Fundamentals of Petroleum Refining provides a thorough and balanced introduction to refinery engineering topics, from basic concepts and unit operations to overall refinery economics, planning and control. Based on the fundamentals of thermodynamics and kinetics, the text develops the scientific background needed to understand refinery operations, provides an in depth description of major refinery processes, and then assimilates an integrated refinery by focusing on the economic and operational aspects for enhancing performance and profitability. The book is mainly directed to undergraduate and graduate students in Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Chemistry and Chemical Technology. It is also directed to new engineering college graduates who are starting their career in oil and gas industry. For experienced engineers and managers, this book is ideal for acquiring the necessary background in this area and following up with new topics in refining industry. The book includes topics such as clean fuels, gasification, biofuels, automation, environmental impacts as well as planning and scheduling of refinery operations. Throughout, the book provides numerous opportunities to put fundamental refining principles into practice. - Provides balanced coverage of fundamental and operational topics - Includes spreadsheets and process simulators for showing trends and simulation case studies - Relates processing to planning and management to give an integrated picture of refining.

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... The reason why the yields of the gas product are lowest in this experiments because it was performed in mild operating conditions (450°C), so the yields of the gas product are lower than a liquid product. In theoretically, the liquid products as a medium fraction of hydrocarbons can further crack into a lighter fraction (gaseous product) with increasing the temperatures [4,10]. Therefore, to produce a high amount of gaseous product, the experiments should be conducted at high temperatures. ...

... Based on the theory, the saturates component (paraffin and naphthene) are the lighter fraction than aromatics and olefins [2,9,10]. But in liquid products like gasoline, the aromatics and olefins components is most important, because liquid products with high aromatic and olefin contents have higher octane number. ...

... The liquid product with higher octane number means the better quality of the product [10]. But the gasoline product from the refinery (Pertamina) called Premium and Pertamax has a maximum content of aromatic by 50 % vol and 25 % vol for Avtur product. ...

  • Isnandar Yunanto
  • Sri Haryati Sri Haryati
  • Muhammad Djoni Bustan

Vacuum Residue as feedstock derived from Pertamina Refinery Unit III was cracked in a fixed batch reactor under thermal and catalytic with single stage pyrolysis process using active alumina oxide (Al2O3) as a catalyst. The catalytic pyrolysis process carried out at a temperature 450°C in the presence of a varied catalyst to feed ratio 0.5-2.5% (w/w) and varied of reaction times 5-30 minutes. While the thermal process performed under same operating conditions without presence the catalyst. The effect of alumina catalyst ratio on quantity and quality of yield product, the effect of operating conditions (reaction times) on yield distribution has been investigated. As a result, the cracked products are liquid, gas and coke residue. The yield of liquid products was dominant, the highest catalyst ratio showed the highest yield of the liquid product reached 63.1 wt% and the lowest yield of coke residue by 24.75 wt%. The highest yield of gas by 23.9 wt% was found at minimum catalyst used by 0.5 wt%.

... The final processes of dewatering and desalting are carried out at oil refineries with electrostatic desalter [20]. At the refinery, three types of electrostatic desalter are mainly operated as oil pre-treatment equipment: vertical, horizontal, and ball electrostatic desalter [1]. ...

... Since weak electrolytes are not formed when sodium chloride is dissolved in water, sodium chloride is not hydrolyzed. The concentration of H + ions is equal to the concentration of OH À ions, so the color of the indicators does not change [13,20]. All chemical compounds based on chlorine hydrolyze, except for NaCl, hydrolyze at high temperature to hydrogen chloride: ...

... The water has a higher density than the oil and by the gravitational force, so the water is concentrated at the bottom of the electrostatic desalter. The oil and the gas without water, so without salts, come out from the upper part of the electrostatic desalter by manifold as shown in Figure 6 [20]. In the literature, there are indications that the electrical conductivity of oil and petroleum products is largely determined by the content of polar surfactants (asphalt-resins) in them [25]. ...

  • Adiko Serge-Bertrand Adiko Serge-Bertrand

The chapter considers the technology of the crude distillation unit in general. The crude distillation unit is at the front-end of the oil refinery. The desalting process and distillation of crude oil are included in the crude distillation unit (CDU). The desalting process of crude oil is imperative to ensure the good quality of crude oil, that is, to remove impurities before its transfer to refining. This procedure minimizes or eliminates harmful substances such as sulfur, water, salts, and even mechanical impurities, which ensures a long operation of pipelines. However, the desalting process is only part of the distillation unit. The other phase of this unit is as already mentioned above is: distillation. Distillation is a more physical than a chemical process. The distillation process is characterised by mass-thermal transfer of materials, which leads to the obtaining of fractions. The distillation in the crude distillation unit is carried out consecutively in two ways: atmospheric and vacuum. In the Russian Federation, we classify oil refining plants in general as follows: fuel, fuel-oil, fuel-petrochemical, and fuel-oil-petrochemical. Also, regardless of the profile of the refinery, great importance is given to the crude distillation unit. The crude distillation unit, if well modeled and organized, makes it possible to obtain already more light products at this stage; therefore, there is a reduction of heavy residues, the refinement of which requires more expensive processes such as hydrocracking or catalytic cracking. The oil topping column K-1, within this framework, has been adopted in several oil refining plants in addition to the main column commonly referred to as K-2. The principal purpose of column K-1 is the separation of light gasoline and the major part of dissolved gases from crude oil. This first step of distillation at K-1 has the effect of normalizing the amount of gasoline hydrocarbons and stabilizing the operation of the main column K-2 despite possible fluctuations in the composition of crude oil. Besides, the CDU equipped with column K-1 demonstrates an increase in some valuable products such as methane, ethane, naphtha, etc.

... Raw crude oils are dominant earth resources that found from the interior part of the earth that mostly composed with various hydrocarbons since having less amounts of some other compounds foremost of the corrosive compounds [1][2][3][4][5][6]. According to the explanations of the phenomenon of corrosion it is usually defined as the formations of the relevant metal sulfides, oxides or hydroxides on the metal surface as the result of either chemical or electrochemical reaction on the metallic surfaces due to the interactions of such metals either with some strong oxidizing chemical compound or any system which is composed with both water and oxygen. ...

... Such organic acid is also known as naphthenic acids which are having the chemical formula of "RCOOH" and the total amount of organic or naphthenic acids of some crude oil is known as the acidity or total acid number (TAN) of such crude oil. The general chemical reactions of the oxidizing process of organic acids are given in the below [2,4,9,12,13,15]: ...

... When decreasing the temperature of the system such HCl molecules tend to be reacted with water of even moisture and formed highly corrosive hydrochloric acids. The general chemical reactions between the salts and metals have been given in the following equations [2,4,7,11]. ...

  • Suresh Aluvihara
  • Jagath K. Premachandra

Raw crude oils are mainly composed of various hydrocarbons while having trace amounts of corrosive compounds such as sulphur compounds, naphthenic acids, and salts. In the existing research, there were expected to investigate the impact of such corrosive properties on the corrosion of seven different types of ferrous metals. As the methodology, the major corrosive properties of selected two different types of crude oils and the chemical compositions of seven selected metal types were measured and analyzed by the standard methodologies and recommend instruments. The corrosion rates of such metals were determined by the relative weight loss method after certain immersion time periods simultaneously with the microscopic analysis of corroded metal surfaces. In addition, the decayed metallic elemental concentrations from metals into crude oils were analyzed by the atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and the impact of the corrosion on the initial hardness of metals were measured by the Vickers hardness tester. As the results and outcomes of the entire research that there observed relatively lower corrosion rates from stainless steels with at least 12 % of chromium and some amount of nickel, higher corrosive impact from salts on the metallic corrosion, formations of FeS, Fe2O3, corrosion cracks and pitting on the metal surfaces, decay of copper and ferrous from some of metals sometimes in significantly and small reductions of the initial hardness of most of metals due to the corrosion.

... It important to note that the process efficiency of steam reforming largely depend on some factors such as reactor configuration, the nature of applied catalyst, the selectivity of the membranes for further purification of product gas, the process parameters and variables like temperature, pressure and reactor volume [8,15,16]. The endothermic reaction implies that it requires heat supply to the process from external firing or direct-flame-heat [2,16]. ...

... The primary gas produced is mainly composed of CO and H 2 with some CO 2 , H 2 O, CH 4 and other trace components in residual amount [16,20]. In addition, reaction (2) and (3) are different forms of steam methane reforming, which could take place in the presence of a catalyst (nickel on alumina support or others) [8]. The reforming reactions are mostly equilibrium reactions, which means that the conversion with the aid of the nickel catalyst may approaches the maximum conversion that can be achieved at the reaction temperature and pressure [8,15]. ...

... In addition, reaction (2) and (3) are different forms of steam methane reforming, which could take place in the presence of a catalyst (nickel on alumina support or others) [8]. The reforming reactions are mostly equilibrium reactions, which means that the conversion with the aid of the nickel catalyst may approaches the maximum conversion that can be achieved at the reaction temperature and pressure [8,15]. Nonetheless, process considerations like the catalytic activity of the used catalyst, the reaction temperature and pressure, and the amount of steam applied will have major impact on the quality of the hydrogen stream produced from the process [8,15]. ...

