Packies Method Pages 09 To 25 Watkins PDF

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Crude petroleum as it is produced from the field is a almost exclusively on an empirical and, in some cases, even
relatively low-value material since, in its native state, it is a nearly emotional basis. This is undoubtedly due to the
rarely usable directly. However, it can be refined and fur- fact that crude oil is ma~e up of an almost infinite number
ther processed into any number of products whose value is of discrete hydrocarbons, all the way from methane to ma-
many times that of the original oil. The first step in any terials having 70 or more carbon atoms.Thus, the process
petroleum refinery is the separation of the crude into vari- and/or its products are usually discussed in tenninology
ous fractions by the process of distillation. These fractions which is unique to the petroleum industry. In this introduc-
may be products in their own right or may be feedstocks tory material. the nomenclature usually employed in crude
for other refining or processing units. oil distillation will be discussed before proceeding into the
In most refineries, this process is carried out in two design methods.
stages. The oil is first heated to the maximum temperature
allowable for the crude being processed and for the opera- Analysis of Crude Petroleum and Its Fractions
tion being practiced and then fed to a fractionating tower
which operates at slightly above atmospheric pressure. This A complete component-by'-component analysis of a
tower is usually called the atmospheric tower. It yields sev- crude oil sample is not practically realizable. For this
eral distillate products and a bottoms product which is the reason, the composition of any given oil is approximated by
residual liquid material which could not be vaporized under a tme boiling point distillation. commonly called TBP dis-
the conditions of temperature and pressure existing in the tillation. A thorough discussion of the equipment and prer
atmospheric tower. This bottoms liquid is then reheated to cedures involved is given in Chapter 4 of Nelson (1). This
the maximum allowable temperature-usually higher than method is basically a batch distillation using a large number
the maximum temperature allowed for the feed to the at· of stages and a high reflux·to-dlStillate ratio so that the
mospheric tower-and fed to a fractionating tower which temperature at any point on the temperature-volumetric
operates at subatmospheric pressure. This tower is usually yield curve represents the actual (true) boiling point of the
calied the vacuum tower. This chapter describes the atmos- hydrocarb?n material present at the volume percentage
pheric tower. The vacuum tower is discussed in Chapter 3. point.
Although the process of crude oil distillation has been TBP distillations are normally run only on crude oils
practiced in the United States for more than 100 years, the and not on petroleum fractions. Instead, a rapid distillation
design and operation of these units is still accomplished procedure is used for analysis of petroleum products and
3
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4 Petroleum Refinery Distillation
1500 .,"
TBP
'.,"
CURVE
'9
,,' ..,
EFV CURVE
@14.7 psia V
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A --!~_ _ 8 __+-oI-C
______L -_ _ _ _L -____L -____________________
VOLUME PERCENT VAPORIZED
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100 j'
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-,-.
Figure 2.1. TSP and EFV Curves for a typical crude oil and product yield by volume.
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intermediate fractions. These procedures were developed by
the American Society for Testing Materials and are called
ASTM distillations. These methods are rapid batch distilla-
tions employing no trays or reflux between the stillpot and
ic tower bottoms liquid) which are being evaluated as
vacuum tower charge stocks. The EFY initial boiling point
is the bubble point of the fraction under study, and the
EFY final boiling point is its dew point. If desired, a family
n
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P>
the condenser. The only reflux available is that generated of EFV curves can be run at a series of pressures encompas- ,...
by heat losses from the apparatus. These test methods are
used in control1aboratories throughout the world.
sing the envisioned operating pressure. This will allow a
more accurate estimate of phase behavior that can be at· ~
f
,...
tained from calculations. .../
The third type of laboratory distillation which is used
in discussing petroleum fractionation is the equilibrium The purpose for running these various distillations is to ~
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, ,...
flash vaporization (distillation) commonly called the EFY.
The procedure is also discussed in Chapter 4 of Nelson. This
characterize the composition of the material under study.
and, for this reason, the boiling range of petroleum liquids
,...
distillation can be run at pressures above atmospheric as is of primary importance. For example, kerosene will have
an ASTM boiling range of approximately 325 to 525 de-
well as under vacuum, whereas the TBP and ASTM distilla·
tions are run either at atmospheric pressure or under
vacuum. EFY curves are seldom run because of the time
grees F which corresponds to a TBP boiling range on the
order of 275 to 575 degrees F. While the latter is theoreti-
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and expense involved and are almost exclusively limited cally indicative of actual composition, the former is the one
either to crude oil or to reduced crude samples (atmospher- used by both designers and operators in discussing distilla-
'-~.- .-------
Atmospheric Tower 5
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•
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Figure 2.2. ASTM. TBP and EFV curves for 39.7 degree API light distillate.
•
tion problems. The EFV curve is used for detennining fUf, viscosity. octane number, diesel index, flash and
• phase behavior of liquids and. thus. is usually of interest fire point, freeze point, smoke point, pour point, vapor
principally to designers. pressure, etc.
Figure 2.1 shows the TBP and atmospheric pressure 5. Properties of lube distillates (only if the crude is suit-
" EFV curves for a typical crude oil. Also illustrated is the
planned yield of three distillate products for a process 6.
able for the manufacture of lube basestocks).
Properties of asphalts (only if the residua have suitable
.; under study. Figure 2.2 shows the ASTM. TBP and atmos· characteristics for preparation of asphalts).
pheric EFV distillation curves for a typical petroleum frac· 7. Detailed studies of fractions for various properties, e.g.,
Ii tion. octane number versus yield for naphthas or viscosity
The complete and defInitive analysis of a crude oil. versus yield for lubestocks.
usually called a crude asSay, is considerably more detailed 8. EFV curve run at atmospheric pressure and/or phase
than a TBP curve and a whole crude API gravity. A com- diagram, although this is rarely done.
plete crude assay will contain some or all of the following:
Much of this information is of little use in design work
1. Whole crude gravity, viscosity. sulfur content, pour
but is of great importance to the reflner or to a crude oil
point, etc.
purchaser.
2. TBP curve, mid-volume plot of gravity, viscosity, sul-
fUf, etc. A typical assay of a commercial crude oil is included in
3. Light-ends analysis up through C, or C, . the Appendix. This data was developed experimentally and
4. Properties of fractions (naphthas, middle distillates, gas correlated by Humble Oil & Refming Company and is reo
oils and residual-yield as volume percent, gravity, sul- produced here with their permission.
•
Q5 Q. V5
F
.
W' 04 t 05
FIG.2 ·30- SERIES OF FLASH DRUMS
Oc V5
r
01-1 02-1 03-1 0-4-1 N '11

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FIG.23b-TYPE U(TOP TR AY REflUX)
V5 v.,
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r-----'
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fIG.2-3c-TYPE A fPUMPAROUNO REflUX) - ....

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fiG. 2-3d - TYPE R (PUMPBACK REflUX)

04 05
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Figure 2.3. Processing schemes for atmospheriC distillation of crude oil. ~
Basic Processes for Atmospheric Crude Distillation which are of only secondary importance at this point and
e
to get down to the basics of the problem, the separation of
The distillation of crude petroleum into fractions crude oil into its desired fractions will be considered separ-
having different properties is similar to many more familiar
types of fractionation processes although, on the surface,
this may not appear to be so. In order to avoid details
ately, disregarding the effect of sidestream product and bot-
toms liquid stripping, either by steam or by reboiling in the
case of the lighter sidestreams. Further, the separation will
-1
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Atmospheric Tower 7
be defined as five distillate fractions and a residual (bot- able cooling medium in order to maximize distillate liquid
toms) liquid. The lightest distillate fraction is not always recovery in DS. The noncondensibles form the distillate
completely condensible at the conditions of temperature vapor, VS. Each of these s~paratiR~~ has occurred due to
and pressure in the reflux drum and, thus, may be yielded cooling and equilibrium condenS?Jl9J!_ ~o that the liquid
as two distillate fractions, one vapor and one liquid. A small from each stage contaIns apprec-iable amounts of compo-
amount of extra vaporization, called overflash, will be em- nents lighter than the desired distillate. The equilibrium
ployed to provide adequate reflux in the section between vapor also contains some of the components which should
the flash zone, i.e., the point ,in the tower where the par- be in the liquid so that the next fraction to be condensed
tially vaporized feed enters, and the first (lowest) side· will have some undesirable heavy ends. All these fractions
stream product draw tray_ are portions of a continuum which indicates that it would
Because of the continuously increasing temperature of be possible to use reflux to wash back the heavy compo-
crude oil as more and more of the material is vaporized and nents from the vapor and stripping vapors to remove light
because the charge is usually heated to its maximum allow- components from the sidestream products.
able temperature prior to entering the tower. it is not feasi- Figure 2.3b illustrates a Type U system, the first ap-
ble to use a rebailer in crude distillation. Thus, all distillate proach to genuine fractionation. Each one of the vessels in
products plus the overflash must be vaporized up from the the flow line represents one separation section. This type of
flash zone. Another way of stating the same principle is unit is obviously impractical since heat is removed only in
that the total heat input required by the process must be the overhead condenser at a temperature level too low for
contained in the feed as it leaves the crude furnace. recovery of heat. Secondarily, the vapor and liquid traffic
Figure 2.3 illustrates various processes for yielding dis- throughout the column increases markedly from bottom to
tillates from the feed. The nomenclature used in designating top, which requires sizing the tower based on flows existing
the three methods of refluxing the process is the author's at the top tray. As will be seen later, this will result in a
own for the purposes of this discussion and has no signifi- much larger tower diameter than for either Type A or Type
cance in the petroleum industry. By way of explanation, R unit. Figure 2Aa illustrates the flows around a Type U
Type U employs only top tray reflux from an overhead section. Inspection of the flow scheme reveals that this is
condenser for total process heat removaL Type A employs merely a conventional rectifying column.
an externally circulated and cooled stream, called pump- Heat removal at intennediate points on the tower can
around reflux, at one or more side points on the tower for be attained by withdrawing an internal liquid stream from
partial process heat removaL Type R employs subcooling of the tower, cooling it and returning it to the column. The
true equilibrium reflux, called pumpback reflux, for partial cooling medium is usually the crude oil charge which is
process heat removal, this usually occurring at all side- being preheated before entering the furnace. Thus, a dual
stream product draw points. In both Type A and Type R, benefit is realized. This can be done in one of two ways.
only a portion of the total heat removal can be accom- The more common of the two processes is by the use
plished by these techniques; the remaining portion of the of pump around reflux which. the author. calls a Type A
removal must be satisfied by reflux from the condenser to system. This is illustrated by Figures 2.3c and 2Ab. Liquid
; the top tray. is'withdrawn from a tray above the lower draw, cooled and
, For the sake of simplicity in discussing Figure 2.3, it is
stipulated that the volumetric yield of each product from
returned to a tray further up in the tower but below the
upper draw tray. In nonnal practice, such a section gener-
the crude feed will be the same, regardless of the method ally uses two or three actual .trays including the pump-
used for heat removal. around draw tray and the tray o~ which the cooled liquid
Consider Figure 2.30 as the first method for yielding reenters the tower. This technique is generally employed at
the desired product pattern. The vapor-liquid mixture from a low and at an interm~diate point in the tower and makes
the furnace enters the first flash drum where the residual heat available for exchange against crude oil charge at two
liquid, W'. drops out. The first drum effluent vapor is different temperature levels. This method has the advantage
cooled just enough to condense the overflash, Lo , and then of stabilizing vapor and true reflux liquid flow throughout
enters the second drum where this vapor-liquid separation the section where it is used as well as significantly reducing
OCcurs. Although not shown on the sketch, Lo combines vapor and liquid traffic throughout the column. The disad·
with W' to form the total residual liquid, W. The vapor is vantage of this method is that the three trays nonnalIy used
cooled again to some predetennined temperature and enters for heat removal must be considered as only one actual tray
a third flash drum where Dl separates out. This process is for fractionation purposes. This is because that, from an
II repeated as D2, D3 and D4 are condensed and separated eqUilibrium viewpoint, the pump around liquid is foreign to
out. The overhead vapor from the sixth drum is cooled to the zone in which it is employed. This process is analagous
II as Iowa temperature as is possible consistent with the avail- to removing heat from an absorber by withdrawing part of
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ALTERNATE REPRESENTATION
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FIG.4b-TYPE A FIG.4C-TYPE R
Figure 2.4. Detailed flows around a section for Types U, R and A atmospheric towers.
the bottoms, cooling it and returning it to an upper tray. and Type R towers are more or less stabilized by the exter·
This is fine for heat removal purposes but penalizes mass nal heat removal.
tranfer.
Separation Criteria in Petroleum Fractionation
Figures 2.3d and 2Ac show a Type R system which is a
rectifying section employing subcooled reflux. The most • In the context that most chemical engineers apply to
economical Type R design uses crude oil charge as the cool· distillation of systems made up of discrete compounds iden·
ing medium for the pumpback reflux streams and, thus, tifiable by name, heavy oil fractionation is a black art, es·
also obtains the benefit of feed preheat. This is employed at pecially when encountered for the first time. Over the
all draw trays. There is the additional advantage that all years, many excellen t methods have been published for cal·
liquids within the lower are true equilibrium reflux Uquids. cUlating all types of distillation systems involving discrete
and, thus, all trays can be considered as being effective for compounds. Even the inexperienced engineer is familiar
fractionation purposes. A fairly uniform vapor and liquid with many of the basic techniques. Petroleum fractionation
traffic exists in all sections of the tower. is quite a different story since the methods of analysis are
The typical vapor and liquid traffic which exists in the largely empirical or are based on empirical criteria. How·
three types of refluxed columns is shown in Figure 2.5. ever. there is a similarity between light hydrocarbon frac·
Note that the Type U tower has continuously increasing tionation and crude oil distillation. It is the purpose of the
vapor and liquid rates while the rates in both the Type A following to demonstrate this similarity.
-.
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., '_. '.' r r '~ r
~ .' ~ . ' . ' .' .' " ') . ' .' .' v U \,~ '"
Figure 2.5. Vapor and liquid traffic for Types U, R and A atmospheric towers.
...
A typical light hydrocarbon separation is that of frac- The second term, 15-95) Gap, defines the relative
tionating between propane and n-butane. This problem re- degree of separation between adjacent fractions. It is deter-
quires that the designer provide a sufficiency of trays and
reflux to satisfy the composition specifications. Satisfying
mined by subtracting the 95 volume percent ASTM temper-
ature of a fraction from the 5 volume percent ASTM tem- ..
the trays-reflux requirements depends upon the specified
separation requirements of the process and the inherent
physical chemistry of the system involved. Talking in terms
perature of the adjacent heavy fraction.
(5-95) Gap = (t sH - t 9SL ) ASTM, degrees F

.
of a binary system, two terms which will be used later to
clarify the language used in heavy oil work must be defined. Packie's (2) classic paper was the first to disclose cri-
Degree of separation can be defined in terms of prod- teria for defining fractionation between atmospheric tower
uct purities or in terms of component recoveries. The distillate streams. Figure 2.6 is Packie's curve for fractionat-
greater the degree of separation, the greater will be the
recovery of the light component in the distillate and the
ion between the overhead fraction and the adjacent side·
stream.
"
heavy component in the bottoms. This will result in higher The nomenclature for this correlation is as follows:
product purities.
Degree of difficulty of separation is defined as the
1. LN. = gallons per hour reflux from the top tray meas-
relative difficulty encountered in separating the two com·
ured as 60 degree F liquid.
pounds in question, regardless of the purity requirements
2. DN = galions per hour total distillates (vapor and li-
set by the process speoifications_ In light ends terminology,
quid) to top tray, measured as 60 degree F liquid.
it may be considered as inversely proportional to the rela-
3. NT = number of actual trays in the section, i.e., trays
tive volatility between the two components.
M through N inclusive = N - (M - I) = N - M + I.
From one's past experience, the following become ob-
Note that each tray in pumparound heat removal serv-
vious.
ice counts as one-third of an actual tray.
L For a given system, the tray requirements increase
markedly as purity requirements become greater, but Figure 2.7 is Packie's curve for fractionation between
reflux requirements increase only a small amount once sidestrearn products. The nomenclature for this correlation
a relatively high purity level is reached. is as follows:
2. For a fixed separation, tray and reflux requirements
increase as the relative volatility decreases, Le., the sep-
aration becomes more difficult. For example, the pro- I. LM = galions per hour reflux from the upper draw tray
pane and n-butane separation is easier than propane· measured as 60 degree F liquid.
propylene but more difficult than propane and 2. PN = gallons per hour total product vapors, measured
n-pentane. as 60 degree F liquids, to the upper draw tray, i.e.,
stream DN plus all lighter products_
Speaking qualitatively, at reflux conditions exceeding 3. NT = number of actual trays in the section, i.e., M
minimum requirements, tray requirements are directly pro- through (N - I) inclusive = N - M. Note that each tray
portional to the required degree of separation and to the in pumparound heat-removal service counts as one·
degree of difficulty of separation inherent in the physical- third of an actual tray.
chemical system under consideration. Conversely. for a 4, £It(50%) = (ASTM 50 percent temperature of the lower
fixed number of trays, reflux requirements are directly pro- sidestream product, D ) - (ASTM 50 percent temper-
M
portional to the degree of difficulty inherent in the system ature of the total products lighter than D M)-
and, to a somewhat lesser extent, to the required degree of
separation. Figure 2.7 does not apply to fractionation between the
The above tenninology is the author's own. However, lowest sidestream and the bottoms stream, nor does it
it is straightforward and, when applied to any distillation apply to vacuum fractionation although it is often used for
system involving discrete components, will result in a rapid the latter purpose due to lack of anything better. Note that
qualitative assessment of tray-reflux requirements. these curves apply only for the case where steam stripping
In the refinery, two tenms are used to discuss product of sidestreams is practiced at rates of at least 0.2 pounds
composition and the degree of separation between adjacent steam per galion of product (8.4 pounds steam per barrel
fractions_ ASTM boiling range defines the general composi- product). Reboiling of sidestreams will also satisfy this
tion of the fraction and is usually one of the key specifica- stipulation as long as the portion of the sidestream vapor-
tions for most distillates from both the atmospheric tower ized back is at least equal to that which would be produced
and the vacuum tower. by the above-mentioned steam rate, In cases where this
c
Atmospheric Tower 11
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-tI,' Figure 2.6. Fractionation between total overhead and highest sidestream product, atmospheric crude towers (used with per-
" IT mission of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers).
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Figure 2.7. Fractionation between adiacent sidestream products, atmospheric crude towers (used with permission of the
American Institute of Chemical Engineers).
A tmospheric Tower 13
PRODUCTS culty of separation, LHso ASTM. To illustrate, consider

(05 +vs) 100 three examples.
/1" These examples are based on Figure 2.8 which iIlus·
trates the internal and external product rates and the inter-
'r " t REflUX Ii! AT10=R= L =4!
5 F=RNT=32
nal reflux rates as expressed on a common volume/time
basis and on Figure 2.9 which shows the volumetric prod-
NO. REAL TRAYS=NT=8
uct yield overlaid on the crude TBP curve. Figure 2.10,
"'" derived from Edmister's correlations (3), is used to convert
the 50 volume percent TBP temperatures to ASTM temper-
It Jo
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'03 r 0'
= 24
'0
tures.
The following conditions apply to Figure 2.8.
Marked data are
NT=8 F
1. Vapor rates are products only measured as liquids at 60

given as problem Jt l "
'01
NT=6
! 0'
F
03 175
degrees F.
2. Internal liquids and products are measured as liquids at
definition
.. 60 degrees F .
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NT=6
!F
02
=4.2
125 3. All flow rates are on a common volume/time basis.
4. Sidestream product strippers are not shown.
5. Separation Tray Numbers in Number of Trays
Section (Inclusive)
• 01 70 D4 - (D5 + V5) 28 - 35 8
,~o D3 - D4 20 - 27 8
, D2 - D3 14 - 19 6
• FEED
1,000
1'10 DI - D2
W - DI
8 - 13
5- 7
6
3
'dO
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, '- 1/ Example 1
W "90
~ D I - D2 Separation-use Figure 2.7.
, Figure 2.8. Product and reflux volumetric flow rates. ForDI,
, ~;
criterion is not met, Packie's curves for the case of insuffi·
(t so ) TBP = 703 degrees F - (point A of Figure 2.9).
,~ cient steam stripping may be found in Nelson, pp. 515·516.

Packie defined the degree of difficulty of separation as
For D2 - D5,
'* (t so ) TBP = 410 degrees F - (point B)
-
the difference petween the ASTM 50 volume percent tern·
peratures of the fractions under study. For Figure 2.6, this
difference is between the ASTM 50 percent temperatures of Converting these 50 percent te,mperatures from TBP to
II the first (highest) sidestream product and the overhead frac· ASTM by using Figure 2.10,
tion. For Figure 2.7, this difference is between the ASTM
f; {:, tso ASTM =684 - 410 =274 degrees F
SO percent te~peratures of the lower sidestream and the
-.,
I;
total remaining lighter distillates.
He then defmed the separation capability of the system
as the product of the reflux-ta-feed ratio at the upper draw
toy as calculated on a volumetric basis and the number of
F =4.2
Therefore, from Figure 2.7, (5 - 95) Gap = + 6 degrees F.
., actual trays in the section. This product is designated as the

F-factor. In sections where pumparound heat removal sys-
tems are used, tnys in this service are considered to be only
one-third of an actual fractionating tray.
Example 2
D3 - D4 Separation-use Figute 2.7.

If Thus, Packie defllles degree of separation attainable ForD3,
and the (5-95) Gap as functions of the separation capability
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of the system (F-Factor) with parameters of degree of dim- (t so ) TBP = 418 degrees F - (point C)
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() ()'.~ ~
"._"~(.1~.)· <I() 41-, .-) ..
«, • .. ., ... .. 4 . .. ., •
•
,,
•
-•,
,
~
,
it
II
\
II j
Figure 2.10. Relation'ship between ASTM and TBP SO volume percent points.
. ~
,
h For D4 - D5, For D5,
,r
iii 1 (t5 0) TBP = 197 degrees F - (point D) (ts o)TBP = 159 degrees F - (Point F)
i
t
II
I,
.l.1
II
I.:
Converting TBP to ASTM,
/} t50 ASTM =417 - 202 = 215 degrees F

Converting TBP to ASTM,
/}t 50 ASTM = 282 - 167 = 115 degrees F
F =24 F = 32
i ~
"
JTj Therefore, from Figure 2,7, (5·95) Gap = +37 degrees F. Therefore, from Figure 2.6, (5.95) Gap = +22 degrees F.
i
Example 3 These computations will be encountered later in the
j example calculation but are introduced at this point to
D4 - D5 Separation-use Figure 2.6. illustrate the principles of petroleum fractionation and its
j For D4, nomenclature. By inspection of Figures 2.6 and 2.7, it is
, clear that lowering the F~Factor, either by reducing the
j (t50)TBP = 277 degrees F - (point E) number of trays or the reflux ratio by altering the heat
\
iii
.
~
-~"
iii
a
il
.".
balance, will reduce the (5-95) Gap which is the separation. stripout by making a heat balance around the bottoms
At this point, the similarity between discrete-component stripping section, but this is not pOSSible in a design situa-
distillation and crude petroleum fractionation should be tion. For these reasons, the author strongly recommends
less unclear. obtaining experimental data, particularly when working If
As more operating data has become available, Pack ie's with unfamiliar crudes. The cost of obtaining accurate
work is now generally considered to be on the conservative eqUilibrium data is trivial when compared to the possible
side; that is, his procedure usually predicts a smaller gap penalties involved in incorrectly estimating yields or mis·
than is actually attained in practice. The author believes sizing equipment.
that the degree of conservatism inherent in Packie is not However, if one is limited to the minimum data, the
excessive and recommends its use for design work. It is required information can be derived by using the following If
almost always true that crude distillation units are required procedures for crude oil characterization.
to perform different operations than that for which they If
were designed. For this reason, the design "fat" contained
in Packie becomes quite useful to the owner in later years. Calculation Procedure for Characterizing Crude Oils
Atmospheric Tower Charge Data Given: If

