There are several petroleum refining processes that are helpful in converting crude oil into useful products. Corrosion in crude oil distilling and thermal conversion units including thermal cracking, catalytic cracking, and coking units results from sulfur compounds, carboxylic acids, and chloride salts in the crude oil feed. All these products have a very low content of sulfur and other contaminants. Fuel oil is the least valuable oil product, and it.
It is widely used to convert the highboiling, highmolecular weight hydrocarbon fractions of petroleum crude oils into more valuable gasoline, olefinic gases, and. At the same time, most of the sulfur compounds in the oil are broken down. Essentially, when you see all of the tall shinny columns in a refinery, all they are used for separating the constituents of petroleum into useful products b. Crack spread refers to the overall pricing difference between a barrel of crude oil and the petroleum products refined from it. Modeling of thermal cracking process in a crude oil refinery. Chemical companies typically process refined oil products such as naphtha. The partners are hardly alone in diverting their refinery product slates away. It is an industryspecific type of gross processing margin. Therefore an olddeep crude oil has low viscosity, low density, and very low sulfur content. It takes heavy oil and cracks it into gasoline and kerosene jet fuel. Reducing the capital investment cost for cracking oil. A standard 42gallon crude oil barrel contains approximately 45 gallons of salable refined crude oil products per barrel. This crude oil stream undergoes an elaborate refining process. Crude oil is made from hydrocarbons, which are organic compounds comprised of hydrogen and carbon atoms linked into chains.
Catalytic uses a catalyst to speed up the cracking reaction. In petrochemistry, petroleum geology and organic chemistry, cracking is the process whereby. And catalytic cracking also produces feed stocks for the alkylation unit to produce additional high octane gasoline. Sabic is another company that has looked into direct crude toolefins. Cracking and alkenes crude oil, hydrocarbons and alkanes. Refining breaks crude oil down into its various components, which are then selectively reconfigured into new products.
Cracking alkanes the lighter fractions for example, petrol are in large demand. Note that the distillation process fractionation tower separates crude oil into a number of distillate fractions that are sent as feedstocks to different processes, some of which are interconnected. The major products from hydrocracking are jet fuel and diesel, but low sulphur naphtha fractions and lpg are also produced. The direct use of crude oil in steam cracking for the production of light olefin was not successful due to coke formation and fouling of crackers. Petroleum products are materials derived from crude oil as it is processed in oil refineries. Cracking is the breakdown of a large alkane into smaller, more useful alkenes. A typical light sweet crude will produce about 60% light products lpg, gasoline, jet fuel, diesel and 40% heavy fuel oil. The uses and benefits of crude oil are numerous and the world would be a different place without it. The uses of a fraction is related to its physical properties e.
In january 2014, exxonmobil officially opened in singapore a novel steam cracker that produces olefins directly from crude oil. Crude oiltochemicals projects presage a new era in. The answer to the question of crude oils multiple uses is fractional distillation and cracking. Still, steam cracking processes with careful oil vaporization have been designed for this purpose. The following animation shows a refinery flow chart indicating some of the major refinery processes and refinery products.
In the refining process, crude oil is refined to produce different petroleum products. Pdf modeling of thermal cracking process in a crude oil. Crude oil as dug from the ground is completely useless. Without any cracking units, a refinery would produce those percentages. Those products must then be transported to enduse consumers or retailers like gasoline stations or the company that delivers heating oil to your house, if you have an oil furnace. The rate of cracking and the end products are strongly dependent on the temperature and presence of catalysts. Refining breaks crude oil down into its various components, which are then selectively reconfigured into. Distillation process separates the crude oil into boiling point fractions. Crude oil is a fossil fuel, and it exists in liquid form in underground pools or reservoirs, in tiny spaces within sedimentary rocks, and near the surface in tar or oil sands. Products from crude oil scool, the revision website. Cracking oil fractions reaction conditions products. Construction is progressing well, and hengli obtained a crude oil import quota from the chinese government. Petroleum refineries convert crude oil and other liquids into many petroleum products that people use every day. Fluid catalytic cracking fcc is one of the most important conversion processes used in petroleum refineries.
It is widely used to convert the highboiling, highmolecular weight hydrocarbon fractions of petroleum crude oils into more valuable gasoline, olefinic gases, and other products. The hydrocarbons are often accompanied by water, h 2 s, particulate matter such as sand etc. However, recently there have been attempts made to use light crude oil in steam cracking. Yield structure of crude oils with increasing density of crude yields of different crude oil distillation cuts are plotted as function of whole crude specific gravity. Exxonmobil has practiced direct crude cracking technology in. Fractional distillation and cracking are essential components in turning crude oil into useful products. Chemical processing how oil refining works howstuffworks. As part of their work on crude oil, gcse chemistry students will look at thermal cracking. The first part of refining crude oil is to heat it until it boils. The heavy liquids are changed into simple and more useful liquids and gases. Ready for your soy, halfcaff, no whip, caramel macchiato yet.
