I would like to ask about naphtha and residue oil
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As the title suggests, what is the relationship between naphtha and raffinate? Naphtha is an umbrella term; does it include raffinate oil? 2 Additionally, among the current types of blended gasoline, which one offers the best cost-performance ratio as a raw material? 3 Isn’t there an import quota for crude oil as well? What does it mean? I would be grateful if an expert could share their insights. Thank you
Naphtha is one of the petroleum products, also known as light oil for industrial use. It is a lightweight oil produced by processing crude oil or other raw materials and is used as a raw material in the chemical industry, primarily for reformation and other chemical processes. There are various boiling ranges depending on the intended use; in China, the boiling range is defined as from the initial boiling point up to around 220°C. When used as a reforming feedstock for the production of aromatics, the fraction ranging from 70°C to 145°C is referred to as light naphtha ； When the goal is to produce high-octane gasoline, fractions ranging from 70°C to 180°C are used, along with weighted naphtha ； When used as a solvent, it is called solvent naphtha ； Aromatic solvents derived from coal tar are also known as heavy naphtha or solvent naphtha. Residue oil: In the petroleum refining process, residue oil refers generally to the distillate oil remaining after the extraction of aromatics from catalytic reforming products (reformate gasoline) (see aromatic extraction). Its main components are alkanes with carbon atoms numbered 6 to 8, along with a certain amount of cycloalkanes; it is an excellent raw material for the petrochemical industry and can be used for the cracking of hydrocarbons to produce ethylene. Furthermore, the raffinate from furfural extraction and solvent deasphalting is a lubricant base oil, with a boiling point range greater than 360°C.
The naphtha mentioned by the poster is likely the overhead oil from atmospheric distillation units, commonly referred to as naphtha. The residue oil, on the other hand, is the aromatic residue obtained from catalytic reforming units. Naphtha is a product of the primary processing of petroleum, while residue oil is a product of its further processing; there is no direct relationship between them, although their components or boiling ranges overlap to a large extent, and both fall under the category of gasoline components in a broad sense. Both types of oil can be used as raw materials for ethylene cracking, though naphtha produced through primary processing is more cost-effective. However, naphtha, which is composed almost entirely of alkanes, has a low octane number; likewise, the raffinate obtained by removing high-octane aromatics also has a low octane number, and neither is suitable for use in gasoline blending.