A Fuels Products Refinery with Specialties

A fuel products refinery with specialties may manufacture products such as lubricating oils, asphalts, greases, solvents, waxes and chemical feed stocks in addition to the primary fuel products. The number and diversity of products will naturally vary from one refinery to another, but for purposes of discussion a fuel products refinery with specialties may include many of the following processes. 

Two-Stage Crude Distillation (Atmospheric and Vacuum) - The vacuum stage can be used alternately to produce heavy gas oil for catalytic cracking feed or raw lube distillate cuts for lubricating oil manufacture. 

Virgin Naphtha Catalytic Reforming (Powerforming) - This technique is used for the production of high octane motor gasoline, or as a source of aromatic compounds. 

Hydrofining usually involves only minor molecular changes of the feed with hydrogen consumption in the range of about 100 to 1,000 cu.ft./bbl. Typical applications include desulfurization of a wide range of feeds (naphtha, light and heavy distillates, and certain residua) and occasional pretreatment of cat cracker feeds. 

Hydrotreating essentially involves no reduction in molecular size with hydrogen consumption less than about 100 cu. ft./bbl. Primary application is to remove small amounts of impurities with typical uses including naphtha and kerosene hydrosweetening. 

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