If its sulfur level is less than a threshold value (e.g., 0.

5 wt% (5,000 ppmw)) and sour (high sulfur) if its

Within any given crude oil, sulfur concentration tends to increase progressively with increasing carbon
number. Thus, crude fractions in the fuel oil and asphalt boiling range have higher sulfur content than
those in the jet and diesel boiling range, which in turn have higher sulfur content than those in the
gasoline boiling range. Similarly, the heavier components in, say, the gasoline boiling range have higher
sulfur content than the lighter components in that boiling range.

Their carbon number distribution, and the concentration of hetero-elements in a given crude oil
determine the yields and qualities of the refined products that a refinery can produce from that crude

Hetero elements are elements except for carbon and hydrogen

Range from about 15% to 25% of the average price of light sweet crude.

Topping: Simple Refinery; ADU. Can’t alter the yield of crude oil

Hydro skimming refineries include not only crude distillation and support services but also catalytic
reforming, various hydrotreating units, and product blending. These processes enable (1) upgrading
naphtha to gasoline and (2) controlling the sulfur content of refined products. Catalytic reforming
upgrades straight run naphtha to meet gasoline octane specification and produces by-product hydrogen
for the hydrotreating units. Hydrotreating units remove sulfur from the light products (including
gasoline and diesel fuel) to meet product specifications and/or to allow for processing higher-sulfur
crudes.

Hydro skimming refineries, commonplace in regions with low gasoline demand, have no capability to
alter the natural yield patterns of the crudes they process

Conversion (Cracking)- Apart from hydro skimming equipments, they include cracker; catalytic cracking

Deep Conversion (Coking) :

Coking units “destroy” the heaviest and least valuable crude oil fraction (residual oil) by converting it
into lighter streams that serve as additional feed to other conversion processes (e.g., catalytic cracking)
and to upgrading processes (e.g., catalytic reforming) that produce the more valuable light products.

Note: In the U.S. and in many other countries, including Brazil, China, India, and Mexico, conversion and
deep conversion refineries constitute more than 95% of total crude running capacity, and essentially
100% of crude running capacity in refineries with > 50 K Bbl/day of crude distillation
Hydro cracking

Hydro cracked streams are not only near sulfur-free but also low in aromatics content. Aromatics are
hydrocarbons having ring-shaped molecules (Exhibit 1). Aromatics in the distillate boiling range have
poor engine performance (i.e., low cetane number) and poor emission characteristics in diesel fuel.

Hydro cracking is more effective in converting heavy gas oils and producing low-sulfur products than
either FCC or coking, but hydrocrackers are more expensive to build and operate, in large part because
of their very high hydrogen consumption

Note: Hydrogen is costly so means are adopted not to waste it or burn it( in case of extra)

Hydrocracker receives a feed which has high sulphur content & high aromatic content.

Coking

No catalyst, thermal cracking process. Bottom residue from VDU is feed here. Produce from here is used
as feed in FCC.

Reforming

Produces Aromatic compounds (High Octane number)

Note: Broadly speaking, reducing the C/H ratio can be accomplished in one of two ways: either by
rejecting excess carbon (in the form of petroleum coke) or by adding hydrogen. FCC and coking follow
the former path; hydro cracking follows the latter path.

Alkylation

Feed for Alkylation comes from FCC unit. It is mostly Light Olefins (C3 & mostly C4s) with iso butane that
helps to produce higher octane ( 90-94 RON)

No aromatic & No sulphur-Amazing!!

It requires strong liquid catalyst (either hydrofluoric acid or sulphuric acid)

Note: At the pump the octane number is avg of( RON+MON)/2

Isomerization

It means basically unifying. In this case C5 & C6 paraffins molecules in light SR naphtha to produce
higher octane C5 & C6 Iso paraffins.

No Benzene(Aromatic) & No sulphur is produced . Since most refineries are coming up with stringent
norms on Benzene because of which most refineries have started adding isomerization capacity.

Polymerization

It is again part of unification process. Combines two or three light olefins ( C3 & C4) to produce high
octane olefinic blend stock.

It is relatively inexpensive process. It produces olefins, which makes it’s least popular.

Note: For Olefins remember at least one Carbon Double bond.

Etherification

Through this process we get MTBE (Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether)-Combination of iso-butene(C4-Olefin)
with methanol

This is produced from combination of C5 &/or C4 olefins (from FCC) with Methanol/ Ethanol.

Hydro treating

Refer PDF file-PG-27

Ethanol

It is used to increase the octane number

Cost of replacing lost gasoline octane FCC naphtha contains a high concentration of olefin compounds
(Exhibit 1). Olefins react readily with hydrogen to form paraffins – a reaction known as olefin saturation,
a side reaction to the desired desulfurization