VOCATIONAL TRAINING REPORT

Units covered: HCU, FPU-II, MTBE, UDEX, AU-III, and FCCU

INDIAN OIL CORPORATION LIMITED

VADODARA

SUBMITTED TO:

SUBMITTED BY:

Mr. S Nagwanshi

Sumit Prasad

Sr. Manager (Trg & Dev)

IOCL (GR)

3rd year student

Btech. Chemical Engineering
NIT Durgapur

Gujarat Refinery, IOCL Vadodara

The Gujarat Refinery at Koyali in Western India is IndianOils largest
refinery. The refinery was commissioned in 1965-1966. Its facilities
include five atmospheric crude distillation units. The major units include
CRU, FCCU and the first Hydrocracking unit of the country. Through a
product pipeline to Ahmedabad and a recently commissioned product
pipeline connecting to KRPL (Koyali Ratlam Pipeline) product pipeline
and also by rail wagons/trucks, the refinery primarily serves the demand
for petroleum products in western and northern India.
When commissioned, the Gujarat refinery had a design capacity of 3.0
MMTPA. It was subsequently increased to 4.3 MMTPA by the revamping
of three distillation units. In 1978, its processing capacity was further
increased to 7.30 MMTPA by the addition of a crude distillation unit. A
fluidised catalytic cracking unit was added to the refinery in 1981 to
increase production of middle distillates, such as diesel and LPG. The
capacity of the refinery was further increased to 9.5 MMTPA by 1990
through low cost revamping / debottlenecking and addition of a
hydrocracker in 1992 for maximisation of middle distillates.
Subsequently the crude capacity was increased to 12.5 MMTPA in 1999
by addition of new Atmospheric Unit of 3 MMTPA alongwith revamp of
FCC Unit. The capacity has since been increased to its present capacity
of 13.70 MMTPA by low cost debottlenecking. The company has already
commissioned the facilities for MTBE and Butene-1 production. The
refinery also produces a wide range of specialty pro ducts like Benzene,
Toluene, MTO, Food Grade Hexane, solvents, LABFS, etc. The Gujarat
Refinery achieved the distinction of becoming the first refinery in the
country to have completed the DHDS (Diesel Hydro De-sulphurisation)
project in June 1999, when the refinery started production of HSD with
low
sulphur
content
of
0.25%
wt
(max.).
A project for production of high value LAB (Linear Alkyl Benzene -- which
is one of the major raw materials used in manufacturing detergents)
from kerosene streams has been implemented. In order to meet future
fuel quality requirements, MS Quality improvement facilities are also
being implemented.

HYDROCRACKER UNIT
Need for Hydrocracker at Gujarat Refinery
Gujarat Refinery from its inception in 1966 has been processing the crude
oils produced in the Gujarat region which are classified primarily into two
categories which are South Gujarat crude oils and North Gujarat crude oils.
From 1978 onwards GR started processing Bombay high crude as well as
imported crude also in addition to the Gujarat crude oils. North Gujarat crudes
main characteristics are they are low in sulphur content but highly corrosive
due to high Naphthenic acid content, yield high amount of residue (about 70%)
and are difficult for transportation through pipe lines over long distances due
to their waxy nature. With increased amount of North Gujarat crude
processing in the refinery (steadily increased from 2MTPA initially to about
4MTPA) the production of heavy residues (LSHS) from GR increased and posed
problems for disposal due to inadequate market for the same. On the contrary,
the demand for the middle distillates (kerosene & HSD) steadily increased and
the deficits grew from year to year causing a heavy burden for the foreign
exchange outgo from the country. It therefore, became imperative that the
residues be upgraded to much needed middle distillates and for this purpose a
distillate hydrocracker installed in the Gujarat Refinery.

Alternate Cracking Process

Residue upgradation into middle distillates and the light distillates is
currently being done in the Indian refineries primarily by employing Fluidized
Catalytic Cracking (FCC) process; delayed coking process and Visbreaking are
adopted primarily to reduce viscosity of the residue thereby making it
marketable. Delayed coking is adopted if coke is also to be a product.
The quality of products obtained from FCC, Delayed coking and
Visbreaker are relatively poor with respect to stability and sulphur and have to
be blended with other straight run products to be able to market them,
otherwise product treatment would be necessary (Hydro-treatment, Merox
treatment etc ).
In view of these problems Hydro cracking process is gaining more and more
popularity for upgrading residues into higher value products. A comparison of
typical operating conditions adopted in the above processes and the product
yields are given in the table below:
Delayed Coker

FCC

Hydrocracker

Feed stock

RCO

VGO

VGO

Operating Temperature (oC)

480

470

400-470

Operating Pressure (kg/cm2g)

5.0

3.0

170-175

Catalyst

None

Si-Al

Hydrogen Environment

None

None

Si-Al
with
metal
sulphides of Ni-Co-Te.
Yes

Product yields % on feed

-Light distillates
-Middle distillates
-Heavy end + coke

25
22
48

35
45
15

17
80
nil

It is seen from the above that hydrocracking process is best suited for
maximising the production of distillates from a given feed stock.

