【Daily Question】1.8 Short-answer question: What is the impact of lighter raw material properties on operations?

1. The distillation composition of the crude oil allows one to determine its density and the range of its boiling points. When the chemical composition of the crude oil is similar, the heavier fractions are more prone to cracking, while the lighter fractions are less likely to crack. 2. As mentioned by the original poster, an increase in the light components of the crude oil leads to lower yields of gasoline and coke, as well as higher gas yields; the octane rating of gasoline may also decrease. Operationally, this results in a lower temperature in the reactor regenerator, increased gas yields that affect the feed load to the distillation tower. If not properly controlled, this can cause flooding in the distillation tower. When the crude oil becomes lighter, it is possible to increase the amount of oil reused in processing. 3. If the crude oil becomes heavier, with more aromatic hydrocarbons present, it leads to lower gasoline yields, more coke formation, and reduced overall product yields. Operationally, this results in a higher temperature in the regenerator, an increased external heat load, and rising levels in both the distillation tower and the oil reprocessing tanks. In such cases, it is possible to reduce the amount of oil reused and the feed volume, while ensuring proper control over the three key equilibrium conditions in the reaction process.

What is the impact of lighter raw material properties on operations? As the raw materials become lighter, the liquid yield should increase while the coke yield decreases, resulting in a new thermal balance.

The pressure at the top of the distillation tower increases, the amount of non-condensable gas rises, the cooling load at the tower top increases, the temperature after cooling goes up, the liquid level at the bottom of the tower drops, the yield of light gasoline increases, and the dry point decreases.

The lighter raw materials result in a higher split load, and a high nitrogen content has a significant impact on the subsequent hydrogenation catalysts

1. The distillation composition of the feed oil allows one to determine its density and the range of its boiling points. When the chemical composition of the feed oil is similar, the heavier fractions are more prone to cracking, while the lighter fractions are less susceptible to it. 2. An increase in the light components of the feed oil results in lower yields of gasoline and coke, as well as higher yields of gases; moreover, the octane rating of gasoline may decrease. 3. As the feed oil becomes lighter, the load on the tower top increases, so it is necessary to increase the reflux rate from the middle section of the tower.

The pressure at the top of the primary distillation tower increases, the amount of non-condensable gas rises, the cooling load at the tower top increases, the temperature after cooling goes up, the liquid level at the bottom of the tower drops, the yield of gasoline from the top of the tower increases, and the dry point decreases

The raw materials are lighter, resulting in a high split load and an abundance of light components at the top of the tower

Reduce the heating amount. More is extracted from the top of the tower, and less from the bottom.

The top temperature and pressure in the atmospheric pressure tower increase, the dry point of the product is high, and the load on the atmospheric pressure furnace is high.

An increase in the light components of the feedstock results in lower yields of gasoline and coke, as well as higher gas yields; the octane number of gasoline may decrease. Operationally, this leads to a drop in the bed temperature of the reaction regenerator, and the increased gas yield affects the feed load to the distillation column. If not properly controlled, it can cause flooding in the distillation column. When the feedstock becomes lighter, it is possible to increase the amount of oil recycled back into the process.