701004 PETROLEUM AND PETROCHEMICAL ENGINEERING

STUDENT NUMBER
(202172191)

MAY 2023
 Process Design of Crude Oil Distillation Refinery
Methods
Components Databank and Oil Characterization
The heavy and light components of the refined oil were identified and studied using the
true temperature curve (TBP) for crude oil from Khalaf (2018), who used data from Al-Basrah
crude oil refinery. The light-end hydrocarbon components of the crude property data (such as
ethane, propane, butane, n-butane, and pentane) were chosen from the Aspen HYSYS databank.
The heavy components are the hydrocarbon components with incomplete thermodynamic
properties which are defined by normal boiling point within the specified range of temperature
and the heavy components cannot be characterized in laboratory measurement but were given in
the TBP data as shown in Table 1. These hypothetical boiling point crude oil data were analyzed
using an oil manager in Aspen HYSYS to blend the light end and heavy hydrocarbon into
different cut-ranges refinery products. The selected fluid package used in the simulation was the
Peng-Robinson equation of state which aiddeterminingrmine the unknown thermodynamic
properties of the crude oil assays.

Table 1: Crude oil properties data

TBP
Distillation Light End Hydrocarbons
Temperature(oC) Volume % Component Mass percent %
50.00 3.70 Ethane 0.01
60.00 4.00 Propane 0.28
70.00 5.70 i-Butane 0.18
80.00 6.50 n-Butane 0.91
100.00 9.30 i-Pentane 0.73
120.00 11.50 n-Pentane 1.25
150.00 17.00 Properties
180.00 22.23 API Gravity at 15.6 oC: 33.80
200.00 33.86 Specific Gravity : 0.856
250.00 42.34 Sulfur content : 2.10 mass %
300.00 50.58 Kinematic Viscosity (centiStoke)
350.00 58.15 at 20 oC 9.67
400.00 71.77 at 37.5 oC 6.14
Source: Al-Basrah crude oil refinery.
Process Description of Crude Oil Refinery Process
The typical flowsheet developed for the simulation of a crude oil refinery is shown in
Figure 1. The flow rate of the raw crude for the simulation was designed for 100000 barrels/day.
The raw crude was initiated by preheating at a temperature of 260 oF and 249 psig for the
subsequent desalting process. The desalting process is employed in the crude refinery to remove
the presence of salsulfurlphur content in the crude at a temperature of 250-300 oF, and it also aids
reduces corrosion of overhead equipment animprovesve heat transfer in the furnace. The warm
crude from the first pre-heating process was passed through to the desalting process after the
desalting process. The overall heating process was carried out in the furnace a at high
temperature of 650 oF and pressure of 25 psig. The hot crude was fed to the atmospheric
distillation unit which comprises of partial condenser, a reflux drum, three side strips, pers, and
three pumps around the column as shown in Figure 2. The atmospheric crude distillation
functiondistillistil the crude oil into several cuts (such as off gases, total naphtha, kerosene, light
diesel oil, heavy diesel oil, atmospheric gas oil, and residue oil). Moreover, the reflux drum
serves to recycle the off-gases and naphtha for the cracking process. The pump around the tower
provides cooling around the atmospheric distillation unit. Furthermore, the tower also comprises
50 stages (numbering top to down) with a tray design, and the hot crude oil (at 650 oF and
pressure of 25 psig) was fed at tray 40 and the steam was entering at the bottom stage at 500 oF
and 150 psig to supply the sufficient heat transfer within the trays. The top and bottom stage
pressure was 4 and 28 psig, respectively. The specification for the side stripper is presented in
Table 2.
Table 2: Specifications for crude distillation unit side stripper

Number of Steam Flowrate

Stripper Trays (lb/hr) Product Stages
Flowrate (barrel/day)

Kerosene
Stripper 10 25000 18204.88 6 to 9
Diesel
Stripper 10 25000 15723.52 16 to 19
AGO
Stripper 10 25000 6717 26 to 29

