Ask about knowledge related to oil refining
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Currently, the prices of gasoline and diesel have dropped, and it’s difficult to find diesel in the market. The two major oil companies claim that their production capacity is insufficient to meet demand. I would like to ask the members of this forum: during the petroleum refining process, can the proportion of gasoline and diesel obtained be controlled manually? For example, if I want to produce more gasoline and less diesel, I could adjust the operating parameters of the equipment; the same goes for the reverse. Or in other words, such a ratio cannot be changed; it can only result in a fixed output?
No--production can be adjusted according to the market
No wonder there’s a shortage of diesel in the market.
In earlier years, there was a parameter known as the diesel-gasoline ratio, which is the ratio of diesel to gasoline. For simple distillation processes, it’s possible to push gasoline downward so that the components closest to the dry point end up in the diesel fraction; however, it’s necessary to control the dew point and flash point of the diesel. For catalysis, there are many more parameters that can be adjusted. In addition to fractional distillation, the reaction temperature can be modified – increasing it leads to more intense cracking, an increase in the amount of gasoline and gaseous components, and a decrease in diesel production ； Reprocess oil for reprocessing, to increase diesel yield ； Increase the oil-to-agent ratio to improve diesel yield ； Choose catalysts that produce more diesel, etc.
Refineries can operate in either gasoline or diesel production modes, depending on market demand