Internship Report

ATTOCK REFINERY LIMITED

HEAVY CRUDE UNIT
(20th June to 18th July)

PREPARED BY: Hafiz Abdullah Ashraf

(INTERNEE) BS.c (CHEMICAL ENGG) 3rd - YEAR

UET LAHORE
(NFC IEFR)

SUBMITTED TO: MR .ARSHAD NAZIR

ATTOCK REFINERY LIMITED
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgement
INTRODUCTION 1
HISTORY 1
DEPARTMENT OF HSEQ 1
IMPORTANCE 1
PERSONAL PROTECT EQUIPMENTS 1
DEALING WITH FIRE HAZARDS 2
DEPARTMENT OF OPERATIONS 3
HEAVY CRUDE UNIT 4
INTRODUCTION 4
CRUDE OIL 4
PLANT FEED 5
PLANT PRODUCT 6
PLANT SECTIONS 6
1ST PRE-HEAT TRAIN 6
DESALTING SECTION 7
FUNCTION OF DESALTIONG 7
DESALTING AT HCU 8
2ndPRE-HEAT TRAIN 9
HEAVY CRUDE FRACTIONATOR CHARGE HEATER 9
ATMOSPHERIC FRACTIONATION 11
PUMP-AROUNDS 12
TCR 13
MCR 14
LCR 14
SIDE-STRIPPERS 14
LIGHT WEIGHT KEROSENE 15
HIGH SPEED DIESEL 16
LIGHT DIESEL OIL 17
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FRACTIONATOR BOTTOM 18
VACUUM DISTILLATION 19
VACUUM GENERATION 20
NAPHTHA STABILIZTION 20
REFLUX TO HC-V-001 20
NAPHTHA STABILIZER (HC-V-006) 20

RECOMMENDATIONS
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Acknowledgement
All praise to Almighty Allah, the most merciful and Compassionate, who give me skills
and abilities to complete this report successfully.
I am grateful to my parents who are always been a source of encouragement
for me throughout my life and from start to the end of this report.
I would also like to express my gratitude from the core of my heart to all the
officials of the company i.e. HR department, Admin Department, Shift
Engineers, Trainee Engineers, Supervisors, Area Operators and other staff
members who helped me throughout the internship period and shared their
worthy knowledge and experience at Attock Refinery Limited (ARL).

Preface
In order to be able to cope with the changing environment it is necessary to
have some practical experience.
This report documents the work done and knowledge gained during the
summer vacations internship at Attock Refinery Limited (ARL).
It contains the material about the company’s description and about the
Heavy Crude Unit.
I have tried my best to keep report simple and technically correct according
to my knowledge. I hope I succeed in my attempt.
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INTRODUCTION
Attock Refinery Limited (ARL) is the pioneer in crude oil refining in the
country with its operations dating back to the early nineteen hundreds
(1900s). Backed by a rich experience of more than 80 years of successful
operations, ARL’s plants have been gradually upgraded / replaced with state-
of-the-art hardware to remain competitive and meet new challenges and
requirements.

HISTORY:
It all began in February 1922, when two small stills of 2,500 barrel per day
(bpd) came on stream at Morgan following the first discovery of oil at Khaur
where drilling started on January 22, 1915 and at very shallow depth of 223
feet 5,000 barrels of oil flowed. After discovery of oil in Dhulia in 1937, the
Refinery was expanded in late thirties and early forties. A 5,500 bpd Lummis
Two-Stage-Distillation Unit, a Dubs Thermal Cracker Lubricating Oil Refinery,
Wax Purification facility and the Edelman Solvent Extraction unit for smoke-
point correction of Kerosene were [Link] were subsequent discoveries
of oil at Meal and Toot (1968). Reservoir studies during the period 1970-78
further indicated high potential for crude oil production of around 20,000
bpd. In 1981, the capacity of Refinery was increased by the addition of two
distillation units of 20,000 and 5,000 bpd capacity, respectively. Due to their
vintage, the old units for lube/ wax production, as well as Edelman, were
closed down in 1986. In 1999, ARL commenced JP-1 pipeline dispatches and
in 2000, a Captive Power Plant with installed capacity of 7.5 Megawatt was
commissioned. Another expansion and up gradation project was completed
in 1999 with the installation of a Heavy Crude Unit of 10,000 bpd and a
Catalytic Reformer of 5,000 bpd. ARL’s current nameplate capacity
stands at 43,000 bpd and it possesses the capability to process
lightest to heaviest (10-65 API) crudes.

