The Role of Process Analyzers in

Refineries to Process Crude Oil into

Useable Fossil Fuel Products
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Sponsored by Guided WaveJun 18 2019

Refineries process crude oil into useable fossil fuel products. The process starts by
taking the raw crude oil from the well and running it through a distillation tower.
As the fluid is heated it passes through various levels or trays inside of the tower.
Different densities of hydrocarbon products are then separated. With the lightest
hydrocarbon chains rising to the top of the column and the heaviest falling to the
bottom.

Now that the mixture of hydrocarbons found in the raw crude oil has been separated,
they can be individually processed into different kinds of fossil fuel product. The
lightest hydrocarbon chains such as methane, propane, and butane can be diverted to the
distillation furnace and feed the fires that heat the distillation process or they can be
processed for sale. The TraceS-1000 manufactured by ATOM Instrument can be used to
inspect the desulfurization process and ensure that only trace amounts (0-1000 ppbv) are
present in the end product.

Any waste fuel from the distillation process is generally incinerated in a Flare Stack.
High Sulfur levels cannot be safely incinerated in the Flare in accordance with US EPA
CFR 60.18 subpart Ja. ATOM's FGA-1000 Total Sulfur Analyzer can be used to
measure %vol total sulfur according to the EPA standards to allow proper diversion of
high sulfur content to an SRU safely to be reused and/or re-purposed for other areas of
the refinery.

Other middleweight products such as kerosene, gasoline, and naphtha can be sent to a
fuel blender where an infinite number of grades or blends can be produced to meet the
requirement of the end customer. In order to achieve the best possible margin various
analyzers can be installed inline to inspect the fuel blending process.

Additionally, regulations such as the American Tier III, European Euro 6 or the Indian
Bharat VI set quantitative limits on the permissible amount of Sulfur Dioxide (SO2),
Nitrogen Oxide (NO) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), commonly referred to as NOx that
are released during combustion. Sulfur and Nitrogen levels are both controlled under
these regulations due to the health and environmental impact. To ensure that the final
product created at the refinery meets these regulatory requirements, spot inspections for
the Total Sulfur and Total Nitrogen can be conducted with ATOM's XT-2000
Laboratory Analyzer.

Refineries interested in being compliant with ASTM D5453 can utilize the real-time
information provided by ATOM Instrument patented Ultraviolet Fluorescence Systems
to determine the Total Sulfur in their fuels.

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Refineries interested in maximizing profits commonly want to determine the Fuel

Octane Numbers (i.e. RON, MON) with online near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopic
analyzers such as Guided Wave’s NIR-O. Spectroscopy is a tool compliant with ASTM
D6122 which enables refineries to blend expensive high octane feedstocks with less
expensive low octane naphtha while maintaining required octane levels and minimizing
costs.

Viscosity is another important physical quantity in the refining of crude oil. During the
fuel blending process, a heavy and high viscosity stream is mixed with a light and low
viscosity stream to achieve the desired end product. The expected blend of petroleum
products with the correct viscosity level can be achieved thanks
to SOFRASER Thermoset-LT, which provides viscosity measurement at constant
reference. The Thermoset- KV is the only online direct kinematic viscosity analyzer that
is easily correlated with ASTM D445.
SOFRASER MIVI process viscometer is an alternative analyzer that measures the
viscosity at the line temperature and can be combined with Temperature Compensated
Viscosity calculation.

When the fuel blender is producing petroleum products that are intended to be used as
lubricants, then the analyzers can be used to monitor the Viscosity Index according
to ASTM D2270.

Unit operations producing or processing high viscosity streams, like Visbreaking,

bottoms of atmospheric distillation and vacuum distillation residues can be monitored
by MIVI sensors or Thermoset analyzers for improved process control.

After the different grades of fuel have been appropriately blended, they can be sent by a
pipeline to the terminal for shipment all around the world. At the down stream
terminal, Fuel Identification by NIR spectroscopy ensures that the correct and in-
specification petroleum products are loaded onto the ships and sent to the customer.

Further to the atmospheric and vacuum distillations, the heavier hydrocarbon chains
present in the crude oil must undergo additional cracking and distillation and then be
broken up into shorter chains through various cracking and breaking processes. During
these processes, analyzers can provide real-time data for plant technicians can make
informed decisions on how to achieve the best yield from these residue products.

This information has been sourced, reviewed and adapted from materials provided by
Guided Wave.