Conventional productions of large volume of hydrogen from fossil based resources continue to play a key role in the hydrogen economy. This paper recalls the contribution of these conventional technologies with new technological development and researches. Providing gradual integration of renewable solutions into large-scale production, some emerging developments in the use of the renewable based feedstock and energy resources in reforming processes in order to bridge the gaps from conventional use of fossil feedstock to improve various conversion processes were discussed. This paper focuses on high temperature process technologies for producing hydrogen via non-renewable resources and various industrial technologies and processes (700 °C and above) for the beneficiation of the available carbonaceous feedstocks like natural gas, other hydrocarbons (other fossil based options), coal etc. The paper concludes with the analysis of some development gaps in hydrogen production from various resources, which interplays between the renewable and non-renewable resources as well as likely future trends that should be expected in the hydrogen market in the next decades.

... Some refiners cut at 180 (83) or 200°F (93°C) instead of 190°F, but, in any case, this is the fraction that cannot be significantly upgraded in octane by catalytic reforming. As a result, it is processed separately from the heavier straight-run gasoline fractions and requires only caustic washing, light hydrotreating, or, if higher octanes are needed, isomerization to produce a gasoline blending stock [1,6,7]. ...

... Heavy straight-run (HSR) and coker gasoline are used as feed to the catalytic reformer. Its converts low octane naphtha or gasoline into high-octane naphtha or gasoline (Reformate) through conversion of feedstock constituents to products of varying octane numbers [6]. ...

... Restrictions on aromatic contents of motor fuels will have increasing impacts on refinery processing as more severe restrictions are applied. This will restrict the severity of catalytic reforming and will require refiners to use other ways to increase octane numbers of the gasoline pool by incorporating more oxygenates in the blend [6,8]. ...

Gasoline produced in Egypt is a low-grade gasoline that contains a high concentration of harmful components that are having a bad effect on our environment. In addition, those pollutants cause countless diseases and deaths annually to the Egyptian population. There are two main targets in this research, the first is the production of new blends of environmental and clean gasolines A98 and A95 with high octane numbers which have less amount of benzene and aromatic contents according to all specifications of Euro-6 and thus it is the best solution for long run. Obviously, straight run naphtha, isomerate, reformate, Coker naphtha and hydrocracked naphtha produced from crude distillation unit, isomerization process, catalytic reforming and conversion processes respectively are blended with an oxygenated compound; ethanol which has many advantages such as friendly environmental, highly octane number and easily obtained by different methods. When gasoline-ethanol blends combust, the pollutants will reduce. The physico-chemical characteristics have been studied such as density, Reid Vapor Pressure, ASTM distillation, Research Octane Number, Motor Octane Number, posted Octane Number, PIONA and benzene content to select the optimum samples of environmental gasolines. The compositions of optimum samples are N17 R31 I18 H27.5 C4 E2.5 and N16 R30 I18 H27 C4 E5 and thus these samples are satisfied to the Standard European regulations Euro-6 (EN 228) for transportation and emissions. Therefore, these samples contain 31.3 vol. % aromatics for gasoline A95 and 30.9 vol. % aromatics for gasoline A98. Moreover, the benzene content of them is 0.6 vol. %. In addition, these samples have isoparrafins with the percentages of 29.1 vol. % and 28.9 vol. % for gasoline A95 and A98 respectively. Upgrading gasoline A80 is the second aim to produce environmental gasoline in order to serve our country (Egypt). By using blends of gasoline A80 and products from upgrading units and conversion units, the Environmental gasoline is produced to approach to the standard European regulations of gasoline A92. Clearly, three samples of reformate, isomerate, Coker naphtha and hydrocracked naphtha are blended separately with gasoline A80. The composition of the optimum sample, a new blend of environmental gasoline, is E7.5 C3.75 H14 R27.5 I2.5 G44.75. This sample contains mainly 39.5 vol. % aromatic content, 28.9 vol. % isoparaffins and 1.1 vol. % benzene content. Therefore, this optimum sample in the overall case exactly meets the conditions of Euro-3 and approach to Euro-6 regulations. Finally, upgrading for gasoline A80 is achieved to obtain gasoline A92 as an environmental gasoline and thus it is the best solution in the short run.

... The refining process of crude oils is linked with the wide range of applications of ferrous metals. According to the chemical compositions of such petroleum oils it is possible to find some corrosive compounds from that because of the abundancy of such corrosive compound in the interior part of the earth where the occurrence of such petroleum is happening [1][2][3][4][5][6]. ...

... According to the recent studies of chemical engineering that mainly found the impact of salts, organic acids and various forms of sulfur compounds on the corrosion of ferrous metals regarding the metal using industries foremost of the industry of crude oil refining. In the science behind the corrosion the incident of the corrosion is defined as the formations of the metal oxides, sulfides or the hydroxides on the metallic surfaces as a result of either chemical or electrochemical process due to the exposing of the metal against either strong oxidizing agent or any corrosive environment which is consisting both water and oxygen [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. The behavior of the corrosion compound may be varied with the corrosive environments and conditions. ...

... Those crude oils are namely as Murban and Das Blend. According to the chemical compositions of such crude oils Das Blend crude oil may have some higher sulfur content which is an important factor for the corrosion [2,9]. The predominant corrosive properties of both crude oils were measured by the standard instruments and methodologies as explained in the Table 1. ...

... Also the FT reactions are considered as highly exothermic (Δ r H % 2200 kJ/ mol) surface polymerization reaction. The reactants, gas mixture, absorb and dissociate at the surface of the catalyst and react with chain initiator [2,6]. The FT synthesis commonly contains the following reactions: ...

... Ru increased the catalytic activity and TOF, but the CH 4 selectivity was unchanged. ZrO 2 Increases the Co metal active sites and reducibility, leading to the increase of CO conversion and C 51 selectivity. The increasing content of Zr decreased the CH 4 selectivity. ...

... Schematic line-up of the integrated FT synthesis process[2]. FT, FischerÀTropsch. ...

Fischer–Tropsch (FT) synthesis is a heterogeneous catalytic process that converts biomass-derived syngas (mixture of CO and H2) to synthetic liquid fuels and valuable chemicals. FT synthesis has received renewed interest in recent years due to the necessity to decrease global dependency on fossil fuels. FT synthesis is a promising technology for the production of attractive, clean, carbon-neutral, and sustainable energy source for the transportation sector. The product distribution and selectivity control depends on catalytic property and operational conditions, which is the main challenge of FT synthesis research. This chapter summarizes the role of catalysts and effect of key factors on catalytic properties for product selectivity. It also discusses the kinetics and effect of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) or carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to control the product selectivity.

... Usually the term of corrosion is defined as the formations of metal oxides, sulphide or the sulphide on the metal surfaces as a result of either chemical or electrochemical process. According to the mechanism of such corrosion processes the metal need to expose either strong oxidizing agent or any kind of medium which is containing both oxygen and water even in the form of moisture [1][2][3][4][5][6]. According to the chemical compositions of crude oils they are containing various corrosive compounds foremost of the sulphur com-pounds, salts and organic aids in various forms since the occurrence of crude oils because of the abundance of such compounds in the various interior parts of the earth. ...

... According to the chemical compositions of crude oils they are containing various corrosive compounds foremost of the sulphur com-pounds, salts and organic aids in various forms since the occurrence of crude oils because of the abundance of such compounds in the various interior parts of the earth. The impact of such corrosive compounds may be varied with the different physical and chemical conditions such as the temperature and concentrations [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. ...

... In the existing research there were expected to investigate the impact of the salts, organic acids, elemental sulphur and mercaptans of two different types of crude oils on the corrosion rates of seven different types of ferrous metals which are applicable in the industry of crude oil refining for the various tasks under different conditions mainly under different temperature and concentrations. The major experiments were based on the analysis of corrosion of such metals as both qualitatively and quantitatively [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. ...

  • Suresh Aluvihara
  • Jagath K. Premachandra

Crude oils are the essential resources for the usages of industrial purposes in various forms and the refining is a key process of separating the mixture of raw crude oils. In the existing research there were expected to investigate the impact of salts, organic acids, mercaptans and elemental sulfur of crude oils on the corrosion rates of seven different types of ferrous metals in both qualitatively and quantitatively. The chemical compositions of such selected ferrous metals and the above mentioned corrosive properties of two different types of crude oils were measured by the standard instruments and methodologies. A set of similar sized metal coupons were prepared from seven different types of metals and the corrosion rates of such metals were determined by the relative weight loss method. In addition, that the corroded metal surfaces were analyzed under the microscope, decayed metal concentrations and deductions of the initial hardness of metal coupons were measured. According to the obtained results that there were observed the lower corrosion rates from stainless steels with at least 12% of chromium and nickel, higher corrosive impact from salt, formations of FeS, Fe2O3, corrosion cracks and pitting corrosion.

... rates of different types of metals and their changes regarding some important properties have been done in vast ranges of researches [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. The investigation of the stability and efficacy of stainless steels against the corrosive environment when comparing with other ferrous metals, the contributions of the selected corrosive properties of crude oils on the corrosion rates of different ferrous metals, the qualitative analysis of the usually forming corrosion compounds on the metal surfaces due to the effects of crude oils and the variations of some important surface properties of metals such as the hardness were the prime outlooks of the current research. ...

... The corrosive phenomenon is usually found regarding several industries, which are having some vast applications in ferrous metals. Crude oil refining industry is a foremost industry that considered the corrosive matters as an adverse effect for most of devices such as storage tanks, distillation columns, transportation tubes and heat exchangers [1][2][3]. In terms of material engineering the corrosion can be defined as the formations of metal oxides, sulfides or hydroxides on the metal surface and also a process of either chemical or electrochemical as a result of the interaction between the metal and surrounding environment in other words [1][2][3][4][5]. ...