Table 3: Specifications of the pump around the column

Pump around Location between trays Flow rate (barrel/day) Return temperature (oF)
Kerosene PA1 7 to 10 25000 210
Diesel PA1 17 to 20 15000 210
AGO PA1 27 to 30 10000 340

Equipment sizing of the processing unit

The distillation column was sized after the flowsheet analysis of evaluating mass and
energy computations.
Figure 1: Process flowsheet for crude oil refinery process

Figure 2: Column flowsheet for the atmospheric crude distillation unit

Safety Evaluation of Crude Distillation Refinery
The safety analysis was done to minimize the inherent risk associated with the processing
unit in the crude distillation refinery with a procedural guideline of the following process
variables such as flow, level, pressure, and temperature. The full details of the piping and
instrumentation diagrams of the process equipment as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Piping and Instrumentation diagram for the crude distillation process

The Economic Evaluation of Crude Oil Distillation Refinery

The capital costs and operating costs were determined by an economic assessment under Aspen
economic analyzer with selected economic parameters. The economic parameters include the
number of shifts, the feedstock price, tax rate, annual interest rate, internal rate of return, utility
cost, feedstock prices, the operative charges, among others. The depreciation method was
defined with a project life of 15 years. Subsequently, the Net Present Value (NPV) was used as
an indicator of the economic feasibility of the entire process. The data that was used in
computing economic assessment are presented in Table 4.
Table 4: Economic assessment of the crude distillation process

Item Unit Price Remarks The

Investment parameters
Tax rate % 40
Interest rate % 20
Raw material price
Raw Crude Oil USD/barrel 86.2 Average price
Desalter water USD/barrel 2.8
Steam USD/lb 3.424
Product price
Naphtha USD/barrel 128.1 Average price
Kerosene USD/barrel 160.44 Average price
Diesel oil USD/barrel 107.1 Average price
Gas oil USD/barrel 131.88 Average price
Residue USD/barrel 97.44 Average price
Utility price
Process water USD/m3 1.2
Fuel USD/MWhr 63.6
Electricity USD/kWh 0.057
Operation cost
Operator USD/hr 22.2
Supervisor USD/hr 38.1
Operation mode
Continuous processing hr/year 8000
average price in 2001-2022 OPEC context USD-United States of American Dollar

Results and Discussion

The crude properties analysis results were obtained from the input assays and the cut

distributions output of crude oil as shown in Figures 4 and 5. It was observed from the TBP plots

that as the temperature increases, the volume fractions of crude the assay increase. Subsequently,

the output blend plots show the liquid volume fraction against the boiling point temperature of

the cut distribution in the crude oil product. The order of increasing the boiling point of the

product is off gases, total naphtha, kerosene, light diesel oil, heavy diesel oil, atmospheric gas

oil, and residue oil as shown in Figure 5. It was observed that residue cut has the highest volume

fraction which is made up of 36% of the total oil while the lowest was found in the off-gas cuts.
Figure 4: Total boiling points for inputs crude oil data assay.

Figure 5: Cut distribution of crude oil blend product.

Mass and Energy Balances Analysis
The results of the mass, compositions, and energy flow of the input and output stream
from ASPEN HYSYS modeling and simulation software are presented in Table 5. The crude
distillation cuts with the highest fraction were observed to have the highest recovery flow from
the distillation column analysis.
Table 5: Mass and Energy results of the Crude distillation unit
Temperat Pressure Volume Molar
Molar ure (oF) (psig) Molar flow flow enthalpy
fraction (lbmole/hr) (barrel/day) [Btu/lbmole]
Input feed
Hot Crude 0.9454 650.0 25.0 6663 1.00E+5 -1.062E+5
Steam 1.0 500.0 150.0 1110 1372 -1.007E+5
Kerosene steam 1.0 500.0 150.0 1388 1715 -1.007E+5
Diesel steam 1.0 500.0 150.0 1388 1715 -1.007E+5
AGO steam 1.0 500.0 150.0 1388 1715 -1.007E+5
Product
Off gas 1.0 136.8 4.00 49.77 312.1 -6.222E+4
Naphtha 1.0 136.8 4.00 2456 2.24E+4 -9.139E+4
Water draw 1.0 136.8 4.00 5587 6906 -1.219E+5
Kerosene 1.0 273.1 7.919 1407 1.82E+4 -1.282E+5
Diesel 1.0 391.1 12.82 888.4 1.572E+4 -1.692E+5
AGO 1.0 511.8 17.71 228.6 6717 -2.778E+5
Residue 1.0 553.7 28.00 1318 3.677E+4 -2.505E+5

