Modem petrochemical refinery

The biorefinery concept is analogous to the modem petrochemical refinery, which is an integrated system of the production of fuels and other value-added products from the biological conversion of various fractions of biomass at different process conditions. A broader classification of the commercial products obtained by the biochemical conversion route is enlisted in Table 25.1. The demand for biofuels will increase to 180/XX) milUon liters, out of which bioethanol constitutes 73% of the demand (Dutta et al., 2012). The increasing demand for biofuels is mainly... 

Modem petrochemical complexes manufacture various high-quality oils and fuels as well as new types of chemical products. The quality of these products depends on the quality of the initial raw material, i.e. crude petroleum. In the past, the technological processing scheme of older oil refineries could be used to process crude petroleum with mineral salts contents of 100—500 mg/L. Petroleum with a lower salt content is required in modern refineries. Thus, frequently before... 

Development of plans for handling accidents and emergencies must precede tlie actual occurrence of these events. In recent years incidents related to tlie chemical, petrochemical, and refinery industries have caused particular concern. Since tlie products of tliese industries are essential in a modem society, every attempt must be made to identify and reduce tlie risk of accidents or emergencies in tliese areas. 

Some common challenges specific to refinery applications are relatively low furnace operating temperature, significant variation in fuels, and retrofitting existing equipment to utilize modem low or ultra-low emission burners. Relative to reforming and petrochemical applications, most refinery heaters operate at relatively low... 

The modem chemical industry relies heavily on petroleum as a feedstock for the production of bulk and specialty chemicals. Although transport fuel and electricity generation remain the primary uses of fossil oil, chemical production accounts for a significant proportion of refinery output. In the UK, petrochemical production accounts for around 6% of oil consumption [1] and it has been suggested that the petrochemical industry consumes 10% of global mineral oil output [2, 3]. Therefore, as much as 360 million tonnes of oil could have been used for the production of chemicals in 2008 [4]. It is clear that chemical manufacturing represents a major direct use of nonrenewable petroleum. 

Catalytic cracking is one of the most important processes in a modem refinery. It is the most economic way to convert low-valne cmde oil fractions into more valuable products and it has been described not only as the heart of the refineiy but also as the garbage can Although the process was originally developed as a gasoline producer it also supplies large volumes of gaseous hydrocarbons that are used in alkylation plants and as petrochemical feedstock. Furthermore, domestic fuel oil is an important by-product. 

More than 90% of today s petrochemicals are produced from refineiy products. Most are based on the use of C2-C4 olefins and aromatics finm hydrocarbon steam cracking units, which are even more closely linked to refineries. In North America, the feedstock for steam cracker units have generally been ethane, propane, or LPG. As a result, most of the propylene and aromatics have been provided by FCC units and catalytic reformers. In maity other parts of the world where naphtha feed has been more readily available, suppUes of propylene and aromatics have been produced directly by steam cracking. When necessary, the catalytic dehydrogenation of paraffins or dealkylation of toluene can balance the supply of olefins or benzene. In Table 7.2 some of the catalytic processes that convert olefins and benzene from a steam cracker into basic petrochemicals for the modem chemical industry are shown. 

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