Found a good "Oil Refining / Petroleum Distillation" link? Let Us Know!
Crude Oil Refinery Output and Products If you don't think knowing what
to do with a load of crude is important to you, take a look at this list of
products derived from crude.
Fuels Derived From Crude Oil
- "How Stuff Works" explains of the differences between gasoline, kerosene
and diesel fuel.
Stability of Refined Products and Crude Oil Stored in Large Cavities in Salt
Deposits... Large cavities in salt deposits have been used in a number of
countries for stocking petroleum in
strategic reserves and for operational
storage. Stocks have included hydrocarbon gases, motor gasoline, home heating
oil, jet fuel, and crude oil. Crude oil is not subject to deleterious changes in
quality, although it does tend to deposit sludge during storage. No changes in
quality of light hydrocarbons such as propane and butane have been reported.
During storage in solution-mined cavities, gasoline and middle distillates can
become contaminated with brine causing them to fail certain specification tests.
Oxygen brought in with the water used to leach cavities can promote autoxidation
resulting in formation of soluble or insoluble gum in some products. The walls
of salt cavities are largely inert with respect to stored petroleum, and no
reactions between them have been reported. Biodeterioration of petroleum is
generally inhibited by the high salinity of the brine, but episodic bacterial
activity could occur following injections of relatively fresh surface water
resulting in catabolism of hydrocarbons, or production of hydrogen sulfide or
methane. With careful planning and exercise of a few precautions, most quality
problems encountered to date can be avoided. Petroleum stored in cavities in
salt should not need to be rolled over as frequently to maintain its quality as
it would if stored in aboveground tanks.
The Juice
- Article providing chemical insights on gasoline.
Refining Process Crude oil is not a single compound like water. It is a
mixture of hydrocarbon molecules, some large and some small. The temperature of
water heated in a laboratory beaker rises until it reaches 212°F, then the water
starts to boil. It keeps boiling at 212°F until all of the water boils away. It
does this because every molecule is the same – H2O.
Petrochemistry : How does it happen ?
The job of the refinery is to produce physical and chemical changes in crude
oil and natural gas, through an arrangement of extremely specialized
manufacturing processes. One of these processes is distillation, i.e. the
separation of heavy crude oil into lighter groups (called fractions) of
hydrocarbons. Two of these fractions are familiar to consumers. One, fuel oil,
is used for heating of for diesel fuel in automotive applications. Another one
is naphtha, used in gasoline and also as the primary source from which
petrochemicals are derived.
Oil Refineries A refinery is a factory. A refinery takes a raw material
(crude oil) and transforms it into petrol and hundreds of other useful products.
A REFINERY breaks crude oil down into its various components, which then are
selectively changed into new products. This process takes place inside a maze of
pipes and vessels. The refinery is operated from a highly automated control
room.
PETROLEUM REFINING PROCESSES
The petroleum industry began with the successful drilling of the first
commercial oil well in 1859, and the opening of the first refinery two years
later to process the crude into kerosene. The evolution of petroleum refining
from simple distillation to today's sophisticated processes has created a need
for health and safety management procedures and safe work practices. To those
unfamiliar with the industry, petroleum refineries may appear to be complex and
confusing places. Refining is the processing of one complex mixture of
hydrocarbons into a number of other complex mixtures of hydrocarbons. The safe
and orderly processing of crude oil into flammable gases and liquids at high
temperatures and pressures using vessels, equipment, and piping subjected to
stress and corrosion requires considerable knowledge, control, and expertise.
Distillation Column Operations
This manual is divided into seven sections, it is assumed that the reader
has sufficient technical knowledge to understand the principles of heat
transfer, separation operations, and thermodynamics. After information is
presented on how to conduct an energy audit of the distillation process, energy
saving ideas that require minimal capital investments are given. Similarly,
ideas for long term capital investments are discussed. Finally, economics and
the concept of investment equivalence to save a unit of energy are detailed.
THE CONDENSATION OF GASOLINE FROM NATURAL GAS BY GEORGE A.BURRELL, FRANK
M. SEIBERT AND G. G. OBERFELL. This report treats of a method of preventing some
of the waste of the natural gas incidental to oil mining. This method, the
condensation of gasoline from natural gas, offers to the oil operator and others
a profitable means of utilizing some of the oil-well gas now being wasted. The
most desired constituent of crude oil is obtained, the production of oil is not
hindered, and the gas, after the extraction of gasoline, can be returned to the
leased area to drive pumps or into pipe lines for uses to which natural gas is
ordinarily put, usually with its fuel value lessened only in slight degree.
"The Gasoline FAQ"
Everything you ever wanted to know about gasoline, and then some. Comes in
four parts, at the moment. Pick your poison.
Fractional Distillation of Crude Oil: BOILING POINTS AND STRUCTURES OF
HYDROCARBONS. Another light-weight, but informative description of the process.
Longer-Term Storage of Gasoline
Most gasoline is used within a week or two of purchase. But there are
occasions when gasoline is kept longer. When storage is necessary, this bulletin
describes how to do it properly and safely.
Please Read The Website Disclaimer!
Copyright 1986-2012, The Survival & Self-Reliance Studies Institute (SSRsi), All
Rights Reserved
Site conceptualized, designed, created & maintained by MEG Raven
Snail Mail: SSRsi, PO Box 2572 Dillon, CO. 80435-2572