... Crude oil refining industry is a foremost industry that considered the corrosive matters as an adverse effect for most of devices such as storage tanks, distillation columns, transportation tubes and heat exchangers [1][2][3]. In terms of material engineering the corrosion can be defined as the formations of metal oxides, sulfides or hydroxides on the metal surface and also a process of either chemical or electrochemical as a result of the interaction between the metal and surrounding environment in other words [1][2][3][4][5]. ...

... Crude oil is a complex liquid mixture that contains several hydrocarbons along with small portions of sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen and metals such as iron, nickel, copper, and vanadium, as shown in Table 2 [44] . Sulfur content in crude or heavy oil generally varies from less than 0.05 wt% to about 10 wt%, but typically, it is present between 1-4 wt% [45] . ...

... Crude oil contains sulfur in the form of elemental sulfur, dissolved H 2 S, COS, and S-bonded hydrocarbons such as mercaptans, sulfides, disulfides, and S-PAHs (thiophenes) [45] . Mercaptans, sulfides, and disulfides can be cyclic and aromatic, and are mostly present in the lighter fractions. ...

... The main refinery products are transportation fuels and the heavy fuels such as marine fuel oil/bunker fuels. With the known harmful effects of sulfur emissions, sulfur from oil is removed in refineries through HDS [45] , and the important reactions of this process are shown in Table 3 . RSH, R 2 S, and (RS) 2 represent the generalized mercaptans, sulfides, and disulfides, respectively, with R being the functional group. ...

Raw natural gas and crude oil contain a variety of sulfurous species such as H2S, COS, CS2, mercaptans, and organosulfur complexes that lead to the formation of SO2 and other sulfurous compounds during combustion. The strict regulation on their emission has motivated the development of oil and gas sweetening processes, where such species are removed from fuels, and a sulfur-rich stream is generated. Many industries and plants such as cement industry, smelters, and power plants, involving the combustion of sulfur-bearing fuels, also generate gas streams rich in sulfur compounds. Such gas streams are mainly treated using sulfur recovery units (SRUs). To understand combustion occurring in SRUs, various studies on exploring the mechanism and the kinetics of sulfur-related reactions have been conducted. This review highlights the advancements in the kinetic models and the experiments on the combustion of sulfurous species and their interaction with hydrocarbons. The operational and the pilot plant data on H2S combustion in furnaces and the lab-scale experiments on sulfur oxidation, reduction, and sulfur-hydrocarbon reactions are discussed that have provided valuable data to validate combustion models. Due to the complex nature of sulfur chemistry, the quantum calculations on sulfur reactions have helped tremendously in improving the kinetic models. The findings of the potential energy surface studies with different spin multiplicities for major reactions affecting the combustion of sulfurous species such as the reactions of H2S and HS with oxidants (e.g., O2 and SO2), sulfur-hydrogen reaction leading to disulfur species, and the hydrocarbon-sulfur interactions leading to COS, CS2, mercaptan, and S-PAH formation are discussed. The combination of quantum calculations, reactor modeling, and experimental studies have improved our understanding on the role of various intermediates such as disulfur species in the combustion of H2S that was not known before. The detailed models have also helped in predicting the formation of large PAHs in the furnace that possibly explain the carbon-sulfur complexes found in the downstream catalytic units and in the process optimization to reduce the sulfur production cost. The recent developments on the innovation utilization of acid gas to produce hydrogen or syngas, SO2 to produce sulfur, and sulfur as an energy vector in thermochemical cycles for electricity generation are discussed.

... Heavy naphtha is a petroleum fraction consisting of more than 300 hydrocarbons having carbon numbers ranging from C1 to C12, and each one of these components undergoes several reactions within the reforming process [3]. Generally, the naphtha reforming unit is comprised of three or four adiabatic reactors operated at 450 to 520 °C and 10-35 bar pressure, in a 3-8 hydrogen/hydrocarbon molar ratio [4,5]. The typical reforming catalyst is Pt supported on alumina [5]. ...

... Generally, the naphtha reforming unit is comprised of three or four adiabatic reactors operated at 450 to 520 °C and 10-35 bar pressure, in a 3-8 hydrogen/hydrocarbon molar ratio [4,5]. The typical reforming catalyst is Pt supported on alumina [5]. However, other metals may be used with Pt in the preparation of the reforming catalysts, such as Pd, Sn, and Gr. ...

A detailed reaction kinetic model was developed to describe heavy naphtha reforming reactions. The kinetic model involved 32 lumps and 132 reactions; the lumps were one to 11 carbon atoms n-paraffins, four to 11 carbon atoms iso-paraffins, methylcyclopentene, and six to 11 carbon atoms for naphthenes and aromatics. All computations in the present study were predicted using the particle swarm optimization (PSO) method coded by MATLAB 2015a software. This optimization method was used to estimate the optimum set of kinetic parameters of heavy naphtha reforming reactions. All 150 kinetic and deactivation parameters that were predicted in this work were fine-tuned using PSO. The proposed kinetic model was validated by benchmarking the model results with the data collected over 5 years for a commercial naphtha reforming unit. The mean absolute error for all component compositions within the process was found to be 0.0079. The catalyst deactivation rate was also predicted. It was found that catalyst activity decayed to 58.8% after 1225 operating days.

... For the removal of environmentally harmful sulfur, the hydrocarbon oil is mixed with hydrogen at around 5-160 bar pressure and temperature ranging from 260-380°C. [53] In this process, sulfurcontaining compounds are converted into sulfur-free hydrocarbons by producing hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) gas, which is then removed by its absorption in lean amine accompanied by an amine treating unit. The removal of organosulfur is crucial to inhibit the consequent poisoning of platinum based reforming catalyst along with controlling the environmental pollution. ...

... The catalysts based on MoS 2 active species are extensively used due to their low cost, high stability and exemplary activity. [53] The research and development in these active species started in the early 1920 s, [62] but the reaction mechanism undergoing at the atomic-scale is quiet under-debate. The data obtained from Exsitu microscopy reveals that the MoS 2 active species exists in the form of single or multiple layers of S-Mo-S sandwiches. ...

Hydrodesulfurization is a valuable cornerstone in the modern refineries, aiming to reduce sulfur-containing compounds to produce cleaner end-products, by using heterogeneous metal catalysts at elevated temperatures and hydrogen pressures. The removal of refractory sulfur is a great challenge in commercial HDS of diesel fuels. This prospective review briefs synthesis factors influencing the performance of an efficient catalyst aiming for the removal of sulfur from transportation fuels, more specifically in the diesel fuels. The first part of the paper presents concepts, principles, advantages, and challenges of existing HDS processes. Special consideration is remunerated in the second part, in which the recent advances governed for the development of a new generation of catalysts, that are being developed for ultra-low sulfur fuels are discussed comprehensively. These developmental studies are critically reviewed to summarize advanced strategies for the catalyst synthesis and to formulate an adequate catalyst activity to accomplish forthcoming sulfur regulations on transportation fuels.

... The hydrogen requirements of the upgraders are met through the steam methane reforming (SMR) process, wherein steam and methane are reacted at high temperature and pressure conditions to produce hydrogen [50]. ...

... (3-5)) and the properties of the hydrotreated liquid products [49] (as shown in Table S.6 in the SI) were used to estimate the hydrogen requirements in the hydrotreater units. The hydrogen consumption in the hydroconversion unit is assumed to be 1.5% of the weight of the VR, as suggested by several authors [48][49][50]. Energy and feedstock requirements for H 2 production in the SMR unit were taken from the literature [60]. The utility consumption in the amine treater, sulfur recovery and tail gas treatment units were calculated based on values suggested by Pacheco et al. [18]. ...

The currently used in situ oil sands recovery methods are energy and greenhouse gas emissions intensive. New methods such as toe-to-heel air injection extraction (THAI) are proposed to mitigate these challenges. This study aims to evaluate the energy and greenhouse gas emissions performances of bitumen-derived transportation fuels from THAI. A bottom-up process model was developed based on first engineering principles to assess the material , energy use, and greenhouse gas emissions of each unit operation. Three transporation fuel production pathways were examined: refining without upgrading and upgrading through either delayed coking or hydro-conversion before refining. The extraction, upgrading, refining, transportation, and combustion life cycle stages of the pathways were considered. Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses of input parameters were conducted. The results show that the transportation fuels' well-to-combustion emissions range is + 113. 5 14.5 14.5 g CO 2 eq./MJ for the three pathways. The combustion and extraction stages have the most impact and contribute more than 63% and 21%, respectively, of the overall emissions of the pathways. The air-to-oil ratio was found to be most influential parameter affecting global results. The well-to-combustion emissions of THAI-based transportation fuels are in the range of current bitumen recovery methods. Any improvements in the air-to-oil ratio could significantly reduce the global emissions of these pathways.

... Una vez en la refinería, el crudo de petróleo es clasificado por su densidad (gravedad API) como crudo súperligero, ligero, mediano, pesado y extrapesado. Otra clasificación importante es por su contenido de S como amargo, semiamargo y dulce; con más de 1.5, de 0.5 a 1.5 y menor de 0.5% en peso, respectivamente (Fahim et al., 2010). ...

... Fuente: Elaboración de los autores con base en Raseev et al. (2003), Fahim et al. (2010) y Meyers (1996). 14(26), 1e-21e, enero-junio 2021 | https://doi.org/10.22201/ceiich.24485691e.2021.26.69633 ...

Hoy en día los procesos para remover contaminantes como el azufre han cobrado gran relevancia por las regulaciones ambientales impuestas, por lo que en este trabajo se analiza la presencia del azufre como elemento natural en el proceso de formación del petróleo. Se establecen los principales motivos por los cuales el azufre debe ser removido del petróleo. Se comenta el proceso de refinación del crudo de petróleo, así como una descripción del proceso convencional para desulfurar las fracciones de petróleo. Además, se mencionan las tecnologías complementarias y/o alternativas para disminuir el contenido de azufre a niveles establecidos por las normas internacionales. Finalmente, se discute acerca de las expectativas a futuro en el uso de combustibles de origen fósil y no fósil.

