversion method is cracking, which uses catalysts, heat, pressure, and hydrogen to break down heavy hydrocarbons into lighter, more valuable products like gasoline and diesel. Alkylation is another process where cracking byproducts are combined to produce gasoline with higher octane ratings.
Treatment
The final step involves treating the products to meet environmental standards and fuel specifications. This includes removing sulfur and other impurities and upgrading the octane ratings of gasoline through catalytic reforming or blending. Additional refining processes, such as hydrotreating, are used to remove contaminants and improve product quality.