HISTORY OF HYDROCRACKING
Hydrocracking units were initially set-up during World war for the production
of gasoline in Europe and America. The catalysts used in these units were
natural clays and required operating pressures in the range of 250 kg/sqcm.
Since then there has been continuous developments of catalysts and at
present catalysts are manufactured with precise chemical composition and
physical properties by it has become possible to operate the hydrocracking
units at relatively lower pressure to produce the desired quality products. Both
Amorphous and Zeolite type of catalyst are being employed to achieve 100%
conversion of VGO type feeds into light distillates and middle distillates. The
Hydrocracking process is now well proven with almost over 180 units in
commercial operation all over the world.

HYDROCRACKER TECHNOLOGY
Hydrocracking is an extremely versatile catalytic process in which feed
stock ranging from naphtha to vacuum residue can be produced in presence of
hydrogen and catalyst to produce almost any desired product lighter than the
feed. Thus if the feed is naphtha , it can be converted into LPG and if the feed
is vacuum gas oil as in GR, it can produce LPG, Naphtha, ATF, Diesel in varying
proportions as per design requirements.

HYDROCRACKER PROCESS CONFIGURATION

Depending upon the feed quality, product mixture desired and the
capacity of unit following process flow configuration can be adopted for
hydrocracker:
Single stage for 100% conversion of the feed to product.
Two stage for 100% conversion of the feed to product.
Once through for partial conversion of feed to product (60-80%).

In Once through operation, there is no recycle and fractionation bottom is

taken as product. In Single stage operation the unconverted material from
fractionator bottom is recycled to first stage scheme, the unconverted material
is routed separately to another reactor. In both cases cracking takes place to
extinction.

For Gujarat Refinery, scheme adopted is two stage hydrocracking which

helps maximization of middle distillates and of improved quality.

PROCESS LICENSOR
Hydrocracking technology is not indigenously available. The hydrocracking
process is a patented process and is available under a license from a few
licensors in the world, mostly belonging to USA. For Gujarat refinery
Hydrocracker process licensors are M/s Cherron Research Co. USA. The
Hydrocracking process of CRC is called ISOCRACKING.

HYDROCRACKING IN GUJARAT REFINERY

Primary function of the hydrocracker unit is to maximise middle distillate
production in GR. Feed to the unit consists of VGO from new FPU which is
nothing but a vacuum distillation unit processing the North Gujarat crude. The
primary products from Hydrocracker unit are-

LPG
Stabilized light Naphtha
Heavy Naphtha
ATF/ Superior kerosene
HSD

The Hydrocracker is made-up of three major sections; the make-up

hydrogen compression section, the reactor section (two stage) and the
distillation section. In the reactor section, the feed stock is combined with
hydrogen at high temperature and pressure and is catalytically converted to
lighter transportation fuels. The reactor section is composed of the first stage
reactor and the second stage reactor section, the reaction products are
separated and cooled. The distillation section consists of the atmospheric
fractionation, light ends recovery, LPG treating and vacuum column.
The unit is designed to process 3600TPD of VGO to convert it fully into
products boiling below 370oC i.e. diesel, lighter fractions. As the quality of
Naphtha, ATF, kerosene and HSD meets the specifications, no post treatment
is given.

However, LPG is given a mild caustic wash and fuel gas is desulfurised by
diethanol amine (DEA) absorption for better environment management.
Hydrocracker unit operates under two different catalyst conditions viz
start of run (SOR) and end of run (EOR). When the catalyst is new or freshly
regenerated, it is SOR. The catalyst gets deactivated due to coke deposition
(about 12-18 months) and requires regeneration to operate under design
stipulations. The operating condition just before regeneration is called EOR
operation.

PROCESS VARIABLES
The following describes the effects of various process variables on the
operation of the ISOCRACKER.
On each catalyst pellet, there are millions of what are called ACTIVE
SITES. The active sites are where the feed is converted to products. As the
catalyst temperature is increased, the active sites work faster. If some active
sites are destroyed through catalyst fouling then a higher catalyst temperature
is needed to get the same conversion of feed to products from the remaining
active sites. Thus, if the operation of the isocracker is to be changed, there are
two ways to consider with respect to catalyst.
1. What is the catalyst average temperature (CAT) required to get the
desired conversion at the new conditions.
2. What is the fouling rate of the catalyst at the new conditions (0C/month,
the CAT must be increased to get the desired conversion).
Then, knowing the EOR CAT, the predicted CAT and the predicted fouling
rate, the catalyst life can be determined.