DEPARTMENT OF HSEQ
IMPORTANCE:
As working for an oil refinery, where we are dealing with huge quality of
hydrocarbons and inflammables etc., it is necessary to take some special
measurements and precautions to avoid any major harms i.e. life loss.
Hence, to ensure health and safety of its employees, contractors, and
customers and work for continual improvements in Health, Safety,
Environment and Quality systems, ARL has a department to manage these
affairs, under the name tag HEALTH, SAFETY, ENVIRONMENT & QUALITY
(HSEQ).
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PERSONAL PROTECT EQUIPMENTS (PPEs)

Before entering in battery limit of any plant, following PPEs must be used for safety:
Helmet: Refinery operations are a combination of mechanical and chemical operations,
where there is a possibility that falling of any equipment on head can cause
immediate death.
Goggles: Eyes are the most sensitive part of a human body, to protect them from hazardous
gasses and chemicals, goggles must be used on field.
Shoes: On field, there can be some maintenance of any equipmentfor which all chemicals
are drained out, so protect our feet from such hazardous chemicals proper
dedicated shoes must be wore on field.
Ear-muffs: Mechanical operations are all noisy operations e.g. working of a pump,
condenser, compressor etc. and so while on field earmuffs must be worn to
protect our ears from noise pollution.
DEALING WITHFIRE HAZARDS:
Fire is produced by reaction of
 Fuel
 Ignition (Temperature)
 Oxygen (Air Supply)
We can deal with fire by remembering just the following few points and using our reflexes at the
right time.
WHATS ON FIRE? WHAT TO DO? HOW IT WORKS?
Solid materials (wood, Water at very high Water removes heat from the fire. This is possible
carpet) flow rate through water’s ability to absorb massive amounts
of heat by converting water to water vapor., hence
fire is extinguished
Liquid Materials (oils, 3% foam added to Water can’t be used directly over oils, petrol
petrol) water and sprayed because they have less density than water and
water can’t cover them, rather water settles down.
When 3% foam is mixed with water it gets less
dense then oils, petrol and hence cuts off O2 supply.
Explosive Metals Phenomenon of Water extinguishes fire by smothering the fire.
smothering is used. When water is heated to its boiling point, it
converts to water vapor. When this conversion
takes place, it dilutes the oxygen in the air with
water vapor, thus removing one of the elements that
the fire requires to burn.
Electrical Appliances DCP Extinguisher DCP fire extinguisher contains dry chemical
(control panel, (Dry Calcium powder (Sodium Bicarbonate) in container having
computer) Powder) CO2 cartridge. The powder contains approximately
80% of NaHCO3. When in contact with fire, it
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dissociates in CO2 and H2O, thus depleting the

surrounding atmosphere from the oxygen necessary
to sustain the fire and at the same time lowering the
temperature by absorbing energy to dissociate. In
addition, a layer of powder will be deposited on the
mass. Direct contact with the surrounding air
becomes impossible, thus preventing re-ignition of
the fuel.

DEPARTMENT OF OPERATIONS

PLANTS:
Operations Department is the largest department in Attock Refinery Limited. Its staff operates:
1. Heavy Crude Unit (HCU)
2. Howe Baker Unit (HBU) – I formerly known as New Distillation Unit NDU – I
3. Howe Baker Unit (HBU) – II formerly known as New Distillation Unit NDU – II
4. Reformer
5. Lumus
It also controls an effluent treatment plant for producing prime quality products in an
environment friendly manner.

