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PETROLEUM PROCESSING

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Atmospheric and Vacuum Distillation Units Print

Distillation of crude oil is carried out in two units, rst in an Atmospheric Distillation Unit (also known as Crude Distillation Unit, CDU), with further
processing of the residue from atmospheric distillation in the Vacuum Distillation Unit (VDU), as illustrated in Figure 4.2. For sake of simplicity,
Figure 4.2 does not include the network of heat exchangers and pump around loops to pre-heat the desalted crude before it is fed the red
furnace. In the furnace, the crude is heated to the desired temperatures (700-750 F) such that all the distillate fraction and roughly 10-20% of the
bottom product are evaporated, depending on the volatility of crude oil. The two-phase mixture is then introduced into the CDU ash zone for
separation of vapor and liquid streams where vapor fraction rises towardthe top of the column and the liquid fraction is subjected to stripping
with steam to recover the low-boiling distillate components dissolved in heavier liquid before sending the bottom product (i.e., atmospheric
distillation residue) to the vacuum distillation unit.

Figure 4.1. Desalting by using gravity settling to separate brine from crude oil.

Source: S. Eser and M. R. Riazi, Crude Oil Re ning Processes In Petroleum Re ning and Natural Gas Processing, Editors: M. R. Riazi, S. Eser, J. L. Pea, ASTM
International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2013, p. 105.

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Figure 4.2. An overall ow for fractional distillation of crude oil.

Source: Dr. Semih Eser

A temperature gradient is established in the column by removing heat from the overhead vapor. The column condenses the naphtha fraction and
sends a portion of the liquid naphtha, as re ux, to the column to achieve a good separation of the distillate products drawn from the side of the
distillation column, such as kerosene, LGO, and HGO, as seen in the diagram. Steam strippers on the side of the column also provide re ux to the
main column to help with clean separation of the distillate products. Additional re ux is provided to the main column by pump around loops
associated with heat exchangers (see Figure 4.3, below, and Figure 4.8 in the textbook) for preheating the crude. Counter-current ow of vapor
and liquid streams through the contact stages (e.g., trays) in the main column, enabling good separation of the distillate fractions. The
temperature at the bottom of CDU is limited to 700-750 F to prevent cracking breaking of the chemical bonds between carbon atoms in the
aliphatic hydrocarbons constituting the crude oil. Cracking would cause coking (accumulation of carbonaceous solids) on the metal surfaces in the
column and interferes with fractionation in distillation. Vacuum distillation is necessary to fractionate the heavy distillates because further
increase in temperature would cause thermal cracking of the feed components. In HYSYS Project 1 assignment, you will learn how to introduce
crude assay data to a distillation simulator and calculate the yields of naphtha, kerosene, diesel, atmospheric gas oil, and residue for dierent
crudes.

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Figure 4.3. A schematic diagram of atmospheric distillation unit illustrating the feed heat exchangers, pump around loops, and side steam
strippers (adapted from [3]).

Source: Dr. Semih Eser

As shown in Figure 4.4, below (and in Figure 4.10 in the textbook), the atmospheric residue is reheated in a red furnace to 730-850 F before
introduction into the vacuum distillation unit (VDU). Furnace outlet temperature is selected depending on the thermal reactivity (or coking
propensity of crude oil, as will be discussed further) and the desired level of separation in the column. Steam ejectors, or, more recently, vacuum
pumps, are used to create vacuum for evaporation of the light vacuum gas oil and heavy vacuum gas oil fractions. The temperature and pressure
in VDU also depend on whether steam is introduced, or the separation is carried out without the steam addition in dry towers, varying between
10 to 30 mmHg at the bottom of the tower. Lower pressures and higher temperatures are used in dry towers. To minimize the pressure
dierence between the bottom and top of the column, some special packing materials are used (see, for example, Figure 4.5) instead of trays for
providing contact between liquid and vapor streams to improve fractionation.

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Figure 4.4. Vacuum distillation unit and processing paths for the vacuum distillates.

Source: Dr. Semih Eser

Figure 4.5. Examples of packing materials to achieve low-pressure drop in vacuum distillation columns [4].

Source: [4]Tower Packing. Retrieved on April 16, 2014

The heavy distillates (light vacuum gas oil and heavy vacuum gas oil) separated in VDU are further processed in downstream separation and
conversion units to produce lubricating oil base stocks, or as feedstock for hydrocracking to produce light and middle distillates. The residue from
vacuum distillation (VDR) can be upgraded into marketable products and fuels using processes such as visbreaking, deasphalting, and coking, as
will be discussed in later sections.

[3] Re ning Overview Petroleum, Products and Processes,AIChE, 2000, p. 10-4

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[4] Tower Packing. Retrieved on April 16, 2014.

Selecting the Right Temperature

Lesson 4 Overview up Selecting the Right Temperature

FSC 432: Petroleum Processing

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Lessons
Lesson 1: Introduction to Petroleum Re ning and Crude Oil Composition
Lesson 2: Properties and Classi cation of Crude Oil
Lesson 3: Overall Re nery Flow
Lesson 4: Separation Processes 1
Lesson 4 Overview
Atmospheric and Vacuum Distillation Units
Selecting the Right Temperature
Distillation Methods
Distillation Terminology
Self-Check Questions
Assignments
Summary and Final Tasks
Lesson 5: Separation Processes 2
Lesson 6: Thermal Conversion Processes
Lesson 7: Catalytic Conversion Processes Part 1
Lesson 8: Catalytic Conversion Processes Part 2
Lesson 9: Finishing Processes
Lesson 10: Supporting Processes
Lesson 11: Past and Future of Petroleum Re ning
Lesson 12: Natural Gas Processing

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Author:Dr.SemihEser,ProfessorofEnergyandGeoEnvironmentalEngineering,CollegeofEarthandMineralSciences,PennState.

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