Petroleum refining processes are the chemical engineering processes and other facilities used in petroleum refineries (also referred to as oil refineries) to transform crude oil into useful products such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), gasoline or petrol, kerosene, jet fuel, diesel oil and fuel oils.
What is crude oil refining?
Petroleum refineries convert (refine) crude oil into petroleum products for use as fuels for transportation, heating, paving roads, and generating electricity and as feedstocks for making chemicals. Refining breaks crude oil down into its various components, which are then selectively reconfigured into new products.
What is the difference between crude oil and refined oil?
While the former carries crude oil to refineries, the latter transports refined products such as gasoline, kerosene, jet fuel, and heating oil from refineries to the market. Different grades of crude oil or different refined products are usually transported through the same pipeline in different batches.
What is a refinery & how does it work?
Refining breaks crude oil down into its various components, which are then selectively reconfigured into new products. Petroleum refineries are complex and expensive industrial facilities.
How do oil refineries transport crude oil?
Oil refineries, therefore, are often located nearby navigable rivers or on a seashore, nearby a port. Such location also gives access to transportation by river or by sea. The advantages of transporting crude oil by pipeline are evident, and oil companies often transport a large volume of fuel to distribution terminals by pipeline.
What is the first step in the refining process?
The first step in the refining process is distillation, where crude oil is heated at extreme temperatures to separate the different hydrocarbons. Oil refineries serve an important role in the production of transportation and other fuels. The crude oil components, once separated, can be sold to different industries for a broad range of purposes.