PRODUCTS:
The products include LPG, Premium Motor Gasoline, Jet Fuels, Kerosene, Diesel, Furnace Fuel
Oil and various grades of Bitumen.

REFINING CAPACITY:
All crude is extracted with in Pakistan.
HEAVY CRUDE UNIT CAPACITY: 10000 barrels per day

REFORMER UNIT CAPACITY: 5000 barrels per day

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HOWE BAKER UNIT – I CAPACITY: 20000 barrels per day

HOWE BAKER UNIT – IICAPACITY: 5000 barrels per day

LUMMUS UNIT CAPACITY: 5000 barrels per day

HEAVY CRUDE UNIT

INTRODUCTION
The Heavy Crude Unit (HCU) in ARL is a fully integrated two – stage crude distillation unit and
offers lucrative process scheme derived from the optimization of study of Pinch Technology. The
function of HCU is to extract useful fractions from Crude Oil i.e. refining of Crude Oil.
The fractionation is accomplished in two fractionation towers and Naphtha Stabilizer in
association with heating, cooling and control of various variables which affect the composition
and boiling range of the various products. The heavy Crude unit is being controlled at Central
Control Room (CCR).

CRUDE OIL
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES:
Crude oil is a dark, sticky liquid which scientifically speaking is a hydrocarbon. Crude oil is
highly flammable and can be burned to create energy.

COMPOSITION:
Crude oil is a compound containing carbon and hydrogen, with or without non-metallic elements
such as oxygen and sulfur.

The hydrocarbons present in crude oil are classified into three general types:

 Paraffins
 Oelifins
 Naphthenes
 Aromatics
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The basic raw material for refinery is crude oil. The chemical compositions of crude oils are
uniform, but their physical characteristics vary widely. The elementary composition of crude oil
usually falls within the following ranges:

Carbon 84-87%
Hydrogen 11-14%
Sulfur 0-3%
Nitrogen 0-0.6%

EXTRACTION:
Crudes from different sources have different make-ups. Some may have more of the valuable
lighter hydrocarbons and some may have more of the heavier hydrocarbons.

When crude oil comes out of a well (especially an undersea well), the crude oil is often mixed
with gases, water and sand. It forms an emulsion with the water that looks a bit like caramel.
The main Methods to extract the crude oil are:
1. Gravimetric method
2. Magnetic method
3. Seismic method
PLANT FEED
The feed of Heavy Crude Unit is Heavy Crude Oil and Light Crude Oil which is extracted from
all over Pakistan.

Heavy Crude Oil:

Heavy crude oil or extra heavy crude oil is oil that is highly viscous, and cannot easily flow to
production wells under normal reservoir conditions. It is referred to as "heavy" because its
density or specific gravity is higher than that of light crude oil. Heavy crude oil has been
defined as any liquid petroleum with an API gravity less than 20°.
Physical properties that differ between heavy crude oils and lighter grades include higher
viscosity and specific gravity, as well as heavier molecular composition. Containsheavy oils and
asphalt that are dense non-aqueous phase liquids.
The capacity of HCU at heavy crude feed charge is about 10, 0000 – 11,000 BPSD

Light Crude Oil:

Light crude oil is liquid petroleum that has a low density and flows freely at room temperature. It
has a low viscosity, low specific gravity and high API gravity due to the presence of a high
proportion of light hydrocarbon fractions. It generally has a low wax content.
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Light crude oil receives a higher price than heavy crude oil on commodity markets because it
produces a higher percentage of gasoline and diesel fuel when converted into products by an oil
refinery.
The clear cut definition of light and heavy crude varies because the classification is based more
on practical grounds than theoretical. Generally light crude oil is defined as being between 37°
API (840 kg/m3) and 42° API (816 kg/m3).
The capacity of HCU at light crude feed charge is about 7, 000 – 8,000 BPSD

PLANT PRODUCTS
The unit produces:

 NAPHTHA
 KEROSENE
 HIGH SPEED DIESEL (HSD)
 LIGHT DIESEL OIL (LDO)
 JUTE BATCHING OIL (JBO)
 FURNACE FUEL OIL (FFO)
 LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS (LPG)
 PAVING GRADE ASPHALTS

PLANT SECTIONS
The Heavy Crude Unit (HCU) in ARL is a fully integrated two – stage crude distillation unit and
comprise of the following sections:
1. 1st Pre-Heat Train
2. Desalting
3. 2nd Pre-Heat Train
4. Atmospheric Fractionation Section
5. Vacuum Tower Section
6. Naphtha Stabilization

1STPRE-HEAT TRAIN
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The 1st Pre-Heat Train comprises of a series of Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers in which Crude
Oil is Pre-Heated before Desalting.
Heavy Crude is supplied from the battery limits and boosted by Heavy Crude Feed Pump HC-P-
001 A/[Link] the suction of the Heavy Crude Feed Pump, demulsifier is injected to promote the
following desalting process in the Desalters. Process Water is also injected mainly to prevent
any plugging, such as salt or sedimentation deposition, in the exchangers of Pre-Heating
Section.
FLOW-RATE OF CRUDE:
When Heavy Crude Charged: 60 – 68 m3/hr When Light Crude Charged:51 – 58 m3/hr
The boosted Heavy Crude then flows into the 1st Pre-Heat Train and is heated by products or
intermediate products or pump-around refluxes from Heavy Crude Fractionator (HC-V-001) and
Vacuum Tower (HC-V-005). Crude is in the Tube-side of all Heat Exchangers except HC-E-003
A/B due to corrosive nature of TCR.
1st Pre-Heat Train comprises of the following Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers:
HEAT EXCHANGER HOT STREAM
Feed / Vacuum Tower HC-E-001 Light Vacuum Gas Oil Inlet Pressure: 23 kg/cm2
TCR (LVGO) / Vacuum Tower TCR Outlet Pressure: 21 kg/cm2
Feed / Fractionator HC-E-002AB Fractionator Overhead Outlet Temperature: 105 0C
OVHD Outlet Pressure: 19 kg/cm2
Feed / Fractionator TCR HC-E-003AB Fractionator Top Circulating Outlet Temperature: 1110C
Reflux (TCR) Outlet Pressure: 18 kg/cm2
Feed / Kerosene Product HC-E-004AB Kerosene Outlet Temperature: 120 0C
Outlet Pressure: 16kg/cm2
Feed / HSD HC-E-005AB High Speed Diesel Outlet Temperature: 130 0C
Outlet Pressure: 1430 kPa
Feed / LDO HC-E-006 Light Diesel Oil (LDO) -
Feed / Fractionator MCR HC-E-007 Fractionator Middle -
Circulating Reflux (MCR)
By this Pre-Heating the Crude is heated to 90 – 145oC and then flows to Desalting Section

HC-P-001 A/B PUMP:

Type: Double Impeller Centrifugal Pump
Discharge Pressure: 26 – 27 kg/cm2
Capacity: 76 m3/hr.
Head: 286.7 m

DESALTINGSECTION
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After 1st Pre-Heating the Crude is desalted in the following Desalters in Series:
 1st Stage Desalter (HC-V-51)
 2nd Stage Desalter (HC-V-52)
 3rd Stage Desalter (HC-V-53)

FUNCTION OF DESALTING:
Desalters are originally used to clean up the feed of distillation unit. Desalting reduces the salt
fouling and corrosion in exchangers and pipelines. Contaminants of crude oil may remove by
electrical or chemical desalting and both can also be used together. There is lot of process
variables involved in crude desalting.
Desalter are not only used for the removal of salts but also used to remove the other impurities
from crude oil. These impurities normally consists of varying amount of solid materials, such as
slit, iron oxides, sand, crystalline salts carbon and sulfur etc.
Basically salts are not found in crude oil but in the water which present dispersed from Crude oil
is pre heated up to specific limit and fresh water is added to contact the dispersed water. Fresh
water also contact with solid impurities in the crude. Small amount of demulsifying chemical is
also added. This stream of crude, fresh water and demulsifier passes through a mixing valve
which makes a required emulsion. This stream enters the desalter and passes through a high
voltage electrical field provided by a metal electrodes connected with step up transformer.
Demulsifier breaks the emulsion and separated the water entrapped in the crude. Electrical
forces combine the small water droplets and make them so large that they settle down under
gravity. The salted water collected in the bottom is drained continuously from the vessel and
desalted crude is collected from the top of vessel for distillation.