Column Profiles and Sizing

The tray position of the crude distillation column concerning temperature, pressure, and
net volume flow is shown in Figures 6, 7, and 8, respectively. The profile indicated that the
stages of the side stripper were included in the column stages which were initially stated to be
50. The kerosene, diesel, and AGO side strippers have ten stages each. The independent variable
is the tray position and the dependent variables are the temperature, pressure, and net volume
flow. The temperature and pressure profile increases with the number of trays and dropped when
the tray position was beyond 50 which forms a representation of zig-zag due to the production of
kerosene, diesel, and AGO. The net volume flow of the liquid and vapor was observed to drop
from stage 1 to 22 and after all, has a constant value.
Figure 6: Tray Position – Temperature Profile of crude distillation column

Figure 7: Tray Position – Pressure Profile of crude distillation column

Figure 8: Tray Position – Net volume flow Profile of crude distillation column

Crude Distillation Column Sizing

The crude distillation column was sized under equipment sizing in ASPEN HYSYS
software. The following are the sizing parameters.
Column Section Summary
Section Starting Stage 1__Main Tower
Section Ending Stage 50__Main Tower
Tray Type Bubble Cap
Number Of Passes 2
Tray Spacing [ft] 5.1
Section Diameter [ft] 24.42774061
Section Height [ft] 255
Section Pressure Drop 532.8991455
[mbar]
Section Head Loss [in] 312.5771557
Trays With Weeping None
Limiting Conditions
Property Value Tray Location
Maximum % Jet Flood (%) 80.00071095 8__Main Tower
Maximum % Downcomer Backup (Aerated) 46.63215884 8__Main Tower
(%)
Maximum Downcomer Loading 104.1394915 8__Main Tower Center
(USGPM/ft2)
Maximum Weir Loading (USGPM/ft) 168.5327451 8__Main Tower Side
Maximum Aerated Height Over Weir (in) 6.502130198 8__Main Tower
Maximum % Approach To System Limit (%) 60.31376206 4__Main Tower
Maximum Cs Based On Bubbling Area (ft/s) 0.351982877 3__Main Tower
Maximum % Downcomer Choke Flood (%) 41.65562601 8__Main Tower Center

Tray Section
Tray Type Bubble Cap
Diameter [ft] 24.42774061
Tray Spacing [ft] 5.1
Number Of Passes 2
Number Of Caps 1742
Number Of Caps Per Active Area [1/m2] 50
Deck Gauge Thickness 10 Gauge
Deck Gauge Thickness Value [in] 0.134
Cross-Sectional Area [ft2] 468.658463
Active Area [ft2] 374.9267704
Net Area [ft2] 421.7926167
Figure 9: Tray section for the crude distillation

Economic Analysis of Crude Distillation Column

The economic evaluation of the two scenarios simulated by Aspen Process Economic

Analyzer software was developed based on four parameters: Capital costs, Operation costs,

internal rate of return (IRR), and Net present value (NPV). Capital investment refers to the initial

investments to carry out the processes on an industrial scale. Operating cost refers to the

production cost of raw materials, utilities cost, operating costs, maintenance of equipment,

overhead plant, and general administrative expenses while the NPV represents the net economic

benefits (profit or loss) at the end of the project.