Whole-crude atmospheric TBP curve
The feed to the atmospheric tower is the crude oil to Whole-crude gravity If
be processed into the,various products required. Before the Front end analysis for light ends
design material balances can be developed, it will first be
necessary to derive some basic physical property data for Calculate:
the crude. From this, one can then estimate the total distil- Volume percent versus weight percent
late production and product distribution in the atmospheric Mid-volume precent versus molecular weight
tower.
In definitive process design work and/or in refinery 1. Calculate the characterization factor, K, for the whole
operations analysis, the engineer usually has access to a crude using the techniques of Maxwell, Section 2.
complete crude assay. J.ndeed, he should not undertake a a. Calculate the volume average boiling point ry ABP)
~efinitive design without one. On the other hand, feasibility using the 20, 50 and 80 volume percent rBP tem-
studies and/or order-of-magnitude work is often performed peratures.
with little more than a whole crude gravity and TBP curve. b. Calculate the 10 to 70 slope of the whole-crude
In either case, the first step is to characterize the crude in rBP curve.
order to facilitate later calculations. The minimum informa- c. Using the proper correction factor, convert V ASP
tion required is (a) whole-crude rBP curve, (b) whole-crude to mean ABP.
API gravity and (c) whole-crude light ends analysis. d. K is found as a function of mean ABP and API
Additional information which is highly desirable is an gravity by use ofWinns' nomogram (5).
API gravity and molecular weight study of narrow cuts of 2. Assuming that K remains constant, calculate the mol-
the whole crude. From this can be derived a plot of volume ecular weight and API gravity for various boiling-range
percent versus weight percent and mid-volume percent ver- cuts.
sus molecular weight. If this data is not available experi- a. For the rBP range (initial boiling point to 200
mentally, it can be calculated. degrees F), calculate mean A.BP, API gravity and
An experimental determination of the EFV curve, at molecular weight. Based on 100 barrels of whole
least at atmospheric pressure and preferably at one Or two crude, calculate and tabulate:
higher pressures covering the anticipated range of opera-
tions is also desirable. Maxwell (4), Nelson and Edmister barrels vapor
have all published procedures for converting a whole crude pounds vapor
TBP curve to an atmospheric EFV curve and for estimating moles vapor
the EFV temperatures at pressures above atmospheric. In molecular weight of vapor
the petroleum industry, there is a good deal of argument
about how to estimate EFV behavior of crudes since the b. For the rBP range (200 to 300 degrees F), repeat
total vaporization in the tower is the sum of the equili- Step 2a.
brium flash vapor plus some stripout from the eqUilibrium c. For the rBP range (300 to 400 degrees F), repeat
flash liquid. Stripout versus stripping steam correlations are Step 2a, and so on until the entire crude range has
largely empirical. In an operating tower, one can calculate been covered.
d. From these calculations, draw the following TABLE 2,1

curves.
1. Volume percent over versus weight percent Tray Requirements
over. in Atmospheric Crude Towers
2. Mid-volume percent versus molecular weight
of vapor. Separation Number of Trays
3. Calculate the atmospheric pressure EFV curve for th;
whole crude using Packie's procedure. Plot this curve Light naphtha to heavy naphtha 6 to 8
on the same chart as the whole-crude TBP curve. Heavy naphtha to light distillate 6 to 8
Light distillate to heavy distillate 4 to 6
Estimate of Material Balance Heavy distillate to atmospheric gas oil 4 to 6
Flash zone to first draw tray 3 to 4
As is the case in any process-design problem, the defini- Steam and reboiled stripping sections 4
tion of the materia! balance is the first and most important
step. In this portion of the discussion, various methods for
estimating product yields from the crude petroleum feed
• will be explored. of temperature and hydrocarbon partial pressure existing in
The design material balance is determined by the prod- the flash zone. The principles of this analysis are discussed
• uct characteristics required by the owner and by the as follows.
• amount of crude vaporization which will occur at the con-

ditions of temperature and pressure existing in the flash Flash Zone Pressure
, zone.
.- Since most crude distillation units contain both atmos- Flash zone pressure should be set at tht: minimum pos-
pheric and vacuum towers, economic considerations usually sible level. This will maximize the crude vaporization or, if
~
, favor maximizing distillate yield from the atmospheric sec-
tion in order to minimize the load on the vacuum section.
This may not always be true in an operating situation where
·less than maximum vaporization is desired, will minimize
the operating temperature level.
The datum pressure in atmospheric tower design is the
• the vacuum tower might have unused capacity when the

atmospheric tower is operated for maximum distillate pro-
duction. ]n that case, one would balance atmospheric and
lowest pennissible pressure in the towers' reflux accumula-
tor. Since, in many cases, the tower overhead product
stream cannot be totally condensed at a reasonably low
!Ii
vacuum distillate production in such a way as to maximize pressure, there will often be a vapor distillate which must
II crude throughput. ]n designing atmospheric towers where be removed from the tower system and sent either to the
, • the bottoms liquid is sold directly as fuel oil, the most

economical approach in this special case is to vaporize only
the required distillate products and to allow the remaining
plant fuel gas system or to further processing. This is nor-
mally done by a compressor located as near as possible to
the tower. In most refmeries, this distillate vapor is fed to a
III potential distillate to be yielded, unvaporized, with the bot, gas plaI!t for recovery of propane and heavier. In refineries
toms. This situation arises often in foreign refineries, running heavy crudes, the volume of recoverable light ends
III usually in the producing areas, which run crude primarily may be: too small to justify recovery facilities. In this case,
for local fuels requirements and for bunkering tankers. the distillate vapor is sent to the plant fuel gas system, The
,,
'II Thus, there is just no economic driving force for yielding
anything heavier than diesel fuel as a distillate.
In practice, the question of optimizing the relative dis-
tillate yield between the atmospheric and vacuum towers
author thas observed one operation where the distillate
vapor ~s flared. This required a considerably higher reflux
drum ptessure than if compressors were used to feed other
systems'~ Admittedly, this was a rare operation. For a grass-
'-
., will be settled on an economic basis and must be resolved
prior to commencing definitive design work. This type of
roots d~sign a reflux drum pressure as low as 0.2 psig is
practicai, provided that suction lines to the compressor can
., I
analysis will depend upon economic factors within the par-
ticular company and/or plant site under study and is out-
side the scope of this work.
be kept:short. If the installation involves tying a new tower
into an existing compressor which may be located a consid-
erable q;stance away, a higher pressure may be required.
The nOOnal range of reflux drum pressures used is 0.2 to
if Total Distillate Yield 1.0 psig~
ThJ. design pressure drop across the condenser(s) and
if
., The total distillate yield is found by calculating the
vaporization of the crude which will occur at the conditions
associat~d piping should be set at 5 to 7 psL When the
system -is clean, the nonnal pressure drop will be on the
rI
if
.,
I-i." --------
.'"
Ii
.,
18 Petroleum Refinery Distillation •
EXTERNAL HEAT OUANTITIES LEAVING FLASH ZONE
O'iF'= 10F+OSW I, BTU/ hr.
O'o,,=Ow, BTU/hr.
- AO',,= 10' i-Obi", BTU /hr.
L 5 ,
~ La VOFz=lrD+ Lol +Sw
~
V HCF1
F
IITFO T",,\
o FI
PRE HEATED
PFO
VFO
PFZ1
Vf,ZI
V' Sw
?T FZ
P"
FEE D FROM W' ./
LFO lfZ I
EXC HANGE lOFI
4 Vsc
r-'
1
Sw STRIPPING STEAM
°sw
ITw=T Fl - 30· FI
BOTTOMS
l:D=TOTAL DISTILLATE PRODUCTS EXCLUSIVE OF OVERFLASH

Lo= OVER flASH
V.o=STRIPOUT
HEAT INPUT TO PROCESS
0'0-0,= lOv+Otl,o
O,zl=O,-IOV+OtlfZl II OF -0,-0, ' BTU/hr.
HYDROCARBON PARTIAL PRESSURE IN FLASH ZONE
P'HC={[VHCFZ =( V' +V.o)] /(VHCFZ +Sw)f PFZ, PSIA
WHERE ALL OUANTITIES ARE MOLES.
Figure 2.11. Flash zone heat and material balance.
order of 3 psi. However, as the exchangers become fouled, trays will be in the range of 0.1 to 0.2 psi per tray. In the
the extra drop allowed will be available. design example, a pressure drop of 5 psi was taken between
Most atlT!ospheric towers have 25 to 3S trays between the flash zone and the tower top.
the flash zone and the tower top. Recommended ranges for At this point, the flash zone pressure is set as the sum
the number of trays in various sections of the tower are of the reflux drum pressure and the combined pressure
given in Table 2.1. Using these numbers of trays and reason· drops across the condensers and trays above the flash zone,
able levels of heat recovery will provide adequate fractiona- A pressure drop of 5 psi between the flash zone and tho
tion between products. The allowable pressure drop for furnace outlet is recommended.
ho
~
•
w
'"
::J
>-
<
'"
w
"'-
:l;
w
>-
>
~
w
:1
,
• t.
•
•
/ Y FO V FZ1
VOl. PERCENT VAPORIZED

•
~
,
~
Figure 2.12. EFV curves for whole crude at 14.7 psia, flash lone inlet pressure (P FZ1 ) and furnace outlet pressure (PFOL
•
~
Temperature taken to ensure that adequate reflux will be available in the
" Maximum allowable crude-oil temperature should be

trays between the flash zone and the lowest sidestream
product draw tray. Overflash is measured as volume percent
,Ii set by the owner. It is general knowledge that, at tempera-

tUres of 650 to 675 degrees F, most paraffmic and naphthe-
of crude oil feed to the tower. '
,
The value of overflash to be used in design has been the
nic base crudes begin to undergo thermal decomposition.
sub j e c t 0 f much discussion through the petroleum
This contributes to poor color and poor smoke properties
industry.: An overflash of 2 volume percent of feed is
in the light and heavy distillate fractions. Although oil tem-
peratures as high as 735 degrees F for kerosene operation recommended for competitive design although some refin-
tJ and 800 degrees F for general operations have been ers will specify values as high as 5 volume percent. On the
reported (6), the author recommends that temperatures of other end of the scale, the author has observed a successful
,; the oil should not exceed 650 degrees F for kerosene pro- although 'very sensitive tower operation at overflash values
duction and 700 degrees F for other designs. as low as:0.2 volume percent. Since the gross hydrocarbon
" Overt/ash
vapor from the flash zone is pot~ntially all product, an
actual operation will allow as much of the specified over-
" Overflash is an extra amount of "yaporization above

flash as possible to come up into the lowest sidestream,
rejecting only that amount necessary to control color in the
"PI that required by material balance considerations which is distillates 1by refluxing the trays above the flash zone.
fj
ii
I/I!Ii
.-
~
•
A conservative approach to design and one providing iog the new percentage vaporization and then calcula-
--
maximum operating flexibility would be to design the at-
mospheric section on the basis of maximum oil temperature
ting the heat content until satisfying the criterion
•
and zero overflash. This means that the lowest sidestream
product could contain all the over flash. Accordingly, this •
would require that the heat exchangers in the lowest side- The temperature drop between the furnace outlet and
stream circuit be sized to accommodate this high potential the flash zone inlet will usually be on the order of 4 to --
rate. On the other hand, the vacuum section would be de-
signed on the basis that the atmospheric tower would
return the design value of overflash to the reduced crude.
6 degrees F. The amount of heat which the feed intro-
duces into the process has now been defined as '"
This would require additional vacuum furnace capacity and "
,•
sizing the heat exchangers in the lightest vacuum gas oil
circuit for the highest potential rate. Because of the signifi-
cantly higher cost, this approach to crude unit design would 4. Set the value for overflash. This liquid returns to the
seem indicated only where a high degree of operating flexi- flash zone from the tray immediately above it and mix- r
bility is required and where the penalties for failure to meet es with the feed flash liquid. The sum of these two ...
product quality standards are severe. For competitive de- liqUids is the feed to the top tray of the bottoms strip-
sign work, this approach would lead to financial disaster. ping section. ...
Calculation of the Total Distillate Yield
S. Set a stripping steam rate-l0 pounds per barrel of net
bottoms is recommended. From Figure 2.13, find the
...,.
volume percentage of the feed to the stripping section
The calculations outlined in this subsection are based which will be vaporized. From this difference, calculate
...
on having predetermined the maximum temperature of the
oil leaving the furnace. Occasionally, one may define the
the volume of net bottoms. From crude assay data,
calculate the weight of the bottoms product.
...
thennal basis as the flash zone temperature. If this is the 6. The total vapor leaving the flash zone is the sum of the
basis, the procedure described in the chapter covering the
vacuum tower-specifically Figure 3.8-will apply for flash
zone calculations.
Figure 2.11 illustrates the flow rates around the flash
feed flash vapor and the stripout. From this is calcu-
lated the volume, weight and molal quantities around
the flash zone.
•
,,..
...
7. Calculate the hydrocarbon partial pressure in the total

....
zone and gives the equations used in defining the appropri- vapor leaving the flash zone as P HC ' Find the 14.7 psia
\.
ate heat quantities_ Figure 2.12 shows how the basic heat
input to the process is calculated by using the EFV curves.
EFV temperature for the indicat~ volumepercentage
v3'porization and co~-thiSto t};~press;:;rere-verof
e.
The sequential calculation procedure is as follows. P HC 'Tftisi.sJ!!! flash·zone temperature.
Assume that the- tempe;arureoOf the_llet bottoms liq- • e:
I. Convert the 14.7 psia EFV curves to the pressures
8.
uid, W, is 30 degrees F lower than the flash lone tem-
,....
'-.
which have been set for the furnace outlet and the perature. Calculate the heat quantity leaving the sys-
entrance to the flash zone_ This latter value is, for all
practical purposes, equal to the flash zone pressure. 9.
tem in this stream.
Calculate the heat input to the system from the strip·
e.
The vapor pressure charts and nomographs in Section 4 ping steam. fl' j
~-
of Maxwell are useful for these conversions_ 10. Calculate and tabulate the external heat quantities at I
2. At the furnace outlet conditions of temperature and the flash zone. fl'
,-
pressure, find the volume percent vaporized as Point 1 II. Tabulate the quantities and properties of the hydrocar-
I
on Figure 2.12. From crude assay data, calculate the ~jl
bon flows around the flash lone.
weight of the vaporized crude. Using the weight of the
vapor and liquid phases, calculate the heat content of
12. Total distillate yield is the total hydrocarbon vapor
leaving the flash zone minus the overflash. e.:
the mixture leaving the furnace as
A typical calculation of total distillate yield is given in
the appended example calculations.
II e.'I
e."
3. Next, detennine the vaporization which exists at the General Properties of Petroleum Fractions i
flash zone entrance as Point 2 on Figure 2.12. This is a
e: "~
i
trial-and-error procedure which requires assuming a
new temperature at the flash zone entrance, determin-
Most petroleum distillates, especially those from at-
mospheric distillation, are usually defmed in terms of an e.'-
e:'
e
------------------------------
10
~8 HEAVY
0:: DISTILLATES
"-
'"....
on
.,>- KEROSENE
6 NAPHTHA
'">w
0
::!O
I w
'"
•
I-
Z
w 4
u
• '"w
"-
,
• w
::!O
, ::J
~
J 0 RESIDUA
> 2
~
,
,,.,
•
," 10
LB. STRIPPING STEAMIBBl. 60· F PRODUCT
15 20
Figure 2.13. Steam stripping of petroleum fractions in_.four actual trays (with permission of Oil and Gas Journan.
" ASTM boiling range which, as was pointed out earlier, is a stream frQll1 the crude tower. Most naphthas are used in
," loose specification for composition of matter. The follow-

ing general classes of distillate products afe obtained from
petroleum.
motor gas~line, either directly or as catalytic refonnate.
There is so;me demand for naphtha boiling range liquids as
petrochem\cal feedstocks, principally for thermal cracking
• Ii'
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPGI-ethane, propane, bu-
tanes (mixed and separated) and isopentane. These prod-
ucts cannot be produced directly from crude distillation
and require further high pressure distillation.
to olefms or for refonning and extraction of aromatics.
it
Light Distillate-ASTM end points in the range of 525
to 575 deitrees F. A full range light distillate is kerosene
having an ASTM boiling range of325 to 550 degrees F. An
Naphtha (Gasolinel-pentane through 400 degrees F
Ii' ASTM end point. There are many grades and boiling ranges
important distillate is JP-4 jet fuel which has an ASTM
boiling range of approximately 150 to 475 degrees F. This
of naphthas, the properties of which are influenced by their
i planned end use. Many fermenes produce a 400 degree F
product is':blended from suitable stocks of naphtha and
light distillate. However, under proper operating conditions,
end point naphtha as an overhead distillate from the atmos·
if pheric tower and then fractionate it as required in separate
this materW, could be yielded directly from the atmospher-
ic tower a! a light distillate.
facilities. If the product pattern can be defmed well enough
". J
it is more economical to produce a light naphtha as the
,I
Heavy f\Jistillare-ASTM end points in the range of 650
.
overhead distillate and a heavy naphtha as the lightest side- to 700 degrees F. Diesel fuel is a blend of light distillate and
II
-,-
~
"•
;;;
~

"
WHOLE
TBP
CRUDE
CURVE
"
~ "
TBP END "
OF LIGHT
"
t l00L
,
~
.. ,
: TBP CUT POINT=V,(t lOOl + tOH ) TBP OVERLAP=(tlOOl-tOH)
....=>'"
« ,"
'"
w
"'-
,.
:E
....w
'"
~
TBP INITIAL POINT
I"OF HEAVY FRACTION "
I tOH
I /~ '"
iii
I
"
~
'"
TBP CUT
1,/ VOLUME
VOLUME PERCENT VAPORIZED
Figure 2.14. Temperature relationships around the cut point between fractions.
heavy distillate and has an ASTM boiling range of approxi· point be much lower than 500 degrees F which precludes a
mately (350 to 675 degrees F), Marine diesel is a little maximum heavy distillate operation. The importance of
heavier, having an ASTM end point in the range of 775 this principle will be seen in the following material where
degrees F. methods for cutting the crude into pr9ducts are presented.
Gas Oil-aU distillates heavier than heavy distillate. Gas
oil yielded from the atmospheric tower will have ASTM end
Product Distillate Yields
pOints of approximately 800 degrees F. Vacuum gas oils
will have ASTM end points as high as I, I 00 degrees F.
Depending upon the operation being practiced, vacuum gas In this part will be discussed methods for estimating
oils can have various boiling ranges. This subject is covered the yields and properties of the various products which can
in detail in Chapter 3. be produced off the atmospheric tower. The general meth-
Note that the boihng range:!; of these materials often od of attack will be to determine distillation properties of
overlap by quite a bit., This indicates that one can maximize the desired products and apply these to the whole crude
the yield of only one _R-roduct on any given operation. For TBP curve in order to estimate volumetric yields. Volume-
example, consider maximizing the production of 325 to tric yields are then used to obtain product gravities, molec-
525 degrees F kerosene. It is obvious that the naphtha end ular weights and other properties from the crude assay.
pOint cannot be 400 degrees F -corresponding to a maxi- There are many ways to define a product slate, but most of
mum naphtha operation-nor can the heavy distillate initial these are based on specifying certain ASTM distillation tem-
L'r "Ii; ,j I "Y' I'Ti'I>,j,

',"b' ii.ii' H i,I'I;<" • I::, I'i
'i 1 i ' 2 E ii,','. I
i i ' , , ; ; •.• ,. I" , I.'
j
I.". "I' .••• I, i. I . • j'l'j"F '"

" HIITl'r~':111 '" .",.",."." I d l " ' [ ! i r:
i I , ' jill':iIIIIT!I~ l~r:KU 17 i,"'I"
'FG il'I"'I' I
, ',I I'J.,,!,,,!,
.'i' 1 .. 11 Iii
, j niH "1:/1.1 •.•• liAr; FD I: i : l i i . ,
Fill! I I I •.•• LA I) li!11 ":' l'elI1I+l;
, 111'li,.lf.' 111:1/1 b r i'I:+"ci .,.' L i,+' 1'+I:liIi
I i ' 11I1 ;. """" I L I 1/] A I i ! , ' iii I I:
. Fl, I. i. I I 1 1 , = i.'! I, V! / '" I •.• I. i i i " . ' . ; ,"1; I. I'i

... "11' I > liLl1 .,'. I V I" !.l .,.,., .. , . ' I i ....•,.•.• '..l. •. I ' I :
"'. <:1:'" '. ,.• 1. ;, .ii,,,,,"':' '... ; / 1 . , ' , ' 1 " ",.'.':I.i I,'i ••:;.,
~1'"111.71:7Iil'i···i··il.iii
" .. .c. ""I:":~.''':''''~
: I i l , ,'"
' . . i iI",
II ,:,'1,221:'1
· ·..,
'j,0">
I!I.~F ••••..•••.. :.
·j.':.I.,T'1
i"
.".,,! '.'. .
,' I>,.' 7i.,/ ,. : T : ' : " " , ' i " T I ' ' ; T
,I''' ,::'1,,":11:'" ~t'L'
! •. 1::•• :1',,::1:',1: Ii"''''"
,., ., .., -
Figure 2.15. Relationships between ASTM and TBP initial (0 percent) and final (100 percent) boiling points.
no<>
peratures for the products from which the remaining data matter, the various production operations must be calcu·
wi1I be derived. laled-heat and material balance-for both crudes. This will
Since the planned production rates will depend upon usually entail the alternate maximization of naphtha, light
the crudes which are available to the refinery, the designer distillate and heavy distillate, These studies will define the
should base his yield studies on the heaviest (lowest API variations in the heat and material balance required to satis-
gravity) and the lightest (highest API gravity) crude which fy the varying yields pattern and are necessary for the opti·
is to be run on a 'normal basis. Further. he should obtain mum design of the heat exchange train, towers and fur-
specific definition of all the operations which are to be naces.
practiced. These two points are very important and are dis- Now, the ways in which one can define yields and,
cussed in detail in the following paragraphs. hence, the overall material balance are to be considered. It
The light crude will define the design basis for the should be remembered that, to this point, the hydrocarbon
atmospheric section of the crude unit since its volume of vapor leaving the flash zone and the overflash have been
distillates will exceed that which can be produced from the calculated. Thus, the total distillate yield is k.nown. In dis-
heavy crude. An equipment Sizing will be based on heat and cussing the various ways for estimating yields, the following
material balance data calculated for the various light crude terminology will be used. Figure 2·r~ illustrates the physi·
cases. As would be expected, the heavy crude will define cal significance of these terms.
the facilities for processing the atmospheric lower bottoms,
either a vacuum unit or, if this is not planned, the reduced I. TBP cut volume-the volumetric yield point between
crude heat exchange equipment. To further complicate the two fractions.
., I
I
• I
TABLE 2.2 It'
Recommended ASTM Boiling Ranges for Products Atmospheric Tower If

I
. I
Product Max. Naphtha
Operation
Max Light Dist. Max Heavy Dist. • I
It'
Light naphtha 250 - 275 EP Same Same
Heavy naphtha 400 EP 325 EP 325 EP It'
Light distillate
Heavy distillate
Atmospheric gas oil
375
575
- 600
- 675
300 .. 600
575 .. 675
300 - 550
525 - 675
,
.,
-
'.
Determined by allowable oil temperature
TABLE 2.3 ASTM Distillations of Products If
Separation Criteria for Atmospheric Tower Products The owner specifies the ASTM distillations for the side- .
~
streams down through heavy distillate and the ASTM end

Separation (5 - 95) Gap, OF point of the overhead product. He may also specify the It"
Light naphtha to heavy naphtha

Heavy naphtha to light distillate
+ 20 to + 30
+ 25 to + 50
ASTM initial point of the atmospheric gas oil, but, if not,
this shall be determined by the designer. The designer must ..
~
Light distillate to heavy distillate o to + 10 also determine the TBP cut point between the overhead and
Heavy distillate to atmospheric gas oil o to + 10 the lightest sidestream. These specifications are used to esti-
mate yields by the following procedure.
l. For the sidestreams, convert the ASTM to TBP distilla-

tions by Edmister's techniques.
2. TEP cut point-the whole crude TBP temperature cor· 2. The ASTM end point of the overhead is converted to a
responding to the TBP cut volume. TBP end point by the correlation of Figure 2.15 (dt;-
3. TEP overlap = (TBP end paint of light fraction)-(TBP rived by author).
initial point of heavy fraction). 3_ If the ASTM initial point of the atmospheric gas oil has
been given, convert it to a TBP initial point using Fig-
ure 2_15_1f this ASTM temperature has not been given,
Also, note that
assume a TBP overlap of 80 to 100 degrees F between
heavy distillate and atmospheric gas oil.
TBP cut point = \i(tIOOL + t OH)' 4. I Calculate the TBP cut points between fractions and
I determine the volumetric yields of products_
This latter principle has been established by analysis of op-
Key Stream Specification
erating data which has shown that, for well stripped side-
streams, the volume interchanges between two streams
The owner desires that the design be based on produc-
around the TBP cut point are equal.
tion of one particular stream and that the other products be
defined in tenns relative to but subordinate to the key
Crude Oi/lnspection Data stream. Usually, this specification will give detailed ASTM
temperatures for the key stream. The 0, 5, 10,50,90,95
and 100 volume percent ASTM temperatures are the ones
The owner defines the material balance himself by spe- most often used along with (5-95) Gap specifications be·
cifying the volumetric yields on crude for all products tween the key stream and adjacen t streams.
down through heavy distillate. The designer will determine
the yield of atmospheric gas oil. This type of specification General Specifications
will almost always include the anticipated ASTM distilla·
tions and other key physical properties of the streams. This In the unlikely event that work is to be undertaken
data should be checked for accuracy and any discrepancies without having specific instructions from the owner, the
resolved before proceeding with the design. following procedure is recommended.
SEPARATION
HD-AGO LN HN
100 'HN-LD
8ASIS-T8P CUT RANGE

LN - lBP -300
HN - 300-400
I LD - 400-575
HD - 575-700
I AGO -700 -775
,I 80
60
· I ..
"':
~ 20
w
>
o
• ..
...
.... VERLAP
•
~
~
,
rI
WHOLE C~UDE
T8P CURVE
; ,
I
,
~ I,
I
, --/----JL-I-- T8P CUT
,., POINT:F
if TBP CUT
_I : VOLUME,Y. Figure 2.16. /!Ielationships between TBP (lOO·) overlap and
ASTM (5·95) gap-typical atmospheric tower streams.
fiJ,
-" _~ __ .___ . . ___.__.-._L ._._-

!
~
~
;.,
a
26 Petroleum Refinery Distillation ..
1. As discussed earlier, the material balance should be
based on two representative crudes, one light and onc
molal quantities. The use of n-alkane physical
properties is acceptable.
"
heavy. The material balances will then be based on 3. Since free water will exist in the reflux drum, the vapor
alternately maximizing naphtha, light distillate and phase will be water saturated at the condenser exit
heavy distillate production. Total distillate yield is temperature, T R' Calculate the hydrocarbon partial
based on a maximum oil temperature leaving the fur- pressure of the distillate vapor stream as PHC'
nace of 700 degrees F. Suggested ASTM boiling ranges
for these cases are given in Table 2.2.
d. At conditions TR and P HC ' make a flash calcula-
tion on the gross overhead stream, thereby defin-
"
2. Recommended separation criteria, Le., ASTM (5-95) ing the vapor-liquid separation. From this, define
Gap, are given in Table 2.3. the composition of the vapor and the liquid.
e. Synthesize a TBP curve for the distillate liqUid and
Figure 2.16 may be used to estimate TBP overlap for a convert it to an ASTM distillation. This step is ..
given ASTM (5·95) Gap between the indicated fractions. omitted in the example calculation.
f. Calculate and tabulate the distribution of the ,
Product Properties steam to the process as vapor leaving \vith the dis-
To this point, the volumetric yields of all products and

tillate vapor and liquid leaving as free water.
g. Assume the number of trays for the various separa-
•
the TBP and ASTM distillations for all distillates have been tion sections in the tower and define the total
estimated. In order to complete the estimate of the material number of trays and draw tray locations. Plot the
balance, it is necessary to define various other properties of gravity and molecular weights of the liquids leav-
the materials. The following steps will accomplish this. ing trays by assuming that the properties of liquids
one tray above and one tray below draw trays are
1. Plot the ASTM curves of the distillates and calculate the Same as the draw tray liquid. Plant test work
the (5-95) Gaps. has indicated that this is true. Assume a linear
2. Calculate the 14.7 psia EFY curves for the distillates. change in properties across the remaining trays in
Plot these curves and extrapolate to minus 20 volume each section. This plot is used only in the calcula-
percent vaporized in order to approximate the effect of tion of Type A systems.
the equilibrium solubility of the lighter crude oil com-
ponents in the liquid leaving the draw tray. Process Design Basis
3. Set stripping steam to the atmospheric gas oil stripper
at 10 pounds per barrel stripped product and estimate The material balance and composition infonnation
the stripout from Figure 2.13. Since the other side- which has been developed should now be tabul~ted into a
streams are to be reboiled, set their vaporizations process design basis for ready reference in later calculations.
equivalent to the amount which would be stripped out
by steam at a rate of 10 pounds per barrel stripped Heat and Material Balance Calculations for Type U Towers
product. Plot these stripout points, i.e., minus vapori-
zation, on the product EFV curves. These are the 14.7 A complete Type U tower is shown in Figure 2.17_
psia bubble points of the unstripped sidestream prod- This drawing illustrates the basic process and its essential
ucts and will be used later to calculate draw tray tem- auxiliaries as well as the external h~at and material balance
peratures. quantities. Note that the product d~aw trays are all shown
4. From the crude assay data, calculate the gravities and as partial draws so that the reflux flows internally from the
molecular weights of all products. draw tray to the tray below it. Figure 2.17 will be the basis
5_ Calculate the vapor-liquid separation of the gross over- for discussing the heat and material balance calculations in
head product at the conditions of temperature and this section. In the introductory remarks to this chapter, it
hydrocarbon partial pressure existing in the reflux was stated that a Type U system is not practical from an
drum. These calculations are detailed in the design ex- industrial viewpoint because of the obvious lack of thermal
ample. The detailed calculation procedure is as follows. efficiency. However, it is the easiest system to calculate and
a. The light ends analysis and the partial TBP curve to understand. Thus, the fundamentals of heat and material
of the gross overhead is combined into a total TBP balance calculations will be illustrated in terms of a Type U
curve. system. Later, the methods for obtaining and calculating
b. The TBP curve is broken up into pseudocompo- heat removals from the tower will be given_ A secondary
nents which are tabulated as volume, weight and reason for calculating a Type U system is that, as will be
if/(0c
1 XJ
I
" Q•
/'
N
I:
l)
EXTERNAL HEAT
OUANTITIES J,
Q'iD4= Q'OD3 +QR.4 --

ENV.m
0,( + 1
Q'004 0'003 +004
ENV.JY
t.O'o.~IO';-O'ol o.
o. 2:
L
a'i 03 ==Q' i02 +QR3