Yield structure of crude oils with increasing density of crude. Cracking is conducted at high temperatures, by two processes. Fractional distillation of crude oil refining uses of. Why do long hydrocarbons have higher boiling points.
Petroleum products are fuels made from crude oil and other hydrocarbons contained in natural gas. Unlike petrochemicals, which are a collection of welldefined usually pure chemical compounds, petroleum products are complex mixtures. Being from texas i can answer in a simplified form without all of the chemistry involved. An overview of refinery products and processes fsc 432. Oil is used to power our vehicles, to create medicines that keep us healthy, and to make the plastics, cosmetics, and other personal products that enhance our daily lives. Petroleum refineries change crude oil into petroleum products for use as fuels for transportation, heating, paving roads, and generating electricity and as feedstocks for making chemicals. Cracking of petroleum yields light oils corresponding to gasoline, middlerange oils used in diesel fuel, residual heavy oils, a solid carbonaceous product. This may be carried out with catalyst and equipment similar to that of catalytic cracking, but at a temperature range between that of standard catalytic cracking and steam cracking.
The saudi arabian oil company aramco has discussed plans to build a crudetoolefins complex. Aug 12, 20 learn the basics about the cracking of hydrocarbons and why it is done. The uses of the fuel gas, lpg, refinery gas, gasoline, petrol, naphtha, paraffin, kerosene, diesel oil, gas oil, fuel oil, lubricating oils, wax and bitumen fractions are tabulated. Modern separation involves piping crude oil through hot furnaces. Petroleum refining is the processing of crude oil in order to obtain desired products. Making crude oil usefulfractional distillation and cracking. The heavier fractions are not so useful but unfortunately chemists have to be able to convert these heavier fractions into petrol and other useful products, due to supply and demand, by a method known as cracking. The conversion is estimated at 42% of all chemicals per barrel of oil.
Cracking separates large hydrocarbon molecules in raw crude oil to create byproducts such as heating oil, gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas, diesel fuel, jet fuel and other petroleum distillates. While direct steam cracking of crude oil has been attempted, coils coking and limited product flexibility are major issues. More than a dozen other petroleum products are also produced in. Main difference thermal cracking vs catalytic cracking. Certain sulfur compounds and hydrogen sulfide present in the crude oil or generated by thermal decomposition corrode carbon. Petroleum refineries change crude oil into petroleum products for use as fuels for transportation, heating, paving roads, and generating electricity and as feedstocks for making chemicals refining breaks crude oil down into its various components, which are then selectively reconfigured into new products.
Petroleum refineries are complex and expensive industrial facilities. Feb 10, 2020 a barrel of crude oil of itself is relatively worthless even though it will burn with a low smokey yellow flame. Fractions based on european and north american markets, and the typical differences in crude oil fractionation in the two markets are also shown. Petroleum products can also be made from coal, natural gas, and biomass. Crude oil extracted from geological sources is a mixture of a wide range of hydrocarbons starting from lightest methane to heavy long chain hydrocarbons found in tar. Prices of crude oil are measured in barrels, while production totals across all producing countries are measured in million barrels per day mmbd. The direct cracking of crude oil is an interesting option for producing cheaply large amounts of petrochemicals. Sep 27, 2017 main difference thermal cracking vs catalytic cracking. The saudi arabian oil company aramco has discussed plans to build a crude toolefins complex.
A barrel of crude oil of itself is relatively worthless even though it will burn with a low smokey yellow flame. After various hydrocarbons are cracked into smaller hydrocarbons, the products go through. Used in the oil and gas industry to refer to a variety of methods whereby a larger product is broken down into smaller by products. Once crude oil is extracted from the ground, it must be transported and refined into petroleum products that have any value. And yet this black gold gives us petrol, lpg, paraffin, bitumen, kerosene, plastic and a whole host of other compounds vital to modern western. Petrol and other fuels are produced from it using fractional distillation.
Gcse crude oil revise the thermal cracking reaction. Cracking and alkenes crude oil, hydrocarbons and alkanes aqa. If a crude oil is buried deeply and for a long time, extensive breaking apart of the carbon chains can occur. This technology has evolved over time, and developments are being made to process different feedstock, i. Cracking is a process to convert large hydrocarbon molecules in crude oil into smaller molecules to produce products such as gasoline and. As a raw material, crude oils mixture of hydrocarbons, of greatly varying molecular weights, has great commercial value. Cracking is just one of many chemical changes in an oil refinery. One of the most important factors affecting the crack spread is the relative proportion of various petroleum products produced by a refinery. Petroleum sector naics 324 regulatory information by. The oil refining process is the central activity of downstream oil and gas companies. Heavy crudes are also more difficult to refine, requiring intensive processing using catalytic cracking and coking units. It important to understand the uses and the benefits of crude oil and its products. Before watching this video you should watch our video explaining how crude oil is separated into its different length hydrocarbon fractions. Learn the basics about the cracking of hydrocarbons and why it is done.