... As a consequence, the full composition of the C10+ fractions is approximate in most cases, so that empirical methods are used to model the heavy fraction of reservoir fluids. For instance, the percentage of paraffins, naphthenes and aromatics (PNA) in crude oil fractions may be estimated from refractive index, viscosity and specific gravity [11]. ...

... When fluidspecific information on n-iso/naphthenes / aromatics/ NSO composition is lacking, the incorporation of average trends in ternary diagrams compiled by [4] has proved successful. It requires less data than alternative methods inferring PNA distributions on each Cn fraction [11]. A satisfactory accomplishment is the correct prediction of density increase of Cn with carbon number, in agreement with observations on paraffinic oils [19]. ...

Due to the lack of detailed analysis in the C10+ fraction and scarcity of reliable thermodynamic properties on polycyclic compounds, it is usually not feasible to relate crude oil properties with the chemical structure of heavy fractions. Over the last decades the description of C10-C36 fractions has mostly relied on average Cn properties determined from observations. We propose an alternative approach in two major steps. In a first step we use Monte Carlo simulation methods to generate Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium (VLE) data on representative hydrocarbons between C10 and C30, from ambient to near-critical temperature. Based on these results, standard liquid density and saturation pressure are correlated for naphthenic hydrocarbons (mono- and poly-cyclic), aromatic hydrocarbons (mono-cyclic, poly-cyclic, naphthenoaromatic), and thiophenic compounds up to C36. In a second step we apply the predicted properties on C10-C36 families to model nine (9) real crude oils. The Cn fractions (n =10 - 36) are described with an exponential distribution, and the concentrations of n-iso/ naphthenes/ aromatics/ NSO compounds are modelled explicitly. Using crude-specific information (e.g. C1-C10 analysis) and general statistics about reservoir fluids (e.g. target region in ternary diagrams), we obtain an excellent agreement of crude oil density, average molecular weights of Cn+ fractions, and SARA analysis (when available). The predicted standard liquid density of Cn fractions increases with carbon number, as observed on real fluids. The higher Cn density observed in aromatic crudes is also well predicted. These results suggest that additional properties (e.g. VLE of live oils) may be predicted with more insight by applying the proposed simulation-based approach in future studies.

... Moreover, this S/C would maintain the recovered H 2 at the process outlet relatively less diluted. Other benefits from increasing the S/C from 2 to 4 would be in preventing coke deposition on the catalyst surface from occurring [70]. ...

  • Jean claude Assaf Jean claude Assaf

Lebanon h i g h l i g h t s Simulation and optimization of hydrogen production by natural gas steam reforming. The optimized process is designed to be applied in any industrial plant. Similar simulation results were obtained by Aspen HYSYS and MATLAB. Removal of 99% of undesired CO 2 and CO gases in the purification zone. Reduction of 77.5% in process energy consumption. Available online xxx Keywords: Natural gas steam reforming Hydrogen Hydro-processing Petrochemicals Process simulation Process optimization a b s t r a c t Steam reforming of natural gas produces the majority of the world's hydrogen (H 2) and it is considered as a cost-effective method from a product yield and energy consumption point of view. In this work, we present a simulation and an optimization study of an industrial natural gas steam reforming process by using Aspen HYSYS and MATLAB software. All the parameters were optimized to successfully run a complete process including the hydrogen production zone units (reformer reactor, high temperature gas shift reactor HTS and low temperature gas shift reactor LTS) and the purification zone units (absorber and meth-anator). Optimum production of hydrogen (87,404 MT/year) was obtained by fixing the temperatures in the reformer and the gas shift reactors (HTS & LTS) at 900 C, 500 C and 200 C respectively while maintaining a pressure of 7 atm, and a steam to carbon ratio (S/C) of 4. Moreover,~99% of the undesired CO 2 and CO gases were removed in the purification zone and a reduction of energy consumption of 77.5% was reached in the heating and cooling units of the process. Abbreviations: WGS, water gas shit; HTS, high temperature shift reactor; LTS, low temperature shift reactor; S/C, steam to carbon ratio; G/L, acid gas liquid ratio; MEA, mono-ethanol amine; NG, natural gas; SMR, steam methane reforming.

... In future, the demand of hydrogen is expected to increase further due to a combined effect of (1) EU Emission Trading Systemrelated penalties, (2) stricter fuel quality regulations, and/or (3) lower crude oil quality (Lukach et al., 2015). Such additional hydrogen must be provided by other sources, for example, from the gasification of oil refining residues and the recovery from refinery off-gases, by improving the efficiency/yield of a steam-reforming process and/or by electrolysis (Fahim et al., 2010). Due to the limited fossil fuel sources and environmental considerations, there is a growing interest for in situ electrolysis technology. ...

Technologies capable of efficiently exploiting unavoidable CO2 streams, have to be deeply investigated and deployed during the transition phase to achieve long-term climate neutrality targets. Among the technologies, Molten Carbonate Cells (MCC) Operating in Electrolysis Mode (MCEC) represents a promising facility to valorize CO2-rich waste streams, which are typically available in industrial plants, by their conversion into a high-value H2/CO syngas. These gaseous products can be reintegrated in a plant or reused in different applications. This study analyzes the integration of a system of the MCEC unit under different operating conditions in terms of composition, current density, and the utilization of fuels in a steam-reforming process of an Italian oil refinery via a mixed experimental-simulative approach. The aim of the current study is to assess the improvement in the overall product yield and further impacts of the MCEC unit on the plant efficiency. The results have shown that it is possible to obtain an electrochemical Specific Energy Consumption for the production of H2 of 3.24 kWh/Nm3 H2 using the MCEC, whereby the possible integration of a 1-MWe module with a reformer of the proposed plant not only increases the hydrogen yield but also decreases the amount of fuel needed to assist the reforming reaction and separates a CO2 stream after additional purification via an oxy-fuel combustor, consequently determining lower greenhouse gases emissions.

... [1][2][3][4][5] Hydrocarbons are molecules that are composed of both carbon and hydrogen molecules. [7][8][9] Organic materials as well as low concentration of metals are also present in crude oil. The carbon and hydrogen ratio greatly affects the physical characteristics of the crude oil. ...

Gasoline produced in Egypt is a low-grade gasoline that contains high concentration of harmful components that are having a toll on our environment. In addition, those pollutants cause countless diseases and deaths annually to the Egyptian population. This paper targets two main sectors in the production of commercial gasoline. The improvement engine efficiency through the upgrading of octane number is first experimented by using a blendstock that ranges from gasoline fractions and Isomerates. An optimum was then chosen depending on the results obtained from different tests. Through those experiments, it was determined which samples obeyed the EU regulation for transportation emissions. Having an excellent gasoline with a high octane number but produced large quantities of harmful emissions was unacceptable. This leads to the section aim of this research, which was to produce an environmental gasoline. This meant that once the gasoline sample is combusted, it should produce limited amounts of emissions such as 1% benzene since benzene is carcinogenic. A sample with euro 3 specification was produced and showed excellent gasoline properties such as an RON value of around 95 without the use of octane enhancers. A second sample showed better results satisfied euro 5 regulations and produced an even higher octane number than the euro 3 sample. This sample was the optimum environmental ETBE-gasoline high octane number blend. By understanding the composition of those samples, maximum yield of commercial gasoline could be produced. This would also lead to the reduction of pollutants in the environment. Completing this task with successful results means that this environmental high octane number gasoline could be produced and used in Egypt. Such blends should be produced on a large scale by exercising euro 3 and/or 5 regulations.

... oil is found deep in the ground, crude oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons formed of organic matter which consist of carbons and hydrogen with small amounts of sulphur, oxygen, nitrogen, metals, crude oil is measured by API it measures the crude density if the API is high then we have a fine crude oil and products and if the API is low so the crude is value in the market is bad and has low value and contains high asphalting products which gives bad market value to the crude we have crude oil goes under various refinery process which convert it into many products. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Crude oil separates into lighter components that have many uses in our worlds nowadays. first the crude is preheated and desalted and then enters a crude distillation where the lighter products comes first like the light naphtha comes first then heavy naphtha, kerosene, jet fuel, diesel fuel, gasoil, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG),Gasoline ,residual fuel oil and Asphaltenes and resins. ...

In this research we are discussing the physicochemical characteristics of sweet diesel after desulphurization alone and also these characteristics are tested with the adding of high purity HPLC ethanol (99.9%). Those fuel properties of ethanol blended with diesel were experimentally determined to find their stability and to increase their properties and efficiency in the diesel engines. First we made 4 blends of diesel with ethanol and the fifth sample was pure diesel. The samples were 0% ethanol and 100 % diesel, the second sample was 5% ethanol and 95 % diesel, the third sample was 10 % ethanol and 90% diesel, the fourth sample was 15 % ethanol and 85 % diesel and the fifth and last sample was 20 % ethanol and 80 % diesel. The physicochemical characteristics of the diesel ethanol blends were determined by the following experiments (cetane number, ASTM distillation, flash point, pour point, kinematic viscosity, ASTM density and calorific value).the aim of this research is to obtain an optimum blend of diesel ethanol fuel to help in improving the diesel engines and to lower the emission in the engine and the exhaust gases produced in the engines. This blend we obtained in this research was done to meet the EURO 5 standards and regulations, also to help to make an economic improvement in the industry of diesel in Egypt and in the world. The diesel ethanol blend was to be an effective fuel as we will see in the different tests and ASTM methods. Many tests and experiments done during this research project and the obtained results were similar to the EURO 5 standard emissions regulation.