03+1
ti°"
Q'003- 0'0 02 +0 D3
iSO'03-10'; -0'0103
03 A
L
I jD'0RJ
Q'i02=Q'iol+QR2
• 0'002 Q'001+Q02
02+1 D3
, 1'.0'02-10'; -0'0102
02 6
0 03
L
• ~o"
;
;
Q'iOI-Q'i FZ +051
Q'COI-a'OFZ +QOl
01 +1 1
, 1'.0'01- 10'; -Q'ol 01 01
I A
, EJII
L 1 5,
Q S1
. 5 , I ,
•
j;
Q'iFZ=QF+QSW
O'OFl-Qw
.:!toQ'Fl (Q'i QIOIFZ
lo 'll i
!
!
, F
QF •
,, Sw
Q sw
1
!
,
, U:!D
'- T ./
<
'"
~-
Figure 2.17. Heat and material balance summary-'btmospheric tower, Type U.
ill "
i
II
III
III
~
~"
• ou
'< .~
~ .
•
,
,
~,
..fu.!
'~
'. -it
~
"
.~
, ,
lkl
,1
'1.
~.
. ~. ~:
~"
'-.
,it-
Figure 2.18. Draw tray temperatures-Type U tower. t"

fJ
dir
seen later, it simplifies the calculations for the Type A system's heat balance. This internal reflux to the draw tray t 1.
system to a very great degree. dermes the hydrocarbon product partial pressure in the va·
por above the tray. Converting the 14.7 psi. bubble point t!,
This section outiines procedures for ca1culating prod- of the unstripped liquid to this partial pressure gives a tem-
uct draw tray temperatures at all points in the tower and perature which must check the assumed value. The top tray ~',
for making an overall heat balance around the system. The temperature is calculated by the same procedure, except
,,7
method is based upon assuming a draw tray temperature that the reference temperature is the 14.7 psia dew point of ',(1
.,...
,.,
and then calculating the internal reflux required by the the gross overhead product.
•
t Atmospheric Tower 29
•T c Preliminary Steps 3. An increased stripping steam rate will decrease product

draw tray temperatures due to the reduced hydrocar·
:& t At this point, it is assumed that all the calculations bon partial pressures.
r outlined in the previous sections of this chapter have been 4. Use of stripping steam in all product s.!.dpP.~~s __rat!:t.er
.lI f performed and that the following have been fully defined. tha.n in on.ly. the first sidestream stripper will decrease
!
draw tray temperatures of the second sidestream and
!iII
I 1. Complete hydrocarbon material balance for feed and all others above.
ill
fI 2.
products.
Steam rates to stripping sections and steam distribution
between overhead distillate vapor and liquid.
Having estimated draw tray temperatures and haVing
set the operating pressures at key points in previous work,
rrA
il_ f
3. Hydrocarbon material balances around product strip- plot a temperature and press~re profile for. the ~O\y~r _~y
pers. assuming linear change be~een draw trays.
- l, 4. Atmospheric EFV temperatures for products corres- -_. ·Some~investTgators have stated'd~-;t-19 degree F tem-
perature rises are experienced between the draw tray and
ponding to the estimated stripout for each product.
!" I
5. Draw tray locations, number of trays in each section the first and second trays below the draw and that a 15
and total number of trays in the tower. degree F drop OCcurs between the draw tray and the one
~t 6. Heat input to the base section of the tower from feed above. This does not seem logical in many cases, particular-
f
"
~f , and bottoms-stripping steam, heat outflow in the bot·
toms liquid and external heat quantities at the flash
ly in the lower sections of the tower. It seems particularly
suspicious in the light of stating that heat removal is more
.~~ zone. This bottoms-section heat balance is shown as effective on one of two adjacent trays when both trays are
Envelope Ion Figure 2.17, handling markedly similar fluids~ 1dnless specific process in·
'~E fonnation to the contrary is available, the assumption of
I-;ea~-ternperaiure- 'drops -between draw trays is recom-
AU these items must be completed before proceeding
'.;/: further with calculations. mended since' it results- 'in-'greater reflux requirements and
~owe;~i;,e. Thus, any error inherent in the assumption is on
«<;I :
t Estimate of Tower Operating Conditions
the safe sid~.
.'
,1IiI : First Sidestream Product Draw Tray
Draw tray temperatures are estimated from the correla-
f ,
tion of Figure 2,18, The following form the basis for this
chart, The heat and material balance relationships at this sec·
tion of the tower are detennined by making a balance
,-~ around Envelope II as shown on Figure 2. J 7. An expanded
«_:
" -
L
2,
Flash-zone pressure = 24,7 psia,
Overflash = 2,0 volume percent of feed,
view of this is illustrated by Figure 2,19 which shows the
equations used in making the calculations. These equations
3. Reduced crude and lowest sidestrearn <tre stearn are to be used in the followin! sequence.
1!!i1I' stripped at !ll- pol!llils steam per barrel of product
,
measured as 60 degree F liquid.
'!!!I: 4. All other sidestrearns are reboiled equivalent to the
L CaJculate the reflux heat, OR at Tray DL Reflux heat
is defmed as the apparent heat imbalance between ex·
stearn stripping at 10 pounds per barreL
"fI':-
;'"
ternal heat quantities at the point in question in the
5. For sidestrearn products, use the estimated bubble
tower. These external heat quantities are denoted as Q
point of the unstripped liquid from draw tray. For the
",'
'I,,, with appropriate subscripts to signify their location.
total overhead product, use calculated dew point.
External heat input quantities are defined as the heat
ill contained in the feed plus all heat to the system at
Note carefully the restrictions which apply and the in· product strippers either directly as steam or indirectly
-'"
'iI dicated temperature variations which will occur as the proc· through reboilers. External heat output quantities at a
ess conditions differ from the stipulated bases. given tray are defined as the heat contained in liquid
products leaving the system from points lower in the
L An increase in flash-zone pressure will increase draw tower, the heat contained in the internal vapors of
tray temperatures. products plus steam and the heat contained by a prod-
,~ An increase in overflash will slightly decrease draw tray uctiiquid flowing to the sidestream stripper.lf the tray
ill temperatures of the second sidestream product and all is nbt a sidestream draw tray. this latter quantity does
others above. not enter into the heat balance.
iii
;" .,',
iii
iif
fI
id
-
<iii
•
EXTERNAL HEAT
QUAN TITlES V.OI+ll=VOO'+S,
O'iOl-O'iFZ +051 01 +1@loI+1
0'001 O'OFZ+OOI
t!Q'o, {Q';-Q'olo, LOI+4_; VS1 +5,
VOD ,=V05 -D,
°VOD' \ lvs I l::
Ol@ 10' 1'-- 01-- - - -
Lo
4
-
TL
,
I
""'" QlO'
S,
Qs,
/t20'= 10 ,-30. F
6
L6
4 J _/
V05 -VoFz-l o
Vo,,-l:O+Lo+S w Lo
rL
t!Q'"
ENv.n
HEAT BALANCE EQUATIONS
a.=!1Q',,-{Qlo, +Qvoo1l
QlVS'- {lvs1l (cit 1 01- 101+,1
q'.-{Hto,-nto.+1)
lO1+I- {a. -alvs,lIq"
Figure 2.19. Heat and material balance quantities at first sidestream product draw tray-type U tower.
2. The hydrocarbon which is to be revaporized in the 3. Calculate the heat 'removal capability of the reDux
product stripper falls to the draw tray as part of the available to the tray as qR·
internal reflux from Tray (D! + 1) rather than rising to 4. Calculate the internal reflux required to absorb the ex· 1
the tray as part of the product vapors. In passing across cess heat at Tray Dl as LD1 +1 and convert it to moles'
the d raw tray, this liquid absorbs a small amount of the per hoUT.
reflux heat. This heat absorption is calculated as 5. Calculate the mole fraction of hydrocarbon product
Ql.SVI. NOle from the example calculations that this vapor in the total vapor leaving the draw tray, neglect-
heat quantity is quite small when compared to the re- ing the presence of the product to be removed on the
flux heat and could be neglected with no discernible next draw tray up in the tower. The reasoning behind
loss of accuracy. It is included here for the sake of this is that the product vapors which are to be with-
total defmition of tower flows and heat quantities. drawn from draw trays above the next draw tray are
ON +1
VSN@ !/tON+1O'F)
OVSN
1
r
ON@loN
O'N =(ON +LVSN)catDN
4
OD'N
L 3
1
VQiN
"- -, ./ ~
0N@I,ON=( ION+300F)
Q
ON
Figure 2.20. Heat and material balance quantities around a reboiled stripper.
Table 2.4 partial pressure, and for this reason, its presence is
neglected.
Product Vapor to be Neglected 6. Calculate the hydrocarbon product partial pressure in
In Partial-Pressure Calculations the total vapor leaving the draw tray and convert the
atmospheric bubble point of the un, tripped liquid
Draw Tray Product Vapor
product on the tray to this partial pressure. The vapor
D2 pressure data in Maxwell, Section 4, is recommended
D3
D3 D4 for this conversion. If this temperature does not check
D4 D5 - VS* the value which was originally assumed, repeat the pro-
cedure for a new assumed temperature.
*To be considered as an inert gas. 7. Calculate and tabulate the external heat quantities to
the base of Tray (D I + I). This will include the heat
input to the system by the steam to the product strip-
per and the heat output from the system in the prod-
above their critical temperatures when they are at the uct liquid D I. For steam strippers in atmospheric tow-
temperature of the tray under study_ Thus. like the ers, a temperature drop of 30 degrees F for the liquid
steam, they behave as noncondensibles and lower the from the draw tray to the stripper outlet is assumed
boiling point of the product in accordance with Dal- arbitrarily.
ton's Law of partial pressures. Since the product vapor For reboiled strippers, a liquid temperature rise of
which is to be removed at the next higher draw tray 30 degrees F is assumed from the draw tray to the
will be near its critical temperature as it leaves this stripper outlet. The temperature of the stripout return-
lower draw tray, it is assumed to have no effect on the ing to the atmospheric tower is assumed to be 10 de-
I
I
.;' <

\
(VON +VtR)=(V,+O, +Sw+S,) +L,

/ I
r/ V,
I
Q(YDN +YlR) )U Oy,
QTEMP.-t, I I
•
YO N = Yo o"
= V,+O,+Sw +S,
9 H 2O
QH 0
I
2
L, I
N@t N
"- ,
~ QCR 0,
0 0,
ENV.IY
•
N-1@ t N_,
•
I
•
I> •
,,
•
·•
E~
EQUATIONS FOR ENVElOPE m
(1) HEAT BALANC E
01 -llo'04-oYN
(q'R)LI -(HIN -hll) A.
LI - OR/q'1
(2) H ARBON PARTIAL PRESSURE ABOVE TRAY N
P'HC-(PTNI (LI+O,I/ILI +D,+Sw+SII
(3) IND E REflUX ON TRAY N
(RiIN-(LII (hIN-hlll/(HI N_, -h,NI] .- ,
EOUATIONS FOR ENVElOPE DZ:

(1) CONDENSER HEAT BALANCE
OR -OIYON+ YLI,-lOy,+OH20 +00,+0"1
•
(2) OVERAll SYSTEM HEAT BALANCE
01 -l'iO'04 -( 0V5+0H20 +00'1
•
Figure 2.21. Heat and material balance quantities at top tray and condenser.
grees F hotter than the temperature of the draw tray. steam requires greater capaCities in facilities for boiler
The trend in recent years has been to specify reboiled feedwater preparation and for treating the sour water
strippers wherever thermally possible. This is an eco- effluent from the condenser. The procedure for calcu-
nomical approach since steam increases the size of the lating the heat duty of the reboiler is illustrated by
tower and the overhead condenser and, also, since Figure 2.20.
8. Calculate and tabulate the vapor and liquid quantities of the absolute value of Qc . Ifnot, a serious error has been
to the base of Tray (Dl + 1). made somewhere in the calculations, and the work must be
repeated until a satisfactory check is obtained.
Other Sidestream Product Draw Trays
Fractionation Capability of the System
The remaining side stream draw trays are calculated by
the same procedure as that outlined in the previous step.
Remember that, in making partial pressure calculations, the Having completed the heat and material balance calcu-
presence of the next higher product vapor in the total vapor lations around the atmospheric tower and its auxiliaries, it
leaving the draw tray must be neglected. This principle is must now be determined whether or not the fractionation
summarized in Table 2.4. specifications can be met with the resulting configuration
of trays and reflux. The reflux which exists in the tower is
Top Tray Calculations determined principally by the definition of the material
balance and is influenced relatively little by draw tray loca·
The heat and material balance relationships at the top tions. Bec8.use of tray pressure drop, a slight variation in
tray are detennined by making a balance around Envelope calculated temperatures will result by altering draw tray
III as shown on Figure 2.17. Figure 2.2 I shows an ex- iocations, but, unless the change in configuration is drastic,
panded view of this section of the tower and gives the say by four trays or more, the effect on reflux will be
equations to be used in making the calculations. These slight, certainly by less than 10 percent. Thus, for all practi-
equations are to be used in the following sequence. cal purposes, reflux in a Type U system may be defined as
constant for a given material baJance. Referring back to
1. Calculate the reflux heat above the top tray. figures 2.6 and 2.7, the technique for analyzing fractiona-
2_ Calculate the heat removal capability of the available tion capability is outlined by the following procedure.
reflux_
3. Calculate the amount of reflux from the condenser I. Since Pack ie's reflux ratio is defined in terms of liquid
which is required to absorb the excess heat at Tray N falling from a draw tray, calculate the reflux from all
as LR and convert it to moles per hour. draw trays and from the top tray by making a heat
4_ Calculate the mole fraction of hydrocarbon product balance around the system at all trays below these just
vapor in the total vapor leaving the top tray, neglecting mentioned. These temperatures on the trays below
the hydrocarbon portion of the distillate vapor prod· draw trays are arrived at by the assumption of linear
uct. temperature variation between draw trays. Calculate
S. Calculate the hydrocarbon partial pressure of the over· these reflux flows as both moles and volumes.
head distillate liquid plus reflux in the total vapor leav- 2. Calculate the reflux ratio as the volume of reflux from
ing Tray N. Convert the atmospheric dew point of the the draw tray per volume of total product vapors enter-
distillate liquid product to this partial pressure. If this ing the draw tray. The separation factor, F, is the prod-
calculated temperature does not check the va1ue origi· uct of this reflux ratio and the number of actual trays
nally assumed, assume a new temperature and repeat in the section.
the procedure. 3. Calculate the difference between the ASTM 50 volume
6. Calculate the reflux induced on the top tray_ Induced percent temperatures of the product and that of the
..i t, reflux is the amount of vapor from Tray (N - 1) which total remaining lighter products.
enters and is condensed on Tray N for the purpose of 4. From Packie's curves, read the ASTM (5-95) Gap for
raising the reflux liquid frorn its ternperature leaving the various separations and compare them with the re-
the reflux drum to that of the top tray. quired values.
7. Calculate and tabulate the vapor and liquid quantities
at Tray N. For a Type U system using conventional numbers of
trays between draw trays and requiring normal separations,
Condenser Calculations and Overall Heat Balance there will always be an excess of "trays x reflux". This
leads to the conclusion that, by removing heat from the
The condenser duty is calculated by making a heat system at points relatively low in the tower, one can reduce
balance around Envelope IV in Figure 2.17 _ An expanded reflux and thus reduce tower size while still ~ing able to
view of this calculation is given in Figure 2.21. Note that, in meet fractionation specificahons. This leads into the study
Figure 2.21, Qc is also calculated by an overall system heat of the two types of towers employing heat removal sys·
balance. The two values should check to within 2 percent terns.
(\
1\
!l
dOc (l
V5
1 ~
r Q Y5
(l
/'
" (I I~ ,(l
N
" l,J
EXTERNAL HEAT
OUANTITIES
Q'i04=Q'io3 +QR4
ENV.IY
"i H,O
OH2 0
D5
0 05
• <1
<1
0'004 0'003 +00< +Oe< D4 + 1 ENV. Y
L'l0'0<=( O'i - 0'0) 0<
-- <1
D4 6 <"
~oe<
D4-I1- (\
p O ..
Q'i03 =Q'i02 +QR3 ~
0'003-0'00' +003 +0C3 D3 +1
D<
L'l0'03 =(0' i - 0'0) 03 . 0 0< ('.
D3 A (\
L
~0C3
0RJ
1-5
D3-1 ('.
Q'i02 =Q~iOl +QR2
0'00' - 0'00' +002 +OC 2 D2+ 1 DJ
0 03
L'l0'02 =( 0' i -0'0) 02
D2 A
O'i01 == Q'iFZ +QS1

0'00'- 0'0" +Oo,+Oc,
D2-1
D1+1
L
~ OC2
lO' 0"
L'lo'o,-(O'i -0'0) D'