FEED EFFECTS
The Isocracker has the flexibility to process varied feed types. Each feed
type will have different properties and in addition these properties will
probably change with time.
The properties of the feed to the reactor have a significant effect on :
-

Required Catalyst average temperature

Hydrogen consumption
Products yield and properties
Catalyst life.

FEED BOILING RANGE

The feed is a mixture of many sizes of molecules. The composition of the
feed mixture depends on the crude oil being run and the operating condition
of the upstream units. The primary function of the hydrocracker is to crack
large molecules (VGO sized) into smaller molecules (ATF and HSD sized).
The larger the large molecules, the harder it is to crack them into smaller
molecules. Thus, the feed boiling range determines how hard the catalyst has
to work to make the desired conversion. The feed boiling range has another
effect on the CAT required to get a desired conversion. Catalyst poisons such
as asphaltenes, metals and nitrogen increases exponentially with boiling point.
Thus, increasing the feed boiling range will hurt the catalyst life in two
ways. The higher the concentration of large molecules and the higher feed
nitrogen will increase the CAT required to get the desired conversion, thus
shortening the run span. In addition the asphaltenes and metals will increase
thus increasing the fouling rate. The weighted boiling point is a measure of the
crackability of the feed and its tendency to foul the catalyst. The initial
portion of the feed distillation should also be carefully controlled. Excessive
amounts of diesel boiling range material in the feed (called overlap) will
increase the product HSD pour point. It may be noted that feed boiling range is
solely dependent upon stream processing unit and thus operation of these
units require close monitoring.

FEED NITROGEN
The feed nitrogen is a temporary catalyst poison. Nitrogen in feed tends to be
in the form of basic compounds. The active sites on the catalyst that crack the
feed are acidic. The basic nitrogen is adsorbed on the acidic active sites, thus
neutralizing them with respect to conversion. The unaffected active sites have
to work harder to compensate. Thus the higher the feed nitrogen the higher
the CAT required to get the desired conversion. However if the feed nitrogen is
lowered, some of the nitrogen neutralizing the active sites will desorb and
there will be a new required CAT. Keep in mind that although adsorption is
very quick, desorption is slow. So, if the feed nitrogen is lowered, the new

equilibrium of nitrogen adsorbed on the active sites may not be reached for
several days. In some extreme cases where the feed nitrogen is drastically
reduced, the new equilibrium may not be reached for several weeks.

FEED ASPHALTENES AND METAL

Feed asphaltenes and heavy metal content must be limited to very low
levels to prevent rapid catalyst deactivation. Asphaltenes are very largely
condensed ring molecules which boil well over 550oC with proper operation in
FPU vacuum column asphaltenes content of hydrocracker feed should be well
below 100 ppm. Asphaltenes, because of their structure and large size are
difficult to crack and are likely to form coke.
Heavy metals, particularly nickel and vanadium are strongly attracted to
the catalyst and destroy its activity. These metals are found in asphaltenes,
however they are also present in large condensed ring molecules that boil at a
lower temperature than asphaltenes which are called porphyrins. Metals
concentration as low as 1 ppm is harmful to ISOCRACKING catalyst. Like
asphaltenes metal reach the catalyst in the feed through poor operation in the
upstream units.

FEED PREPARATION UNIT (FPU-II)

INTRODUCTION
The FPU, also called vacuum distillation unit is designed to produce diesel,
LVGO, HVGO, HHVGO, slope and VR. The unit is called FPU because it produces
and supplies feed to hydrocracker unit i.e. LVGO and HVGO. FPU uses reduced
crude oil (RCO) as feed which is supplied to it directly from storage tanks
and/or from existing Atmospheric distillation units (AU-I, II, III) processing
North Gujarat crude. Provision is also kept to receive RCO from AU-IV & V.
BASIC DESIGN INFORMATION
Original FPU is designed to operate for 334 stream days/year i.e. 8000
hrs/yr with a turndown ratio of 50% of design throughput. The unit can process
2.5 MMT of RCO/annum. After revamp the unit throughput increased to 3.0
MMT/annum with 10% design margin.