Cost analysis of Anaerobic Digestion of BSG

The economic analysis for the crude distillation process is presented by generating an

economic evaluation report and cash flow analysis report from Aspen economizer. As presented
in Table 6, the capital cost was estimated (at about 26.8 M. USD). These results were obtained

due to the number of equipment and higher flow to generate energy which influences the capital

cost. Furthermore, the operating cost obtained is between 15.2 M. USD/year for the process.

These results are explained by the influence of raw materials cost, the cost that is incurred to run

the facilities without including the labor, utilities, and consumables on the global process,

influencing directly the operating cost. The labor cost is averaged at $60.3 per hour without

specifying the total number of personnel or the total labor required. The revenue is generated by

the product sales of generated for refined crude oil cuts. The cost of utilities and the heating

agent which is steam was determined by the software database.

Moreover, from Table 6, the plant can make a profit only after 9.68 years over the length

of the plant of 15 years. The internal rate of return (IRR) gives 26.08 which refers to the rate of

return on investment. These types of analyses are very important to comprehend the real

industrial scale possibilities that can offer the crude refinery process projects if considering what

are the limits to get feasibility in raw materials costs, electricity, and product sales.

Table 6: Executive summary of estimation of economic evaluation report

Economic Parameter Value

Project capital cost (USD) 2.68E+07
Raw materials cost (USD/Year) 1.23E+07
Product sales (USD/Year) 2.45E+07
Operating labor and maintenance cost (USD/Year) 1.03E+06
Utilities cost (USD/Year) 62363.3
Operating cost (USD/Year) 1.52E+07
Operating labor cost (USD/Year) 760000
Maintenance cost (USD/Year) 265000
Operating charges (USD/Year) 190000
Plant Overhead cost (USD/Year) 512500
Subtotal operating cost (USD/Year) 1.40E+07
Payback period (Year) 9.67904
Net Present Value Evaluation

The Net Present Value (NPV) evaluation was included to determine the economic

viability for the profitability of the entire process plant as shown in Figure 10. In the evaluation

of NPV, a negative NPV implies the economy at the end of the project life is not viable while a

positive NPV implies economic benefit in terms of profit over the end of project life. Therefore,

the NPV was evaluated by considering revenue from product sales of crude oil refined products.

The results presented in Figure 10 showed that economic feasibility in the crude distillation

process is viable at the specified rate of economic parameters. The process attained an NPV of

85.8 M. USD at the end of the project life of 15 years.

Finally, an economic analysis in terms of the NPV was carried out to evaluate the crude

oil distillation process with greater potential under favorable conditions.

10000000

5000000
NPV (M.USD)

0
1

-5000000

-10000000

-15000000

-20000000

-25000000

Project life (Years)

Figure 10: NPV for crude distillation refinery

Environmental and Safety Procedure

The Safety measures are:

The reduction of product losses
Using an emergency shut-off valve
Minimizing the amount of vapor formation
Reduction of contaminants concentration in the desalter stage
Level controller
Low head discharge pressure
Using an emergency shut-off valve
Low temperature, Low pressure, and Low-level result in flooding
Maintain column pressure, temperature controller
A routine check of the valves
High pressures resulting in vapor losses
Install pressure controller
Installation high-pressure alarm
Spillage
Installation of alarm
Emergency shut-off valve
Oil loss in the effluent water due to low temperature
Installation of alarm
Installation of temperature controller
References
Al-Basrah Refinery- Research and Development Department.
Khalaf, A.N. (2018). Steady State Simulation of Basrah Crude Oil Refinery Distillation Unit
using ASPEN HYSYS. Thi_Qar University Journal for Engineering Sciences. Vol.9 No.2
http://www.doi.org/10.31663/tqujes.9.2.312
S&P Global Platts. OPEC Survey: Methodological Guide. Argus Media. 2022. Argus Oil
Production Methodology.