The refining of crude oil into the hundreds of industrial and consumer products is hardly a cottage industry. Crude oil makes an ideal candidate, being cheaply available everywhere and compatible with a petrochemical business. Jan 24, 2018 a typical light sweet crude will produce about 60% light products lpg, gasoline, jet fuel, diesel and 40% heavy fuel oil. Which of the products from oil refining are used in the largest quantities. What are the conditions for cracking of crude oil answers. Jan 10, 2018 crack spread refers to the overall pricing difference between a barrel of crude oil and the petroleum products refined from it. For example, crude oil can be processed cracked to. Most refineries focus on producing transportation fuels.
The majority of petroleum is converted to petroleum products, which includes several classes of fuels. Reorganisation of these leads to the various products of the reaction. Cracking is used to convert long alkanes into shorter, more useful hydrocarbons. This combination of properties makes the olddeep crudes the most. Improved product yield, product quality, product stability andor lower energy use have not simultaneously been demonstrated in the literature. Because there is more demand for some distilled products like gasoline, refiners have an incentive to convert heavy. Difference between thermal cracking and catalytic cracking. Refineries produce many products from crude oil, including gasoline, kerosene, diesel, heating oil, aviation fuel, bitumen and others. Making crude oil useful fractional distillation and cracking. Crude oil can be separated into different fractions using fractional distillation. Catalytic cracking is widely used in the petroleum refining industry to convert heavy oils into more valuable gasoline and lighter products. The vacuum residues were derived from three kuwaiti crude oils, both conventional and heavy. Refined petroleum products are obtained from crude oil through a variety of refining processes including distillation, cracking, catalytic reforming, isomerization. Crude oil is often a dark, sticky liquid that cannot be used without changing it.
Interviewexxon starts worlds 1st crudecracking petrochemical unit. Crude oil has been used in many of the advancements that have occurred over the past century and a half and continues to bring benefits to the world. However, none of these products would exist without the. Intertek s crude oil assay laboratories provide clients with professional, independent, and impartial crude oil quality data needed to make beneficial commercial trading and refining feedstock decisions. It takes heavy oil and cracks it into gasoline and. How does it work why is crude oil both important and useless. Simply put, hydrocarbon cracking is the process of breaking a longchain of hydrocarbons into short ones. Modern living is built on crude oil this hub explains how crude oil is changed into the things we use everyday, from petrol to plastic. It breaks down some of the heavy liquids from the distillation column. Jan 10, 2020 a standard 42gallon crude oil barrel contains approximately 45 gallons of salable refined crude oil products per barrel. It is very common in europe and asia because those regions have high demand for diesel and kerosene. Oct 17, 20 learn the basics about the uses of crude oil fractions. Catalytic cracking an overview sciencedirect topics.
The cracking process converts heavy straight run liquids into gasoline. For example, hexane can be cracked to form butane and. Thus the various fractions obtained from the distillation of crude oil and the. Cracking, in petroleum refining, the process by which heavy hydrocarbon molecules are broken up into lighter molecules by means of heat and usually pressure and sometimes catalysts. History, process and products nearly every aspect of our modern lifestyle is impacted by oil. A brief description of the difference between thermal and catalytic cracking of alkanes. Cracking and related refinery processes the essential chemical. The cracking products, such as ethene, propene, buta1,3diene and c4 alkenes. This may be carried out with catalyst and equipment similar to that of catalytic cracking, but at a temperature range between that of. Others such as branched and cyclic alkanes are added to the gasoline fraction obtained from the distillation of crude oil to enhance the octane rating.
The steam cracking technology is used for the production of ethylene and a small portion of propylene. Chemical companies typically process refined oil products such as naphtha created by separating crude oil into lighter. Cracking is the most important process for the commercial production of gasoline and diesel fuel. The cracking products, such as ethene, propene, buta1,3diene and c 4 alkenes, are used to make many important chemicals. Jan 08, 2014 interviewexxon starts worlds 1st crude cracking petrochemical unit. Those products must then be transported to enduse consumers or retailers like gasoline stations or the company that delivers heating oil to. Petroleum sector naics 324 the petroleum sector covers the petroleum refining industry which includes the production of petroleum products through distillation and fraction of crude oil, redistillation of unfinished derivations, cracking or other processes. Catalysts include zeolite, aluminum hydrosilicate, bauxite and silicaalumina.
Cracking allows large hydrocarbon molecules to be broken down into. The process requires preconditioning of crude oil prior to it being fed into the steam cracker. Learn the basics about the uses of crude oil fractions. The first oil shipment from saudi arabia is expected in july 2018, with a trial run planned for october 2018, and production of px beginning in the second half of 2019. As you can see from the illustration below, different types of crude oil yield a different mix of products. Used in the oil and gas industry to refer to a variety of methods whereby a larger product is broken down into smaller byproducts. Cracking is a thermal decomposition process by which large alkane hydrocarbon molecules are broken down by passing them over a heated catalyst at high pressure. This is a chemical reaction in which heat breaks down long chain molecules into smaller ones.
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