GENERAL PROCESS DESCRIPTION

FPU (VDU) extracts 380-530oC TBP cut from RCO which is used as feed
stock of the Gujarat Hydrocracker unit. HCU is basically meant for converting
low grade, high boiling materials to high grade middle/light distillates like
naphtha, ATF, kerosene, diesel etc. The distillation is carried out under high
vacuum and in presence of steam to keep the maximum operating
temperature within 420oC to avoid excessive thermal cracking which leads to
coking of furnace coils. In the present case, vacuum is created (93 mm Hg) at
flash zone of the column by using two stage steam ejectors. Steam required for
lowering the hydrocarbon partial pressure further and stripping off the
distillates from unvaporised liquids is injected into each heater coil to reduce

the chances of coking in the furnace coils. The VDU produces diesel, LVGO,
HVGO, HHVGO, slop distillates and vacuum residue by distilling RCO in a
packed tower under wet vacuum conditions.
LVGO and HVGO together are called VGO and taken as feed to HCU.
Diesel, slope distillates and VR are blended with other refinery products to
make them marketable.
The liquid portion of the feed is steam stripped in a series of tray (5 nos)
located below the flash zone of the column to enhance recovery of distillates.
The column bottom temperature is maintained around 360oC by receiving a
partially cold part of vacuum residue back to column. The vapour leaving the
flash zone of the vacuum tower are condensed stepwise by exchanging heat
with HVGO, LVGO and diesel pump around in the five packed sections of the
column, yielding slop distillate, HHVGO, HVGO, LVGO and diesel as side
streams. The liquid accumulated at the bottom of the column is withdrawn as
VR. Some uncondensed are entrained gas oil which escapes with steam from
the tower top is condensed in overhead condensers. The vacuum in the tower
is maintained through a two stage ejector. Each stage is having three ejectors,
the non-condensable, mostly air and traces of hydrocarbon are vented to
atmosphere through a water seal arrangement.

HYDROGEN UNIT I
Gujarat Hydrogen plant with a capacity of 38,000 TPA and producing
99.99% pure hydrogen has come up as a part of Gujarat Hydrocracker project.
It is first of its kind among Indian refineries.
Hydrogen is generated in this unit by steam reforming of naphtha
employing M/s LINDEs technology. The unit is designed to produce 38,000
tonnes/annum of 8000 hrs/yr operation with hydrogen purity level of 99.99%.
Hydrogen generated in the plant is consumed in HCU for various chemical
reactions. These reactions need very high purity hydrogen to maintain
requisite partial pressure of hydrogen in the hydrocracker reactor. The fall in
purity results in the lowering of the hydrogen partial pressure which adversely
affects the quality of products from hydrocracker unit. The other units to
which hydrogen is supplied (depending on requirement) are DHDS, LAB and
CRU.
The process of hydrogen generation involves the following steps1.
2.
3.
4.

Sulphur removal
Steam reforming
High temperature shift conversion
Pressure swing adsorption purification (PSA).

Different types of catalyst are used in each of the above four sections. As
the process involves high temperature condition in steam reforming and high
temperature shift conversion, waste heat is utilized generation of large

quantity steam. The steam is generated in the unit satisfies the requirement in
the unit and surplus steam is offered to other units for consumption.
The unit is unique in the country due to following:
1. 10 Bed Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) system for the purification of
hydrogen product.
2. Special design of steam reformer involving use of low pressure and low
calorific value PSA purge gas as the major fuel.
3. The microprocessor based process control of the PSA system.
The PSA system comprising of the valve skids, microprocessor based
control system and the adsorbents have been supplied by M/s LINDE. The
control system integrates the high severity reformer with PSA purification
system to provide an optimum design.

PROCESS CHEMISTRY
1. Desulphurisation
The nickel based catalysts used in steam reforming by hydrocracker are
sensitive to poisoning by sulphur compounds. Typically the sulphur
concentration in the feed stock must be reduced to less than 0.2 ppm
before it is acceptable. This is usually achieved by converting the sulphur
compounds e.g. thiophene, mercaptans to hydrogen sulphide which is then
removed by an absorbent.
The hydrogen reaction for conversion to hydrogen sulphide is achieved
in a reactor bed of cobalt-molybdenum catalyst or nickel-molybdenum
catalyst.
(i)

RSH +H2 ----- > RH + H2S

R is a radical, it may be CH3, C2H5

e.g.
C2H5SH + H2 ------> C2H6 + H2S
Ethyl mercaptans

(ii)

C4H4S + 4H2 ------> C4H10 + H2S

Thiophene

Hydrogen sulphide reacts with zinc oxide to produce zinc sulphide and
water according to following reaction
ZnO + H2S --- - >ZnS + H2O
The rate of reaction is a function of temperature, pressure and
diffusion processes. Each molecule of hydrogen sulphide must diffuse to
the zinc oxide before reacting to produce the sulphide ion and water. The
heater water must diffuse away from the reaction zone, while the sulphide
ion diffuses into the interior of the granule to replace the oxide ion. This
process continues until the whole structure is converted into zinc sulphide.