DEMUSIFIER USED: EP- 8046

DESALTING AT HCU:
Process Water (PW) stored in the Water Storage Tank (HC-TK-001) is used as desalting water.
The desalting water is boosted by PW Feed Pump (HC-P-017 A/B) and heated in PW/Effluent
Heat Exchanger (HC-E-0027).
The heated desalting water is injected into the upstream of the mixing valve provided in the
upstream of 3rd Stage Desalter. A part of desalting water from HC-TK-001 is also injected into
the upstream of 1st Pre-Heat Train.
The total flow-rate of the injected Desalting Water is equal to 8 – 9 vol. % of the flow-rate of
Crude.
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The Desalting Water is drawn off from 3rd Stage Desalter and is boosted by PW Recycle Pump
(HC-P-018 A/B) and injected into the upstream of mixing valve provided in the upstream piping
of 2nd Stage Desalter.
The Desalting Water is drawn off from 2nd Stage Desalter and aftercooling in PW/Effluent Heat
Exchanger the drawn water is combined with the drawn water line from 1 st Stage Desalter and
sent to B.L.
PSVs (Pressure Safety Valves) are present on top of each desalter and operating pressures are
controlled by control valve installed in the outlet line of 3rd Stage Desalter.
After Desalting the salt content in Crude is about 0.4 – 1.4 PTB (Pounds per 1000 Barrels). Salt
Content in Outlet Stream greater than 1.6 PTB causes excessive fouling and corrosion.

2ndPRE-HEAT TRAIN
The desalted heavy crude is heated by the products or intermediate products or pump-around
refluxes from Heavy Crude Fractionator (HC-V-001) and Vacuum Tower (HC-V-005) in the heat
exchangers in the 2nd Pre-Heat Train.
By this Pre-Heating the Crude is heated to 180 – 200oC and then flows to Desalting Section
2nd Pre-Heat Train comprises of the following Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers:
HEAT EXCHANGER HOT STREAM
Feed / FFO Product HC-E-009B Furnace Fuel Oil (FFO) Outlet Temperature: 1400C
Outlet Pressure: 1020 kPa
Feed / Fractionator HC-E-010 Fractionator Middle Circulating Outlet Temperature: 145 0C
MCR Reflux (MCR) Outlet Pressure: 11 kg/cm2
Feed / Vacuum Tower HC-E-011 Vacuum Tower Lower Circulating Outlet Temperature: 202 0C
LCR Reflux (Vac. LCR) / HVGO Outlet Pressure: 6 kg/cm2
Feed / Asphalt Product HC-E-012 Asphalt -
Feed / Fractionator LCR HC-E-013 Fractionator Lower Circulating -
Reflux (LCR)
Feed / FFO Product HC-E-009A Furnace Fuel Oil (FFO) -

HEAVY CRUDE FRACTIONATOR CHARGEHEATER (HC-H-001)

