Conventional Oil Processing Facilities

Study Notes

Conventional Oil Processing Facilities

Catalytic reforming unit converts desulfurized naphtha molecules into higher-octane molecules to produce reformate, a component of gasoline.
Alkylation unit converts isobutane and butylenes into alkylate, a high-octane component of gasoline.
Isomerization unit converts linear molecules into higher-octane branched molecules for blending into gasoline.
Distillate hydrotreater unit uses hydrogen to desulfurize distilled fractions from crude oil distillation.
Merox unit desulfurizes LPG, kerosene, or jet fuel by oxidizing mercaptans to organic disulfides.
Amine gas treater removes hydrogen sulfide gas from hydrotreaters for disposal.
Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit upgrades heavier fractions from crude oil distillation into lighter, more valuable products.
Treater separates bitumen, water, and gas by agitation, gravity, heat, and chemicals.

Oil Sands Bitumen Processing

Bitumen may be diluted with a lighter product (e.g., naphtha or condensate) to reduce viscosity and density for pipeline transport.
Diluent is typically 25-55% by volume and can be removed from bitumen by distillation.
Bitumen can be upgraded to produce Synthetic Crude Oil (SCO) through hydrocracking and hydrotreating.
SCO can be marketed separately or blended to produce a light, high-quality, low-sulphur crude oil.
Byproduct of upgrading is Petroleum Coke.

Hydrocracking and Hydrotreating

Hydrocracking: bitumen is heated and hydrogen is added under high pressure to break down long hydrocarbon chains into smaller compounds.
Hydrotreating: hydrocarbons are added to stabilize and remove impurities such as sulphur.

Conventional vs. Oil Sands Operations

Hydrocracker unit upgrades heavier fractions from crude oil distillation and vacuum distillation units into lighter, more valuable products.
Visbreaker unit upgrades heavy residual oils from vacuum distillation unit by thermally cracking them into lighter products.
Delayed coking and fluid coker units convert very heavy residual oils into petroleum coke and by-products.
Typical products from 1 BBL crude oil can be compared between conventional and oil sands operations.

Bitumen Characteristics

Bitumen is a heavy, highly viscous oil with a higher ratio of Carbon to Hydrogen and long, complex hydrocarbon chains.
Bitumen processing is similar to crude processing, with the exception of water treatment.
Four basic phases of treating produced bitumen are Bitumen Processing, Refining, Water Cleaning, and Steam Generation.
Free Water Knockout (FWKO) is used to remove free water from effluent due to steam injection.

Description

Test your knowledge on the different units involved in conventional oil processing, including catalytic reforming, alkylation, and isomerization. Learn about the processes that convert naphtha molecules into higher-octane molecules and produce reformate and alkylate, components of gasoline or petrol.