DI ,"- ,...L.
L
~~~L. I
S,
01 1"- Os,
.
5
O'iFl=OF +Osw E~
Q'OFz-Qw E.lli'JI l,.,fl'
L'lo 'Fl =( O'i -0'0) Fl
F
4
OF
1
Sw
°sw
"- ./
1 W
Qw
ENV. I
Figure 2.22. Heat and material balance summary-atmospheric tower, Type R.

Another facet of the results of the analysis of fraction- and then calculating the internal reflux reqUired by the
ation capability is that, in the Type U calculation example, system's heat balance. This internal reflux to the draw tray
there appears to be a slight imbalance between the various defines the hydrocarbon product partial pressure in the va-
sections_ While there is more than enough "trays x reflux" por above the tray. Converting the 14.7 psia bubble point
for the required separations, the conditions in the heavy of the unstripped liquid to this partial pressure gives a tem-
naphtha-light distillate section has considerably less excess perature which must check the assumed value. The top tray
"trays x reflux" than do a1l the other sections. This implies temperature is calculated by the same procedure, except
an incorrect choice of draw tray location. that the reference temperature is the 14.7 psia dew point of
the gross overhead product.
Summary of Vapor-Liquid Traffic
Preliminary Steps
Tabulate the flows of vapor and liquid at all key trays
in the tower as moles per hour. Plot these values versus tray At this point, it is assumed that the following have
number as vapor frol11 tray and liquid to tray. This plot will been fully defined.
be of great assistance in tower sizing calculations.
1. Complete hydrocarbon material balance for feed and
Heat and Material Balance Calculations for Type R Towers products.
2. Steam rates to stripping sections and steam distribution
A complete Type R tower is shown in Figure 2.22. between overhead distillate vapor and liquid.
This drawing illustrates the basic process and its essential 3. Hydrocarbon material balances around product strip-
auxiliaries as well as the external heat and material balance pers.
quantities. In this type of installation, sidestream draw 4. Atmospheric EFV temperatures for products corres-
trays are total draws, Le., the total liqUid leaving the draw ponding to the estimated strip out for each product.
tray-sidestream product plus reflux to the tray below-is 5. Draw tray locations, number of trays in each section
withdrawn from the tower. The reflux is pumped back to and total number of trays in the tower.
the tower after cooling rather than overflowing internally 6. Heat input to the base section of the tower from feed
from the draw tray to the tray below as in the case of Type and bottoms stripping stearn, heat outflow in the bot-
U and Type A systems. Figure 2.22 will be the basis for toms liquid and external heat quantities at the flash
discussing the heat and material balance calculations in this zone. This bottoms·section heat balance is shown on
section. Envelope I in Figure 2.22.
The method of splitting the draw tray exit liquid up-
stream of the product stripper is the preferred arrangement All these items must be completed before proceeding
from the viewpoint of operating economy. The alternate further with calculations.
processing arrangement allows the total liquid to flow to
the stripper. The stripped liquid is cooled and then split Estimate of Tower Operating Conditions
into product and pumpback reflux. While the former ar-
rangement requires two sets of pumps and heat exchangers
Draw tray temperatures are estimated from the correla-
as opposed to only one set required by the latter, the addi-
tion of Figure 2.23. The following fonn the basis for this
tional operating cost for stripping the reflux more than
chart.
offsets the differences in capital investment. In most cases, '.
the purnpback reflux will be a significantly greater volume
than the product. In view of this, stripping of reflux in 1. Flash zone pressure = 24.7 psia.
addition to the product will require total heat inputs to the 2. Overflash = 2.0 volume percent of feed.
strippers considerably greater than that required for strip- 3. Reduced crude and lowest sidestrearn are steam
ping only products. If steam stripping were used rather than stripped at 10 pounds steam per barrel of product.
reboiling. this would necessitate a significantly greater at- measured as 60 degree F liquid.
mospheric tower diameter as well as larger facilities for boil- 4. All other sidestreams are reboiled equivalent to steam
er feedwater treating and for handling of foul condensate stripping at 10 pounds per barreL
from the tower overhead. 5. Cooled, unstripped pumpback reflux is used at each
This section outlines procedures for calculating prod- sidestream draw tray.
uct draw tray temperatures at all pOints in the system and 6. For sidestream products, use the estimated bubble
for making an overall heat balance around the tower. The pOint of unstripped liquid from the draw trays. For
method is based upon assuming a draw tray temperature overhead product, use the calculated dew point.
36 Petroleum Refinery Distillation .'
t,
I ,
t"
•
,
,J
•
•
•
~.
,.
"
e-
tc'
'"'"
~, C
,..
~
e
e
e
Figure 2.23. Oraw/Tray temperatures-Type R tower. , t,
Note carefully the restrictions which apply and the in- 3. An increased stripping steam rate will decrease product
dicated temperature variations which will occur as the proc- draw tray temperatures due to the reduced hydrocar-
ess conditions differ from the stipulated bases. bon partial pressures.
4. Use of stripping stearn in all product strippers rather
1. An increase in flash zone pressure will increase draw than in only the first sidestream stripper will decrease
tray temperatures. draw tray temperatures of the second sidestrearn and
2. An increase in overflash will slightly decrease draw tray all others above.
temperatures of the second side stream product and all 5, Stripping of reflux in addition to stripping the product
others above. will increase heat input to the system. If this is by
EXTERNAL HEAT
gUANTITIES
V001+l=VOOl + SI
Q'iOI =Q'ifl +Q51
Q'OOI O'OFZ +OC, +00,
f 01 +1@t 0 1+1
i'lo'o, = (O'j -0'010'

VOOI =VOOI-l-Ol L
O
'+'4'- J,, VSl + S,
QVOOI
,
01@ 10'
...... -~~----pP
L O~O,+lO'
VO D1 - 1
S,
QVODI-l 0S1
01-1@l o ,_,
L ,_,.
o
,-
-'
"- Lo,(ill
!~ lOI
fe'
~
Oc,
I ' 20 , =11 0,-30.
~ VOO '-2 =VOFZ-L o

01-2 @ In •. 2
i'lo'"
ENv.m ENV. n
HEAT BALANCE EOUATIONS
,. , (1) ABOVE TRAY(01-1)-ENVElOPE n

OR = (""O'fl - Ovoo,-1I
q'R= (Hlol-l-hloctl
LOI~ O./q"
(2) ABOVE TRAY 02 ENVElOPE m TRAY
OR = [(i'lO'fl +OlDI) ~ OVOO' + 00")]
o lVSl = IL VS')(Cl( I 0' - 10'" 1)
q'R ~ (HID, - hIO,..I) INDUCED REFLUX ON TRAY (PI 1)
L01+1 -(OR-OlVS,)/q"
Figure 2.24. Heat and material balance quantities at first sidestream product draw tray-Type R tower.
reboiling, temperatures at the next draw tray upward temperature and pressure profLIe for the tower by assuming
and all those higher will be increased. If this is by linear change between draw trays.
steam stripping. however, these temperatures will be Estimating the temperature of the cooled pumpback
lowered due to the reduction of hydrocarbon partial reflux requires a good deal of experience with the crude oil
pressures. upon which the design is being based, and, unfortunately,
this is usually only available in an operations-analysis situa-
Having estimated draw tray temperatures and having tion. In design work, this temperature must be estimated,
set the operating pressure profile in previous work, plot a and later, after the heat duties and temperature levels of all
-
"
'-.
')
(\
Q
"-
••
the reflux coolers have been determined, it must be verified the exit liquid. Also note thaL if the process is to be rl
that the crude oil in being preheated is capable of absorbing designed for stripping of the pumpback reflux, the
the heat from the pumpback reflux streams. Optimizing the stripout liquid falling to Tray 01 will be accordingly rl ,~
crude preheat-tower cooling heat-exchange train is the heart greater.
•
of crude unit design, and each case must be studied on an 2. Calculate the heat absorbed by the stripout liquid in rl
individual basis in order to arrive at the most economical passing across the draw tray.
•,•
processing scheme. It should be remembered that most de· 3. Calculate the heat removal capability of the internal rl
signs will be based on several different operations, and this reflux falling from Tray (D I + I).
will exert a far greater influence on the design of the heat 4. Calculate the internal reflux from Tray (0 I + 1) which (l
exchange equipment than will the assumed temperature lev- is required to absorb the excess heat at Tray D1.
els alone. Since a large portion of the reflux heat removal is 5. Calculate the mole fraction of product vapors in the 11
••
accomplished by the latent heat of vaporization and a rei· total vapors leaving the draw tray, remembering to neg-
atively small portion by sensible heat, some latitude is avail· lect the presence in the vapor of the product which is 11
able in choosing the cool reflux temperatures. The key to be withdrawn on the next draw tray up in the to\\/-
point is not to assume 3 temperature level which is unat· er. 11
••
tainably low. High values can be adjusted downward, but 6. Calculate the hydrocarbon partial pressure of product ('\.
low values will require redoing the work. This subject in the total vapor leaving the draw tray. Convert the
would be more fittingly treated in a work on process opti- atmospheric bubble point of the unstripped liquid on (1.
mization and is mentioned here to alert the reader to possi- the draw tray to this partial pressure. If this tempera-
ble difficulties which will result from assuming unrealistic ture does not check the value assumed earlier, repeat (1
cool reflux temperatures. the procedure for a new assumed temperature. If recal·
culation is required, it is usually not necessary to revise
I
First Sidestream Product Draw Tray the assumed temperature of the cooled pumpback re-
(1
I
The heat and material balance relationships at this sec-
flux unless, for some reason, a gross error was made in
assuming the draw tray temperature.
~.
I
tion of the tower are determined by making two balances
which are shown as Envelopes II and III on Figure 2.22. An
7. Calculate the heat effect at the sidestream stripper.
8. Calculate the reflux induced on Tray (Dl - I) as the
~ I
expanded view of these is illustrated by Figure 2.24, which amount of vapor from Tray (DI - 2) which enters and C'.
also gives the equations to be used in making the calcula- is condensed on Tray (DI - 1) for the purpose of
tions. These equations are to be used in the following se· converting the subcooled pumpback reflux liquid to its ~
quence. Note that most of these points have already been bubble point.
encountered in the discussion of the Type U tower. Thus, 9. Calculate and tabulate the vapor and liquid quantities ~.
detailed discussion will be presented here only to explain to the base of Tray (Dl + I).
new concepts. 10. Calculate and tabulate the external heat quantities to ~
the base of Tray (DI + I).
Balance above Tray ID 1 - I)-Envelope /I ~
l. Calculate the reflux heat at Tray DI - 1.

Other Sidestream Product Draw Trays ~
2. Calculate the heat removal capability of the cooled
pumpback reflux. The remaining sidestream draw trays a,re calculated by ~
the Same procedure as that outlined in the previous step.
3. Calculate the amount of cool pumpback reflux which
".'"
Remember that, in making partial pressure calculations, the
is required to absorb the reflux heat at Tray (DI - I).
presence of the next higher product vapor in the total vapor
Calculate the heat content of this stream as it reeniers
the tower. leaving the draw tray must be neglected.
Balance above Tray 0 I-Envelope III

t<
Top Tray Calculations
~
l. Calculate the reflux heat at Tray Dl. The liqUid leaving
I".,'"
this draw tray is the sum of the product, D 1, and the The heat and material balance relationships at the top
pumpback reflux. LD1 . The liquid which is revaporized tray are detennined by making a balance around Envelope
in the product stripper falls to the draw tray as a small IV as shown in Figure 2.22. The detailed flows around this
part of the reflux from Tray (DI + I) and, thus, for the section of the tower and the equations to be used in the
purpose of this calculation. is not considered part of calculations are the same as those given in Figure 2.21.
't,
.,
'"
4.
..
l.
r
Q
c
1 Y,
N
'" U
I
D
Qv,
EXTERNAL HEAT
QUANTIT IES V
Q'i04=Q'i03 + Q1t4 0,
04 + 1
Q'OO-4 Q'OD3 + Q04 + OPA2
Qo,
L'.Q'O.=(Q'; - Q'olo.
04 ~
L
'l1 5
04-1 Q
,·
OPA2
Q'i03 =Q'102 +QR3

L
Q'003 Q'002 +Q03 03 + 1
L'.Q'03-IQ'j -Q'0103
03 A
L
5
QR3
Q' i02 ~Q' i 01 +QR2

"TL
Q'002=Q'001+Q02 + QPAI
02 + 1
L'.Q'02-IQ'; -Q'0102
02 A •
L
R2
• ~
ffQ
E~ E NV.II
L
0/ OPAl
, Q'iOI=Q'ifl +051
0'001 Q'o" +Qo,
01+1
, L'.Q' 0'- (Q'; -Q'olo,

01 6
, ~ 5,
'QS'
• 5
, Q';f2-QF+Qsw
O'OFl -Ow tV- 7
La
L'.Q'f2-(Q'j-Q'ol FZ F
• QF 4
•
, Sw
Q sw
1
,• • '-
, J,j ENV. I
--
T W
Qw
, \ Figure 2.25. Heat and material balance summary-atmospheric tower, Type A with two pumparound circuits.
,
•
, i
• j
~
,
••
•
•
f. ~.
(\
rl
~n:
Condenser Calculations and Overall Heat Balance Preliminary Steps
The condenser duty is calculated by making a heat This procedure is based on the assumption that a com-
balance around Envelope V on Figure 2.22. This must be plete heat and material balance has been calculated for the
checked against an overall system heat balance. The two process as a Type U tower. This analysis contains the fol-
values rnust check to within 2 percent of the absolute value lowing things.
of the condenser duty.
1. A complete heat and material balance.
Fractionation Capability of the System 2. Complete temperature and pressure profile.
3. Draw tray locations and total number of trays.
This subject has been discussed in detail earlier in this 4. Reflux volumetric flow rates from all draw trays and
work. The only new point to be considered here is the the top tray.
definition of reflux from the draw tray. For purposes of
Packie's analysis, reflux is defined as the volume of liquid Internal Reflux Considerations
falling from the tray below the draw tray. In terms of the
first side stream draw tray, this is calculated by making a
It is an inherent property of a Type U tower and a
heat balance above Tray (D 1 - 2) and then calculating the
given material balance that, since internal reflux flows are
internal reflux from Tray (Dl - 1) which is required to
at their maximum values, column temperatures will also be
absorb the excess heat.
at their maximum levels. Any modification to the system
which removes tower heat will lower tower temperatures.
Summary of Vapor-Liquid Traffic Looking back to Pack ie's work, it is known that for a
given separation reqUirement expressed as (5·95) Gap, a
Tabulate the flows of vapor and liquid at all key trays given material balance expressed in terms of ASTM 50 vol·
in the tower as rnoles per hour. Plot these values versus tray ume percent ternperature difference and a given number of
number as vapor from tray and liquid to tray. This plot is trays in the separation section, there is a value, called F,
of great value in tower design. which is the product of the nurnber of actual trays and the
volumetric reflux ratio in the section. Thus, a minimum
allowable reflux falling from draw trays can be calculated.
Heat and Material Balance Calculations for Type A Towers
This is not minimum reflux in the sense that infinite plates
are required for the separation. It is minimum allowable
A complete Type A Tower is shown in Figure 2.25. operating reflux for the specified number of trays and the
This drawing illustrates the basic process and its essential required separation.
auxiliaries as well as the external heat and material balance
quantities. The two pumparound heat removal systems
Calculation of Minimum Reflux
which are shown are for a typical installation and would
not necessarily be located in these particular sections of the
tower, nor would every tower employ two systems. 1. Based on Packie's analysis, calculate the minimum re·
As will be seen in the development of the design proce· flux which must be available from the product draw
dure, there is some flexibility in the choice of draw tray trays to make the required separatIon. These calcula·
locations and in the design of the pumparound systems. As tions must be made for two cases:
in the case of the Type R tower, the optimum design of a a. Assume no pump around heat removal in the sec·
crude unit utilizes crude oil as the coolant for the various tion. Thus, the number of trays to be used in Pack·
tower heat removals, thus affording feed preheat which is ie's F·Factor is the actual number of trays in the
an obvious operating economy. The final task of the design· section.
er is to verify that the assumed thermal aspects of the de· b. In each section of the tower, assume a three-tray
sign are practically attainable. Since, by definition, this heat removal system. For fractionation purposes.
work is more concerned with the principles of petroleum these three trays are defined as being equivalent to
fractionation rather than those of process optimization, the one actual tray. Thus, the number of trays to be
following procedures are written accordingly. This method used in Packie's F·Factor is two less than the actu·
may not always result in an optimum design after comple- al number of trays.
tion of the first calculation. However, the optimum can be 2. For purposes of comparison, note the reflux available
found rather easily in subsequent iterations. in the tower as a Type U system.
EXTERNAL HEAT Atmospheric Tower 41
OUAN TiTlES
VOD2 + 1
Q'iD2 =Q'j 01 + OR2
0'002=0'001 +OPAI +002
t.0'02= 10'; - 0'0102
D2+ 1 @102+1
YOD2=VOD1-D2
lO2+I.
. '\
,_I \
VS2
r-________t--r0__v_0~0~2-------------------\{_ ~V~2 _ _ _ _
D2@102
YOD2-1 =VOD1
QVOD2-1
0"
D2-1@102_1
L..-'=__-"-''--__o_ D 2
002
La +3
120
a@ ta
INOTEI
to +2~lt2a+15
VOOI=VOFl-lO-DI + S,
t.0'0
~?~~?~~?~~------------"
t D1+1
ENV. m ENV.1I ENY.I

(1) ABOVE TRAY (D2-1) -E NVElOPE II
0.-LD2(Ht02-I-hI02) }'~ A ( )
AO' (0 +0) ---;r OPAI=LlO'OI-Lo2 HI02-I-hI02 -OV002-1
O • -Ll 01- vOD2-1 PAl
(2)ABOVE TRAY D-ENVElOPE m

o. =t.O'DI-(OV002 +Ol02 +OPAII
OlVS' =
1 Lvs,I(~) (102 -102+1)
q'R =(Ht02 -ht02+1)
L 02+1 - (0. - OlVS2) Iq"
(3) PUMPAROUND CIRCULATION RATE HYDROCARBON PARTIAL PRESSURE ABOVE TRAY 02
LPA 1- OPA I II hlo - h 120) = OPAI/!C1( 10-120) P'HC =IPTO,)(!Lo2+I)/IL02+1 +V002-D3U
Figure 2.26. Heat and material balance quantities at second sidestream product draw tray-Type A tower.
Estimate of Reflux to Draw Trays removal systems. Nonnally. two systems are employed,
at Minimum Reflux Conditions and they are seldom in adjacent sections.
2. From the Type U calcula tions. determine the reflux to
all draw trays as a function of the total overflow from
I. By comparing the reflux available from a Type U oper· the draw trays. In all cases, this fraction will be less
ation with minimum reflux requirements for sections than 1.0.
having pumparound systems, select the appropriate sec- 3. For all sectiorts, assume that the change in flows across
tions in the column for location of purnparound heat the draw trays will be the same as estimated in Step 2.
---
...
f,
,
1\ l
rl f:
4. From Step 3, calculate the internal reflux falling to the
draw trays, taking into account the location of pump-
amount which can be absorbed by the predetermined
available reflux.
il ~
around systems. 3. The heat which must be removed in the pumparound
circuit is now computed from known heat quantities.
!'l ~
Estimate of Draw Tray Temperatures
at Minimum Reflux Conditions Balance above Tray D2-Envelope /II
('t I
1. Calculate draw tray temperatures for the case of mini- .,!l I
mum reflux operation. In making these calculations,
remember to neglect the presence in the total vapor
These are conventional calculations above a draw tray
and have been covered in detail in earlier portions of this
work. The sequence of calculations is as follows.
!l I
2.
leaving the draw tray of the product to be removed on
the next draw tray up in the tower.
Plot a temperature-pressure profIle for the tower.
I. Calculate the reflux heat above Tray D2.
2. Calculate the heat absorbed in passing across the draw
!!l
.~
•I
There will be two temperature profiles-one for the
maximum values (Type U) and one for the minimum
tray by the liquid which is to be revaporized in the
sidestream product stripper. ;~
I
values (minimum reflux). 3. Calculate the heat removal capability of the reflux
available to the draw tray from the tray above. .~
I
Estimate of Tower Operating Temperatures for Design 4. Calculate the reflux required to absorb the excess heat I
By definition, the reflux from the upper draw tray in a
above Tray D2.
5. Calculate the hydrocarbon partial pressure of the prod- I
section employing a pumparound system will be the mini-
mum value. Keeping this in mind, estimate the draw tray
uct vapor in the total vapor leaving the draw tray, neg·
lecting the presence of the product to be removed at
I
temperafures and plot this profile on the one developed in
the previous section, "Estimate of Draw Tray Temperatures
the next higher draw tray.
6. Convert the atmospheric bubble point of the product
I
at Minimum Reflux Conditions." liquid flowing to the stripper to this partial pressure.
There will seldom be any discrepancy between this
I
First Sidestream Product Draw Tray temperature and the value estimated from the mini- I
Since there is no pumparound heat removal system in
mum reflux calcula tions.
7. Calculate the heat effect at the sidestream stripper.
I
the section between the flash zone and the first sidestream
product draw tray, the results of the calculations for this
8. Calculate and tabulate the vapor and liquid quantities.
to the base of Tray (02 + I).
I
tray will be the same as for a Type U tower. This is shown
as Envelope I in Figure 2.25.
9. Calculate and tabulate the external heat quantities to • I
the base of Tray (02 + I).
10. Assume that the returning pumparound liquid is 150 ·. 1
Second SKI estrum Product Draw Tray degrees F cooler than the tray to whic.h it is being
returned. This will provide an adequate temperature I
The following discussion assumes a pumparound sys-
tem between the first and second sidestream product draw
difference within the tower for the required heat trans-
fer. Since this also sets the temper~ture difference for I
trays. The heat and material balance relationships at this the 'pump around liquid, calculate dte circulation rate
section of the tower are determined by making two bal- of this stream.
ances which are shown as Envelopes II and III on Figure
2.25_ An expanded view of this section is illustrated by In setting up a design, the location of pumparound
Figure 2.26 which also gives the equations which are to be systems will usually be predetermined. Thus, a section con-
used in making the calculations_ The sequence of calcula- taining no pumparound is calculated as a conventional Type
tions is discussed as follows. U draw tray which has been covered earlier.
Balance above Tray (D2 ~ 1)~ Envelope /I Top Tray Calculations
L Calculate the heat content of the product vapors plus Nonnally, there will be no pumparound system in the
steam leaving Tray (02 - I). section between the highest sidestream product draw tray
2. By definition of a minimum reflux operation, the re- and the top tray_ Thus, it is calculated in the normal man-
flux heat above Tray (02 - 1) has been preset as the ner for a top tray as illustrated by Figure 2.21.
However, if in the actual design calculations, it be- 1. Liquid to and vapor from the top tray in all pumpa-
comes obvious that there is still a good deal of excess reflux round systems,
leaving the top tray, another pumparound system may be 2. Liquid from and vapor to the bottom tray in all pump-
provided. A side implication of this is that the apportion- around systems.
ment of trays between the various sections was incorrect.
References
Fractionation Capability of the System
1. W.L. Nelson, Petroleum Refinery Engineering, 4th ed.
In calculating a Type A tower, the fractionation capa- (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1958).
bility is known as a part of the design input. Thus, the 2. 1.W. Packie, "Distillation Equipment in the Oil Refin-
ing Industry," AIChE Transactions 37 (1941), pp.
• calculations required here are routine and have been dis-
51-78.
cussed in full detail in earlier portions of this work. 3. W.e. Edmister, Applied Hydrocarbon Thermodynamics
(Houston: Gulf Publishing Co., 1961).
Summary of Vapor-Liquid Traffic 4. J.B. Maxwell, Data Book 011 flydrocarbons (Princeton,
N.J.: D. van Nostrand Co .. 1965).
S. F .W. Winn, "Physical Properties by Nomogram," Petro-
It is necessary to calculate and to tabulate vapor and
leum Refiner 36, no. 2, (February 1957), p. 157.
liquid quantities at the following locations in addition to 6. "NPRA Symposium on Crude Oil Distillation," Oil and
those already determined. Gas Journal (March 30, 1970), pr. 93-105
EXAMPLE HEAT AND MATERIAL

BALANCE CALCULATIONS
TYPE U ATMOSPHERIC TOWER
The following calculations will illustrate in detail the

procedure for calculating the heat and material balance quantities
around a Type U atmospheric crude tower. The design will be based
on fractionating dry crude feed into a residuum, four sidedraw
distillates, and an overhead yielded as two products, one liquid
and one vapor.
f
!, l. Process Design Basis
A. ProEerties of 36.3° API Crud e Oil Feed
t l. Rate = 50,000 barrels per stream day (BPSD)

.J 2. Light Ends Analysis per 100 bbl. of Oil
.~.
Compo bbl. 1b . moles
C2H6 0.1 13 0.4

C3 H8 0.9 177 4.0
iC4HIO 1.4 276 4.7
nC4HIO 2.3 760 13.1
iC SH 12 2.1 459 6.4
nC SH12 1.8 397 5.5
Total 8.6 2082 34.1

,>
~
()
(l -~l
'-I
100
(l
(l
.0
~
~- (l
(l
••
'"w>60 WT. -J. v S. vOl. ./.
220
:--
1'1
1'1;
•
••
••
o (1.
200
>-
z ~.
w >-
U
••
I
'"wc.. 180 0 ~
w
~ ~.
<
•I
160
~ ('
'"w
u
~
1<40 ~
0
20 ::l:
C' I
~ I
120
~ I
MOL. WT, VS. MID. VOt."/.
100
~ I
O~ __ ~ ____ ~ ____ ~ ____J -____L-____L-__ ~ ____ ~ ____ ~ ____
90~
o 20 ~O
VOLUME
60
PERCENT OVER
10 100
'~
I
--. I
I
Figure 2.27.36.3 degree API crude, volume-mole-weight relationships.
3. TBP and AtmosEheric EFV Distillations I

Vol. % TBP, OF EFV, OF ...,
5 62 190 ..., I
10
20
144
255
235
304 .., I
30
40
50
60
344
437
531
623
366
429
493
555
-, II
.~
70
80
717
819
619
685 .., I
85 897 727
~
I
4. The volume-mole-weight relationship for the whole
crude is plotted on Fig. 2 .27.
........ I
I
B. Product Specifications
This process will be designed to yield, as specifi-

cation distillates, light naphtha as an overhead and
heavy naphtha, light distillate, and heavy distillate
• as sidedraws. Atmospheric gas oil will also be yielded
as a sidedraw liquid as it is available from the total
crude vaporization minus (total specification products
+ overflash). To insure adequate fractionation between
streams, product stripping of all sidestreams and the
tower bottoms is specified. Atmospheric gas oil and
the tower bottoms will be stripped with 65 psia. -500°F
steam at a rate of 10 Ib./bbl. of net stripped liquid.
Heavy distillate and all lighter sidestreams will be
reboil-stripped removing an amount of the stripper feed
equivalent to steam stripping at a rate of 10 Ib./bbl.
net stripped liquid.
Criteria for setting the design material balance

are as follows.
Product ASTM End Point, OF ASTM (5-95) , OF
Light Naphtha 275

Heavy Naphtha 380 +25
Light Distillate 560 +35
Heavy Distillate 650 +10
Atmos. Gas Oil No Spec. + 5
Residuum No Spec.
C. Pressure-TemEerature Datum Points
1. The reflux drum will operate at 120°F and 15.0 psia.
2. Pressure drop between the reflux drum and the top

! tray will be 5.0 psia.
I f 3. Pressure drop between the top tray and the flash
zone will be 5.0 psia.
If 4. Conditions it the outlet of the crude heater will
be 700°F and 30 psia.
D. Over flash will be set at 2.0 vol. percent of whole crude

feed. It will overflow from the first tray above the
flash zone and, together with the feed-flash liquid, will
• fall to the residuum stripping section.
, 2. Flash Zone Calculations
The conditions at the furnace outlet have been preset

,• at 700°F and 30 psia.Using Maxwell's vapor pressure-
..•
,
•
.
•
•
temperature nomogram, this results in the vaporization of
72.4 vol. percent which, from Figure 2.27, is equivalent ,
to 67.8 wt. percent of the feed. Taking a design basis
of time as 1 hour,
• ~
Crude feed 2,083 bbl./hr.

614,277 lb./hr. "
Therefore, leaving the furnace,
•,
Vapor = 1,508 bbl./hr.
416,480 lb./hr. @ 47.6' API. \I
= 2, 740 moles/hr. @ 152 mol. wt.
\I'
Liquid 575 bbl./hr.
197,747 lb./hr. @ 12.4' API.
"
The heat input to the process by the feed is now calculated v'
as
QFO = (416,480 x 593) + (197,747 x 456) = 337.145
!
~ .
MMBTU/hr. If
At
25 psia.
the entrance to the tower, the total pressure is
The temperature and vapor-liquid equilibrium
" • I
I
conditions existing there must be determined by a trial-
'"
and-error procedure. Assuming a temperature of 695°F, this
results in the vaporization of 74.2 vol. percent and 69.8 wt.
percent, respectively, of the feed. Thus,
-
... \
\
~
Vapor
=
1,545.6 bb1./hr.
428,765 lb./hr. @ 46.9° API fl,
~
I
2,784 mol./hr. @ 154 mol. wt. •, fl.:
'-
I
Liquid = 537.4 bb1./hr.
= 185,512 Ib./hr. @ 11.9° API. ~ I
The heat content of the feed is now calculated as ,~. I
QFZI = (428,765 x 590) + (185,512 x 453) = 337.00~, ~
I
MMBTU/hr.
·e 1
This checks QFO calculated above. In subsequent heat balance
calculations, QFZI will be the value used rather than QFO.
.~ I
From Figure 2.13, the stripout from residuum in a 4-tray ~' I
section is 1.2 vol. percent of the amount fed when the steam
rate is 10 lb./bbl. of stripped liquid. Referring to Figure
~ I
2.11, it is seen that the total feed to the residuum stripping
section is the sum of the feed flash liquid and the overflash.
~ I
I
=
Overflash 41.7 bbl./hr.
=
I
Feed flash liquid 537.4 bb1./hr.
I
Stripping section feed = 579.1 bbl/hr.
Stripout = 0.012 x 579.1 = 6.9 bbl./hr.

Net bottoms = W = 579.1 -6.9 572.2 bbL/hr.
196,569 lb./hr.
@ 10 lb./bbl., steam to tower = Sw 5,722 lb./hr.

317.9 moL/hr.
Total hydrocarbon vapor leaving flash zone is (F -W +LO)

and is equal to (2083 -572.2 +41.7) = 1,552.5 bbl./hr. which
is 74.5 vol. percent and 70.0 wt. percent of the crude feed.
Thus, total hydrocarbon vapor from flash zone 1552.5 bbl./hr.
429,994 lb./hr.
@ 47.1' AP I
2,704.4 malo/hr.
@ 159 mol. wt.
Total vapor from flash zone (hydrocarbon + SW)