2. STEAM REFORMING / SHIFT CONVERSION

The objective of the catalyst steam reforming process is to extract the
maximum quantity of hydrogen held in water and the hydrocarbon feed
stock. The treatment or purification of reformed gases from steam
reformer depends on the purpose for which the reformed gas is to be used.
The common uses arei.
ii.
iii.
iv.

Synthesis gas Ammonia and methanol

Hydrogen and carbon monoxide for oxo-alcohols
Hydrogen for refineries hydrogenation reaction and
Reduced gas for direct reduction of iron ore.
The reforming of natural gas utilizes two simple reactions

i.
ii.

The reforming reaction

The water-gas shift reaction
CH4 + H2O ------ > CO + 3H2
CO + H2O ------- > CO2 + H2

The reforming is strongly endothermic, so the forward reaction is favoured

by high temperature as well as by low pressure while the shift reaction is

exothermic and is favoured by low temperature but is largely unaffected by

changes in pressure. To maximise the overall efficiency of the conversion of
carbon to carbon dioxide and the production of hydrogen, reformers are
operated at high temperature and pressure. This is followed by the shift
process which by using catalyst, permits the shift reaction to be brought to
equilibrium at as low temperature as possible.
In GR, reforming of naphtha/steam mixture takes place in the headed
high alloy reformer tubes, which is filled with nickel based catalyst.

MTBE (Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether)

INTRODUCTION:
The objective of putting up the MTBE unit is to produce MTBE for blending
into gasoline for octane enhancement as well as increasing the oxygen content
as required by future statutory regulations.
The process licensor for the unit is M/s. CATALYTIC DISTILLATIONS
HOUSTON, TEXAS. The MTBE unit consists of seven major sections: -

C3/C4 Fractionation
Feed Water Wash
Primary Reactors
CD Reaction Column
Methanol Extraction Column
Methanol Recovery Column
Lights Column

Process chemistry:
The reaction of Isobutene and Methanol over a strong acidic catalyst
produces Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE).
The reaction is reversible and exothermic; therefore, a lower reaction
temperature favours MTBE production. The heat of reaction at 25C is
approximately 9,450 kcal/kmol. The concentration of Isobutene, the ratio of
Methanol to Isobutene, and the residence time are parameters, which control
the overall conversion of Isobutene. Increasing either of the first two variables
increases conversion of Isobutene to MTBE. As the reaction reaches
equilibrium increasing the reaction time has no effect on conversion.

Methanol + 1-Butene
Ether (MSBE)

Methyl

Secondary

Butyl

Isobutene + Isobutene

Diisobutene (DIB)

Isobutene + Water

Tertiary Butyl Alcohol (TBA)

Methanol + Methanol
Water

Dimethyl Ether (DME) +

High reaction temperatures favor production of DIB and DME. Increased

water content contributes to higher TBA production. Lower concentrations of
Isobutene, without adjusting the Methanol rate, increases the quantity of
DME and TBA produced. azeotropic limit with C4 Hydrocarbon increases the
Methanol concentration in the MTBE product.

PROCESS DESCRIPTION:
The unit functions to produce MTBE for blending into gasoline for octane
enhancement as well as increasing the oxygen content as may be required by
future statutory regulations.
MTBE formation occurs by the selective reaction between Isobutene and
Methanol. Non-reactive C4 s return to battery limits after Methanol recovery
and lights removal.

C3/C4 FRACTIONATION:
The C3/C4 Feed Surge Drum, 1100-V-1 receives the hydrocarbon feed from
Outside Battery Limit (OSBL) on flow control. The C3/C4 hydrocarbons is fed to
tray No. 33 in the C3/C4 Splitter, 1100-C-1 by C3/C4 Feed Pumps 1100-P-1A/B
through C3/C4 Splitter Feed Bottom Exchanger 1100-E-4.
The C3 s and lighter components in the feed vary from about 17 weight
percent to about 38 wt %. Tray No.33 is the optimal feed tray location. The
Splitter is designed to achieve 1 wt % of total C3 s in the bottom product and 1
wt % percent of C4 s and heavier in the C3 product.
The C3/C4 Splitter Feed / Bottom Exchanger, 1100-E-4 preheats the feed to
64C. A total of 50 valve trays is used to achieve the required fractionation.
Column overhead vapour is condensed against cooling water in C3 / C4 Splitter
condenser, 1100-E-2. The C3 product is further subcooled to 40C in C3 Product
Cooler 1100-E-3 and sent to OSBL for storage. The Splitter Reboiler (1100-E-1)
is provided by low pressure steam. The C4 product is cooled to 40C in the C3 /
C4 Splitter Feed/ Bottoms Exchanger (1100-E-5) before being charged to the
Water Wash column (1100-C-2).