 FUNCTION OF HEATER:
A direct fired heater is used to provide heat for a process or can serve as reactor which provides
heats of reaction. Furnace designs vary as to its function, heating duty, type of fuel and method
of introducing combustion air. However, most process furnaces have some common features.
 SECTIONS OF HEATER:
 Convection Section
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 Radiation Section
 Bridge Zone
 Burners
 Stack
 Damper
 HEATER AT HCU (HC-H-001):
After HC-E-009A in 2nd Pre-Heat Train, the Crude is charged to the convection section of
theHeavy Crude Fractionator Charge Heater (HC-H-001). Decoking Steam is injected in the
inlet line of Heater to cause turbulence and prevent coke formation in the tubes of the Furnace.
Crude is further heated to 270 – 320 oC after passing through HC-H-001
There are total of four burners in HC-H-001 which can operate on fuel gas as well as fuel oil.
SECTION DESIGN TEMPERATURE
Convection Section 380 oC
Radiation Section 500 oC
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ATMOSPHERICFRACTIONATION
The partially vaporized Heavy Crude from heater enters the flash zone of Heavy Crude
Fractionator (HC-V-001). Atmospheric Distillation occurs in HC-V-001 and Crude is separated
into different fractionsaccording to boiling point.
At HCU the Atmospheric distillation column is installed with 42 Trays and Crude Oil feed
enters the 37th Tray (Flash Zone) in the Heavy Crude Fractionator (HC-V-001).
The arrangement of side-streams from fractionator is as follows:
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The heater outlet temperature is set such that thermal cracking of the oil molecules does not
[Link] the temperature at the heater outlet the crude oil is partially vaporized. Additional
vaporization occurs as the crude oil passes from the heater outlet to the atmospheric tower. The
piping connecting the heater outlet with the atmospheric tower is referred to as the transfer line.
The crude oil, now a two phase mixture of vapor and liquid, enters the atmospheric tower at the
flash zone where the initial vapor-liquid separation occurs. The atmospheric tower operates at
low to near atmospheric pressure to maximize the amount of vapor formed.
Vapor from the flash zone rises up through the tower and is contacted in a series of distillation
stages by condensed oil flowing by gravity down from the top of the tower. At each distillation
stage the oil vapor and the oil liquid are in equilibrium and oil is fractionated with the highest
boiling oil condenses just above the flash zone and the lowest boiling oil condenses at the top of
the tower. Liquid products are drawn from the atmospheric tower at multiple locations.
The main operating conditions of Heavy Crude Fractionator (HC-V-001) are as follows:
Top of Fractionator
o Operating Temperature 113 – 117 oC
o Operating Pressure 1.1 kg/cm2G
Flash Zone
o Operating Temperature 330 – 339 oC
o Operating Pressure 1.3 kg/cm2G
OVHD Receiver
o Operating Temperature 49 – 51 0C
o Operating Pressure 0.6 kg/cm2G

PUMP-AROUNDS:
All of the heat energy used in the atmospheric tower comes from the crude preheat exchangers
and the atmospheric fired [Link] improve the energy efficiency of the crude unit, heat
removal pump-arounds are provided. These pump-around systems provide higher level heat
sources which, along with the product streams themselves, provide much of the heat used in the
preheat exchangers.
The drawn off pump-arounds are completely returned back to the Fractionator and only sensible
heat changes occur in pump-around heat exchangers.
From the Heavy Crude Fractionator (HC-V-001) the following three Pump-Arounds are drawn
off and are used effectively in the Pre-Heat Trains:
 Top Circulating Reflux (TCR)
 Middle Circulating Reflux (MCR)
 Bottom Circulating Reflux (LCR)
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TOP CIRCULATING REFLUX (TCR):

TCR Draw Off: 6th Tray TCR Return: 3rd Tray
TCR passes through the tube-side of HC-E-003 A/B and Crude is in Shell-Side.

MIDDLE CIRCULATING REFLUX (MCR):

TCR Draw Off: 6th Tray TCR Return: 3rd Tray
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LOWERCIRCULATING REFLUX (MCR):

