Petroleum Refinery Process Modeling

Integrated Optimization Tools and Applications

Y. A. Liu, Ai-Fu Chang, Kiran Pashikanti

• Publisher: Wiley-VCH
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9783527813384
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Fossil Fuels
• Index: Technology & Engineering

A comprehensive review of the theory and practice of the simulation and optimization of the petroleum refining processes Petroleum Refinery Process Modeling offers a thorough review of how to quantitatively model key refinery reaction and fractionation processes. The text introduces the basics of dealing with the thermodynamics and physical property predictions of hydrocarbon components in the context of process modeling. The authors - three experts on the topic - outline the procedures and include the key data required for building reaction and fractionation models with commercial software. The text shows how to filter through the extensive data available at the refinery and using plant data to begin calibrating available models and extend the models to include key fractionation sub-models. It provides a sound and informed basis to understand and exploit plant phenomena to improve yield, consistency, and performance. In addition, the authors offer information on applying models in an overall refinery context through refinery planning based on linear programming. This important resource: -Offers the basic information of thermodynamics and physical property predictions of hydrocarbon components in the context of process modeling
-Uses the key concepts of fractionation lumps and physical properties to develop detailed models and workflows for atmospheric (CDU) and vacuum (VDU) distillation units
-Discusses modeling FCC, catalytic reforming and hydroprocessing units Written for chemical engineers, process engineers, and engineers for measurement and control, this resource explores the advanced simulation tools and techniques that are available to support experienced and aid new operators and engineers.

Chapter 1
Characterization and Physical and Thermodynamic Properties of Oil Fractions

This chapter introduces the common methods for characterizing crude oils and petroleum fractions (i.e., oil fractions) and estimating their thermophysical properties. We begin by defining the essential bulk and fractional properties of oil fractions and by explaining the various types of distillation curves and their interconversion (Section 1.1.1). Next, we explain the generation of hypothetical components (“hypos”) or pseudocomponents of oil fractions based on boiling point ranges and the estimation of density and molecular weight distributions of the resulting hypos (Section 1.3). Sections 1.4–1.9 present six hands-on workshops using Excel spreadsheets and Aspen HYSYS Petroleum Refining for (1) the interconversion of distillation curve data; (2) the extrapolation of an incomplete distillation curve data; (3) the calculation of the mean average boiling point (MeABP) of a given oil fraction; (4) specifying an oil fraction in the old oil manager; (5) representing an oil fraction in the new petroleum assay manager; and (6) conversion from the oil manager to petroleum assay manager and improvements of the petroleum assay manager over the oil manager.

Section 1.10 introduces the essential thermophysical properties for developing refinery reaction and fractionation process models. Section 1.10.1 presents the useful methods for estimating the thermophysical properties (e.g., molecular weight, liquid density, critical properties, ideal gas heat capacity, and heat of vaporization) of pseudocomponents of oil fractions. Section 1.11 describes the important thermodynamic models for refinery reaction and fractionation processes. Section 1.12 discusses the estimation methods for other physical properties such as flash point, freeze point, and PNA (paraffin, naphthalene, and aromatic) content of a refinery feed. Section 1.13 summarizes the conclusion of this chapter. Finally, we present the nomenclature and bibliography.

1.1 Crude Assay

Crude oils and petroleum fractions are the most important feedstocks for refining processes. To properly simulate the refining processes, we must have good understanding of the compositional information and thermophysical properties of crude oils and petroleum fractions. However, the complexity of molecular composition of crude oils and petroleum fractions makes it hardly possible to identify individual molecules. Instead, modern refiners use assay to characterize crude o...