FEED WATER WASH:

The bottom product from 1100-C-1 is fed below, the bottom packed bed
in the Water Wash Column (1100-C-2) where it is washed with a counter
current stream of demineralized water to remove catalyst poisons such as
acetonitrile, metal ions, and other basic nitrogen compounds. The washed C4

stream containing about 1 ppmw acetonitrile is fed to the C4 Feed Coalescer

Drum (1100-V-18). The C4 Coalescer Drum has a coalescer pad which provides
additional protection against water carryover. The washed C4 is filtered
through C4 Feed Filters (1100-G-1A/B) before being mixed with the Methanol
feed stream.
The Water Wash Column consists of two packed beds. Each bed is 7.8m
high and is packed with a random packing of 2 stainless steel pall rings. The
water feed rate is at least 20 wt% of the design feed rate of the hydrocarbon.
Wash water from OSBL is fed to the Wash Water Break Drum (1100-V-3).
The wash water is Demineralized Water which has a pH of about 7.5 to 9. The
DM water from Wash Break Drum (1100-V-3) is pumped by DM Water Booster
Pumps (1100- P-3 A/B) to the Wash Water Column (1100-C-2) on flow control.
Temperatures higher than 40C adversely impact the efficiency of acetonitrile
removal and increase hydrocarbon losses in the effluent water. The effluent
water is degassed in the Water Degasser Drum (1100-V-4) then discharged to
the Oily Water Sewer (OWS). This waste water typically contains 200-250
ppmw acetonitrile and 0.06 wt% hydrocarbon.

UDEX PLANT
UDEX process is a very versatile solvent extraction process which employs the
solvent Tetra ethylene glycol for production of Aromatics. The UDEX process
was originated by DOW Chemicals Co. (USA) and developed by Universal Oil
Products (USA). So the unit was named as UDEX Universal dow chemical
extraction process.
It recovers Benzene, toluene and xylene from naphtha (reformate)
hydrocarbon mixtures using a glycol water solvent. Normally, the reformate
in charged to the UDEX plant for separation of aromatics i.e. benzene, toluene,
xylene.
Capacity of UDEX plant is 150000 MTPA with benzene solidification point
of 5.30C min. (which is a measure of purity of benzene).

PRINCIPLE
Solvent Extraction
Recovery of pure aromatics from the mixture with non-aromatics is
normally complicated due to occurrence of minimum boiling azeotropes.
Benzene, for instance will form azeotropes with non-aromatics boiling within
about 18oC to itself and toluene with those boiling with 9oC. This behaviour
prevents production of pure aromatics by simple fractionation. Therefore,
separation of aromatics (benzene, toluene, xylene) from that of aromatics is
achieved by utilizing their basic property of selective solubility in solvents like
tetra ethylene glycol. Through this process of extraction of hydrocarbon
mixtures it is possible to produce an aromatic rich extract containing benzene,
toluene, and xylene having less than 0.2% non-aromatics. Further separation of
aromatic mixture into pure compounds is however effected through
fractionation.

UDEX PROCESS:
In the UDEX process either a diethylene glycol or triethylene glycol or tetraethylene glycol is used as a solvent alongwith a small percentage of water to
increase its selectivity. The feedstock can be wide boiling range so as to ensure
inclusion of all desired aromatics. The extractive power of the UDEX solvent for
various types of hydrocarbon roughly parallels their octane rating. Thus the
most readily extractable compounds are aromatics followed in order by
naphthenes, low boiling paraffins and high boiling paraffins. In addition of
water to glycol improves the ability to the solvent to push out the raffinate and
still hold a maximum aromatic extract.
The feed to catalytic reformer unit for production of aromatics is through
solvent extraction in UDEX plant, will largely depend upon the desired type of
the aromatics viz. Benzene or toluene or xylene etc. The benzene precursors
are mostly concentrated in the boiling range from 85-110oC and the xylene
precursors are encountered in the boiling range of 110-140oC.
OXYGEN CONTAMINATION:
The contact of oxygen with glycol, particularly hot glycol leads to rapid
degradation. Thus, contact of air with glycol or with any material in the unit
which subsequently comes in contact with the glycol must be avoided to
minimize oxygen pick up in this fashion, facilities are provided so that the
various hydrocarbons and glycol vessels remain blanketed with oxygen free
gas. The gas used for the blanketing should be sulphur free and contain a
minimum quantity of heavy compounds to minimize the possibility of
contamination of the aromatic products. Nitrogen/hydrogen is used normally
for blanketing.
The solvent recovery system particularly the regenerator is a potential
source of oxygen leakage into the system, since the regenerator operates at
vacuum and any leakage in the system will introduce air into the solvent.

