180 PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY, ECONOMICS, AND POLITICS
processing units at the refinery will influence a refiner's choice of
crude oil. Refineries fall into four broad categories:
1. Topping refinery
2. Hydroskimming refinery
3. Cracking refinery
4. Coking refinery.
The topping refinery is the simplest refinery and consists only
of a distillation unit and probably a catalytic reformer to provide
octane. Typically only condensates or light sweet crude would be
processed at this type of facility unless markets for heavy fuel oil
are readily and economically available. Asphalt plants are topping
refineries that accept heavy crude oil from which the asphalt is
produced.
The next level of refining is the hydroskimming refinery, which is
equipped with a distillation unit as well as naphtha reforming and
necessary treating processes. The hydroskimming refinery is more
complex than the topping refinery and it produces gasoline.
The cracking refinery is used to process the gas oil fraction from
the crude distillation unit (a stream higher boiling than diesel fuel
but lower boiling than heavy fuel oil) and converts it to gasoline
and distillate components using catalysts, high temperature, and
high pressure.
The last level of refining is the coking refinery. This refinery processes residual fuel, the heaviest material from the crude unit and
thermally cracks it into lighter product in a coker or a hydrocracker.
The addition of a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit or a hydrocracker significantly increases the yield of higher-valued products
like gasoline and diesel oil from a barrel of crude, allowing a refinery
to process cheaper, heavier crude, while producing an equivalent
or greater volume of high-valued products. Hydrotreating is a process used to remove sulfur from finished products. As the requirement to produce ultra low sulfur products increases, additional
hydrotreating capability is being added to refineries. Refineries
that have large hydrotreating capability have the ability to process
crude oil with higher sulfur content.
The process technologies in a coking refinery vary from distillation to coking, catalytic cracking, catalytic reforming, catalytic
hydrocracking, catalytic hydrotreating, alkylation, polymerization,
aromatics extraction, isomerization, oxygenates, and hydrogen
processing units at the refinery will influence a refiner's choice of
crude oil. Refineries fall into four broad categories:
1. Topping refinery
2. Hydroskimming refinery
3. Cracking refinery
4. Coking refinery.
The topping refinery is the simplest refinery and consists only
of a distillation unit and probably a catalytic reformer to provide
octane. Typically only condensates or light sweet crude would be
processed at this type of facility unless markets for heavy fuel oil
are readily and economically available. Asphalt plants are topping
refineries that accept heavy crude oil from which the asphalt is
produced.
The next level of refining is the hydroskimming refinery, which is
equipped with a distillation unit as well as naphtha reforming and
necessary treating processes. The hydroskimming refinery is more
complex than the topping refinery and it produces gasoline.
The cracking refinery is used to process the gas oil fraction from
the crude distillation unit (a stream higher boiling than diesel fuel
but lower boiling than heavy fuel oil) and converts it to gasoline
and distillate components using catalysts, high temperature, and
high pressure.
The last level of refining is the coking refinery. This refinery processes residual fuel, the heaviest material from the crude unit and
thermally cracks it into lighter product in a coker or a hydrocracker.
The addition of a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit or a hydrocracker significantly increases the yield of higher-valued products
like gasoline and diesel oil from a barrel of crude, allowing a refinery
to process cheaper, heavier crude, while producing an equivalent
or greater volume of high-valued products. Hydrotreating is a process used to remove sulfur from finished products. As the requirement to produce ultra low sulfur products increases, additional
hydrotreating capability is being added to refineries. Refineries
that have large hydrotreating capability have the ability to process
crude oil with higher sulfur content.
The process technologies in a coking refinery vary from distillation to coking, catalytic cracking, catalytic reforming, catalytic
hydrocracking, catalytic hydrotreating, alkylation, polymerization,
aromatics extraction, isomerization, oxygenates, and hydrogen