= (2704.4 + 317.9) 3022.3 mol./hr.
Therefore, the hydrocarbon partial pressure in the flash zone

at a total pressure of 25.0 pSia. is
,
PHC = 25.0 (2704.4/3022.3) = 22.4 psia.
Using Maxwell's nomogram, the 14.7 pSia./74.5 vol. percent

temperature of 648'F converts to 690'F at 22.4 psia. This
is the flash zone temperature.
I
Assuming a 30'F temperature drop across the stripping
section, the bottoms liquid, W, leaves the tower at 660°F.
Thus,
1 Qw = (196,569 x 427) = 83.935 MMBTU/hr.

1 Using 65 psia./500°F stripping steam,
! Qsw = 5722 x 1283 = 7.341 MMBTU/hr.
f
f' In summation, the external heat quantities to the top of
the flash zone are,
Q~FZ QFZI + Qsw = 344.349 ·MMBTU/hr.
.; Qorz = Qw = 83.935 MMBTU/hr .
6QFZ = (Qi - QO)FZ = 260.414 MMBTU/hr .
,1• 3. Crude Evaluation and Product Properties
1 A. Product Distillations
By a trial-and-error procedure, the whole crude is

cut into fractions satisfying the boiling range and
/
1.6'10
Figure 2.28. 36.3 degree API crude, TBP curves for atmospheric tower feed and products.
I
., I
., I
:;
(5 -9 5) gap criteria defined in Section 1, B . Figures

2.15 and 2.16 are used to estimate the TBP temperatures
of the fractions. Edmister's techniques are used to
convert the TBP's to ASTM & EFV distillations. Figure
2.28 shows the proper apportionment and TBP distillations.
The data is summarized as follows.
Stream Vol. % TBP, of ASTM, of EFV, of

Light Naj2htha
50 140 149 137
70 187 182 153
90 237 221 169
100 295 275 189
Heavy Naj2htha
0 199 254 278
10 237 272 287
30 277 293 297
50 305 309 304
•, 70
90
328
363
324
350
310
321
100 398 380 330
Light Distillate
0 332 386 417
10 376 408 428
30 420 432 440
50 457 454 451
70 495 480 462
90 542 517 478
100 590 560 493
Heavl!: Distillate
I 0 510 545 594
10 537 556 598
, I 30 575 575 608
50 602 590 615
\• 70
90
623
655
603
626
621
630
100 685 650 637
AtmosEheric Gas Oil
• 0 0 625 641 698
10 10 647 650 703
30 30 677 655 711
50 50 697 676 716
By plotting the ASTM distillations, the following

ASTM (5-95) gap requirements are obtained.
LN - HN: (268 - 242) R +26°F.

HN - LD: <398 - 363) c +35°F.
LD - HD: (550 - 537) - +13°F.
HD - AGO: (645 - 638) R +7°F.
•
,
Flow Rates and Properties of Product Streams

;
B.
Stream bbl./hr. lb./hr. mol./hr. °API Mol. Wt. •

LN* 402.0 94,599 1100.0 78.7 86.0
,
HN 266.6 72,484 587.7 50.5 123.3
LD 418.7 121,013 654.5 39.7 184.9 •
HD 231.2 69,413 229.8 33.4 302.1
AGO** 192.3 60,199 122.9 26.6 489.8
w*** 572.2 196,569 12.6
Notes: * - Rates and properties are for the gross over-

head product. The properties of the gas and •
liquid phase into which LN separates in the
reflux drum will be determined in Section 3,D •
which follows.
** - Stripped with steam - 1923 Ib./hr.
*** Stripped with steam - 5722 Ib./hr.
HN, LD, and HD are reboil-stripped to a revaporiza-
tion equivalent to steam stripping of 10 Ib./bbl. ,
c. Flow Rates Around Product Strippers
From Figure 2.13 is estimated the volume percent of

feed to product strippers which is revaporizecl, i.e.,
the stripout. Summarizing,
Stream % S.O. S .0. , Ib./hr. F. , lb./hr. Atmos.EFV, of
AGO 5.0 3168 63,367 695 @ -5% " ..
HD 4.5 3271 72,684 590 @ -4.5%

LD 4.0 5042 126,055 411 @ -4.0%
HN 3.3 2474 74,958 274 @ -3.3%
LN No 189 @ +100%
Note that the EFV temperature approximations are

obtained by plotting the EFV Data calculated in Step 3,A
and extrapolating the front end to minus 20 percent.
D. Analysis of Total Light Naphtha (LN)
By plotting the TBP curve of the total LN going

overhead and knowing the light ends composition, one
can approximate the amounts present of those components
heavier than the heaviest identifiable discrete compo-
nent. The TBP end point of the light naphtha is 295°F
and light naphtha is the front 19.3 vol. percent of the
crude.
From the light ends analysis given in Section l,A,2,

we see that C2H6 through nCsHl2 comprises 8.6 vol. percent
of whole crude which is equivalent to 44.6 vol. percent

of LN. Considering the LN to be a mixture of paraffinic
and naphthenic hydrocarbons, the TBP boiling ranges of
C6 and heavier components can now be defined and, from
these can be determined the TBP cut points between
components. In tabular form,
'i· Camp. TBP Range, of TBP Cut Point, of
C6 122-177 176
C7 175-218 215
Cs 211-269 262
C9 255-314
From this, and using the densities and molecular

weights of n-alkanes to define the C6 through Cg 's, we
arrive at the following composition of LN.
Component Vol. Percent Mole Percent Moles/hr.
C2 H6 0.52 0.80 8.8

C3 H8 4.66 6.61 72.7
iC4 HlO 7.26 8.67 9S.4
nC4HlO 11. 91 14.77 162.S
iC5H12 10.88 11.61 127.7
nCsH12 9.33 10.06 110.7
C6 21.94 20.84 229.1
C7 17.00 14.40 lS8.4
C8 11.50 8.77 96.S
C9 S.OO 3.47 38.2
Total 100.00 100.00 1100.0
The LN is not totally condensible at lS.O psia

and 120°F in the reflux drum. Therefore, the separate
properties of the vapor and liquid phases into which
LN separates by virtue of equilibrium flash condensation
are obtained by making a flash calculation at the con-
ditions of temperature and hydrocarbon partial pressure
which exist in the reflux drum.
At 120°F, the vapor pressure of water is 1.692 psia.

Thus, since liquid water will be formed, the water will
exert its full vapor pressure and thus,
,
PHC = 15.0 - 1.693 = 13.308 psia.
At 13.308 psia and 120°F, LN seaprates in the following

way
..
Stream VaEor Phase Liguid Phase

Component
C 2H6 8.6 0.2

C 3H8 68.4 4.3
iC 4H 10 83.5 11.9
nC 4H 10 135.6 26.9
iC 5H 12 87.7 40.0
nC 5H 12 69.7 41.0
C6 85.1 144.0
C7 28.5 129.9
C8 6.9 89.6
C9 1.1 37.1
Total,
mol./hr. 575.1 524.9
lb./hr. 45,887 48,712
bbl./hr. 195.2 206.8
Mol. Wt. 79.8 92.8
o API
Water,
78.9 78.5 ..
mol./hr. 73.1 351.2
lb./hr. 1,317 6 ,328
4. Draw Tray Locations and Estimated Operatinz-Temperatures
Draw tray temperatures are estimated using Figure 2-18 .'

for the EFV temperatures cited in Section 3,C.
Stream Draw Tray No. (from bottom) Temperature, of
AGO-Dl 8 610
HD-D2 14 560
LD-D3 20 425
HN-D4 28 295
LN-(D5 + V5) 35 205
Note that linear temperature and pressure variation

between draw trays is assumed so that, for the purpose of
simplifying this illustration, we will not plot a tempera-
ture-pressure profile.
5. Calculation of the First Draw Tray Above the Flash Zone

(AGO Tray No.8)
Refer to Figures 2.17 and 2.19 which detail the calcu-

lational procedure to be followed.
Leaving Tray 8 at an assumed temperature of 610° are

e
357,509 lb./hr. total hydrocarbon vapor @ 51.0° API.
60,199 lb./hr. hydrocarbon liquid product @ 26.6° API. ~,
5,722 lb./hr. steam.
e·
,~
,
, Atmospheric Tower 53
Thus,
, QV8
QL8
(357,509 X 538) + (5722 x 1342).
(60,199 x 417).
• -(QV8 + QL8) = 260.414 - 225.122
, QR8 AQFZ 35.292
MMBTU/hr.
The liquid which is to be revaporized in the sidestream

stripper falls from Tray 9 at 603°F and, in passing across
Tray 8 is heated to 610°F, thus absorbing 0.016 MMBTU/hr.
The heat removal capability of Tray 9 reflux from 603°F

liquid to 610°F vapor at 26.6° API is 94 BTU/lb. Thus,
L9 = (QR8 - 0.016)/94 = 375,277 lb./hr. = 766.2 moljhr.
In the vapor leaving Tray 8, we neglect the pressure of

HD (D2) and consider all other lighter products (D3 - D5)
plus the steam from the bottoms stripper to be inerts. Thus,
the hydrocarbon partial pressure of Dl in the vapor leaving
Tray 8 is calculated as
,
PHC = 24.35 (766.2/3426.3) = 5.44 psia.
:Using Maxwell's nomogram, the estimated 14.7 psia bubble

point (695°F) of the unstripped liquid on the tray, when
converted to 5.44 psia is 6l0°F which checks the assumed
temperature.
At the product stripper, Dl will be stripped with

1923 lb./hr. of 65 pSia/500°F steam and will leave the
tower 30°F cooler at 580°F. Thus,
QSl = 1923 x 1283 = 2.467 MMBTU/hr.

QDl = 60,199 x 393 = 23.658 MMBTU/hr.
Now, the heat quantities to the base of Tray 9 are

I
•
Qi8 QiFZ + QSl = 346.816 MMBTU/hr.
QO,8 = QOFZ + QDl = 107.493 MMBTU;'hr.
AQ8 = 239.323 MMBTU/hr. j
'\
These values are tabulated on the He~t and Material Balance

Worksheet Summary
By similar t~chniques which are ~etailed in the text,

the temperatures of Trays 14, 20, and 28 are calculated
as 559, 424, and 293°F. Since these streams are reboiled,
they leave their respective towers 30°F hotter than their
draw tray temperatures.
The heat effects up through Tray 28 are summarized on

the Worksheet.
,
_______
l _,_____'~' __'____________
~
:r -1:
.. .I 1:
2
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...,- o
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+
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Ul_Oi
Ul 10_
9 > V I
'0
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:I:1:
o • •
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iii N
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"
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,
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• • ---+---
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• i ---1 "-"-7
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j- I ~-- ~ . -l--
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-- 1--+ I-L l-j--+- 1--------;--- .L- - --"i--
'I___~~~~~-L-LI-L'~~~'~~~~__~~__~i-~~__~~________
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l:
00
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+ '+" N
+
....
h,
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,
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~----------------------------------------~
I~
6. Top Tray and Condenser Calculations
Assuming Tray 235 at 205°F, the heat leaving Tray 35

is
QV35 = (9,4,599x 350) + (7645 x 1153) = 41.924 MMBTU/hr.
QR35 = bQ28 - QV35 = 117.953 MMBTU/hr.
(qR)LR = 206 BTU/lb.
LR = 570,839 lb./hr. = 6151.3 mol./hr.
Neglecting V 5,
I
PHC = 20.0 (6676.2/7100.5) = lS.SO psia.
Converting the atmospheric EFV dew point of the total LN

to 18.80 psia by Maxwell's nomogram, the assumed temperature
of 205°F checks.
rhus, the consider duty is now calculated as
Qc = (665,438 x 350 + 7645 x 1153)

-(45,887 x 315 + 1317 x 1114 + 6328 x 88 + 48,712
x 144 + 570,839 x 144)
= 136.024 MMBTU/hr.
By overall system heat balance,
Qc Q28 -(QV5 + QD5 + QH20) = 136.004 MMBTU/hr.
bQc 0.020 MMBTU/hr. = .0147% deviation.
7• Fractionation
By making heat balances to the bases of draw trays

and the top tray, the following fraction criteria can be
checked.
SeEaration LD/P No. Tra:i s F (At ~O) ASTM {5 -9 5) Possible
LN-HN 8.15 8 65.2 160 +46

HN-LD 4.33 8 34.7 231 +45
LD-HD 2.18 6 13 .1 278 +36
HD-AGO 1.16 6 7.0 314 +26
All the above exceed the fractionation requirements.
(
The objective of crude oil distillation is generally to urn distillates can be as much as 30 volume percent of the
maximize the extraction of distillate liquids from the raw whole crude.
crude feed. Since distillates of given gravity are cleaner and
freer from objectionable impurities than an unprocessed Types of Operations in Vacuum Distillation
crude having the same gravity, they command a higher price
in the marketplace. Additionally, these distillates may serve Vacuum distillates and residua can have several uses,
as feedstocks for other process units where they can be depending upon the type of crude oil feed, the type of
converted to even more valuable materials. Thus, it is clear- refinery and its downstream processing capabilities and,
ly to the advantage of the refiner to recover as much distil- most important of all, the anticipated sales of products.
late as possible from a given crude. There are exceptions to Thus, the general function of the vacuum tower is to
this as in the case of asphalt manufacture or where large remove the maximum possible amount of distillate from
volumes of residual fuels are required such as for bunkering the charge stock consistent with meeting product specifica·
operations. On the whole, however, this is a fair statement tions on the residuum as well as the distillates. The vacuum
covering most situations. gas oils have several uses, and, although they all will have
In an atmospheric tower operating at as Iowa pressure the same general properties, each will require different can·
and as high a temperature as practical in the flash zone, the siderations in design. Some of these problems are discussed
maximum amount of oils which will vaporize is described briefly as follows.
approximately by whole crude TBP cut points between dis- The principal criteria for producing lube oil fractions
tillates and residual liquid of 700 to 800 degrees F. At these are viscosity, the rejection to the residuum of heavy imp uri·
operating conditions, the atmospheric residuum, commonly ties, color and, to a certain extent, boiling range, but not
called reduced crude, still contains a large volume of distil· necessarily to the same degree of importance as in alma·
,, lable oils which can be recovered by vacuum processing. At
the current economic operating levels of maximum vacuum
spheric distillates. These stocks must be as free as possible
of Conradson carbon, but metals content, while an indica·
and temperature in the flash zone, whole crude TBP cut tion of poor fractionation, is not a stringent requirement in
• points between distillates and residuum can be as high as itself. These oils are usually refined further by solvent ex-
, 1,075 to 1,125 degrees F, This cut point is strongly influ-
enced by the metals content of the distillates, particularly
traction and other types of treating including hydroprocess·
ing. In the course of these processing steps, they are often
nickel and vanadium. For a 30 degree API crude, the vacu- redistilled.
, 57
\,
Gas oils intended for catalytic cracking feedstocks For asphalt operation. experimental data is necessary,
must be very clean and require a good separation between relating asphalt penetration to residual volume. Using this
distillate and residuum. These oils should have the mini· information, distillate volume can be readily established.
mum amount of Conradson carbon content without sacri- Units have been built to make asphalt over the penetration
ficing gas oil recovery. This is necessary to prevent excessive range of 85 down to 10 (approximately 7 to 4 degrees
laydown of coke on the cracking catalyst. The metals con- API). The asphalt specifications will most often be sct by
tent, particularly vanadium and nickel, must be strictly the owner, and it may be necessary to design for more than
limited since these are severe catalyst poisons. one grade of product.
Feedstocks for distillate hydrotreaters and/or hydro- One other method of vacuum tower operation which is
crackers need not necessarily be metal free since these same rather rare is the production of large volumes of bunker
metals are often found in hydrogenation catalysts. It is im· fuels. This operation is usually practiced in foreign refiner-
perative, however, that they be as free as possible of carbon ies in the producing areas where marine fuel requirements
and asphaltic materials. If they are not, coking of the cata- are high. These refineries usually produce distillates to satis-
lyst will occur more rapidly, and more frequent regenera- fy marketing requirements which may vary a great deal and
tion will be required. Product cleanliness is far more impor. yield the remaining gas oil with the residuum. The resulting
tant here than in the case of catalytic cracking feedstocks. residual fuels are slightly lighter than in normal operations
Distillate fuel oils which are to be used without further but are still quite adequate from the end use standpoint.
processing arc usually specified by API gravity, viscosity, In meeting these various product specifications, it must
metals content and flash or fire point. Since the latter two be remembered that the key to satisfactory operations is
properties are general functions of the front end boiling the maximum volume of clean gas oil, free from contamina-
range and the others of total stream yield, atmospheric boil· tion by heavier materials. In pitch operation, the quality of
ing range, either TBP or ASTM, can be used to define the the residuum is of little importance other than to minimize
separation. Metals content, particularly vanadium, is a its content of recoverable oils. In asphalt operation, gas oil
source of ash and is also harmful to rnost furnace refractory quality must remain high, but the residuum must meet cer-
materials. tain stringent specifications as well.
Vacuum tower residuum properties can be set in vari-

Lube or Specialty Vacuum Distillate Operations
ous ways. When distillate production is to be maximized,
the amount of gas oil allowed to remain in the bottoms
Vacuum towers for manufacture of oils destined either
stream must be minimized, and this material, usually 0 to 5
for lube oils or some other type of specialty oils must be
degrees API, is blended into residual fuels. This is called
designed to provide the same relative degree of fractiona-
pitch operation. In asphalt operation, some gas oil must be
tion between streams as in the atmospheric tower. .A:ccord-
left in the residuum in order to provide the proper degree
ingly, the two types of towers are designed and calculated
of plasticity. The gravity of asphalt streams usually falls in
in approximately the same way. Sidestrea~ products are
the range of 5 to 8 degrees API. Not all crudes can be used
stripped in external towers to control front end properties.
to make asphalt since this is a question of whether or not
Heat recovery is practiced by exchanging hot downflowing
the particular residuum has the proper composition of mat-
tower liquid streams against incoming cool crude oil feed
ter to render it suitable in asphalt applications. This ques-
for the atmospheric tower or against other cooler process
tion can only be answered experimentally and is usually
streams in the unit. This heat recovery . .can be practiced in
contained in a detailed crude assay. Pitch operation can be
two different ways. '
practiced with any type of crude.
Figure 3.1 shows utilization of cooled pumpback re-
For pitch operation, one can normally set the volume flux from the draw tray to the tray below at all trays
percent of either the whole crude or reduced crude which is except the top sidestream. This liquid is c~ndensed by
to be yielded as vacuum residuum. This is, in effect, speci- pumparound heat removal using a grid type material for
fying a TBP cut point for vacuum distillates. In some cases, vapor-liquid contacting. Cooled reflux is pumped back to
the vacuum unit is defined in exactly this way. I t can also the tray below the draw tray to provide fractionation
be defined by determining the amount of distillate yield between the two light vacuum distillates.
which will produce a bottoms stream having the desired Figure 3.2 shows utilization of cooled pumparound
gravity. More usually, though, the limiting factor is the reflux in two sections of the tower. In terms of heat remov-
practical economic limit to how much distillate can be al and equipment requirements, the two methods are rela-
lifted from a given system and is defined in terms of the tively equivalent. Both the external heat recovery and the
lowest possible operating pressure and highest allowable oil internal vapor and liquid traffic quantities are essentially
temperature in the tower flash zone, equal. The pumpback reflux system has the advantage
I
I
;
i Vacuum Tower 59
, TO JETS
, 1
•
,
• C><
-----1 I NO.1 LIGHT
• )U VAC. DIST.
,,
~ I P
SHAM
, l;u- 9 NO.2 LIGHT

VAC. DIST.
,
, W 1 6
SHAM
L4- 'T' NO.1 HEAVY

VAC. DIST.
2:,
~ 1
, STEA M
I
-
~
r/ NO.2 HEAVY
--- )0 VAC. DIST.
--.J I OVERFLASH
LIQUID
, FEED
•
STEAM
,
T VAC. BOTTOM:
(PITCH OR ASPHALT)
Figure 3.1. Lube type vacuum tower with pumpback reflux heat removal.
;,.
-
,
TO JETS
I t
•,
><
i---J I
UPPER
PUM PAROUND
nf N 0.1 LIGHT
V AC. DIST.
t
,
,
,
MIDDLE
PUMPAROUND Rf t
'"-
I F •
STEAM
,
'T N 0.2 LIGHT
V AC. DIST.
~
...
~
2:, If;
'.
I
11<.
","'
~
STEAM
LOWER
PUMPAROUND
'=r N 0.1 HEAVY
V AC.DIST.
I
P
STEAM
-- --
1 NO.2 HEAVY
1 VAC. DIST.
......J I
OV ERFlASH
lIOU 10
REDUCED
CRUDE FRO M
FURNACE
STEAM
I V AC. BOTTOMS
(PITCH o. ASPHALT)
Figure 3.2. Lube type vacuum tower with pumparound reflux heat removal.
______________________...................IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII1IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIl.lll1ramWJ:7Jl!f!Jiz'/;}!!liJii+Z7j;;7.bi,i~",""~"
Vacuum Tower 61
~_C::::::-------TO JETS pressure drop applications are adequately discussed in vari-

ous manufacturer's bulletins (2,3). In recent years, the
trend has been toward the greater use of sieve trays in
vacuum towers because of their lower cost and inherently
lower ultimate minimum pressure drop. Bubble-caps are
rarely used any longer.
The number of trays between draw trays is set rather
L - - t - - - _ . L _ liGHT VA( arbitrarily. Nelson (4) recommends using 3 to 5 trays be·
OIST
tween the draws. If one employs fractionating type draw
trays, this would indicate four trays between draws at the
maximum since the draw counts as a tray. If chimney type
draw trays are used, one more tray in the section would be
required to provide the equal degree of fractionJtion,
Fuels Operation
The manufacture of distillates either directly for fuels

or for feed to downstream processing units ordinarily does
not require any particular degree of fractionation between
cuts. Also, wide cuts are usually acceptable. For these rea-
sons, the distillates can be condensed by cooled pumpa-
round reflux, grid type contacting sections and chimney
FEED ----1
draw trays. For all practical purposes, the operation of the
main condensing sections can be described as a single-stage
equilibrium condensation.
STE"'M---t-------i Figure 3.3 shows a typical fuels type tower. Note that
the overflash liquid is condensed by cooled pumpback
renux rather than by another pumparound circuit. There
~-;c~ _______ V AC- BOTTOMS
I .... S~HA1T-'rTCHI
are two reasons for this. First, another pumparound circuit
would require Significant additional investment. Secondly,
Fig.ne 3.3. Fuels type vacuum tower.
it is generally believed that the materials which contaminate
the heavy vacuum gas oil are vaporized upward from the
that all trays are true fractionating trays since all internal flash zone rather than being entrained upward. According-
liquids provide equilibrium reflux whereas the liquids in the
ly. product quality is more easily maintained by refluxing
pumparound sections are foreign with respect to the com·
this section rather than by a high density washing with cool
position of the vapors passing through these sections. For
oil.
this reason, a pumparound section tray is usually consid·
The grid materials used in these towers have been
ered to be only 30 to 50 percent as effective as other trays
developed only recently. The process design of the grid
in the tower. Thus, a tower with pumparound reflux must
sections is discussed thoroughly in the manufacturers' liter-
either be provided with more trays, usually one in each
ature (5). '
section, or sacrifice a certain amount of fractionation capa-
,. bility. Since trays require pressure drop to be effective,
Economic Considerations in Vacuum Tower Design
anything which minimizes tray requirements is directionally
correct. In the design of any vacuum tower, the first question
Note the two different types of draw trays shown in to be settled is the selection of the optimum operating
the illustrations. Figure 3.1 uses the chimney type in which pressure of the system. In order to simplify this discussion,
the vapor flows through risers, and the liquid is collected on let us consider certain facts, assuming that a maximum
the tray deck. Figure 3.2 utilizes a fractionating tray with a allowable nash zone temperature has been set.
sealed downcomer in which the liquid is collected. Obvious-
Iy, a Figure 3.2 arrangement will provide more trays for a 1. Lowering the hydrocarbon partial pressure in the nash
given pressure drop although a Figure 3.1 arrangement is a zone increases vaporization and, hence, distillate pro-
better way of collecting and removing the liquid. Detailed duction.
design considerations for chimney, trays have been pre- 2. Lowering the total pressure of the system decreases the
sented in a recent article (I). Tray design principles for low amount of steam required to effect a given vaporiza-
tion. At a low enough pressure, it is theoretically possi- crude into a vacuum region phase diagram are described,
ble that no steam would be required. Note that the Although most of the physical property data for the
steam to a vacuum tower is for the primary purpose of reduced crude and its product fractions can be obtained
reducing the hydrocarbon partial pressure in the flash from the assay of the whole crude, the determination of the
zone and not for stripping the vacuum bottoms. The reduced crude TBP curve and its gravity must still be mea-
base sections of vacuum towers, however, are normally sured in the laboratory. Given this basic data, the following
provided with stripping trays. three-step procedure is used to develop all the necessary
3. Raising the system pressure increases steam require- information.
ments and also increases tower cross-sectional area
requirements. 1. Using Pack ie's (7) procedure, calculate the atmospheric
4. Lowering the system pressure increases the steam EFV curve of the reduced crude.
requirements for the vacuum producing jets. 2. Using Edmister's (8) procedures, convert the atmo·
spheric EFV curve to various levels of reduced pressure
From this, it follows that the optimum pressure \\'i11 be down to 5 millimeters Hg absolute. Plot a vacuum
that which minimizes total steam usage. This involves a region phase diagram.
study of requirements for vapor pressure reduction steam 3. Using data from Maxwell (9) and/or Winn (10), calcu-
and jet steam at various pressure levels. Vacuum jet vendors late the average molecular weight and the characteriza·
can be very helpful in this type of study. If such assistance tion factor, K, for the whole reduced crude.
is not available, an excellent presentation of this subject has
been made by Ludwig (6). The physical properties of the various products to be
At present day economic conditions, the minimum yielded from the tower are calculated or estimated from the
practical pressure at the top of the tower is in the range of properties of the whole crude as given in the assay report.
10 millimeters Hg absolute. If, for some reason, a full detailed assay is not available, the
necessary properties can be estimated by assuming that the
value of K is constant for all distillates.
Vacuum Unit Charge Data
Estimate of Material Balance

Since the reduced crude charge to a vacuum tower has
already been partially processed in the atmospheric tower,
The general criteria for establishing the design material
some basic information about the whole crude and its frac-
balance were outlined in the opening section. The exact
tions has been developed and should be available at trus
material balance for design purposes is determined by calcu·
point. However, it is necessary to develop feed flash data
lation of either how much oil can be lifted from the charge
from the reduced crude apart from that previously calcu-
at the optimum flash zone temperature-pressure or the rela·
lated during the design of the atmospheric section.
tive distillate-residuum separation required to produce a
It is highly desirable to base the development of vacu-
desired asphalt quality. The relative yields of the various
um region equilibrium flash data upon experimental vapor-
distillate fractions will almost invariably be determined by
liquid equilibrium studies. Since the design of multimillion-
the owner's specifications. For this reason, no discussion of
dollar facilities hinges on the accuracy of the basic data, it
the properties of vacuum distillates is offered here.
seems recklessly penurious to skimp on the relatively small
Two illustrations are presented . .with this section, and
costs involved in acquiring sound basic design information.
these present the general procedures for setting up the over-
However, some still believe that a whole crude TBP curve
all material balance. The first covers a lube-asphalt opera-
and gravity study is sufficient for the entire design. This
may be a defensible position for feasibility studies or for tion and the second, a fuels-pitch operation. The techniques
rough order-of-magnitude designs since a properly executed for each case are quite different and are discussed separa£e-
Iy for this reason.
design will include all the required process systems. There
well may be errors in material and heat balances and in
equipment sizing, but these tend to be rather small when lube-Asphalt Operation
compared to the error inherent in failing to provide all the
necessary process components. However, for construction The final material balance superimposed on the whole
grade design work, the engineer should insist on having avail- crude TEP curve is shown by Figure 3.4. This is for a typi-
able experimental vacuum region vapor-liquid equilibrium cal operation producing as basic products asphalt and two
data. lube stocks_ The other three distillates are yielded only as
In the following discussion, the analytical procedures determined by the lube cuts. The following procedures
for converting the atmospheric TBP curve of the reduced were used to develop the overall material balance.
t
Vacuum Tower 63
"OO~
,,+ '"
Town
76.1
-~
DISTS
61 71
10 PON
ArMOS "' ASPHAlT
L TQWf_
o 15T5
I " ,""veo
"
'00
VOlUME "nCENT
Figure 3.4. Whole crude TBP temperature-yield curve, lube-asphalt operation.
The owner specified the requirement to make three ure 3.5, it is seen that an 80 pen. asphalt requires a
specification products off the tower. residuum yield of23.9 volume percent on whole crude.
Thus, the whole crude cut volume between vacuum
I. Asphalt having a specification of 80 pen. as measured
distillates and residuum ocCurs at 76.1 volume percent.
at 77 degrees F.
2. A heavy lube cut having a mid-volume viscosity of 700 2. From Figure 3.6, it is determined that the mid-volumes
SSU as measured at 100 degrees F and a yield on whole of \leavy lube and light lube, respectively, are 71.0 and
\
crude of 6.0 volume percent. 57.0 volume percent of whole crude. From these
3. A light lube cut having a mid-volume viscosity of 100 points and their respective yield requirements, it is
\ determined that the heavy lube will occupy the whole
SSU as measured at 100 degrees F and a yield on whole
crude of 4.0 volume percent. crude range of 71.0 ± 3 volume percent and that the
