Petroleum refineries/refining design

There are numerous refining methods employed to extract the fractions of petroleum liquids and gases. A particular refinery process design is normally dependent on the raw feedstock characteristics (e.g., crude oil and produced gas natural specifications) and the market demands (e.g., aviation or automotive gasolines), which it intends to meet. 

Construction of the distillation units of 1925 was based to a large extent upon the practical experience and know-how of refinery men rather than upon theoretical design methods. In fact, the theory and practice of distillation which had been developed primarily by the wine industry were not adopted by the petroleum industry until the widespread use of the automobile forced the refiners to better distillation methods to increase their yield of gasoline and to improve its quality. 

Younger, A.H. Design Tips for Refinery Tank Farms. Hydrocarbon Processing Petroleum Refiner, July 1961, p. 140. 

Brown, J.D. Shannon, G.T. Design Guide to Refinery Sewers. Hydrocarbon Processing Petroleum Refiner, May 1963, p. 141. 

A 350-ton deisobutanizer distillation column, 212 feet high, was raised into position in one piece at the El Segundo refinery of Standard Oil Co. of California, Western Operations, Inc. The lift was one of the heaviest ever accomplished in the U.S. with a load of this type. Macco Refinery and Chemical Division, California, was the prime contractor for construction. [Petroleum Refiner, 37, No. 2, 184 (1958)]. Column shown was designed by one of the authors. 

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