LCR Draw Off: 34th Tray LCR Return: 31st Tray

SIDE-STRIPPERS:
A substantial quantity of lower boiling point fractions exist in the intermediate distillates from
Heavy Crude Fractionator (HC-V-001) and HC-V-001 Bottom Oil the lower boiling fractions
are to be removed as far as possible to meet the specification of Flash Point. Otherwise, the light
fractions may cause the degradation of flash point as well as the reduction in the yield of lighter
fractions.
So the boiling fractions are stripped off in Three Side-Strippers:
 Kerosene Stripper (HC-V-002)
 High Speed Diesel Stripper (HC-V-003)
 Light Diesel Oil Stripper (HC-V-004)
In Side-Strippers, the low boiling fractions are stripped off by blowing Super-heated steam from
the [Link] effect of stripping becomes larger as the ratio of the quantity of stripping steam
injected to the liquid drawn-off from Heavy Crude Fractionator (HC-V-001 becomes higher.
In actual operation, the stripping steam flow-rate is manipulated to adjust the product flash
point. Namely, the stripping steam flow-rate increases the flash point of product increases.
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LIGHT WEIGHT KEROSENE (LWK):

From the Fractionator (HC-V-001):
 HSD Draw Off: 25th Tray
 HSD Vapor Return: 24th Tray
LWK Product from the Bottom of LWK Stripper is boosted by LWK Stripper Bottom Pump (HC-
P-006 A/B) and cooled by Feed / LWK Heat Exchanger (HC-E-004 A/B). LWK is further cooled
in Kerosene Product Air Cooler (HC-E-031) andLWK Cooler (HC-E-026) and sent to B.L.
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HIGH SPEED DIESEL (HSD):

From the Fractionator (HC-V-001):
 HSD Draw Off: 25th Tray
 HSD Vapor Return: 24th Tray
HSD Product from the Bottom of HSD Stripper is boosted by HSD Stripper Bottom Pump (HC-
P-007 A/B) and cooled by Feed / HSD Heat Exchanger (HC-E-005 A/B). HSD is combined Light
Vacuum Gas Oil (LVGO) from Vacuum Tower (HC-V-005), cooled by HSD Cooler (HC-E-016)
and sent to B.L.
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LIGHT DIESEL OIL (LDO):

From the Fractionator (HC-V-001):
 LDO Draw Off: 30th Tray
 LDO Vapor Return: 31st Tray
LDO Product from the Bottom of LDO Stripper is boosted by LDO Stripper Bottom Pump (HC-
P-008 A/B) and cooled by Feed / LDO Heat Exchanger (HC-E-006). The product is combined
Heavy Vacuum Gas Oil (HVGO) from Vacuum Tower (HC-V-005), cooled by LDO / BFW Heat
Exchanger (HC-E-020) and sent to B.L. LDO is also mixed with HSD and/or FFO depending on
the market demand of LDO.
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FRACTIONATOR BOTTOM:
Bottoms from the bottom of the Fractionator is drawn off and boosted by Fractionator Bottom
Pump (HC-P-021 A/B) and transferred to the Vacuum Section. A part of the bottom is spilt at the
discharge line of the Fractionator Bottom Pump
The split stream is cooled in Feed / FFO Heat Exchanger (HC-E-009AB), FFO / BFW Heat
Exchanger (HC-E-032) and FFO Fin-Fan Cooler (HC-E-022) and sent to B.L.
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VACUUMDISTILLATION
Typically atmospheric residue contains gas oils that could not be recovered in the atmospheric
tower due to the limitations imposed on the heater outlet temperature by concerns over thermal
cracking. The temperature at which hydrocarbons vaporize is a function of pressure so that if the
pressure is lowered, the hydrocarbons will vaporize at a temperature lower than the temperature
at which thermal cracking occurs.
The major components of the vacuum section are the vacuum heater and the vacuum tower. By
operating the vacuum tower at an extremely low pressure - near full vacuum - the valuable gas
oils in the residue can be vaporized and recovered.
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Pressure drop is critically important in the vacuum tower. Extensive use is made in the tower of
low pressure drop contacting beds such as grid and structured and random packing. Vacuum
tower flash zones typically include specially design devices called galleries to assist in
separating the vapor and liquid and providing a uniform distribution of vapor across the cross-
section of the first contacting bed.
The bottom of Heavy Crude Fractionator is heated with Vacuum Charge Heater (HC-H-002) to
305 – 317 0C. The partially vaporized bottoms from Heavy Crude Fractionator (HC-V-001)
enters flash zone of Vacuum Tower (HC-V-005), which has 6 theoretical plates with packing
beds.
The products of Vacuum Distillation are:
 Light Vacuum Gas Oil (LVGO)
 Heavy Vacuum Gas Oil (HVGO)
 Asphalt
 Wash Oil
 Jute Batching Oil (JBO)
 Slope Oil
In a vacuum tower making products to be used for as feed to fuels conversion units, most of the
vapor from the wash zone is condensed in the heavy gas oil (HVGO) section, the section
immediately above the wash section. Cooling is provided using a recycle stream that preheats
the crude in the atmospheric section preheat exchangers.
Residual vapors from the HVGO section are condensed in light vacuum gas oil (LVGO) section.
Any hydrocarbon vapors that leave the LVGO section go to the vacuum system and are disposed
of in the refinery flare.
The internals of the Vacuum Tower consists of the following 6 sections from the top:
1. LVGO Pump-Around Section
2. Enrichment Section
3. HVGO Pump-Around Section
4. Washing Section
5. Flash Zone
6. Stripping Section