ATMOSPHERIC DISTILLATION UNIT (AU-III)

INTRODUCTION OF THE UNIT

Atmospheric Distillation Unit-III was originally designed by Russians to
process 1.0 MMTPA of 50:50 mix of Ankleshwar and North Gujarat Crudes. It
was commissioned on 28.09.1967. The Unit has been revamped to process
North Gujarat as well as Imported (Low Sulphur) / Bombay High crudes.
The Unit was debottlenecked in four stages:
In first stage, the processing capacity was raised to 1.4 MMTPA in year
1974 - 1975.
In second stage, the processing capacity was raised to 1.6 MMTPA.
In the third phase, the heaters were replaced and unit was revamped to
increase the processing capacity to 2.0 MMTPA in 1987.
In the fourth stage, the Unit was revamped in MayJune 2000, to augment
its processing capacity to 3.0 MMTPA.
In June-July06 Planned shutdown, K-2 and E-2 vessel hook-up job to LP
flare header executed and commissioned.
HSD Coalescer commissioned in HSD rundown line in October 2005.
Atmospheric Unit-3 consists of two Electrostatic Desalters, Pre-topping
Column K-1, Main Fractionating Column K-2, Hy Naphtha-I Kero-I
Stripper K-6A/B, Hy Naphtha-IISRGO Stripper K-3A/B, Kero-II Stripper
K-3C, Naphtha Stabilizer K-4 and three Furnaces F-1/ F-2/F-3.

FUNCTION OF PLANT
After the last revamp in May-June, 2000, the plant can process 3.0
MMTPA North Gujarat and Imported (Low Sulphur) / Bombay High crude in a
recommended proportion of 55%NG and 45% Imported (Low Sulphur) /
Bombay High. The Unit can also process 100%NG crude. At times of
requirement, the Unit can also process slop at a slow rate together with the ingoing crude. LPG, Naphtha, SKO, HSD (SRGO) and RCO/LSHS are normal
products obtained from this Unit. On demand from UDEX, Hot Oil is produced
here.
ONSTREAM FACTOR
No of Onstream hours in a year considered for design is 8200 hrs (344
days)

DESIGN FEED RATE

Case I: NG55% + Imp45%
Case II: NG55% + BH45%
Case III: NG100%

PROCESS FLOW DESCRIPTION

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCESS

Crude from OM&S is received through booster pumps located at GR/GRE
Crude Control. Crude is charged at a temperature of 350C by feed pumps H-2,
H-2A, 2B, 2C for processing. These are actually crude booster pumps, which
take suction from discharge of offsite pumps at GR/GRE Crude Control. It is
pumped and preheated by successive heat exchange with Hy Naphtha-I, Hy
Naphtha-II, Kero-I, Kero-II, SRGO (HSD), and RCO and received in desalters.
Salts, water and BS&W are removed from crude by applying high voltage
across the electrode grids in the desalters. Crude is further heated by
successive heat exchange with RCO, SRGO and then it enters the pre-topping
column K-1.
K-1 top gasoline vapours are condensed in two sets of condensers (T-7A/B)
and received in reflux drum E-1. A part of this liquid is sent as reflux back to
column and the remaining quantity is sent to stabilizer column K-4 after
passing through heat exchangers where LPG is removed & naphtha is sent to
R/D. K-1 bottom residue is further preheated in RCO and SRGO exchangers and
then heated up in three furnaces running in parallel. Hot residue crude from
the furnaces is combined and is sent to flash zone of the main fractionating
column K-2.
Column K-1 has two side cut products. Heavy Naphtha-I is the first side cut
product, which goes to K-6A for stripping, and Kerosene-I is the second side cut
which is sent to stripper K-6B. Later Hy Naphtha-I combines with Hy Naphtha-II
and SRGO of K-2 and goes to HSD rundown. Kerosene-I combines with
Kerosene-II of K-2 and exchanges heat with crude and then it is cooled in
cooler and sent as Kero R/D.
In flash zone of K-2 all products except RCO go in vapour form in upper
section whereas RCO drops in stripping section of K-2. Vapours rise through
the upper section of the column and are fractionated and withdrawn as a side
product. Gasoline comes out as vapours from K-2 top whereas Hy Naphtha-II,
Kerosene and SRGO are withdrawn as side cuts from column K-2.