light lube will occupy the whole crude volume range of
.,
4. The required distillation ranges for the lube cuts were
specified . 57.0 ± 2 percent.
3. From Figure 3.4, it is seen that the TBP cut volume
The overall system material balance is established by between atmospheric distillates and reduced crude is
the following sequence. 52.5 percent. Thus, the tower will also yield the fol-
, lowing three product streams.
1. Total distillate yield is set by analysis of the portion of a. A light vacuum gas oil (LVGO) over the range 52.5
, the crude assay covering asphalt properties. From Fig- t.o 55.0 yolume percent.
,
•
++ ~ ,-
130
T ' .. -
'~
120
110
100
r
.. :.-
90
-;
,---
, ,-
z '0 HeH
Q • i' ..;. ",'
~
;:: 70
~' "'-+i:-::--++ t
,
--~~
I~-~
---,-----f
---,
~ L~_ .1..
w
Z
-,--, ~;
~60 , ,
." ,"T
"
'0
.- ++-+-:
30
, ", -t'
~
~; ,-;
-+, .L~~,
I , ,-t ,
20 ,
10
o
2
AHHALT YiElD, VOt. I'EltCfNT Of WHOLE elUDE
• 7
" o
Figure 3.5. Crude assay data. Asphalt yield versus penetration.
b. A medium vacuum gas oil (MVGO) over the range Fuels-Pitch Operation
59.0 to 68.0 volume percent.
c. A heavy vacuum gas oil (INGO) over the range The final material balance superlmposed on the whole
74.0 to 76.0 volume percent. This cut may also be crude TBP curve is shown by Figure 3.7. This is for a typi·
thought of as condensed overflash, even, though it cal operation producing maximum distillates and minimum
is somewhat greater in volume than would normal- residuum from a reduced crude feed. ,The following proce-
ly be designed as overflash. dures were used to develop the overall material balance.
Thus, the yields of all products have been set. Product The owner specified two requirements for the design of
properties are determined as follows. the system.
4. From the distillation ranges of the lube cuts, fractiona·
tion requirements are established by assuming that the I. The TBP cut pOint between the distillates and the
TBP cut point is the mid'point of the total IBP_.Qyerlap. residuum was set at 1.100 degrees F.
!>.ellVem.products. 2. The light vacuum gas oil (LVGO) was set at 30 volume
5. From the TBP distillations of the products, ASTM and percent of the total vacuum gas oils.
atmospheric EFV_=e_s-"re calculated an~p}()tt.ed.
Note that the EFV curves are .ex!rJlPElated to minus 20 The overall system material balance is established by
percent for eslimjlting -ille front end of the unstripped the following sequence.
liquids which exist on the-draw trays. - - -- _._--
6. Stream gravities are oblaln",rrrom the whole crude I. Item I above sels the total distillate yield al 812 vol·
properties, and molecular weights are calculated. ume percent of whole crude.
,
1000 Vacuum Tower 65
100· F
H.t. MID-VOL PERCENT
71-J.
210"F
I
•
•
100
, t.L. MID-VOL
PERCENT
57-J.
, "'"
'"
...>-
• '"
0
u
'"
• >
•
,
•
,
'iii
10~----~----~~--~------~----~-----h~--~L-----f..-----L----~
o
PERCENT CRUDE
Figure 3.6. Crude assay data, viscosities of vacuum gas oils.

1400
1300
T
1200
1100
1000
, '
"
,~800
m
~
~
-1700
c
~
m
'0
~600
500
_00
300
200
100
o
o 10 20 30 .co 50 60 70 .0 90 100
VOLUME PERCENT ovell
Figure 3.7. Whole crude TBP temperature-yield curve, fuels-pitch operati.on.
2. The designer sets the amount of over flash depending a. From the atmospheric EFV curve of the reduced
upon the degree of purity required in the heavy vacu· crude, tabulate the EFV curves of the products
urn gas oil. If color requirements and/or allowable met· and convert them to the ASTM and TBP curves.
als level specifications are not severe, 1 to 2 volume b. Stream gravities are obtained from the crude assay,
percent of vacuum tower feed is normally taken as and molecular weights are calculated.
, ,
overflash. For tight specifications or for crudes having
high metals content, as much as 4 percent may be Flash Zone and Tower Base Calculations
taken. Two percent was used in Figure 3.7. In practice,
operators never take any more over flash than neees· The following discussion outlines procedures for calcu-
sary; thus, over flash capability may be considered as lating the overall heat balance around the flash zone and
built·in extra capacity. Facilities should always be pro- tower base. These procedures apply for both types ofvacu-
vided for measuring overflash and for yielding it as a urn towers and are considered independently of the rest of
product stream, even though it may be returned to the the heat and material balance calculations. To this point, it
column sump or recycled to the furnace. is assumed that the following items have been completed.
3. Item 2 above sets the sidestream yields of heavy and
light vacuum gas oils. I. An overall material balance for the system has been
4. Since a fuels-type tower operates more or less as a developed including overflash and the amount of
series of eqUilibrium condensations, the properties of hydrocarbon decomposition gases which are produced
the products are estimated by the following technique. in the process by virtue of the high temperatures to
t
.,
I
., I
I •
Vacuum Tower 67
Table 3.1 where

D = total hydrocarbon distillate products including
Pressure Drop Values
the decomposition gas, moles per hour, and
As Recommended for Design Purposes
YHC= ratio of hydrocarbon partial pressure to total
Sections Drop Values, e.a. pressure in the flash zone, mole fraction.
This analysis assumes essentially no stripping of the
feed flash liquid in the base section of the tower, although,
Chimney trays
in a later step, a temperature drop across the bottoms strip-
Fuels towers 6 to 8 mm Hg
ping zone will be set. Nelsons' correlations show very little
Lube towers I to 2 mm Hg
Fractionating Trays 2 to 5 mm Hg stripout at the steam rates usually employed, but experi-
Grid sections I to 2 mm Hg ence shows that temperature drops as high as 30 degrees F
Demisters I mmHg between flash zone and bottoms do occur. This is of little
real importance, however, since the heat input to the sys-
tem can be calculated independently of the absolute ther-
mal condition of the feed.
which the reduced crude is subjected. The symbol, G, The error inherent in an incorrect estimate of the bot-
is used for this material in the calculations. toms temperature carries two considerations.
2. A value for inward air leakage is assumed which can be
checked later by the methods outlined in Ludwig. For 1. From the viewpoint of the furnace, a low estimate of
the heat balance, this leakage is assumed to occur total- the exit bottoms temperature will cause the heat input
ly at the flash zone. The symbol, A, is used for this to the system to be calculated as lower than actually
material in the calculations. required.
3. The maximum allowable flash zone temperature has 2. From the viewpoint of the tower heat balance, a low
been established. As pointed out in Chapter 2, this has estimate of the exit bottoms temperature will cause the
been the subject of much discussion throughout the various tower heat removal quantities to be calculated
industry. Normally, maximum flash zone temperatures as lower than actual. This applies especially to the cool-
range from 775 to 800 degrees F. ing requirements for the vacuum residuum.
4. The tower top pressure has been established.
In practice, the value of these discrepancies is quite small in
Flash Zone Pressure comparison to the total values of these heat quantifies in
question. The most conservative design approach would be
In order to determine the flash zone pressure, it is first to assume a zero temperature drop for the liquid from the
necessary to allocate trays and/or other internals to various flash zone to the base of the tower. This would maximize
sections of the tower and then to assume pressure drops both feed heat input and heat removal duties. Conversely,
across these sections. The number of trays between lube assuming a high temperature drop, say 30 degrees F, would
tower draw trays is normally 3 to 5. Modern fuels towers be a tighter, more competitive approach.
use grid sections. Pressure drop values recommended for
design purposes are given in Table 3.1. Having assumed the Heat Quantities
internal configuration of the tower, the flash zone pressure
is then calculated arithmetically.
The calculations necessary t"define the heat balance
around the base section of the tower are shown on Figure
Steam Requirements
3.8. This illustration is self-explanatory as to the calculation
of the total feed heat input and the furnace duty.
Knowing the flash zone temperature and the feed
Note the role played by the condensed overflash liquid.
vaporization requirements, the hydrocarbon partial pres- If this stream is returned to the system, either as overflow
sure, P'HC' in the flash zone is found by inspection of the from the draw tray to the flash zone or as recycle from the
vacuum region EFV curves which were developed earlier in draw tray to the furnace, it must be taken into account in
this chapter. The difference between the partial pressure the heat balance. If it leaves the system as a product stream,
and the total pressure in the flash zone must be made up by it will not be seen as a heat input to the flash zone. This is
the air leakage and by steam. The required steam to the the reason for the question mark in the equation for calcu-
flash zone is calculated as lating the feed heat input.
The tabulation of the external heat quantities at the
sw~ [(D!YHC)-D]-A,molesperhour top of the flash zone is made to facilitate the heat balance
'Ife.
,
I
EXTERNAL HEAT QUANTITIES LEAVING FLASH ZONE
Q'i,z= (Q, + QA + Qswl, BTU/HR.

Q'OfZ=QW, BTU/HR.
C,Q',z -- (Q'I-Q'ol,z BTU/HR. Lo VOfZ-

- (XD+Lo+GI+A+Sw
: (ONLY lFRE-
avon
I TURNED TO
1 F. Z. J
,--
~QLO
,- .;::
F F
QAW Q,
/
FEED FROM !I
ATMOSPHERIC
TOWER
A
QA AIR LEAOO
..
SW
Qsw STEAM
W
BOTTOMS Qw
XD= TOTAL DISTILLATE PRODUCTS EXCLUSIVE OF OVERFLASH.

Lo = OVERFLASH.
G = HYDROCARBON DECOMPOSiTiON GAS.
HEAT BALANCE EQUATiONS
QF = [( OVOFl + Owl- (QA + Qsw ~ OlOI), BTU/HR.
QFURN= (OF-OAWI, BTU/HR.
Figure 3.8. Flash zone heat and material balance.

Vacuum Tower 69
calculations in proceeding up the tower. The value of the with the overhead vapor. This oil loss is at the expense of
tabulation will be seen in later sections. the top sidestrearn product.
Calculate the amount of heat which leaves the system
Heat and Material Balance Calculations in the overhead vapor <
for Lube-Type Towers

Estimate of Tower Temperature Profile
This section outlines procedures for calculating prod-
uct draw tray temperatures at all points in the tower and Estimating draw tray teIflperatures for vacuum opera-
for making an overall heat balance around the system. The tions is much more difficult than in atmospheric towers
method is based on calculating the hydrocarbon product because of the greater relative effect of calculated internal
partial pressure in the vapor above each draw tray and con- reflux on hydrocarbon partial pressure. As good a rule as
verting the bubble point of the product liquid on the tray any is to assume a hydrocarbon partial pressure equal to 30
to this pressure. Prior to beginning these calculations, the to 50 percent of the total pressure at any tray. Plot the
overall system material balance and the properties of all assumed profile for the trayed section of the tower.
product streams must have been defined. The temperature of the cooled pumpback reflux is esti-
mated at 100 to 150 degrees F lower than the draw tray
temperatures except where, for specific reasons, a different
Steam to Product Strippers value would be indicated. Upon completion of the total
design, it is necessary to verify that the heat exchange sys-
These auxiliary towers will be used to strip only prod- tem is capable of producing the assumed reflux tempera-
uct and not the pumpback reflux, with the possible excep- tures. If this analysis uncovers significant differences, it will
tion of the first product above the over flash liquid condens- be necessary to recalculate the tower, based on a different
ing section. For design- purposes, set a steam rate of 10 set of cooled reflux temperatures.
pounds per barrel of final product as measured at 60
degrees F. This will result in a stripout of approximately 5 Overflash liquid (Ol) Condensing Section
weight percent and a temperature drop across the stripper
of 15 to 20 degrees F. Locate and plot the EFV tempera·
The overflash liquid condensing section is calculated as
ture for this degree of stripout on the product EFV curves
a single-stage flash condensation. The heat removal across
which were drawn in the calculations following the previous this portion of the tower is accomplished internally by reva·
section. Note that the bubble point to be used in the partial
porizing subcooled reflux which is pumped back from the
pressure calculations is that of the unstripped liquid on the next draw tray up in the tower.
tray.
Since this draw tray is a chimney tray and performs no
Knowing the thennal condition of the steam. calculate fractionation, the temperature of the condensed liquid leav-
the heat input to all the strippers. ing the tray is estimated as being the dew point of the
hydrocarbon vapor from the flash zone at the hydrocarbon
Tower Top Conditions partial pressure above the draw tray, the leakage air and the
bottoms steam being defined as inerts. The temperature at
The temperature of the steam and noncondensible this pressure is read from the vac,uum region EFV curves.
materials leaving the top of the tower is determined by The vapor temperature leaving the grid is estimated in the
setting a 50 to 75 degree F approach to the minimum prac· same way but referred to the total pressure at that point.
tical cool oil temperature in the top pumparound system. The heat and material balance relationships around this
TItis latter temperature is a function of the viscosity proper- section are determined by making a balance around Enve·
ties of the oil in question, and this data can usually be lope I as shown on Figure 3.9. Figure 3.10 is an expanded
predicted from the crude assay. Normally, a cool oil tern· view of this section and gives the equations used in making
perature of 150 to 200 degrees F will not require excessive the calculations. These equations are to be used in the fol·
pump horsepower. This, in tum, allows an overhead tern· lowing sequence.
perature of 200 to 275 degrees F.
The amount of oil lost with the overhead stream is L Calculate the reflux heat at the exit of the grid. Reflux
determined by making an oil vapor pressure calculation, heat is defined as the difference between the heat input
assuming that the oil exerts its full vapor pressure at the of the feed and at the product strippers and the heat
temperature of the exit vapor. Maxwell's nomogram is use- outflow of liquid products, external cooling of tower
ful in estimating this vapor pressure. The overall material streams (product coolers excluded) and the exit vapors
balance should be adjusted to show the amount of oil lost of products plus steam at the point in question.
~
'4
--.iI
r
lpA
~ VOH
OVOH
.', ,I
,
' I
I
~'I 1
EXTERNAL HEAT
QUANTITIES
ENY. J/I
X
I--.--J I D< D"
•
I
04· !
"'- lD' Qc.
D4
QD< 1
I
Q'i03=Q'io2 +053
Q'OD3= 0'OD2 +0C3 +OD3 ENV.¥ 03+1
1 , I
I
4Q'D2
A ~J I
D3
L.
0'3
~-. I
OJ - , lD3
-e}J 53
OS3 ,.,!!" 1
0'i02 ==Q'iDI
0'002
+ OS2
O'ODI +0C2+0D2 02+1
Q(3 '--r - D3
ODl rI
40'D2 I
,..-L. I
ENV. lYl r D2
02-1 "-.
""-
lD2
0'2
~
52
OS2
I
O'iOI =Q'iGO +Q51
Q'aol-O'oGO +QCT +001
ENV.III
"--r' - 02
ODZ
;1
01+1
40'DI ,I
DI 1 0'1 r-
Q' iGO =Q'iFl
O'OGO O'OFZ +0 LO
ejrr !
LDI ~SI
51
01
40'GO
Q'lFZ=QF+QA+QSW
Q'o,,- Ow
F FEED
ENV. I --- -----
J
GO
I Lo
I
I Oel
.,
'f ODI
Lo
OLO
40'fZ=(0'i-Obl"
OF
A
OA
~R_L~K~
- l <
Sw STEAM I
Qsw
w
Ow
Figure 3.9. Heat and material balance summary, lube type vacuum tower with pumpback reflux heat removal.
Vacuum Tower 71
EXTERNAL HEAT QUANTITIES

AT GRID OUTlET
Q'iGO= Q',FZ
Q'OOO= Q'OFl + QLO
t.Q'OO= IQ'; - Q'o 100
j IL__-J-t--_ lO
VOFZ=ID+ lo +G+A+Sw
t QLO
z --t---~
t. Q ".:c
ENV.I

REflUX HEAT= Q'=I~Q'FZ-Qvooo-QLol,Btu/hr.
HEAT REMOVAL CAPABILI TY OF REFlUX=q'.=IHtoo-ht'oDtl, Btu/lb.
REQUIRED PUMPBACK REFlUX=IQ./q'.I, Ib./hr
Figure 3.10. Heat and material balance-overflash liquid condensing section.
2. Calculate the heat removal capability of the reflux across the tray. Calculate the value of this heat remoy-
available to the tray. al.
3. Calculate the pumpback reflux required to absorb the 3. Calculate the heat removal capability of the internal
reflux heat. reflux to the tray.
4. Calculate and tabulate the external heat quantities as 4. Calculate the internal reflux required to absorb the
Q' values at the grid outlet. excess heat at Tray Dl.
5. Calculate and tabulate the vapor and liquids quantities 5. Convert the internal reflux from pounds per hour to
leaving the grid. moles per hour. Calculate the mole fraction of hydro-
carbon product vapor in the total vapor leaving the
draw tray but neglect the presence of the product to be
First Sidestream Product (01) Draw Tray removed on the next draw tray up in the tower. From
this, calculate the hydrocarbon partial pressure in this
The heat and material balance relationships at this sec- vapor and convert the atmospheric bubble point of the
tion of the tower are determined by making a balance unstripped liquid product on the tray to this partial
around Envelope II as shown on Figure 3.9. Figure 3. I I pressure. If this temperature does not check the value
, shows an expanded view of this section and gives the equa~ assumed earlier, repeat the procedure for a new
tions used in making the calculations. These equations are assumed temperature.
, to be used in the following sequence. 6. Calculate and tabulate the external heat quantities to
I. Calculate the reflux heat at Tray D I. the base of Tray (DI + I). This will include the heat
2. It is assumed that the amount of hydrocarbon which is effects of product liquid D I, the reflux cooler and the
revaporized in the D I product stripper falls to Tray Dl stripping steam to the product stripper.
, as part of the internal reflux from Tray (D I + 1) and 7. Calculate and tabulate the vapor and liquid quantities
• absorbs a small amount of the reflux heat in passing at the base of Tray (Dl + 1).
•
•
, '-,'"
t. ~-
11
'2 Petroleum Refinery Distillation
EXTERNAL HEAT QUANTITIES

VOOl +l=VOOl +51
Il
Il .ii
Q'iOl = Q'iGO +QSl
t
(l
'd
'II
Q'OOI Q'OGO +QCl +Qol
fl Q'Ol ~IQ'i-Q'o1 01
01 +1@101+l
lO1+1
V001= VOGO - 01 •
J VSl +51
1
t,
(l
(l ail
QVOOI ..... .; \
tii
01 @ 101
~ 0'1=01 +lOl
00'1
lVSl
- ~
r
'--r""
t 201
51
QSl
QCl
(l
<"
'I
Ii
If
LiftOOL
<" 11
lOl@ 1001
01
Q 01
('
It
flQ'GO t
"
VOGO
" " A
VlOl
1'-/ ~
QLOl {' I
, €9 {' I
I
~ ~
~
I
ENVII . I
I
HEAT BALANCE EQUATIONS ~
Q. - I fl Q'GO +QL oll-IQvOOl +QO'll. ",. I
HEAT ABSORBED BY lVSl c QLVS1=llvSlllcHI01-101+1I.
q' •• IHtOl-hIOl +11. ., I
lOl+1-IQ.-QLVS11/q"
ii~i I
HYDROCARBON PARTIAL PRESSURE ABOVE
P'HC= (P'01)[lOl+ 11 I V001- 02 + lo, +'1]
TRAY 01
I
I
Figure 3.11. Heat and material balance-first sidestream product draw.
I
Second Sidestream Product (02) Draw Tray 3. Calculate the hydrocarbon partial pressure in the total
I
vapor leaving the draw tray, neglecting the presence of
product 03. Convert the atmospheric bubble point of
I
tion of the tower are determined by making two balances.
These balances are around Envelopes III and IV as shown
the unstripped liquid product on the tray to this partial
pressure and check the assumed temperature.
I
on Figure 3.9 and in detail On Figure 3.12. The calculations 4. Calculate the reflux induced on Tray (02 -1) by the I
for this section are similar to those in the previous section,
with the exception of handling the pumpback reflux. The
use of subcooled reflux. This induced reflux is the
amount of vapor from Tray (02 _ 2) which enters and I
sequence of calculations is as follows. is condensed on Tray (02 - 1) for the purpose of
converting the cooled pumpback reflux to bubble I
I. Calculate the pumpback reflux required to Tray (02·1)
by making a balance above this tray as shown by
point liquid.
S. Calculate and tabulate the external heat quantities to I
Envelope III. the base of Tray (02 + I). :.1
2. Calculate the internal reflux to Tray 02 by making a 6. Calculate and tabulate the vapor and liquid quantities
balance above this tray as shown by Envelope IV. at the base of Tray (02 + I).
t.
Vacuum Tower 73
YOD2 + 1= VOD2 + 52
EXTERNAL HEAT OUANTITIES
Q'i02=Q'i01 +OS2
Q'002 =Q'OOI + Qe2 + Q02
t D2+1(;)to2+1
l 02 + 1 ~
.1.0'02=10'; -0'01 02 V002=VOOI +I-02~ ,I VS2 + S2
QVOD2 ..... _ / \
\
I---L~D~2~(;)~t~02~-------1I~!l=~=F.~~~V=s~2_~~~~_~_~_~_~_~_~' __
VOD1+l D'2=0!2+lD2
QVOD 1 + 1 00'2 S2
__-
r--j.,~ 052
D2-1@t02-1 ~ L02@ t002 r/
"'-.OlO ?0C2
D2-2 (;) t02 - 2 D2

002
£>0'01
ENV.IV ENV. III

III AB V TRAY D2-1 -ENV. III
OR= £>O'OI-0VOOI + 1
q',= H'02-1-n.00,I
Lo,_O'/q',
ABOVE TRAY D2-ENV. tV

0,=[1.1.0'0'" Olo'I-IOo·, • Ovoo~
OlVS2 =llvS2)(~)(to,- t02+"
q',- H.o,-n,02-n.o'+1
lO' +1-IORO,-Olv"I/q',
HYDROCARBON PARTIA l PRESSURE ABOVE TRAY D2

P'HC= IPTO,l(ll 0' + 1I IIVoo, - D3 + Lo, + II]
INDUCED REflUX ON TRAY 02 1
Rio ,- • - lo,[ I n 0' -1 - n '00, I II H. 0' -, -n. 0, -Ill
Figure 3.12. Heat and material balance-second sidestream product draw.
7. All further se,ctions in the tower below the top sidestream product and cooling the tower overhead. The heat
stream draw tray are calculated in the same manner as and material balance quantities around this section are
Tray D2. Keep in mind that in making the partial pres· shown by Envelopes V and VI on Figure 3.9. Figure 3.13 is
sure calculations, always neglect the presence of the an expanded view of this section and lists the equations
next higher product vapor in the total vapor leaving the used in the analysis. The recommended sequence of calcula-
draw tray. tions is as follows.
Top Sidestream Product (041 Draw Tray I. A temperature on Tray (04 - I) was assumed in the
preliminary steps. Using methods outlined previously,
The analysis of this section of the tower involves calcu- the required pumpback reflux is calculated and used to
lating the required pumpback reflux to the tray below the calculate the hydrocarbon partial pressure above the
,., draw tray together with the pump around reflux and exter- tray. In this case, the product vapor is defmed as the
nal heat removal reqUirements for condensing the side- sum,of product 04 and the pumpback reflux while the
,
•
•
\'
;'
LPA
!'YOH '"
VOH
~
,~
><
t
I
Vo.-I
I D4@lo. D'''-D4+lo4
-0
i1
\~.
\
r
100
EN¥. VI D4
00'4 '
Qo. 'I
Yo 4-1
OV04-1
= 04+ VOH YL04
OVLO ..
QC'
."
D4 l@lo.
[email protected]
, •
I 1
- L o.
OLD4
..~
A Q'03
I
HEAT BALANCE EQUATIONS ABOVE TRAY (D4-1I-ENV.V
Q.=tlQ'03 -Qvo.-,
q"= Hto.-,-htoo.
Lo.= Q./q'.
HYDROCARBON PARTIAL PRESSURE ABOVE TRAY ID4-11

P' HC =(PTO. -11 [Lo.1 ( L o. +04+ VOH I]
HEAT BALANCE EQUATIONS AROUND D4 GRID

Qc.= (tlQ'03-QO.-QvOH)
Q'c.= D'. (hto.-htoo.)
LPA= (Qc.- Q'c.)1 (h to.- h too.)
AS A CHECK, (QC.-Q'c"=[(Qvo.-1 TQvlo"-Qo'.-QvO,J
Figure 3.13. Heat and material balance-top sidestream product draw.
tower overhead stream comprises the inerts. Convert The remaining portion of QC4 is that required to cool
the atmospheric dew point of D4 to this hydrocarbon the pumparound reflux, LpA'
partial pressure and check the assumed temperature. 5. Check the calculation of LpA by making a heat balance
2, The temperature of the liquid on Tray D4 is found by around Envelope VI <
converting the atmospheric bubble point of the prod- 6. Check the value of QC4 by calculaling the heat require-
uct liquid to the hydrocarbon partial pressure existing ments for cooling (LpA + D4 + LD4) over the required
above Tray D4. temperature range. This must check the value caku-
3. Calculate the duty of the cooler as QC4 by making an laled in Step 4 above.
overall system heat balance, keeping in mind that the
outlet temperature from this exchanger has already Vapor-Liquid Traffic
been defined,
4, Calculate the portion of QC4 required to cool the At all the trays which were calculated in the design,
liquid (D4 T LD4) from the draw tray temperature to vapor and liquid flow rates were developed. In this section,
the exit temperature, Designate this quantity as Q'C4' these pieces of information will be assembled to develop an
,
•
c
Vacuum Tower 75
internal traffic diagram. At this point, the following items

3. Make flash zone calculations of steam requirements
are known.
and heat input to the tower in accordance with earlier
sections.
1. Vapor Jeaving the flash zone including total distillate
p r () due ts, overflash, steam, air and hydrocarbon
Temperature Profile
decomposition gas.
2. Product streams leaving their respective draw trays.
Set the temperature of the vapor and liquid streams at
3. Material balance around all product strippers.
key pOints in the tower. Unlike an atmospheric tower or a
4. Pumpback and pumparound reflux rates.
lube·type tower, these temperatures can be established ana-
5. Internal liquid flow rates to draw trays.
6. Induced rd1ux where appropriate. lytically and do not require a trial-and· error approach. In
this type of tower, the entire vapor charge to the tower is
generated in the flash zone, and, with the exception of the
Using this information, developing the diagram reduces oyerflash condensing section. there is no internal equilib.
to a matter of arithmetic. The only place where caution rium reflux. All the heat is removed by pumparound reflux.
must be Llsed is in handling induced reflux. Consider a sec- Since the operation of the sidestream product condenSing
tion of the tower containing the tray below a draw down to sections can be described closely as equilibrium condensa.
the tray above the next lowest draw. The known liquid tions, the vapor temperatures can be estimated from the
rates in the section are pumpback reflux to the upper tray, reduced crude EFV curves at the appropriate degree of
its induced reflux and reflux from the lower tray. There is vaporization and hydrocarbon partial pressure. Liquid tem-
almost always a difference between the sum of the first two peratures are set by converting the atmospheric bubble
quantities and the third. In the analysis, this difference is points of the products to the appropriate partial pressures
assumed to be split equally between the trays in the sec. eXisting above the dn.lw trays. This analysis also applies to
tion. This information is required for tray design or for the overflash liquid condensing section because the reflux
analYSis of the trays in existing towers. Discussion of tray required to condense the over flash is generally the same
design techniques is outside the scope of this work, and the relative number of moles as the overflash.
interested reader is referred to the previously cited vendor The temperatures of the exit products and the pumpa-
literature. round reflux streams from their coolers are established
taking into account the temperature·viscosity relationships
Fractionation Analysis of these very heavy oils. Product temperatures may also be
set by heat balance considerations in downstream units.
There are no correlations known to the writer for ana.
lyzing fractionation in vacuum towers. The Packie analysis Overflash Liquid Condensing Section
can be employed but only to show that a proper trays.
reflux balance exists in the various sections. Estimates of This section of the tower is calculated in the same
gap-overlap may be made as a matter of interest, but it "manner as the lube-type tower. The procedure was
must be remembered that Packie's curves were intended to discussed earlier and illustrated by Figures 3.19 and 3.10.
apply only to atmospheric crude towers.
Sidestream Products (01 and 02) Condensing Sections
Heat and Material Balance Calculations
for Fuels·Type Towers The calculation of a fuels-type tower is much Simpler
than a lube· type. The material balance and heat balance
This section presents the remainder of the procedures relationships are analytical rather than trial·and·error in na-
required to calculate the heat and material balance around a ture. Figure 3.14 shows the complete heat and material
fuels-type vacuum tower. Instructions for making the calcu. balance relationships for such a tower. The expressions and
lations at the flash zone and at the overflash liquid condens- equations on this figure are self-explanatory. Note also that
ing section were presented in the previous section. As a this sketch contains all the vapor-liquid internal traffic data.
quick refresher, the following items must be accomplished
to this point.
References
1. Set the overall material balance, including air leakage I. D.E. Wheeler, "DeSign Criteria for Chimney Trays,"
and hydrocarbon decomposition gas. Hydrocarbon Processing 47, no. 7 (July, 1968), pp.
119-20.
2. Establish a pressure proftle across the tower using
2. "Ballast Tray Design Manual," Bulletin No. 4900, Fritz
,• previously recommended guidelines.
W. Glitsch & Sons, Inc., Dallas, Texas.
VOH
I VOH
FOR D2 CONDENSING Q VOH
SECTION
LP2
QR ~(A Q'Ol- Q 02- QVOH)~ QC2 I tOO2
q'R=(ht02-hto02).
L P2= QR/q'R
Q'iDl=Q'OGO
>:::VOD2=VOD1- D1
QC2
Q'OD1=Q'OGO+QOl +OCI
/lQ' 01
I t lliftl02 D2
Q02
(
LPl
"fa 01
HEAT BALANCE EQUATIONS FOR

Dl CONDENSING SECTION
QR = (L\,Q'GO- Q01-QV002)=QC1
q'R=(ht01-hlo01)
LP1=(Q,/q" )
VOD1=¥OFZ+ lOI-Lo
QC1
t 1010 tOJ 101"'LDl)+L~ Dl
QD1
a 'icc - Q'j FZ
Go L01 -
~
Q'OGO=O'OFl+QlO (
L\,Q'GO
- -
VOfl=(Dl +D2+Lo+A
'-'
+C +Sw)
Q'iFZ=Qf +QA .... QSW
Q'Ofl~ Qw I I ILoOILo Lo
QLO
L\,Q'OFl.(Q';-Q'o)" F FEED
QF
~A A..'.R ":~~A~E_ ,
SWSTEAM
Qs
W
Qw
Figure 3.14. Heat and material balance summary-fuels type vacuum tower with pumparound heat removal.
,
Vacuum Tower 77
3. Koch Flexitray Design Manual, Koch Engineering Co. 7. l.W. Packie, "Distillation Equipment in the Oil Refin-
Inc., Wichita, Kansas. ing Industry," AIChE Transactions 37 (1941), pp.
4. W.L. Nelson, Petroleum Refinery Engineering, 4th ed. 51-78.
(New York: rvlcGraw-Hill Book Company, inc., 1958). 8. w.e. Edmister, Applied Hydrocarbon Thermodynamics
5. "Glitsch Grid-A New Design for Column Internals," (Houston: Gulf Publishing Company, 1964).
Bulletin No. 7070, Fritz W. Glitsch & Sons, Inc., Dal- 9. l.B. Maxwell, Data Book on Hydrocarbons (Princeton,
las, Texas. N.J.: D. van Nostrand Co., 1965).
6. E.E. Ludwig, Applied 'Process Design for Chemical and 10. F.W. Winn, "Physical Properties by Nomogram," Petro-
Petrochemical Plants, Vol. I (Houston: Gulf Publishing leum Refiner 36, no. 2 (February, 1957), p. 157.
Company, 1964).
,
,
,
•
,
,
,
,
,
•
•
•
,. J
•! I
, I
, , I
l , I
I
~
I
"
I
l ~'