GENERATION OF VACUUM IN VACUUM TOWER:

The Vacuum Generation System consists of:
o 1st Off Gas Ejectors (HC-J-001A/B)
o 2nd Off Gas Ejectors (HC-J-002A/B)
o Ejector Inter Condenser (HC-E-028)
o Ejector After Condenser (HC-E-028)
o Vacuum Tower OVHD Receiver (HC-V-008)
o Slope Oil Pump (HC-P-015)
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o Vacuum Tower Waste Water Pump

The main operating conditions of Vacuum Tower (HC-V-005) are as follows:
Top of Vacuum Tower
o Operating Pressure 65 mm Hg A
o Operating Temperature 62 – 65 0C
Flash Zone
o Operating Pressure 85 mm Hg A
o Operating Temperature 304 – 311 0C
OVHD Receiver
o Operating Pressure 760 mm Hg A
o Operating Temperature 35 0C

NAPHTHA STABILIZATION

REFLUX TO HC-V-001:
Overhead vapors from the top of Fractionator is condensed by Feed / Fractionator OVHD Heat
Exchanger (HC-E-002 A/B) and Fractionator OVHD Trim Cooler (HC-E-015). Neutralizing
Amine and Filming Amine are injected into Fractionator OVHD to neutralize acids at upstream
of HC-E-002 A/B.
The condensate from Trim Cooler flows into Fractionator OVHD Receiver (HC-V-007). Water is
drained from bottom and liquid from the Receiver is boosted by Fractionator Reflux Pump (HC-
P-005 A/B) and a part of stream from the discharge is sent back to HC-V-001 as Reflux. The
remaining part is sent to Naphtha Stabilizer (HC-V-006).

NAPHTHA STABILIZER (HC-V-006):

The Naphtha distillate from the top of the Fractionator boosted by HC-P-005 is heated to ~145
0
C with Stabilizer Feed / Naphtha Product Heat Exchanger (HC-E-024). Naphtha is fed to Tray
# 21 of Naphtha Stabilizer.

NAPHTHA STABILIZERRE-BOILER (HC-E-014):

The Fractionator MCR / Naphtha Kettle Type Re-boiler at the bottom the bottom of HC-V-006 is
used to control temperature profile of the stabilizer V-006. The increase in boil-up rate increases
the temperature of the Stabilizer.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
Following are the recommendations, based on my observation during Induction
Period

 Steam leakages should be minimized so as to decrease heat losses

 Water leakages should be minimized

 There is a good drainage system in place at the plant. A little effort can
further improve it

 Torque wrench should be used in assembling of equipment

 Garbage should be properly binned

 Color coding of valves and pipes should be according to the standards

so that it is easy to trace the flow

 Personal protective equipment should be used strictly and properly

 If possible, a library be established from where engineering books on

different equipment can be consulted
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 Training sessions for the workers should also be arranged