From the top of K-2, Gasoline vapours enter into four sets of condensers (T8A/B/C/D) and after condensing are collected in reflux drum E-2. A part of E-2
gasoline is put back into the column as a reflux and balance is sent to Naphtha2 rundown.
Hy Naphtha-II is drawn as first side cut from column K-2. This Hy Naphtha
enters the top section of K-3 stripper. After stripping, Hy Naphtha-II together
with Hy Naphtha-I of K-6A and SRGO exchanges heat with crude and circulating
water and is sent to HSD rundown.
Kerosene-II is withdrawn as 2nd draw-off from column K-2. After
withdrawing it is fed to K-3C for steam stripping. Product pumps H-10/10A
deliver kero-II from K-3C to crude exchangers where it exchanges heat with
crude. T-14A cooler is used to cool down the final rundown product (Kero-I
and Kero-II). A part of Kero-II is taken from the same draw-off line and sent to
crude exchanger where it exchanges heat with crude. From crude exchanger it
returns to column K-2 as CR-II.
SRGO is withdrawn as 3rd side cut from column K-2. SRGO enters the
bottom section of K-3 stripper. SRGO from stripper is pumped to storage after
exchanging heat with crude, K-4 feed and circulating water (in cooler E-315).
After K-4 feed preheat exchanger E-311, Hy Naphtha-I and Hy Naphtha-II
together combine with SRGO. These three streams in combination pass
through another crude exchanger E-102A/B as HSD. Cooler E-315 is used to
cool down this HSD to rundown temperature.
A part of SRGO upstream of stripper is pumped through K-4 bottom
reboiler; K-1 residue exchanger, crude exchanger and DM water heat
exchanger and then returns to main column K-2 as circulating reflux (CR-III).
There is interconnection between discharge lines of P-307A/B and H-4/5A to
facilitate SRGO C/R through stripper K-3B instead of upstream of SRGO
withdrawal.
RCO from K-2 bottom is routed to FPU-I, II and OM&S after
exchanging heat with crude in different crude heat exchangers and with
circulating water in coolers.

FLUIDIZED CATALYTIC CRACKING (FCC) UNIT

Development of Process:
Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) is an effective refinery process for conversion
of heavy gas oils into gasoline blend components. Cracking is achieved at high
temperatures in contact with powdered catalyst without the use of hydrogen.
After separation of the catalyst, the hydrocarbons are separated into the
desired products by fractionation. The main products of the FCC process are
gasoline, distillate fuel oil, and olefinic C3/C4 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
By-product coke, which is deposited on the catalyst during the reaction, is
burned off in the regenerator. The heat liberated during the combustion of
coke supplies the heat required to vaporize the feedstock and heat of reaction.
FCC gasoline historically has been the principal blend component for gasoline
formulations. Distillate cut is a diesel boiling range material used as a diesel
blend component after hydrotreating. Heavier cuts such as light cycle oil,
heavy cycle oil, and clarified oils are used as fuel oil blend components and are
excellent cutter stocks for vacuum resids. The olefinic LPG produced in the FCC
process can be used in downstream alkylation and polymerization processes to
yield more gasoline.
The feed to FCC unit (FCCU) is heavy diesel and vacuum gas oil from the
crude distillation unit. Feed contaminants such as sulfur, nitrogen, and trace
metals, such as nickel and vanadium, affect the yield and qualities of the
product and also the catalyst consumption of the unit. Higher sulfur in the feed
is reflected in the products. While all cracked products contain some sulfur,
sulfur distribution varies widely in the cracked product and cannot be
controlled by operating parameters or catalyst design. Nitrogen compounds
temporarily deactivate the catalyst, resulting in lower conversion levels. This
effect is reversible and can be controlled by operating at the highest possible
reactor temperature.
However, the nickel and vanadium cause the most problems. Their effects
on the cracking catalyst are quite different. Nickel increases the coke and gas
yield, while vanadium is deactivator of zeolite catalyst, causing higher makeup
catalyst addition rates.

Fig. Shows typical UOP FCC.

Catalyst properties:
Catalyst used in earliest FCCU was a finely ground natural clay. Then
advancement was done, natural clay was chemically treated to improve its
performance. Later completely synthetic catalysts were developed which were
not only superior catalytically but had particles which being almost perfect
spheres, which improved the mechanical performance of the units.
Chemical composition1. Natural catalyst
2. Semi-synthetic catalyst
3. Synthetic catalyst
(i)
High alumina catalyst
(ii)
Crystalline catalyst
The main properties of synthetic catalyst are they have high initial activity
and have good stability. Crystalline catalysts have got higher cost but
produce more gasoline and less butanes and lighter fractions.

Products of FCC- Fuel gas

- LPG
- Gasoline of high octane rating
- HSD
- LDO component
- Fuel oil