Applications of Petroleum Distillation

Fuel applications. Bitumen, the residuum of petroleum distillation, is gaining interest as a low cost fuel. The main problem with bitumen as a fuel is handling the viscous, almost solid product. This issue has been addressed by emulsifying molten bitumen in water using cationic surfactants such as tallow alkyl propanediamine [92] and salts of similar amines with fatty acids [93]. The emulsions thus prepared are pumpable and useful as fuels for stationary burning such as in power generation facilities. 

Mercaptans and alkyl sulfides are the sulfur analogs of alcohols and ethers, respectively. They can be characterized by their extremely unpleasant odor. These compounds play an important role in biological systems as well as in the application of chemistry to everyday life. Some of the alkyl sulfides are found in many plant and animal oils, and are minor components of petroleum distillates, shale oil, and coal tar. 

DONKIN, P and EVANS, S V (1984) Application of steam distillation in the determination of petroleum hydrocarbons in water and mussels from dosing experiments with crude oil. Analyt Chem Acta 156,207-219. 

This test method covers the determination of the density or relative density of petroleum distillates and viscous oils that can be handl in a normal fashion as liquids at test temperatures between IS and 3S C. Its application is restricted to liquids with vapor pressures below 600 mm Hg (80 kPa) and viscosities below about 15 000 cSt (mm s) at the temperature of test. 

The MTBE reactive distillation process was patented several decades ago, and the process was widely used in the petroleum industry. Many reactive columns were installed around the world to produce MTBE, which was blended into gasoline. This process was probably the largest application of reactive distillation in terms of the number of columns and total production capacity. Because MTBE presents groundwater contamination problems, it is gradually being phased out of use in gasoline. 

To extend the applicability of the characterization factor to the complex mixtures of hydrocarbons found in petroleum fractions, it was necessary to introduce the concept of a mean average boiling point temperature to a petroleum cut. This is calculated from the distillation curves, either ASTM or TBP. The volume average boiling point (VABP) is derived from the cut point temperatures for 10, 20, 50, 80 or 90% for the sample in question. In the above formula, VABP replaces the boiling point for the pure component. 

Crude oil is the source for over. 1,(1(1() petroleum-based products for both industrial and consumer applications. The technique of distillation, the first stage processing of petroleum, exploits the different boiling points of the various petroleum fractions to separate out and isolate for use the different portions of the crude. The type and proportions of hydrocarbons present in each fraction depends upon the type of crude oil used and the range of temperatures employed. The major products produced directly... 

Kerosene or sometimes referred to as Fuel Oil 1 is a refined petroleum distillate. Kerosenes usually have flash points within the range of 37.8 °C to 54.4 °C (100 °F to 130 °F). Therefore unless heated, kerosene will usually not produce ignitable mixtures over its surface. In atmospheric burning smoke production normally occurs. It is commonly used as a fuel and a solvent. In some applications it is treated with sulfuric acid to reduce the content of aromatics, which bum with a smoky flame. 

Pure xylan is not employed in industry. but crude xylan or pentosans are of industrial importance. Xylan has been proposed as a textile size but is not employed as yet for this purpose.130 Perhaps the largest use of pentosans is in their conversion to furfural, which has many applications and serves as the source of other furan derivatives. At the present time, large quantities of furfural are used in the extractive purification of petroleum products, and recently a large plant has been constructed to convert furfural by a series of reactions to adipic acid and hexamethylene-diamine, basic ingredients in the synthesis of nylon. In commercial furfural manufacture, rough ground corn cobs are subjected to steam distillation in the presence of hydrochloric acid. As mentioned above, direct preferential hydrolysis of the pentosan in cobs or other pentosan-bearing products could be used for the commercial manufacture of D-xylose. 

Refining the process(es) by which petroleum is distilled and/or converted by application of a physical and chemical processes to form a variety of products are generated. 

Lead sulfide occurs in nature as the mineral galena. Most lead comes from this ore. Additionally, lead sulfide has several industrial applications. It is used in infrared detectors transistors photoconductive cells high temperature lubricants and for glazing earthenware. It also is used as a catalyst in petroleum refining for removal of mercaptans from petroleum distillates. 

Other components in the feed gas may react with and degrade the amine solution. Many of these latter reactions can be reversed by application of heat, as in a reclaimer. Some reaction products cannot be reclaimed, however. Thus to keep the concentration of these materials at an acceptable level, the solution must be purged and fresh amine added periodically. The principal sources of degradation products are the reactions with carbon dioxide, carbonyl sulfide, and carbon disulfide. In refineries, sour gas streams from vacuum distillation or from fluidized catalytic cracking (FCC) units can contain oxygen or sulfur dioxide which form heat-stable salts with the amine solution (see Fluidization Petroleum). 

Today s petroleum distillation plants are compared with the units in existence in 1925, and a review is presented of the advances during the past 25 years in construction practices and materials, instrumentation, and engineering design, which have made possible the current technology. The theory and application of special processes, such as azeotropic and extractive distillation and Hypersorption, are discussed. The development of molecular distillation and rotary columns is described to indicate possible trends to be expected in the future. 

Vapor Phase Absorption. Absorption is closely related to extractive distillation, in that a solvent is used for the separation of one or more constituents from a gaseous mixture. In absorption, however, the mixture to be treated is comprised of compounds having relatively large differences in volatility and condensation cannot be conveniently used. The various absorption processes differ primarily in the means used to separate product and absorber oil. A typical example of the application of vapor phase absorption in the petroleum industry is the recovery of gasoline from natural gas. 

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