... Not all the oil refined in these large refineries originates though tankers sailing from oil-rich countries because Sicily also hosts several oil rigs and offshore platforms in the southeastern area of the island where the presence of oil was known since early nineteenth century. 2 We briefly remind that an oil refinery's unit converts crude oil, through a series of physical and chemical processes such as distillation, and catalytic desulfurization and conversion (cracking, hydrocracking, etc) into valued fuels and petrochemical feedstock including liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), virgin naphtha, gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, and fuel oil. 3 The crude oil is retrieved from the storage tanks, typically having a capacity of 80-150 thousand cubic meters, regularly filled through pipelines carrying crude oil either unloaded from a tanker or from oil wells. ...

Hosting close to half of Italy's oil refining capacity, Sicily is home to four petroleum refineries, one of which ended operations in 2014‐2015. Following an updated outlook of Sicily's oil infrastructure, this study provides both a critical perspective as to where oil refining in Sicily currently stands and a substantial view into its near future. We conclude offering a clue on how the autonomous Sicily's government might act to face the consequences of the undergoing profound changes summarized herein. A critical perspective as to where oil refining in Sicily, amounting to half Italy's refining capacity, currently stands and a substantial view into its near future.

... farmacéuticas, pigmentos, polímeros, etc.). [1,2] Además, la sociedad actual presenta como uno de sus principales problemas el elevado consumo energético y la dependencia de los recursos fósiles para satisfacer esta demanda. ...

  • Marvin Chávez-Sifontes Marvin Chávez-Sifontes

Resumen: La biomasa lignocelulósica es una materia prima renovable que ayudará a reducir la dependencia de las materias primas fósiles. Para poder aprovechar la biomasa es necesario aplicar procesos biológicos y termoquímicos para acceder a sus componentes principales. A partir de los componentes principales se pueden producir moléculas plataforma que sirven como materia prima para obtener productos químicos de interés industrial. La presente contribución expone las posibilidades de la biomasa lignocelulósica como materia prima para producir combustibles y productos químicos. Se pretende que el artículo sirva como un documento introductorio para el estudio de proce-sos para la transformación de la biomasa. Palabras clave: biorefinería, celulosa, hemicelulosa, lignina, moléculas plataforma.

... Naphtha reforming units convert low-octane number heavy naphtha into a higher-octane number reformate that is the main feedstock for the blending unit to produce gasoline. Industrial naphtha reforming units include three or four reactors adiabatically operated at temperatures ranging from 450 to 520 • C and pressures ranging from 1 to 3.5 MPa [3,4]. Mathematical representations of these units can be done by integration of rigorous models that combine mass, heat, and momentum equations as well as kinetic models that govern the reactions of the hundreds of components within naphtha. ...

In this study, an artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed and compared with a rigorous mathematical model (RMM) to estimate the performance of an industrial heavy naphtha reforming process. The ANN model, represented by a multilayer feed forward neural network (MFFNN), had (36-10-10-10-34) topology, while the RMM involved solving 34 ordinary differential equations (ODEs) (32 mass balance, 1 heat balance and 1 momentum balance) to predict compositions, temperature, and pressure distributions within the reforming process. All computations and predictions were performed using MATLAB® software version 2015a. The ANN topology had minimum MSE when the number of hidden layers, number of neurons in the hidden layer, and the number of training epochs were 3, 10, and 100,000, respectively. Extensive error analysis between the experimental data and the predicted values were conducted using the following error functions: coefficient of determination (R2), mean absolute error (MAE), mean relative error (MRE), and mean square error (MSE). The results revealed that the ANN (R2 = 0.9403, MAE = 0.0062) simulated the industrial heavy naphtha reforming process slightly better than the rigorous mathematical model (R2 = 0.9318, MAE = 0.007). Moreover, the computational time was obviously reduced from 120 s for the RMM to 18.3 s for the ANN. However, one disadvantage of the ANN model is that it cannot be used to predict the process performance in the internal points of reactors, while the RMM predicted the internal temperatures, pressures and weight fractions very well.

... This becomes a driving factor towards cheaper feedstocks, such as biomass. Another major factor impacting the oil refinery that should be taken into account represents the strict environmental regulations that have raised the cost of producing clean fuels (Fahim, M. F., Alsahhaf, T. A., & Elkilan, 2010) (Leffler, 2008). In conclusion, a solution must be rendered to tackle these problems. ...

This study proposes various routes to integrate a fossil fuel-based system, such as an oil-refinery, with bio-refining processes aiming to enhance industry productivity. This is particularly relevant due to the lack of adaptation of existing refineries to diminishing oil supply. Moreover, the integration of oil and bio-refineries has a massively positive effect on the reduction of CO2 emissions. The proposed integration structure connects the industries through routes such as on-site power generation, syngas production using refinery residue and bio-oil and other waste streams, utility systems, and utilising chemicals produced via biomass sources into the petrochemical and transportation industry as valuable products. Focusing on the latter route of integration, the upgrade of Acetone, Butanol and Ethanol (produced by sugar fermentation via bacterial species) has been chosen as a pathway to produce valuable products that could be used in both the chemical sector and the transportation industry. The reaction system consists of the self-condensation and cross condensation of alcohols and acetone using active metals on their corresponding basic supports as catalysts at high temperatures and pressure in a batch reactor. The proposed approach has resulted in the production of long-chain hydrocarbons suitable for the chemicals or transportation industry.

... Refining crude oil into various refinery fractions, such as heating oil, gasoline, diesel, bunker fuel, aviation fuel, etc. should be advantageous for developing countries as it allows them to capture more value added. However, there are very tight crack spreads 10 in refining, and only the most efficient processors can operate profitable refineries (Fahim et al. 2009). ...

... The H 2 S oxidation process can be described by Equations (1)-(3) reported below [51,52]. For catalytic trials, 6 g of N-C 2 /SiC or N-C 4 /SiC (V cat~7 .5 cm 3 ) were loaded on a silica wool pad, housed in a Pyrex tubular (∅ ID : 16 mm) reactor housed in a vertical electrical furnace, and the catalytic reactions were operated isothermally under atmospheric pressure. ...

Carbon-based nanomaterials, particularly in the form of N-doped networks, are receiving the attention of the catalysis community as effective metal-free systems for a relatively wide range of industrially relevant transformations. Among them, they have drawn attention as highly valuable and durable catalysts for the selective hydrogen sulfide oxidation to elemental sulfur in the treatment of natural gas. In this contribution, we report the outstanding performance of N-C/SiC based composites obtained by the surface coating of a non-oxide ceramic with a mesoporous N-doped carbon phase, starting from commercially available and cheap food-grade components. Our study points out on the importance of controlling the chemical and morphological properties of the N-C phase to get more effective and robust catalysts suitable to operate H2S removal from sour (acid) gases under severe desulfurization conditions (high GHSVs and concentrations of aromatics as sour gas stream contaminants). We firstly discuss the optimization of the SiC impregnation/thermal treatment sequences for the N-C phase growth as well as on the role of aromatic contaminants in concentrations as high as 4 vol.% on the catalyst performance and its stability on run. A long-term desulfurization process (up to 720 h), in the presence of intermittent toluene rates (as aromatic contaminant) and variable operative temperatures, has been used to validate the excellent performance of our optimized N-C2/SiC catalyst as well as to rationalize its unique stability and coke-resistance on run.

... The H 2 S oxidation process can be described by Equations (1)-(3) reported below [51,52]. For catalytic trials, 6 g of N-C 2 /SiC or N-C 4 /SiC (V cat~7 .5 cm 3 ) were loaded on a silica wool pad, housed in a Pyrex tubular (∅ ID : 16 mm) reactor housed in a vertical electrical furnace, and the catalytic reactions were operated isothermally under atmospheric pressure. ...

Carbon-based nanomaterials, particularly in the form of N-doped networks, are receiving the attention of the catalysis community as effective metal-free systems for a relatively wide range of industrially relevant transformations. Among them, they have drawn attention as highly valuable and durable catalysts for the selective hydrogen sulfide oxidation to elemental sulfur in the treatment of natural gas. In this contribution, we report the outstanding performance of N-C/SiC based composites obtained by the surface coating of a non-oxide ceramic with a mesoporous N-doped carbon phase, starting from commercially available and cheap food-grade components. Our study points out on the importance of controlling the chemical and morphological properties of the N-C phase to get more effective and robust catalysts suitable to operate H2S removal from sour (acid) gases under severe desulfurization conditions (high GHSVs and concentrations of aromatics as sour gas stream contaminants). We firstly discuss the optimization of the SiC impregnation/thermal treatment sequences for the N-C phase growth as well as on the role of aromatic contaminants in concentrations as high as 4 vol.% on the catalyst performance and its stability on run. A long-term desulfurization process (up to 720 h), in the presence of intermittent toluene rates (as aromatic contaminant) and variable operative temperatures, has been used to validate the excellent performance of our optimized N-C2/SiC catalyst as well as to rationalize its unique stability and coke-resistance on run.

... Additionally, 2 g of distilled water is added to feed to prevent coking and maintain minimum vapor velocity in tubes. [7], [8], [11]. Samples were carbonized in a batch reactor at 485°C and 1 atm [10]. ...

