CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Crude oil (also called petroleum) is a mixture of different hydrocarbons. Crude oils are such a

useful starting point for so many different substances because they contain hydrocarbons.

Hydrocarbons are molecules that contain hydrogen and carbon and come in various lengths and

structures, from straight chains to branching chains to rings. Crude oil is processed or refined to

produce useable products such as gasoline. The process is very complex and involves both

chemical reactions and physical separations. Crude oil is composed of thousands of different

molecules. It would be nearly impossible to isolate every molecule and make finished products

from each molecule. Chemists and engineers deal with this problem by isolating mixtures of

molecules according to the mixture's boiling point range. The problem with crude oil is that it

contains hundreds of different types of hydrocarbons all mixed together. To have anything useful

it needs to separate the different types of hydrocarbons. Many useful products can be made from

these hydrocarbons. But first the useful ones must be extracted from the crude oil and separated

from one another.

Fortunately there is an easy way to separate things, and this is what oil refining is all about.The

different hydrocarbon components of crude oil are called fractions. The fractions are separated

from one another using a process called fractional distillation. This process is based on the

principle that different substances boil at different temperatures. For example, crude oil contains

kerosene and naphtha, which are useful fractions (naphtha Is made into petrol for cars, and

kerosene is made into jet fuel). When you evaporate the mixture of kerosene and Naphtha, and

then cool it, the kerosene condenses at a higher temperature than the naphtha. As the mixture

cools, the kerosene condenses first, and the naphtha condenses later.
This is how fractional distillation works. The main equipment is a tall cylinder called a

fractionator (or fractional Distillation column). Inside this column there are many trays, or

horizontal plates, all located at different heights. Each tray collects a different fraction when it

cools to its own boiling point and condenses. The crude oil is heated to at least 350°C, which

makes most of the oil evaporate. The fluid then enters the column. As the vapour moves up

through the fractionator, each fraction cools and condenses at a different temperature. As each

fraction condenses, the liquid is collected in the trays. Substances with higher boiling points

condense on the lower trays in the column. Substances with lower boiling points condense on the

higher trays. The trays have valves, which allow the vapour to bubble through the liquid in the

tray. This helps the vapour to cool and condense more quickly. The liquid from each tray then

flows out of the column.

Fractional Distillation as Applied in Petroleum Manufacturer

This process is based on the principle that different substances boil at different temperatures. For

Example, crude oil contains kerosene and naphtha, which are useful fractions (naphtha is made

into petrol for cars, and kerosene is made into jet fuel). When you evaporate the mixture of

Kerosene and naphtha, and then cool it, the kerosene condenses at a higher temperature than the

Naphtha. As the mixture cools, the kerosene condenses first, and the naphtha condenses later.
The major components of crude oil according to its specific temperature are as follows:
The fractional distillation of crude oil carries out several steps:

1. Heating the mixture of the substances of crude oil (liquids) with different boiling points

to a High temperature. Heating is usually done with high pressure steam to temperatures

of about 1112 degrees Fahrenheit / 600 degrees Celsius.

2. The mixture boils, forming vapor (gases); most Substances go into the vapor phase.

3. The vapor enters the bottom of a long column (fractional distillation column) that is filled

with trays or plates. The trays have many holes or bubble caps (like a loosened cap on a

soda bottle) in them to allow the vapor to pass through. They increase the contact time

between the vapor and the liquids in the column and help to collect liquids that form at

various heights in the column. There is a temperature difference across the column (hot at

the bottom, Cool at the top).

4. The vapor rises in the column.

5. As the vapor rises through the trays in the column, it cools.

6. When a substance in the vapor reaches a height where the temperature of the column is

equal to that substance’s boiling point, it will condense to form a liquid. (The substance

with the lowest boiling point will condense at the highest point in the column; substances

with higher boiling points will condense lower in the column).

7. The trays collect the various liquid fractions.

8. The collected liquid fractions may pass to condensers, which cool them further, and then

go to storage tanks, or they may go to other areas for further chemical processing. Very

few of the components come out of the fractional distillation column ready for market.

many of them must be chemically processed to make other fractions. For example, only

40% of distilled crude oil is gasoline; however, gasoline is one of the major products
made by oil companies. Rather than continually distilling large quantities of crude oil, oil

companies chemically process some other fractions from the distillation column to make

gasoline; this processing increases the yield of gasoline from each barrel of crude oil.
 CHAPTER THREE

Conclusion

Distillated and chemically processed fractions are treated to remove impurities, such as organic

compounds containing sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, water, dissolved metals and inorganic salts.

Treating is usually done by passing the fractions through the following:

 a column of sulfuric acid – removes unsaturated hydrocarbons (those with carbon-carbon

Double-bonds), nitrogen compounds, oxygen compounds and residual solids (tars,

asphalt)

 an absorption column filled with drying agents to remove water

 sulfur treatment and hydrogen-sulfide scrubbers to remove sulfur and sulfur compounds.

After the fractions have been treated, they are cooled and then blended together to make

various products, such as: gasoline of various grades with or without additives;

lubricating oils of various weights and grades; kerosene of various grades; jet fuel; diesel

fuel; heating oil; chemicals of various grades for making plastics and other polymers.

At the end of it all, Crude oil refinery process is a very complex and lengthy process.

Although these refining processes of crude oil exhales large amount of greenhouse gases,

we cannot think of our modern civilization without the useful productions from crude oil

such as gasoline, jet fuel, Fuel for power plants and so many.
References

http://www.pearsonlongman.com/technicalenglish/pdf/level2/level2_Unit8.pdf

http://www.coalandfuel.blogspot.com/2008/03/chemical-processing-of-crude-

oil.html