. I,
". ~
.,
'"
•
,•
~ ,
The function of the catalytic cracking unit is to con- The principal areas of similarity in the two systems are as
·
vert heavy straight-run distillate fractions into lighter and follows. "
more useful liquids and gases by high temperature pyrolysis
in the presence of a catalyst. Typical flow schemes and I. The physical properties of the Ouids being processed
"
operating conditions are given in Reference I. These reac- can be studied and calculated by the methods of ~
tions ordinarily occur at pressures of 10 to 15 psig and at Edmister (2) and Maxwell (3). The API Data Book (4)
temperatures in the range of 1,000 degrees F. The reactor is also useful. ~
effluent stream contains a full range of products from 2. The interrelationship between tr:I)'s. reflux and frac-
hydrogen through coke. At the entrance to the fractiona- tionation requirements arc discussed in Reference 5 ~
tor, it is a superheated vapor and must be cooled and simul- which presents J correlation similar to Packie (6). Later
;;
taneously fractionated in carefully controlled stages to independent work has suggested that. for a more realis-
yield products having the desired properties. tic approach, the systems should be calculated neglect- __
The problems and calculational techniques involved in
catalytic fractionator design are quite similar to those
ing the presence of n-butane and all lighter compo-
nents.
'"
~"
encountered in crude distillation, and, thus, the procedures 3. The use of pump around reflux in these towers is
given are somewhat less detailed to avoid useless repetition. almost universal. Pumpback reflux to the side sections tt:.
The principal areas of difference between the two systems . of the tower is seldom used and, then, only in cases
are as follows. where a sharp separation between the cycle oils is
required.
1. The feed to the tower is a superheated vapor. not a
vapor-liquid mixture. Keeping these points in mind. the tower is calculated in
2. The heaviest materials must be condensed out and the same general way as is a crude tower. It. ..
yielded as a bottoms liquid to prevent contamination
of the first sided raw liquid. Properties of Tower Feedstream (Reactor Effluent)
3. The sidedraw products usually have much wider boiling
ranges than do the corresponding products from a The composition of a catalytic cracking unit reactor
crude unit. The properties of these streams are dis-
cussed in a later portion of this chapter.
product stream is usually described as a mixture of discrete
light ends consisting of hydrogen through the C 5 s, light ....
78
, ......
•
•
Catalytic Cracking Unit 79
and heavy cycle oils most often described by ASTM or TBP pressed to a pressure level suitable for light ends recovery
distillations and the heavy bottoms. The cycle oils may be and is recombined with the overhead liquid stream, cooled
broken down into sub fractions identifiable by TBP boiling and fed to a gas recovery plant. A typical catalytic cracking
• ranges. Alternately, the composition may be reported in the unit gas plant is shown in Figure 4.1.
same way as a crude oil, i.e., a mixture of light ends (hydro-
gen through C 5 's) and a TBP curve covering the range C 6 Product Properties
through end point.
If the first method for specifying the feed is used, the Product streams from catalytic cracking unit main frac-
concentrations arc usually reported on a weight basis, gravi- tionators have the following general properties and end
ty data being available for the heavier cuts. This raw data is uses.
converted into a more usable form by the following proce-
dures. Catalytically Cracked Naphthas
1. Using conventional physical property estimating meth- This stream(s) consists of materials up to an ASTM end
ods (3,4), convert the weight units into volumetric and point of approximately 400 degrees F. Until relatively
molar units. recently, stabilized catalytic naphtha was blended directly
2. The volumetric quantities are easily plotted into the into motor fuel. In most modern refineries, however, this
familiar TBP-yield curve by graphical combination product is now desulfurized by mild hydrogen processing.
techniques. Olefin saturation usually occurs also. Since catalytic naph-
3. Using Pack ie's procedure (6), convert the rBP curve tha is seldom used without further processing, it is not the
into an atmospheric EFV curve. usual practice to split the naphthas in the main fraction-
4. Using Edmister's techniques, develop a phase diagram atar. If the split should be required, it can be done easily. In
for the feed. any event, the tower and the reflux system should be
designed to allow a reasonable variation in naphtha end
These procedures have all been discussed earlier in point and sharpness of fractionation between the naphtha
great detail and are mentioned here only to ensure that and light cycle oil.
they are not forgotten.
\ A comparative study of catalytic fractionator feed and Light Cycle Oil, lCO
.. ..••
\.
crude oil 'will show that they both have approxinlately the
same TBP initial and final boiling points. However, the cata- Light cycle oil has the same genera! ASTM boiling
lytic fractionator feed is much lighter in tenns ofTBP tem- range as the combined light and heavy atmospheric distil-
perature versus volume percent vaporized. This is explained lates-say 400 to 700 degrees F-and is used in the same
1/ by the fact that the aromatics and condensed aromatics general applications. If reasonably sulfur free, it can be sold
which make up the bulk of the catalytically cracked oils are directly as heating oiL It is commonly subjected to a mild
81 much heavier than are the p~Haffins or naphthenes of simi- hydrotreating for sulfur removal and for olefin saturation.
lar boiling temperatures. It is often used as hydrocracking feedstock. It can be recy-
rI cled back to the reactor along with the heavy cycle oil in
~ Product Properties and Separations order to increase conversion on the fresh feed. However,
" t LCO is a poorer feedstock fOf'catalytic cracking than is
I
-r,
A catil-Iytic fractionator can be designed to yield prod- HCO because the fanner is rich in ring structures which are
ucts of any desired boiling range in much the same manner more difficult to crack. Thus, LCO recycle can be practiced
as a crude tower. However, catalytically cracked fractions only at the expense of conversion per pass. For these rea-
.,,' are generally subjected to further processing and/or treating
before being sold and, thus, have a rather constant composi-
sons, it is a more normal practice to yield LCO as a product
stream from the unit.
tion, regardless of refinery location. Most towers are
designed to yield an overhead product-catalytic naphtha Heavy Cycle Oil, HCO
and lighter; two liquid side streams, commonly called light
cycle oil, LCO, and heavy cycle oil, HCO; and a bottoms Heavy cycle oil has the same general ASTM boiling
stream, commonly called slurry oil or decant oil. The over- range-say, 700 to 900 degrees F-as the combined alma·
head product stream further yields a vapor and a liquid, spheric and vacuum gas oils yielded from a crude unit. This
their compositions being determined by the temperature stream is almost invariably recycled to the reactor and
and pressure at which the equilibrium partial condensation cracked to extinction. Hence, facilities for cutting HCO
occurs. In most units, the resultant vapor stream is com· into separate fractions are seldom required.
Figure 4-.1. Catalytic cracking unit-product recovery section. co
o
MAIN 'ItACTONATQR DEETHANIZING DEPROPAN I ZE R DEBUTAN J ZER

ABSOUU
"
;0.
;0
r0-
c
3
:0
C --/
J'-"
.J.
r I"--/ A I ~ ;.
o
ro
I-- ' f---- -<
'i 0 T I) I ([ 1 L::
~
o
s·
o
o
~ p
't ~ 11-- STEAM
-P~ ~~~ ~
6~EAM I d I
FEEO-
REACTO R ~ )V
fFFlUEN
T Ii"
STEAM (.(S
CAT. NAPHTHA, (5'+
'-r-
r-
C,'..
FUEL GAS (2 t LTR.
tiGHT CYCLE Oil
HEAVY CyCLE OIL
SLURRY OrL
..
, 0'. ,~ ,!~
TW-«. . .
,_..-.-._' ,.!if ,'k , ..... ,'1\
.
,lit .
I'D,
.r« 111\ ~ I~, fil (# ;=- 4·\,-""~'"... \-·-'·'·) ........ <!);- ... \-~..,.. ---~ ---~-~-'-~- - .... #',
-I o + 'n +on
100
.~
-:-¥~ .-.=-±~
8 L ,--~- --ti.
-=-~t -~--
=(=1 ,:~. ::±.1

=1=r--F=
.-- -
Figure 4.2. Fractionation between total overhead and highest sidestream product, catalytic cracking fractionators. (Used by
permission of the American Petroleum Institute.)
Bottoms (Slurry Oil or Decant Oil) in which Packie is applied to atmospheric crude towers.
Figures 4.2 and 4.3 have been drawn from this reference
The bottoms stream is actually nothing more than and are recommended for design and analYSis of these units.
what is left over after the maximum distillate yield has been The nomenclature for Figure 4.2 is as fonows.
attained. This is a very foul stream and is usually blended LN = gallons per hour of equilibrium reflux from the
into residual fuel. A cafe but occasional practice is to design top tray or gallons per hour equilibrium reflux from the
the base section of the tower as an HCO condensing section bottom pumparound tray, measured as 60 degree F liquid.
so that the bottoms streams will be HCO in addition to %; gallons per hour total distillates to the top tray
slurry oil. This operation requires that the bottoms slurry measured as 60 degree F liquid.
oil also be recycled to the reactor. This often results in low ~.l = first sidestream product below top tray, mea-
conversion to gasoline and more rapid coke formation. sured as 60 degree F liquid.
NT = number of actual trays in section. Note that each
Separation Criteria tray in pumparound heat removal service counts as one
third of an actual tray. The nomenclature for Figure 4.3 is
As was the case in crude oil distillation, the sharpness as follows.
of fractionation is described in terms of the ASTM (5 - 95) LN = gallons per hour reflux from the upper draw tray
temperature differences. Pack ie's relationships, per se, do or gallons per hour reflux from bottom pumparound tray,
not apply to catalytic fractionation. However. Houghland, measured as 60 degree F liquid.
Lemieux, and Schreiner (5) have developed similar correla- PN = gallons per hour total product vapors to upper
tions for catalytic towers which are used in the same way as draw tray, measured as 60 degree F liquid.
I
.
I
82 Petroleum Refinery Distillation •I
f
tOn - 0
,
-60 -50 40
f
I
t
I
6
I,
'"
~
'Ii'
I
I
Of
2 ".
•
•
..•'"
; ...
,•
t ..
6
•
',~- ,
~'
--; ,
,.
--' c--r- ±, -+ -n-t~i-I-H--n
• •
3
•
-+-
I-
+
2_ +- --.
#
t'
Figure 4.3. Fractionation between side stream products, catalytic cracking fractionators. (Used by permission of the American
Petroleum Institute.)
I-
NT = number of actual trays in section. Note that each since n-butane and lighter do not count in ct.efining the
tray in pumparound heat removal service counts as one product vapor. However, the original definition of the cor-
third of an actual tray. relation is recommended since it represents a more conserv-
Both correlations require a steam stripping rate to ative view of the problem.
product strippers of at least 8.4 pounds per barrel of
stripped product. Subsequent infonnation indicates that Estimate of Material Balance
the correlation is more realistic if the presence of n-butane
and all lighter components is disregarded in defining the In a typical design. the material balance and separation
product vapors. Thus, the effective internal reflux ratio criteria may'be defined by:
from draw trays is greater than the apparent ratio since
n-butane and all lighter components is disregarded in defin· 1. Gross overhead ASTM end pOint.
ing the product vapors. Thus, the effective internal reflux 2. ASTM boiling ranges for LCO and HCO.
ratio from draw trays is greater than the apparent ratio 3. TBP cut point between slurry oil and HCO.
•
J() 4. ASTM (5 - 95) temperature differences may be speci- Heat and Material Balance Calculations
fied or may be allowed to be the natural result of the
above criteria. The design of a catalytic fractionator is accomplished
in essentially the same manner as an atmospheric crude
tower. There is a slight difference in the techniques em-
These are translated into design information by the ployed for analyzing fractionation capability, but, other-
following stepwise procedure. wise, the procedures are nearly identical.
Although the tower has the saine process configuration
as a Type A atmospheric crude to\ver, a different approach
1. From the whole feed TBP curve, develop TBP cut
to setting tray and heat removal requirements has been
points between fractions. Calculate and plot the ASTM
taken here. Such an approach would easily lend itself to
curves of the naphtha and cycle oils. Figure 2.15 will
crude unit design and is of particular utility in revamp
be useful in cOllverting between TBP and ASTM end
studies. In expansion studies, one is usually interested in
and initial points.
maximizing throughput by increasing heat removal via
2. Calculate and tabulate weight and molar yields of the
Z pumparound. This procedure quickly shows how much heat
~
fractions from which product gravities and molecular
is available for a given material balance.
, 510: weights are calculated.
3. Calculate EFV curves for the overhead and for all side-
, Preliminary Steps
streams. Plot the EFV curves, extrapolating those for
/
~
the sidestreams, LCO and HeO, to minus 20 percent. In getting the design underway, certain assumptions
• 4. Using Figure 2.13, set a steam rate to the sidestream will be made and later checked against the resul ts of the
strippers and estimate the material balance around calculations.
these towers. For design purposes, a steam rate of 10
, pounds I"'er barrel of stripped liquid is recemmended.
At the indicated vaporization, find the EFV tempera-
Number of Trays
tures of the sidestreams at the appropriate minus It is generally true that most towers in similar services
• vaporization percentages. These are the 14.7 psia bub- will have about the same number of total trays and draw
, ble points of the product liquids on the draw trays and

will be used later in calculating draw tray temperatures.
tray locations, regardless of where they are located geo-
graphically. Catalytic fractionators are no exception. The
5. Set the steam rate to the tower bottoms at 10 pounds preliminary tray configuration of the tower is established
per barrel of bottoms product. In the case of catalytic based on the following general guidelines.
towers and unlike crude unit towers, it is not necessary
• to set up a material balance around the feed entry
1. Trays are required between the feed enlry point and
the fust product draw tray. These trays are for desu-
point and the bottoms stripping trays because the
• vapor-liquid traffic at this point does not influence the
perheating the feed vapor to its dew pOint and for
quenching and condensing that portion of the total
overall heat and material balance calculations. feed which is to be yielded as bottoms product (slurry
6. Tabulate the properties of the combined product va- or decant oil). Depending upon the value of this heat
" pors in the various sections of the tower. This will be quantity which must be removed, between four and
eight trays will suffice. Beca,use of the high tendency
very useful in making the heat and material balance
", calculations. toward coke formation in this section of the tower,
. 7. At the conditions of temperature and pressure existing

in the overhead accumulator, calculate the vapor-liquid
conventional trays such as valves or bubble-caps are not
used here. Rather, trays having a high percentage of
open area such as disc-and-donut, side-to-side baffles or
separation which will occur in this drum, remembering
"shed" angle iron decks are the types most commonly
that water will exert its pure-component vapor pressure
employed.
in the vapor phase. This procedure is exactly the same
'" as that presented in Chapter 2.
2. Four stearn stripping trays are provided below the feed
point for stripping recoverable material from the slurry
8. After the number of trays and the draw tray locations oil. These trays are also of the high open area type.
have been set, plot the API gravity and molecular 3. In determining the design material balance and product
weight of liquid leaving trays versus tray number. properties, it is generally true that the separation
Assume that liquids leaving the tray above and tray requirements for the HCO-LCO separation are much
below draw trays have the same gravity and molecular less stringent than those for the leO-naphtha separa-
weight as the product liqUid. tion. Accordingly, nine trays between the RCa and
LCD draw trays and 11 trays above the LCO draw tray For the purposes of the illustrative design procedure,
are typical configurations. Each of these two sections the pump around heat removals were assumed on the fol-
will normally contain a three-tray pump around heat lowing bases.
removal section.
1. For the section of the tower up through the tray below
Definable Heat Quantities the lower sidestream product (HCO) draw tray, let the
pumparound heat removal take less than 100 percent
At this early point in the design, the following heat of the total reflux heat, the remainder being satisfied
quantities can be defined. by internal reflux from Tray A. A suggested value for
design is 75 percent.
1. The feed temperature and pressure is given. Calculate 2. Set zero internal reflux from the upper sidestream
the heat content of the feed. Note that the coke is draw tray, Tray B. A three-tray pumparound heat
treated as zero degree APr liquid, both in the feed and removal system is required for Trays (B - I) to
in the bottoms product stream. (B - 3).
2. It is common practice to limit the temperature of the 3. Provide a pumparound heat removal system utilizing
slurry oil to a maximum of 700 degrees F to minimize the top three trays in the tower. This heat removal will
thennal decomposition in the section of the tower be such that no external reflux will be required from
below the first product draw tray. the condenser to the top tray. Another way of consid-
3. Assume a value for the temperature of the stripping ering this is that the upper pump around heat removal
stearn. Calculate the heat content of all stripping steam balances the system so that only overhead product
streams. leaves the top tray.
Initial Premises for Process Design In using this scheme, check to see that the partial pres·
sure of water in the overhead vapor is sufficiently low to
preclude water condensation in the upper few trays of the
It is necessary to make initial assumptions relative to
tower. If water condensation does occur, it will be neces·
proposed heat removal schemes prior to commencing design
sary to redesign the system to require some pumpback
calculations. Since the separations made in catalytic frac-
reflux from the condenser to the top tray. This will lower
tionators are relatively easy in comparison with atmospher-
the partial pressure of water in the gross overhead vapor.
ic crude tower separations and since the number of trays
Only enough pumpback reflux should be used to avoid the
available is quite high by petroleum fractionation standards,
possibility of water condensation, the remainder of the heat
it follows that internal reflux requirements are comparative-
removal being accomplished by the pump around system.
ly low. Thus, it is desirable to remove as much heat as
possible from the system. Maximizing heat removal is
Operating Pressure
usually accomplished by process·ta-process exchange at var-
ious points in the unit, and this affords substantial utility
The conditions of temperature, and pressure of the feed
savings. A secondary benefit is that internal reflux is mini-
at the tower inlet will almost invariably be set by the design
mized which, in tum, minimizes the tower diameter.
of the reactor section. Assume a 5 psi pressure drop from
In normal practice, one should design for a high level
the feed tray to the top of the to'1Yer and a 5 psi pressure
of heat removal by pumparound systems. This is accom-
drop from the top tray to the overhead product accumu-
plished by setting the internal reflux from sidestream draw
lator.
trays at zero or, at most, at very low values and employing
For later use in heat and material balance calculations,
zero reflux from the overhead condenser.
plot pressure versus tray number.
Many designers employ zero internal reflux from the
lowest sidestream draw tray and accomplish the total heat
duty in the lower section of the tower by pump around heat Vapor Temperatures to Draw Trays Assuming t
removal. It has been the author's experience that a small Zero Internal Reflux from Draw Trays
amount of internal reflux to the lower section of the tower
will do a more effective job of washing back the pyrolysis At this assumed operating condition, the vapor rising
solids than does total heat removal by pumparound, even at to draw trays will contain only products. Thus, the temper·
very high liquid wash rates across the trays. This indicates ature of these vapors is the dew point of the particular
that these pyrolysis solids are fractionated back to the bot- product at the partial pressure at which it exists in the total
toms rather than washed back by the scrubbing action of vapor. As in the case of atmospheric and vacuum tower
the liquid. design, the presence of the product to be removed at the
•
next draw tray up in the tower is neglected. All lighter b. From these heat quantities and the external heat
product vapors and steam are considered as inert gases. quantities below Tray A, Le., the external heat
The temperature of vapor leaving the top tray is also quantities above Tray (A - 1), compute the reflux
calculated as the dew point of the overhead product-both heat above Tray A as QR'
vapor and liquid-at its partial pressure in this stream. c. The hydrocarbon which is to be revaporized in the
The flash zone temperature is detennined from the product stripper falls to the draw tray as part of
phase diagram as the temperature of the total products leav· the internal reflux from Tray (A + I). In passing
ing the feed section at the total hydrocarbon partial pres- across the tray, it absorbs a small amount of the
sure existing there. reflux heat. This heat quantity is defined as
For later use in heat and material balance calculations,
QLSVHCO·
plot these temperature points versus tray number on the d. Calculate the heat removal capability of the reflux
tray-pressure profile. available to the tray as q' R.
e. Calculate the internal reflux required to absorb the
Process Flowsheet
excess heat at Tray A as LA + I and convert it to
moles per hour.
Set up a process flowshcct such as Figure 4.4 which f. Calculate the hydrocarbon partial pressure of
will be used in making the detailed heat and material L A+ 1 in the total vapor leaving Tray A. As in
balance calculations. previous similar calculations, ignore the presence
in the total vapor of the product to be removed on
Heavy Cycle Oil (HeO) Draw Tray the next draw tray up in the column and consider
all other lighter products and steam to be inerts.
The heat and material balance relationships at this sec- g. Convert the atmospheric bubble point of the un-
tion of the tower are determined by making balances stripped hydrocarbon liquid on the draw tray to
around Envelopes I and II as shown on Figure 4.4. An this partial pressure and check the assumed tem-
expanded view of this section is given on Figure 4.5 togeth- perature. If there is a significant difference, assume
er with the equations used in making the calculations. a new temperature and repeat the procedure.
These equations are used in the following sequence. h. Set the temperature of the stripped HCO from the
sidestream stripper at 30 degrees F lower than the
I. Estimation of Lower Purnparound Heat Removal- draw tray temperature and calculate the heat con-
Envelope I tent of this product stream leaving the system.
3. In an earlier step, the temperature of the vapor i. Calculate and tabulate the external heat quantities
leaving Tray (A - I) was calculated for the case of to the base ofTray (A + I).
zero internal reflux from Tray A. At this tempera- j. Calculate and tabulate the vapor and liquid quan-
ture, calculate the heat content of the vapor leav- tities above Tray A.
ing Tray (A - I).
b. From this and the heat quantities at points lower
in the tower, calculate the duty of the lower Light Cycle Oit (LCO) Draw Tray
pumparound cooler, QC I, which is required to
satisfy the stipulation of zero reflux heat and,
thus, zero internal reflux at Tray (A - I).
tion of the tower are detennined by making balances
c. In accordance with the design premise, set QCI
around Envelopes HI and IV as shown on Figure 4.4. An
equal to the predetermined percentage of the value
expanded view of this section together with the equations
calculated above.
used in the computations is given by Figure 4.6. The fol-
d. Calculate and tabulate the external heat quantities
lowing calculational sequence is recommended.
above Tray (A - I).
e. Set the temperature of the cooled pumparound
liquid at least 150 degrees F lower than the Tray l. Calculation of Midpumparound Heat Removal-
(A - I) temperature and calculate the lower Envelope III
pumparound circulation rate. a. In an earlier step, the vapor temperature leaving
2. Tray A Balance-Envelope II Tray (B - I) was calculated for the condition of
a. Assume an operating temperature on Tray A. Cal- zero internal reflux from Tray B. At this tempera-
culate the heat content of the vapor and of the ture, calculate the heat content of the vapor leav-
liquid product leaving Tray A at this temperature. ing Tray (B - I).
1
*1'4 ¥,., , "j
I, \~
(-it(OCOH
1"1
n.~'
n'-,
•
1 I It •
"
Ny
I::'
~;o.
°NY
N ( !) It .
I I;
0C3
I¥ ~
N·2
Nl
ONl
H2O
n
•
E NV. 'L QH20
~"'"
~~
Q'is::Q'i IS-ll +053 B+1
••
0'08 O'Ols 1) +OlCO
£>O'.-IO'i O'ols
ENV. 'lI ~'"'
('.
B
~
Q'j(S-l)::Q'iA
o '0 (S-l)=Q'OA+QC 2 l ~
t.0'1' lI~IO'i 0'0)1' 11 53
0S3 c I
0C21¥ B-3 ~ LCO .r I
Q'iA=Q'j(A-l) +052
ENV. JY f ENV.ID ~
At1
OlCO
.., II
O'OA-O'O I A-1I+OHCO
... I
~O'A::::(Q'i-Q'o)A
A
'\ P
0'iIA-1l-0f+0S1
O'OIA-lI~OSO +Oc,
L
'\ f
I
5,
.I I
~
t.0' IA-1I=10'i -0'0 )IA-1I A-1 Os,
HCO
5 QHCO
"TiijItI
F
Of
'\ e,zJr",
~-.I"j
4
~ ~C' Qli5
5, 1
"'~"'I
.. ~.
Os, .~
IIi:C'
"- ./ !t!.
1 .......
50
Q so It
It
~
Figure 4.4. Heat and material balance summary, catalytic cracking unit-main fractionator.
~
•
J
EXTERNAL HEAT OUANTITIES
Q'iA=Q'j (A-I) +Q51 ~ IA+I)@IIA+lI

Q'eA Q'OIA ll+QHCO
~O'A= 10';-O'oIA l1A+1I 4_/~ IVsHCO +S,I
VA=V(A_l1-HCO \
\
AQVA
I A@IA , i'..---
LSYHCO
- - - -(iF
~
lA. L QHCOA
o ';(A-l)=O, +QS1 V{A_l = F -50+51 ~ - s,
o 'O(A-1)=O so +OCI QY(A-l) 0"
~ O'(A-l)=(O'; O'ollA 1) (A-l)@IIA 11 lCl@ t lC1 'li' HCO
Q HCO
tlcl~t(A-ll- 150
5 VOel
V
~
F
0,
4
S, 1
0S1
E!:!Y:E
ENV. I T 700"F so
OSO
(I) SETTING lA=O,OC1=IO,+OSlI-(OSO+OVIA-III.} ENV. n
(21 DEFINE OC1DSGN- .750Cl
CALCULATIONS ABOVE TRAY A-E NVELOPE 11
0.=40'IA-1) -IOvA+OHcoAI
OlSVHCO-( LSVHCO) (E) (IA-t IA -1 I)
q"=(HtA-h'IA+1I)
l IA+1I=(O, -0 lSVHCO )/q"
PUMPAROUND CIRCULATION RATE
lCl=OC1/(E)( 700-hCl)
HYDROCARBON PARTIAL PRESSURE ABOVE TRAY A
P'HC=( PTA)[( II A +1))/( l( A +1)) +V A-lCO)]
Figure 4.5. Heat and material balance quantities-HCO draw tray.
,
,
Q' i s "'Q' it B-1)+053

0'0' O'ot.-1) +0 lCO
toO'. ~ to'i -0'01. Lt'+1 I
V,~V('_I)-LCO
Ov.
B@I.
O'i('-II~O'iA
0'01.-1) ~O'OA +0C2
tlO'('-I) ~(O'i -0'011 .-1)
ENV.m
E~

(1) ABOVE TRAY (B-1) AND DEfiNITION OF OC2 -ENVElOPE m
0C2 ~AO'A-OVtl -I)
(2) ABOVE TRAY B-ENVElOPE Jl:
O. :AQ'(I-I) -(OVI +0"C08)
o LSvLeO -
(LS v lCO)(C)( to-I(. +1))
q '. _(H h-ht(I+I))
L(I +1)-(O.-OLSVlCO)/ q'.
(3) PUMPAROUN~ CIRCULAT ION RATE
Lo -OC2/(e) I(H)-h]
ABOVE TRAY B
Figure 4.6. Heat and material balance quantities-LCO draw tray.
b. Calculate the heat removal required in the mid- Tray B. Note that the liquid is to be considered as
pumparound cooler to produce zero internal only the product quantity.
reflux from Tray B. b. Calculate the reflux heat above Tray B.
c. Calculate and tabulate the external heat quantities c. Calculate the heat absorbed in passing across Tray
above Tray (B - 1). B by the liqUid which is to be revaporized in the
d. Set the cooled pumparound liqUid temperature at sidestream stripper.
least 150 degrees lower than the Tray (B - I) d. Calculate the heat removal capability of the reflux
temperature and calculate the midpumparound available to Tray B.
circulation rate. e. Calculate the internal reflux from Tray (B + I) and
2. Tray B Balance-Envelope IV convert it to moles per hour.
3. At the assumed temperature, calculate the heat f. Calculate the partial pressure of product vapor in
contents of the vapor and liquid streams leaving the total vapor rising from Tray B, neglecting the
!
r --t----l- N v
QNV
n (,1) tn ten
L -____________ -+__ ~ Nl
Q Nl
E NV.lZI
(n-,)@t(n-,)
ENV. :sz:

(1) ABOVE TRAY N-ENVELOPE:SZ:
QCJ =A,Q'e-Qvn
(2) PUMPAROUND CIRCULATION RATE
Lo =QC3/«) (t( n-') - t(32)
(3) CONDENSER DUTY- ENVELOPE lZI
QCOH= Qvn-(QNv+QNl+QH20)
Figure 4.7. Heat and material balance equations-top tray and condenser.
presence in the vapor of the overhead distillate 1. Calculations of Top Pumparound Heat Removal-
liquid and considering the overhead distillate vapor Envelope V
• and steam as inerts. a. In Step D, the temperature of the overhead prod-
, g. Convert the bubble point of the unstripped hydro-
carbon liquid on the draw tray to this partial pres--
uct vapor was calculated on the basis that there
would be zero external reflux to the tower from
sure and check the assumed temperature. the condenser. At this temperature, calculate the
h. Set the temperature drop across the sidestrearn h~at content of the vapor leaving the tower. Note
stripper at 30 degrees F and calculate the heat thht this stream consists only of product materials
content of the proouct leaving the system. and stripping steam.
i. Calculate and tabulate the externa1 heat quantities b. Tl}e top pumparound heat removal is now calcu-
to the base of Tray (B + I). la~ed as that amount required to balance the
j. Calculate and tabulate the vapor and liquid quanti- tower.
ties above Tray B. c. In' practice it may not be feasible to set the tem-
., perature of the cool pumparound liquid 150
degrees F lower than the overhead vapor tempera-
Top Tray Calculations and Overhead Condenser Duty ture. In this case, take a reasonable approach to
the temperature of the available cooling medium
The heat and material balance relationships at this sec- and calculate the top pumparound circulation rate.