  • Prabhsimran Singh Prabhsimran Singh

Effects of feed properties during co-carbonization of vacuum residue (VR) and bio oil feed mixed in different proportions in a batch reactor at temperature range of 480°C-490°C and at atmospheric pressure on coke lumps produced after reaction was studied and proposed based on experimental results obtained. Detailed experimental study was done on co-carbonization process of bio-oil and vacuum residue mixed in different proportions in an experimental setup capable of producing solid coke comparable to that produced in commercial delayed coker which helps to study effects of parameters like temperature and pressure on product properties. Product yield and specifications of products and feed were recorded and studied in terms of thermogravimetric analysis. Coke produced was analyzed as compared to Anode grade coke, for its spongy appearance and catalogued based on its properties when compared with anode grade coke. Addition of bio oil to vacuum residue up to 1:1 indeed ameliorate the hardness of coke and reduce the VCM content of coke, transforming it to better quality sponge coke and can be used as anode grade coke. Coke yield was improved by increasing micro carbon residue (MCR) weight percentage. Additionally, asphaltene content of feed directly contribute to solid product yield and gas yield reinforce the anisotropy of coke formed that govern the coke quality. Bio-oil enhance the gas yield till 1/1 mixture required to improve the coke quality.

... The price increase will force a rise in the search for fossil fuel substitutes from renewable and sustainable sources becoming a driving factor towards cheaper feedstocks, such as biomass. Another major factor impacting the oil refinery that should be taken into account represents the strict environmental regulations that have raised the cost of producing clean fuels (Fahim, M. F., Alsahhaf, T. A., & Elkilan, 2010) (Leffler, 2008). As global energy consumption increases, as does the production of greenhouse gases like CO2. ...

... Various kinetic models or correlations can be used to predict the properties of products, and there have been reports of properties prediction using empirical correlations with VR conversion (Maples, 2000;Fahim et al., 2009). Such correlations can be used in a limited range, but they have characteristics that can be applied quickly and easily (Ancheyta, 2013). ...

This study investigated the hydrocracking reaction performance of Mo-dispersed catalysts in relation to operating conditions in a bench scale slurry bubble column reactor. Experiments were performed at various temperatures (405–435 °C), LHSV (0.2–0.45 h−1), superficial gas velocities (0.4–2.2 cm/s) and pressures (80–180 bar). As a result, it was found that the temperature and LHSV influenced the VR conversion, and the yield and properties of the product had a strong dependence on the VR conversion. And a reliable correlation between product yield, properties and VR conversion can be obtained using these relationships. In terms of the hydrogenation reaction, the change of hydrogen pressure significantly affected the removal of impurities, with reduced sediments. Even with the dispersed catalysts, it was confirmed that the sediment content rapidly increased at a certain VR conversion (about 50–60 wt%) as similarly a heterogeneous catalyst was shown. Finally, it was found to keep the VR conversion below 60 wt% and the pressure above 120 bar for the stable operation of the slurry-phase hydrocracking and sediment control.

... From the chemical point of view, an asphalt is defined as a heterogenous system consisting of macro-meter-sized inorganic particles, known as aggregates, and a binder material called bitumen [2]. Bitumen is a heavy hydrocarbon material, and it is the by-product of the fractural refinement process of crude oil, which removes the lighter fractions (i.e., liquid petroleum gas, gasoline, and diesel) [3]. ...

In the past three decades, several conventional methods have been employed for characterizing the bitumen ageing phenomenon, such as rheological testing, ultraviolet testing, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), gas chromatography (GC), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray scattering, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Nevertheless, these techniques can provide only limited observations of the structural micro-modifications occurring during bitumen ageing. In this study, Fourier transform nuclear magnetic resonance self-diffusion coefficient (FT-NMR-SDC) spectroscopy, as a novel method, was employed to investigate and compare the microstructural changes between virgin bitumen (pristine bitumen) and aged bitumen. The virgin bitumen was aged artificially using two standard ageing tests: Rolling Thin-Film Oven Test (RTFOT) and Pressure Ageing Vessel (PAV). For a comprehensive comparison and an assessment of the validity of this method, the generated samples were studied using various methods: rheological test, atomic force microscopy, and optical microscopy. Significant differences were obtained between the structure and ageing patterns of virgin and aged bitumen. The results indicate that the modification of maltenes to asphaltenes is responsible for the ageing character. When compared with the other methods' findings, FT-NMR-SDC observations confirm that the asphaltene content increases during ageing processes.

... Surfactants on the market are nowadays mostly produced from crude oil [1], i.e. from non-renewable resources [2]. In order to reduce the carbon footprint of surfactant production, and since crude oil reserves may be depleted in this century, efforts are engaged to replace such petroleum-based compounds by bio-based alternatives. ...

In this review, structure-property trends are systematically analyzed for four amphiphilic properties of sugar-based surfactants: critical micelle concentration (CMC), its associated surface tension (γCMC), efficiency (pC20) and Krafft temperature (TK). First, the impact on amphiphilic properties of the alkyl chain size and the presence of branching and/or unsaturation is investigated. Then, various polar head parameters are explored, such as the degree of polymerization of the sugar unit (mono- or oligosaccharides), the chemical nature of the linker and the sugar configuration. Some systematic comparisons between ethoxylated surfactants and sugar-based surfactants are also carried out. While some structural trends with the impact of alkyl chain length or the polar head size are now well understood, this analysis points out that systematic studies of more specific effects of alkyl chain (e.g. branching, unsaturation, presence of rings, position on the polar head) and polar head (e.g. linker, anomeric configuration, internal stereochemistry, cyclic vs. acyclic sugar residues) were scarcer or not available to date. This work encourages the use of these structural trends in the perspective of developing new bio-based surfactants and their consideration in predictive models. It also highlights the need of further experimental tests to fill remaining gaps notably to explore some specific structural features (such as the introduction of rings in the alkyl chain or the position of the alkyl chain on the polar head) and towards applicative properties (like foaming capacity or wettability).

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Fast Pyrolysis Bio‐Oil Upgrading Gasification Fischer‐Tropsch Synthesis Summary

Calorific value is the most important characteristics of fuel. 2g of kerosene and diesel respectively was weighed into the crucible and a firing wire of 10cm length (of about 0.1mm diameter nickel chrome wire) is stretched between the electrodes. It was ensured that the wire is in close contact with the kerosene, while the bomb head was set. Care must be taken not to disturb the sample when moving the bomb head from the support stand to the bomb cylinder. To absorb the combustion products of sulphur and nitrogen, 10 ml of water was poured into the bomb. The bomb was connected to the oxygen cylinder via the oxygen valve and the thin bore tube. Oxygen is admitted into the bomb and the pressure is adjusted to about 25 to 30 atmospheres. The bomb is then placed in a 3000g quantity of distilled water in the inner barrel of the calorimeter. Necessary electrical connections were made. The water in the calorimeter is constantly stirred and temperatures noted. The graph of temperature against time was plotted for kerosene and diesel. The known calorific values were used to determine the water equivalent of the calorimeter which gives 321.234g and 221.321g for kerosene and diesel respectively.

The hydrodesulfurization process is one of the cornerstones of the chemical industry, removing harmful sulfur from oil to produce clean hydrocarbons. The reaction is catalyzed by the edges of MoS2 nanoislands and is operated in hydrogen-oil mixtures at 5-160 bar and 260-380 °C. Until now, it has remained unclear how these harsh conditions affect the structure of the catalyst. Using a special-purpose high-pressure scanning tunneling microscope, we provide direct observations of an active MoS2 model catalyst under reaction conditions. We show that the active edge sites adapt their sulfur, hydrogen, and hydrocarbon coverages depending on the gas environment. By comparing these observations to density functional theory calculations, we propose that the dominant edge structure during the desulfurization of CH3SH contains a mixture of adsorbed sulfur and CH3SH.

Background: The Waste2Road project exploits new sustainable pathways to generate biogenic fuels from waste materials, deploying existing industrial scale processes. One such pathway is through pyrolysis of wood wastes. Methods: The hereby generated pyrolysis liquids were hydrogenated prior to co-feeding in a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) pilot plant. So-called stabilized pyrolysis oil (SPO) underwent one mild hydrogenation step (max. 200 °C) whereas the stabilized and deoxygenated pyrolysis oil (SDPO) was produced in two steps, a mild one (maximum 250 °C) prior to a more severe process step (350 °C). These liquids were co-fed with vacuum gas oil (VGO) in an FCC pilot plant under varying riser temperatures (530 and 550 °C). The results of the produced hydrocarbon gases and gasoline were benchmarked to feeding pure VGO. Results: It was proven that co-feeding up to 10 wt% SPO and SDPO is feasible. However, further experiments are recommended for SPO due to operational instabilities originating from pipe clogging. SPO led to an increase in the hydrocarbon gas production from 45.0 to 46.3 wt% at 550 °C and no significant changes at 530 °C. SDPO led to a rise in gasoline yield at both riser temperatures. The highest amount of gasoline was produced when SDPO was co-fed at a 530 °C riser temperature, with values around 44.8 wt%. Co-feeding hydrogenated pyrolysis oils did not lead to a rise in sulfur content in the gasoline fractions. The highest values were around 18 ppm sulfur content. Instead, higher amounts of nitrogen were observed in the gasoline. Conclusions: SPO and SDPO proved to be valuable co-refining options which led to no significant decreases in product quality. Further experiments are encouraged to determine the maximum possible co-feeding rates. As a first step, 20-30 wt% for SPO are recommended, whereas for SDPO 100 wt% could be achievable.

Yield prediction is an integral part of every refinery process due to the intricacy of the process and composition of crude oil. Inability to sufficiently predict the yields before refinery process creates challenges such as inadequacy in planning the operating conditions to meet product target, product optimisation failure and inability to meet product market specification. Predicting yields using a yield pattern model practised by the Tema Oil Refinery is economical; however, it is time consuming and tedious. This paper focused on using a Visual Basic 6.0 programming language to predict product yields that is based on kinetic reaction models. A user friendly and efficient software application has been developed to predict product yields within a short time. This software is compatible with all windows platforms and satisfactorily predicts crude oil yields with a certainty range of 94.0 to 99.0%.

ZSM-5 zeolite catalysts modified with zinc were prepared by two forms of Zn incorporation the synthesis gel, and ion exchange techniques. The physico-chemical properties of zeolites were studied by XRD, N2-adsorption, NH3 temperature-programmed desorption, 27Al and 29Si MAS NMR, SEM, TEM and TGA. ZSM-5 zeolite in its acid form was exchanged using an aqueous zinc salt solution and demonstrated a significantly higher selectivity for the aromatic products in comparison with the purely acidic catalysts. The samples with distribution of ZnOH+ species are more active than the samples with ZnO sites in the zeolites. The synthesis of zeolite ZSM-5 of nanometric size resulted to present high stability and selectivity towards light aromatics. The influence of the form of zinc incorporation, the acidity and the reaction temperature had a great influence on the catalytic activity. The MTA catalyst lifetime is increased by several times due to the enhanced mesoporosity and decreased acidity. In the present work the zeolite HZSM-5 exchanged with Zn with Si/Al 25 ratio presented conversions close to 100% methanol with 32% selectivity to the BTX fraction, however, this catalyst was deactivated after 8 h of reaction with a weight hourly space velocity of 4.74 h−1 at 450 °C. On the other hand, a HZSM-5 zeolite with nanoscale crystals was found to be more stable in the MTA reaction. The nanometric catalyst showed conversions around 100% methanol after 8 h of reaction and 32.5% selectivity to the BTX fraction to 450 °C. These results clearly indicate that crystal size significantly influence the ZSM-5 lifetime and product distribution.

  • Daoke Yu
  • Wenbin Chen Wenbin Chen
  • Shichao Zhang
  • Yiwen Fang

The synthesis conditions of HZSM-5 zeolite, including crystallization temperature, crystallization time and raw material ratio, were investigated by L32 (4⁸) orthogonal test to specifically optimize its performance in dimethyl ether (DME) aromatization for the first time. Based on the total yield of aromatic products, the synthesis conditions of HZSM-5 zeolite with the best DME aromatization properties were obtained by comprehensive analysis and validation experiments. The relationship between the aromatization performance, crystalline structure, pore structure, and acidity of HZSM-5 zeolite were analyzed. The results showed that the HZSM-5 zeolite accompanied by hierarchical structure, an appropriate Brønsted and Lewis acid content and uniform crystal morphology, was successfully synthesized under optimized conditions. Over this unmodified and un-doped catalyst, the conversion of DME approached to 99.3% and the total yield of aromatics reached was 53.5%.

  • Libing Zhang
  • Terri L. Butler
  • Bin Yang

The aviation industry has achieved several milestones in emission reduction including improved aircraft fuel efficiency and better air traffic control to promote safe, efficient and sustainable air travel. However, no clear winning sustainable jet fuel technology exists, a situation that encourages continued research and development in innovative biojet fuel technologies. This chapter provides an overview of current opportunities for the development of biojet fuels and highlights the reasons behind the burgeoning efforts. It presents a summary of the current biojet fuel technologies, and the status of several specific challenges facing the industry is explained, which help the reader to better understand the overall landscape of biojet fuels. Aviation should be environmentally sustainable, cause minimal pollution to air and water, and contribute to high quality human life. Results indicated that coproduction of jet fuel from waste lignin can dramatically improve the overall economic viability of an integrated process for corn stover ethanol production.

  • N.A. Syarina
  • W.M. Wan Rosdi
  • A.H. Hussin
  • Aliff Radzuan Mohamad Radzi Aliff Radzuan Mohamad Radzi

Natural gas need to undergo processes in order to reach its highest purity. The objective of this paper is to determine which type of amines that can give a high removal percentage of H 2 S and CO 2 from the gas stream and to evaluate the plant by using sustainability evaluator. Impurities such as carbon dioxide (CO 2) and hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) can be found inside natural gas and removal of these impurities are crucial as it can cause corrosion hence affecting the market value of natural gas. Mixtures of different amines are widely used for the removal of H 2 S and CO 2 in gas sweetening process. In this study, three different types of amines which are Monoethanolamine (MEA), Diethanolamine (DEA) and Methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) are added to Aspen HYSYS ® simulation in order to determine the efficiency of these three amines. This provides a fluid package where it is related with the process which is Acid Gas package. Data from the simulation were extracted and fed into sustainability evaluator which includes the economic, environmental and social analysis. Based on the simulation, it is proved that MEA is the most effective amine in removing CO 2 and H 2 S from the natural gas stream. The most sustainable plant is among the three amines is MDEA. In a nutshell, sustainability evaluator can be one of the best evaluator to check the sustainability of the plant.

  • Yanming Jia
  • Junwen Wang
  • Kan Zhang Kan Zhang
  • Chuanmin Ding

A highly shape‐selective and relatively long‐lifetime HZSM‐5‐based catalyst (Zn‐2P/HZSM‐5) was prepared by chemical modification with both ZnSiF6·6H2O and H3PO4 solution. The phosphoric acid modification could effectively modulate the Brønsted acid strength of the HZSM‐5 catalyst, which promotes the oligomerization, alkylation, cyclization, and hydrogen transfer reactions. The introduction of Zn‐Lewis acid sites significantly improved the dehydroaromatization of higher olefins. All of these were very beneficial for the generation of BTX (i.e. b enzene, t oluene, and x ylene) hydrocarbons in aromatization of methanol. The coke amount and the average rate of coke formation decreased over the Zn‐2P/HZSM‐5 catalysts, which may largely be ascribed to its lower strong acid sites and lower outer surface acidity. The catalytic performance of methanol aromatization showed that the Zn‐2P/HZSM‐5 catalyst exhibited the highest BTX selectivity of about 46.76% and the longest catalytic lifetime of about 498 h at T = 400 °C, P = 0.1 MPa, and weight hourly space velocity = 0.7 h⁻¹.

Hydrothermal gasification (HTG) is applicable to high moisture content biomass feedstock such as wet microalgae. The key interests of this thermochemical processing are its ability to use whole algae instead of simply lipid extracts and to use a wide range of algal feedstocks. It employs water in the form of a reaction medium to disintegrate biomass into hydrogen gas. The products' composition and yields are a function of process parameters, namely feed concentration, pressure, and temperature. There is very limited literature available on model development to understand the impacts of various input parameters on the products of HTG. This study presents development of a detailed process model for HTG and the illustration of process parameters on the gas product yields. The approach includes developing the system model, identifying the key process parameters in the reactor setup that affect syngas yield, and understanding the overall process in terms of final product yield. A simulation of hydrothermal gasification based on thermodynamic equilibrium is studied. Based on the developed process model about 52.1 tonnes/day of hydrogen can be produced from 500 tonnes/day of wet algal biomass. This shows the potential of large‐scale hydrogen production through this process for hydrogen economy. The results from this study could be used by the gas processing industry and policymakers to determine the most feasible means of converting biomass‐based resources into gaseous fuels.

The adsorption energy and electronic properties of sulfur dioxide (SO2) adsorbed on different low-Miller index cobalt phosphide (CoP) surfaces were examined using density functional theory (DFT). Different surface atomic terminations and initial molecular orientations were systematically investigated in detail to determine the most active and stable surface for use as a hydrotreating catalyst. It was found that the surface catalytic reactivity of CoP and its performance were highly sensitive to the crystal plane, where the surface orientation/termination had a remarkable impact on the interfacial chemical bonding and electronic states toward the adsorption of the SO2 molecule. Specifically, analysis of the surface energy adsorption revealed that SO2 on Co-terminated surfaces, especially in (010), (101) and (110) facets, is energetically more favorable compared to other low index surfaces. Charge density difference, density of states (DOS) and Gibbs free energy studies were also carried out to further understand the bonding mechanism and the electronic interactions with the adsorbate. It is anticipated that the current findings will support experimental research towards the design of catalysts for SO2 hydrodesulfurization based on cobalt phosphide nanoparticles.

  • Heinrich Predel
  • Srini Srivatsan

This chapter points out the production and application of petroleum coke. All the time the delayed coking process develops as the favorite process for reprocessing of crude residues with yearly increasing rates up to 10% per year. The conditions and the optimization factors of the delayed coking process are reported and quantified. The existing worldwide plants of delayed coking and calcination of petroleum coke are listed up. The planned projects are reported. The amount and the physical and chemical qualities of petroleum coke products are described: green petroleum coke especially as energy source for concrete and power production. From the calcined forms the following are of importance: regular calcinate for the carbon anodes in the aluminum production and needle coke for the production of graphite electrodes used in arc furnace in steel processes. The environmental and safety aspects and the combustion behavior of the petroleum coke products are described.

The thermodynamic modeling of the fuel evaporation in a tank of petrol engine cars by calculation of vapor‐liquid equilibria of multi‐compound systems of real model fluids is described. An overview of the modeling background and formulation is provided. The results of simulated fuel evaporation with the derived model for the first diurnal for different types of fuels and influencing parameters are presented. This paper deals with the thermodynamic calculation of vapor‐liquid equilibria of multi‐compound systems of real model fluids in tanks of petrol engine cars. The presented model improves the calculation of fuel evaporation with only the knowledge of the fuel composition and the temperature profile considered.

A series of Zn-incorporated nano-ZSM-5 zeolites were synthesized by a dry gel conversion (DGC) method using tetrapropylammonium hydroxide (TPAOH) as a single template, and their activity in methanol to aromatics (MTA) process was investigated. The characterization results revealed that the introduction of Zn species slightly decreased the crystal size with the formation of some agglomerated particles. We also demonstrated that new Lewis acid sites formed in Zn-incorporated nano-ZSM-5 zeolite at the expense of Brønsted acid sites. The amount of medium acid sites in Zn-modified samples increased with increasing of Zn contents. Catalytic evaluation results revealed that the selectivity of BTX and aromatics for the sample synthesized via direct synthesis (Zn-NZ5-3) is increased from 24.0% and 37.9% to 27.9% and 46.4%, respectively. In addition, the lifetime of the sample prepared by the direct synthesis (Zn-NZ5-3) was 33% longer than that of the impregnated sample, while the selectivity of BTX and aromatics was slightly higher.

  • Firas S. Alrashed
  • Umer Zahid Umer Zahid

A comparison study between conventional and PdAu-based membrane steam methane reforming (SMR) processes for small-scale hydrogen production was conducted. Both processes were simulated using a commercial simulation software Aspen Plus. For the PdAu-based membrane reactor, a 1D pseudo-homogenous model was developed via Aspen Custom Modeler (ACM). The optimum operating pressure and temperature for the membrane SMR process are 30 bar and 550˚C. While the conventional SMR process has higher performance operating at 23 bar and 900˚C at the reforming reactor outlet. The simulation results revealed that the membrane SMR process has higher methane conversion, hydrogen yield, and process energy efficiency than the conventional SMR process. Moreover, cost analysis was conducted for both processes to study their economic feasibility. The analysis revealed that hydrogen production costs for conventional and membrane SMR processes are 4.54 and 2.87 $/kg H2 respectively.

This work investigates the effect of adding two kerosene-based fuels namely jet fuel (J100) and paraffinic solvent (P100) to diesel and diesel–biodiesel blends on performance, combustion characteristics and emissions of high-compression ratio (21.5) compression ignition (CI) engine. Engine experiments were conducted at a constant speed of 2000 rpm over the entire load span. Experiments were performed using a single cylinder, air-cooled, 4-stroke, direct injection CI engine. Three volume-based blending ratios including 5%, 10% and 15% of each additive were separately-blended with neat diesel and with B30 (70% diesel, 30% biodiesel). The two additives have a same number of carbon atoms C10−C13. FT-IR and GC–MS measurements showed that J100 has higher aromatic/less paraffinic contents than P100. Engine experiments revealed that for binary blends, adding 15% of J100 and P100 to diesel achieved maximum average reduction of 8.4% and 5.6% in brake specific fuel consumption (bsfc), respectively. Ternary blends kept running on bsfc close to this of diesel. For binary blends, stable performance of the engine was attained only with up to 10% addition of P100 or J100. For ternary blends, stable performance was achieved up to 10% and 15% of P100 and J100, respectively. Maximum reduction in NOx emissions of 38.7% was achieved for D95-P5. While B30-J15 achieved maximum reduction in CO emission of 50.3%. Using optimization maps, 10% and 15% of J100 were found as the optimum blending ratios for binary and ternary blends, respectively. These ratios achieve stable and economic performance with low NOx and CO emissions.

  • Edward Furimsky Edward Furimsky

The worldwide trends in the crude oil supply indicate a continuous increase of the heavy crudes. The increase in the yield of distillation residues is complemented by an increase in their sulfur content. Additional distillates are produced by upgrading the residues. The upgrading step generates final residues, such as visbreaking tar coke and asphalt which are produced by visbreaking, coking avid deasphalting, respectively. The final residues can be converted to usable products such as hydrogen steam, electricity, ammonia and chemicals. For this purpose, gasification has emerged as the technology of choice because of its superior environmental performance when compared with the competing means for residue utilization. Also, refinery sludges can be cogasified with the final residues and as such, be converted to usable products. If integrated with the petroleum refinery, gasification can diminish any environmental problems associated with residue and sludge disposal. The economic indicators of the refinery cart improve as well. The trends in deregulation of the power market enable petroleum refineries to enter this lucrative market either alone or in a partnership with the utilities. The potential of coproduction of chemicals and steam with electricity offers the flexibility to respond to market demands. Gasification technology is commercially proven Among several types, entrained bed gasifiers are the gasifiers of choice. A number of commercial projects in Europe, Asia and United States use a gasifier employing either a slurry feeding system or a dry feeding system.

The fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) has a major effect on profitability of an oil refinery. The FCCU is difficult to model well, due to significant nonlinearities and interactions. Control of the FCC is challenging and there is strong incentive to use multivariable (MV) control schemes, such as model predictive control (MPC), which accommodate these interactions. The linear MV schemes rely on linearized model around an operating point and therefore, it is difficult to obtain high quality control. This paper uses a singular value decomposition method (N4SID) to obtain a state space model which is then reduced to a step model required by the MPC algorithm. Simulations on a detailed model [Chem. Eng. Comm. 146 (1996) 163; Trans. IchemE 75 (1997) 401; A modified integrated dynamic model of a riser type FCC unit, Master's Thesis, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon (1998); Can. J. Chem. Eng. 77 (1999) 169] show the effectiveness of this approach.

In recent years, environmental regulations caused that the FCC units have found very important roles in oilrefineries for improve the quality of oil products. Thus, availability of a modeling program for FCC is a majorimportance in unit optimization and scale-up or reducing the problems of a FCC unit. In this article a onedimensionaladiabatic model for riser reactor of FCC unit, was developed. The hydrodynamic model wasdescribed based on Patience et al. (1992) correlation .The chemical reactions were characterized by a four- lumpkinetic model, (Han and Chung, 2001), (Juarez et al., 1997) and the optimization techniques applied to modify thekinetic parameters. Comparison of model prediction data with industrial ones shows that the model has beenachieved adequately.Simulation studies are performed to investigate the effect of changing process variables, such input catalysttemperature and catalyst to oil ratio (COR).

  • FILIMONOV VA
  • POPOV AA
  • KHAVKIN VA
  • Alexander Victorovich Agafonov Alexander Victorovich Agafonov

It is shown experimentally that an increase in the process temperature results in a gradual decrease in the fraction of reactions due to aromatic and benzonaphthane hydrocarbons, and an increase in the fraction of reactions of paraffin and naphthene hydrocarbons.

  • D.G. Hammond
  • L.F. Lampert
  • C.J. Mart
  • A.C. Woerner

A review on the basic aspects of technologies dealing with fluid bed coking covers hydrocarbon production; coke gasification; products from Fluid Coking and Flexicoking; process selection criteria; and comparison of relative economics for the upgrading of crude oil residues that can encompass a number of process technologies depending on the feedstock (atmospheric vs. vacuum residua) and the technology type (carbon rejection vs. hydrogen addition).

  • S.-Q. Zhao
  • C.M. Xu
  • R.-A. Wang

A selective separation and recovery process has been developed based on the supercritical fluid extraction and fractionation (SFEF) technology. The solvent used varies from C3 to C5, depending on process objective. Basic research work has been done on the phase behavior, phase equilibria and modeling of a number of systems including petroleum residue, polymers, waxes and lubricants with the light hydrocarbon solvents. Semi-batch pilot and continuous pilot experiments were performed to establish data base for the process design of industrial scale. The effects of operation parameters, such as temperature, pressure, ratio of solvent to oil and residence time, on separation selectivity and yield of extracts were studied in a wide range. Industrial demonstration plant with a capacity of 15 kt/a was setup and has run for a sufficient long period of time to confirm the design and to obtain the energy cost and economic analysis data for further commercial scale up. It was found that the process offers high efficient products and solvent recovery.

A model for a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit which describes the dynamic behaviour of the riser, particle separator vessel, and the regenerator is developed. The model consists of coupled ordinary differential equations. This facilitates the solution of the equations and makes the model particularly suitable for control studies. A sensitivity study is carried out to determine the interactions between the three controlled and manipulated variables and the elements of the Bristol1 relative gain array matrix. The relative gain array analysis suggested that the temperature at the top of the riser, the pressure drop between the particle separator vessel and the regenerator, and the catalyst holdup in the particle separator vessel should be controlled by manipulation of the flow rates of the regenerated catalyst, flue gas from the regenerator, and the spent catalyst leaving the particle separator vessel, respectively. Three Pi-controllers were used to achieve reasonable control of the process.

  • Jorge Ancheyta-Juárez
  • José A. Murillo-Hernández

In this work we propose a simple method to estimate gasoline, gas, and coke yields in the catalytic cracking process. The method requires only experimental information about the variation with time of product yields, which are correlated using a third-order polynomial. Combined cracking and decay constants in the 3- and 4-lump kinetic models reported in the literature are estimated by linear regression analysis using experimental data and the proposed methodology. The kinetic model differential equations were solved using a fourth order Runge−Kutta method in order to evaluate FCC product yield−conversion relationships. The proposed methodology gives accurate predictions of product yields in the FCC process with average deviations less than 3% with respect to experimental data.

  • Mohammad Abul-Hamayel Mohammad Abul-Hamayel

This paper presents the results of kinetic modeling of high-severity fluidized catalytic cracking process using a simplified methodology of estimating kinetic parameters. A 4-lump model was used to demonstrate the new approach for modeling the kinetics data that was collected using micro-activity test (MAT) method. MAT experiments were done at 550, 600 and 650 °C. Kinetic parameters for the 4-lump model and the activation energies are presented.