tion of the tower are determined by making balances 2. Calculation of Overhead Condenser Duty-Envelope VI
around Envelopes V and VI as shown on Figure 4.4. An The overhead condenser duty is calculated as the
expanded view of this section together with the equations enthalpy difference between the overhead vapor and
to be used in the computations is given by Figure 4.7. the products from the overhead accumulator.
...'"
"'---
"'
, .•
- .. - .. ".... -.-.-.'"-~ I
.\~
't
~
Fractionation Calculations trays" and side-to-side trays, respectively. Jet trays are simi·
~
('t
,'I
,••
lar to conventional trays, e.g., bubble-cap or valve trays, ('t
1. Calculation of [nternal Reflux to Key Trays which would normally be specified for this service, and,
By making heat balances, calculate the internal reflux thus, Neeld and Q'Bara's correlations may be used as
at the following points in the tower.
11
checks.
a. Liquid to the top tray in the bottom pump around Since tmver diameters are used in the heat transfer 11
section, Tray (A - I). calculations, tray sizing calculations may be made using
••
b. Liquid from the bottom tray in the midpumpa- procedures from Glitsch (9) or Koch (10) or any other 11
round section, Tray (B - 3). method which the reader might prefer.
c. Liquid from the bottom tray in the top pumpa- If an insufficient number of heat transfer trays were I't
••
round section, Tray (N - 2). LB _ 3 and LN - 2 prOVided in the original design assumptions, they can be
afe the liquid rates which arc used in the fractiona· added as required \\'ith only minor modifications to the I"
tion analysis. calculations.
2. Fractionation Calculations ~
•
Using Figures 4.2 and 4.3, determine the degree of References
separation possible for the system as calculated. If the ~
•I
fractionation criteria have not been satisifed. additional "1970 Refining Pron::sses Handbook," fIydrocJ.rboll
Processing (September, 1970), pp. 174-79.
trays or reduced heat removal may be employed to
2. W.e. Edmister, Applied Hydrocarbon Thermodynamics
~
achieve the desired separa tion. (Houston: Gulf Publishing Company, 1961).
3. J.B. Maxwell, Data Book on Hydrocarbons (Princeton. ~ I
Vapor· Liquid Traffic N.J.: D. van Nostrand Co., 1965).
4. Technical Data Book-Petroleum Refining (\Vashing- ~
Tabulate and plot the vapor and liquid traffic at key
points in the tower. This plot will usually identify the
ton, D.C.: American Petroleum Institute, 1966).
5. G.S. Houghland, E.J. Lemieux, and W.e. Schreiner, Ii
I
points of maximum load in the tower and will be of great
"The Performance of Catalytic Cracking Unit Fraction-
ating Towers," 19th Midyear Meeting, API Division of I
assistance in tower sizing and tray design calculations. Refining, (May 13, 1954).
6. J.W. Packie, "Distillation Equipment in the Oil Refin-
•• I
Process Design Considerations ing Industry," AIChE Transactions 37 (1941), pp. ...
51-78.
7. R.K. Neeld and J.T. O'BarJ, "let Trays in Heat
Ii'
I
Assuming that the heat and material balance calcula-
tions have been finished and that the design appears fea·
'sible, the remaining tasks are to ensure that the assumed
pump around configuration can indeed remove the required
Transfer Service," CEP 66, no 7 (July, 1970/),pp.
53-59.
8. l.R. Fair, "Deslgn of Direct-Contact Gas Coolers,"
Pelr(),/Chemical Engineer (August, 1961).
9. "Ballast Tray Design Manual," Bulletin No. 4900, Fritz
. I
I
amount of heat from the tower.
Neeld and O'Bara (7) and Fair (8) have published pro-
W. Glitsch & Sons Inc., Dallas, Texas.
10. "Koch F\exilray Design Manual," Koch Engineering
--. 1
cedures for calculating the heat transfer capabilities of "jet Co., Inc., Wichita, Kansas.
".. 1
1
"1
~
l
•
•
".
•
•.,
--t>
..-
~.•. .. ~
. ~,
,"
,
J
• Up to this point, this work has considered gross or the advent of the automobile, gasoline became valuable and
rough separations. In the case of the atmospheric crude was produced. In most cases, the raw naphtha distillate was
tower, petroleum was separated into relatively narrow frac- stored in open tankage where the light components vapor-
l tions while, in the case of the FCCU main fractionator, the ized and the gasoline became self-stabilized. Besides being
tower produced fewer fractions having wider boiling ranges. wasteful. this practice was dangerous.
In both cases, the lightest (overhead) fraction was a full- As the automobile engine developed, gasoline specifi·
range naphtha, Le., everything in the tower feed up to a cations became more stringent, and a need developed for
I certain predetermined end point. This section will concern better control of vapor pressure which radically affects
itself with the distillation processes required to separate carburetion and ignition. The refiner accomplished this by
, light hydrocarbon components from the heavier continu- installing a naphtha stabilizer with which he could closely
ous-boiling fractions, to fractionate the discrete light ends control gasoline vapor pressure. A secondary benefit was
components and to separate the heavier continuous boiling that the vapor distillate from this tower-essentially butanes
materials into two or more fractions. and lighter-could be used as fuel gas within the refinery.
• In the refinery, the term "light ends" generally means Figure 5. f shows a typical whole naphtha stabilizer produc-
any discrete component lighter than heptane which can be ing a vapor distillate to the refinery fuel gas system.
• identified by a name. This includes everything from hydro- In time, some enterprising person invented a stove util-
gen through the hexanes. A more narrow definition might izing as fuel either propane or butane, which the refinery
consider only C3 and C4 liquids as light ends since, in many could easily produce. It required that the naphtha stabilizer
• •
refineries, ethane and ligh ter is used as fuel gas and the be redesigned at a higher pressure level in order toyield a
pentanes and hexanes are blended directly into gasoline. As liquid distillate which. in turn, could be fractionated into
will be seen in the development of this section, there are propane and butane' as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
• many reasons for recovering light ends, each being dictated Figure 5.2 shows a typical scheme for processing the whole
, by the process configuration and economics of the refinery
in question.
naphtha stabilizer liquid distillale into propane and butane
while still yi~lding fuel gas consisting of ethane and lighter.
For a moment, let us explore the historical develop- As time. passes and the petroleum industry and society
• ment of light ends recovery plants within the context of the develops, the demand for refinery products skyrockets, and
, total refinery. In the early days of the industry, kerosene, product spe~ifications continually tighten. New processes
• stove oil and lubricants were the principal products. With are developed to improve gasoline .octane. Petrochemical
91
•
DEPROPANIZER DEETHANI ZE R
LIQUID DIST. . -____ C2H6 and LIGHTER
,
r---- ,....--L-., TO
FUEL GAS
"
LIQUID FEED
FROM STABILIZER
nC4 HIO and LIGHTER \
,
~L-----"BUTANES PROPANE
Figure 5.2. LPG recovery from refinery gas.
n·C"HlD and LIGHTER

TO
rectifying section above it. Unfortunately, this is the end of
fUEL CAS the similarity between petroleum fractionators and the clas-
sical distillation column normally studied in the classroom.
Consider the types of distillation problems nonnally
encountered in the course of an engineering education.
They are usually concerned with binary systems requiring
easily defined separations. Later, when the student is intro-
feED duced to multicomponent separations, the systems are al·
WHOLE
NAPHTHA most invariably mixtures of light hydrocarbons, mainly be-
cause there is a reasonable amount of fairly accurate equi.
librium data in the literature with which to demonstrate the
calculation procedures. The distillation of petroleum frac· /Ii.
tions is discussed hurriedly, if at all, and the concept of the
relationship between reflux and trays to separation capa-
bility is seldom considered in detail. Where the student or
' - - - - - - 'C.s H12 ond HEAVIER
even experienced engineer is accustomed· to think of distil·
TO
GASOliNE 8lENDINC lation in tenns of percent recovery. allowable impurity
levels and the like, the refinery engineer uses terms such as
Figure 5.1. Whole naphtha stabilizer with vapor distillate. initial and final boiling points, boiling range, gap specifi-
cations and so on. This would lead the casual observer to ~..
industries arise, basing themselves on light hydrocarbon the conclusion that different procedures would be required
feedstocks. Figure 5.5 shows a typical crude unit gas plant to design petroleum fractionators as opposed to conven-
in a modem refinery designed to maximize the production tional chemical systems. To a certain extent this is true, but
of high octane gasoline. there is also a great area of common ground. An under-
Petroleum distillate fractionators are identical in ap- standing of this will afford a much greater appreciation of
pearance to the classical model studied in the classroom. the design and operation of petroleum fractionators.
They are fitted with condensers and reboilers and process It is the purpose of this chapter to consider distillate
generally one feed into two or, at the most, three products. fractionator design in the terminology of the refinery and
The feed enters the tower at an intermediate tray so that simultaneously to show the similarity to classical distil-
there is always a stripping section below the feed tray and a lation design principles. A secondary objective is to con-
I"
...
I
Refinery Light Ends Fractionation 93
sider the representation of these separations by a McCabe- catalytic cracking units, cokers or any thennal
Thiele graphical analysis so that the operation and key COIn- decomposition unit. In this latter case, naphtha
ponent profile throughout the tower may be more easily fractionators would probably be provided for each naphtha
visualized. since, of those mentioned, only catalytically cracked
This chapter assumes that the reader has a reasonable naphtha is of suitable quality for sale without further
knowledge of the properties of various petroleum fractions processing or treating.
and products and of the methods available for estimating In the following sections are listed various hydrocarbons
physical properties and physical equilibria. Where this is not and naphthas found in the refinery and the purposes for
the case, the first five of the cited references are recom- which they are used.
mended. The other references discuss design fundamentals
considered in this chapter.
Saturated Light Ends-Products and Specifications
Introduction
Products and End Uses
A l!ght ends fractionation unit can be found in several

locations within the refinery processing scheme. Many
1. Methane:
refineries will have severa! units in this service, their
fuel gas
multiplicity being dictated by being keyed into various hydrogen unit feed gas
types of processing units. They are always found in the 2. Ethane:
fuel gas
following places.
ethylene unit feedstock
3. Propane:
1. In conjunction with a crude unit since the naphtha must
fuel gas
be debutanized to permit its being stored at atmospheric
liquid fuel (LPG)
pressure.
ethylene unit feedstock
2. In conjunction with a catalytic cracking unit since the
alkylation unit feedstock (when mixed with
raw catalytic naphtha is rich in propylene and butylenes
propylene)
which are used as alkylation unit feedstocks. As in No.1
4.Isobutane:
above, a secondary consideration is the reduction of the
fuel gas
naphtha vapor pressure.
liquid fuel (LPG)
3. In conjunction with a coking unit for the same reasons as
petrochemical feedstock (pyrolysis to propylene and
in No.2.
isobutylene)
4. In conjunction with a hydrocracker which ordinarily
alkylation unit feedstock (when mixed with
yields considerable volumes of light ends in addition to
butylenes)
the liquid product being produced.
• gasoline blending (v~por pressure and octane
improvement)
It is possible to design a light ends unit to process feeds
5. N-butane:
from several plants, and this is often done, particularly in
fuel gas
the case of building a grass roots refinery or in the case of a
• major expansion involving several new units. In taking this liquid fuel
approach, one key rule must be observed. ethylene unit feedstock
gasoline blending
Saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons are never fed to 6. Isopentane:
the same gas plant, the reason being that the saturated gasoline blending (octane improvement; clear research
light ends are most often sold as fuel while the octane number = 92.3)
unsaturated light ends are used as feedstocks to other 7. N-pentane:
units. gasoline component (low octane; clear RON = 61.7)
isomerization unit feedstock (conversion to
Thus, one might design a saturates gas plant to process isopen tane)
the total naphtha from a crude unit plus light ends from all catalytic reformer feedstock (part of stabilized
other sources of saturated hydrocarbons within the naphtha)
complex. This could include hydrotreaters, hydrocrackers, 8. N-hexane:
isomerizers and catalytic reformers. The unsaturates gas gasoline component (low octane; clear RON = 24.8)
plant would be designed to process total light ends from all isomerization unit feedstock (conversion to C6
sources of unsaturated hydrocarbons. This could include isomers)
"
t
I
TABLE 5.1
Maximum Impurity Compositions

Other Components. The specifications for other possible
light ends products are usually sct either b~i purity I
requiremcnts for downstream processing units or by
economic design considerations when being used as gasoline
Component Liq. Vol. % Mole % blendstock.
Ethane 4.1 4.4

93.4 Unsaturated Light Ends-Products and Specifications
Propane 93.5
Isobutane 2.5 2.1
Products and End Uses
TOTAL 100.0 100.0
I. Ethylene:
petrochemical feedstock
" Propylene:
catalytic reformer feedstock (part of stabilized petrochemical feedstock
naphtha) alkylation unit feedstock (v>,'hen mixed with propane)
9. C 6 Isomers (often referred to as "isohexanes") 3. Butylenes:
high octane gasoline blending: petrochemical feedstock
2.2 dimethylbutane (RO:-.l clear = 91.8) alkylation unit feedstock (when mixed with iso-
2.3 dimethylbutane (RON clear = 101.7) butane)
Low octane gasoline blending or 4. Butadiene:
isomerization unit feedstock: petrochemkal feedstock
2 methyIpentane (RO:-.l clear = 73.4)
3 methylpentane (RO:-.l clear = 74.5)
Product Specifications
Since these products are most often used for feeds to

Product Specifications
petrochemical units, their purity specifications are often
quite high-99 percent and even higher being quite
The bulk of the propane and butanes which are produced
common. These specifications are usually established by the
as refinery liquids are sold as fuel in the form of liquefied
processing requirements of the receiving unit and, thus, can
petroleum gas (LPG). Detailed specifications for these
seldom be treated as design variables in the fractionation
materials have been published by the Natural Gas
step of feed preparation.
Processors' Association (NGPA). These specifications cover
many aspects of product quality and composition, many of
which are outside the control or influence of the distillation
portion of the total OlanLlfacturing process. For both Straight·run Naphthas
propane and butane, two variables are defined which are
composition dependent and which are used as bases for Motor Gasoline
separations in towers yielding these products.
Usually 100 to 400 degrees F. A,sTM con taining
Propane. The vapor pressure as measured at 100 degrees sufficient front end volatility-usually as butane-for
F shall not exceed 200 psig, and the isobutane content shall suitable ignition but not so much as to produce vapor
not exceed 2.5 liquid volume percent. These correlate to locking. Ten to 12 psia is a good target vapor pressure for
the maximum impurity compositions given in Table 5.1. the finished product.
Butane. The vapor pressure as measured at 100 degrees Catalytic Reformer Feed for Motor Gasoline Production
F shall not exceed 70 psig, and the isopentane content shall
not exceed 1.95 liquid volume percent. Table 5.~ shows the Usually 100 to 375 Or 385 degrees F ASTM containing
maximum impurity level compositions for the indicated basically isopentane through the C 1 0 's< Care must be taken
ratios of iso- to normal butane. to reject all C, I'S from this stream since the conversion of
C I 0 paraffins and naphthenes to T 10 aromatics increases
Ethane. Ethane has become very valuable for use as an the ASTM end point by 15 to 25 degrees F. This will vary
ethylene plant feedstock. Ascrizzi (6) has summarized the somewhat with the nature of, the naphtha under
desirable compositions and properties for this application. consideration.
I
I
I
TABLE 5,2
Composition Variables of NGPA Grade Butanes
Case
A-C 4 = 100%iC 4 B - C4 = 100% nC4 C - General Mixture of iC4 and nC 4
Component Liq. Vol. % Mole % Liq. Vol. % Mole % Liq. Vol. %
Propane 9,80 IIA 2L80 243 2L85-,138X

lsobutanc 88,25 86.9 - - X
N-butane - -,
76,25 74, I 76,2 - ,862 X
Isopentane L95 U L95 L6 L95
Total 100,00 100,0 100,00 100,0 100,0
Catalytic Reformer Feed range characteristic. As an illustration, consider a mixture

for Petrochemical (BTX) Production of C6 , C 7 and C8 paraffinic and naphthenic hydrocarbons.
All C6 paraffins have pure component boiling points
Precursors for benzene boI! over a TBP range of 156 to ranging from 122 to 156 degrees F; all C 7 paraffins boil
177 degrees F. Precursors for toluene boil over a TBe range between 175 and 209 degrees F; and all C8 paraffins boil
of 189 to 245 degrees F. Precursors for the xyiencs boil between 211 and 258 degrees F. Cyclohexane boils at 177
over a TBP range of 245 to 270 degrees F. This would degrees F: all C 7 nllphthenes boil between 190 and 218
indicate an ASTM boiling range of approximately 150 to degrees F; and all Cs naphthenes boil between 221 and 269
250 degrees F, Nelson (OG], Feb, 3, 1969, 104-105) degrees F. Thus. for this illustration, that portion of the
discusses this in detail. TBP curve boiling over the range 122 to 177 degrees F is
C6 ; the portion boiling between 175 to 218 degrees F is C 7 ;
Naphtha for Cracking to Petrochemicals and the portion boiling between 211 to 269 degrees F is
e8 . Note that the final point of the lighter component is
As pointed out by Nelson (OG], March 10, 1969,76-77), not exactly the same as the initial point of the heavier
there are many criteria, economic as well as technical, component. This anomaly is overCome by setting the TBP
which influence the compositions of desirable cracking cut point between pseudocornponents at the midpoint
feedstocks. The main properties desirable in a cracking between the two temperatures. No matter how the required
feedstock arc high naphthene, low aromatic, low isoparaffin fractionation is specified, it can readily be calculated by
straight-run materials and low sulfur content. Desirable applying classical light ends methods to the assumed
molecular weights usually range from ~O to 120. pseudocomponents.
These separations can be specified in one of four ways.
Fractionation Specifications for Naphthas Although they may appear to be radically different, they
result in the same general analysis 'after the fractions are
General composition requirements for the fractionation broken up into their respective pseudocomponents. These
of light ends or discrete components have been discussed in four different types of fractionation specifications are
previous sections of this chapter. Setting fractionation discussed as follows.
requirements for these towers generally reduces to solving a
I " Light Product ASTM End Point
material balance problem to yield products meeting
predetermined and, usually, rather rigid composition and ASTM 15,95) Gap Specification
criteria. Thus, the material covered here will be limited to
the types of separations encountered in the fractionation of This is the type of specification normally encountered in
continuous boiling petroleum liquids. The procedures refinery work. The split is solved by trial-and-error to find
discussed consider the separation to be a split between two the proper combination of TBP end point of the lighter
discrete components, their recoveries being determined by product and TBP overlap at the cut point which will satisfy
economic considerations. This is accomplished by breaking the ASTM temperature requirements. The end result is a
up the feedstock as described by a TBP distillation into separation based on light key recovery on the distillate and
pseudocomponents which have a relatively narrow boiling heavy key recovery in the bottoms.
\
'."~
,
Boiling Ranges of Products required number of towers and approximate temperature

••
I,;
" II
and pressure levels at key points throughout tbe system.
In this type of specification, ASTM boiling ranges are The arrangement of the towers will be determined bi the
"
I" II
'I
stated for the product streams. By converting these to TBP distribution of products within the overall feed stream. This
curves, one then estimates the distribution of the key subject will be considered in detail in the next section of
pseudocomponents and, thence, the separation. Note that this chapter.
~
the ASTM (5-95) Gap cannot be specified in this case, but
rather results from plotting the ASTM curves.
The second and much more subtle factor considers the
relative quantities which are present of components which
~
II
Split between Components
are lighter than the lightest product. This situation occurs
in gas plants for hydrocrackers, catalytic cracking units,
~
II
II
••
cokers and natura! gas processing units. This latter type is
In .this type of specification, the separation is stated to not found within the refinery and is not considered here in
~.
be a complete split between two components. This is any degree of detail but is based on the same design
principles now being discussed. In these types of units, one
•
obviously not possible. The design material balance is set up ~
by cutting the feedstock so that the total volume of the finds that a large percentage of the total feed consists of
distillate is the same as the total volume of the desired light components lighter than the lightest product. In the case of C
ends recovery. The amount of heavy ends in the distillate is the first three units mentioned above, this will include
established by setting the distillate TBP end point at the hydrogen as well as hydrocarbons. In the natural gas ~. I
"- I
final TBP temperature of the light component boiling processing plant, it may include nitrogen, carbon dioxide,
range. This results in the minimum amount of heavy key in hydrogen sulfide and occasionally helium. In the case of an
the distillate consistent with yielding only the total light
ends volume overhead. The TBP initial point of the
FeCU main fractionator design, ethane and lighter may
make up as much as 10 to 12 mole percen t of the gross feed . I
bottoms is established by assuming that the total TBP
overlap at the cut point is distributed equally between the
products. Once the split is set up, it reduces to a light and
to the main tower whkh can equate to as much as 20 mole
percent of the feed to the gas, plant. It is obvious that
processing such a feedstock in a conventional deethaniler
.. I
I
"I
heavy key recovery specification. would result in the following.
.," I
Recovery of Keys
1. Yielding ethane and lighter as a vapor distillate at a
., I
In this type of specification, the required recovery of
light and heavy keys in the distillate and bottoms, maximum pressure level and using a water-cooled
respectively, is stated directly. Alternately, one may specify
recovery of the major key in a product stream, the other
being defined as an allowable impurity concentration in
that stream.
condenser would result in high losses overhead of the
C 3 's in the feed.
2. Reducing C3 loss would require operating a refrigerated
condenser which, in tum, requires a costly feed drying
. II
I!IJ>:
system.
Types of Light Ends Plants .,. I
I
As was discussed in the previous section, light ends plants
are designed to prucessonly either saturated or unsaturated
hydrocarbons. Only in the rarest of cases would these be
mixed to fonn feed for a single unit. However, within the
framework of establishing design criteria for a gas plant,
These two undesirabilities can be avoided by using a
reboiled absorber as the first tower in such a gas plant
followed by the product fractionators. A sharp separation is
made by using an absorption oil to recover the heavy key in
the bottoms and reboiled stripping to reject the light key to
..: I
'" I
there are yet other factors which must be considered in
developing the process.
the overhead vapor. The design of this type of tower will be
discussed in the final section of this chapter. A typical gas ., I
I
..'.;
The first of these obviously is the desired/required plant utilizing a reboiled absorber for an FCCU
number of product streams to be yielded, their fractionation section, coker or hydrocracker is shown by
compositions or purities, specified yields or recoveries of
any particular component(s), the physical state-either
Figure 5.9. A typical configuration for a natural gas
processing plant utilizing a reboiled absorber is shown by
I
vapor or liquid-in which the products must be delivered to
other systems or to storage. the availability and condition
Figure 5_8_
The various configurations of refinery light ends units in
I
of utility streams and, quite often, economic criteria which
must be observed. These points suffice to defme the
addition to other valuable qualitative information can be
found in Bozeman's (8) excellent paper.
I
I
J
Process Design Considerations when designing grass-roots facilities. This would seem
, indicated in revamps or major expansions as well.
f This section will discuss the basic principles involved in 4. Minimizing steam consumption by using fired heater re-
I designing a single light ends tower and/or a complete

processing unit yielding several products. Detailed design
procedures for different types of towers will be presented
boilers will minimize steam plant and boiler feedwater
preparation facilities. An alternate approach is to use a
hot oil loop where one furnace fires enough heat for all
in later sections of this chapter. Some of the material pre- reboilers on the service.
sented may seem overly basic, but, quite often, elementary 5. The excess heat contained in hot process streams should
principles arc either neglected or treated hastily, resulting in be used with caution. In the varying operating conditions
substandard designs or in work which must be redone due and product slates encountered in the average refinery,
to the assumption of erroneous bases. the availability of the stream being considered as a heat
source may not always be adequate. [n crude unit design,
Basic Design Considerations especially, the author prefers using hot products for
crude feed preheat and for auxiliary reboiling only when
Assuming that the chemica! engineering function of the the hot stream contains at least 50 percent more heat
unit has been determined, Le., the separation(s) to be made than required by the controlling reboiler duty.
have been established, the first order of business is to deter-
mine how this can best and most economically be accom- These are not the only points to be considered but are
plished. Since al! distillation processes involve the addition indicative of the type of thinking which must be done prior
of and removal of heat, the proper selection of process to commencing actual design work.
temperature levels becomes the first and most important
job of the designer. I t is obviously desirable to remove heat Arrangement of Processing Steps-Unit Arrangement
from the condenser by using either cooling water or air-fin
coolers. This is true even in the case of difficult separations This discussion applies only to situations where two or
where one might be inclined to operate a refrigerated can· more towers in sequence are being considered. Single tow-
denser to achieve a lower operating temperature profile ers are designed on the basis of the available feed, but in
and, thus, a lower relative volatility which will decrease tray any multiple product distillation train, there are a number
requirements. Refrigeration is rarely found in refinery gas of ways in which the towers can be arranged. Consider, for
plants but is quite common in modern natural gas proc- example, a three-component system consisting of propane,
essing plants and in petrochemical plants such as ethylene isobutane 'and n·butane which must be separated into rela·
units_ Having defined the separation and the distillate con- tively pure components. Two routes can be used. The first
densing temperature, the bottoms temperature now fol- tower can be a depropanizer yielding a propane product
lows. One must then choose the proper heating medium_ distillate followed by a C4 splitter (deisobutanizer). Alter-
In the refinery, there are usually three sources of heat- nately, the first tower can be a deisobutanizer yielding a
steam, high temperature oil which must be cooled before n-butane b'ottoms product followed by a depropanizer.
being stored and direct fired heaters. Steam is the first In the first scheme, the depropanizer would be designed
choice for bottoms product temperatures up to approxi- to fractionate between propane and isobutane. Since this is
mately 350 degrees F. Above this level, either hot oil or a a relatively easy split, the tower could contain a moderate
direct fired reboiler will be required. The following guide- number of trays. The C4 splitter would contain a large
lines should be observed in selecting operating utilities. number of trays since the separation is relatively difficult.
In the second scheme, the first tower would contain a'
relatively ~large number of trays since it would be designed
for the isobutane-n-butane separation. The second tower,
1. When installing new facilities in an existing refinery,
the depropanizer, would contain a moderate number of
detennine whether or not there is any excess capacity in
trays.
the eXisting utility systems and how much is available for
The ope,rating conditions and relative equipment sizes for
the design in question. Utilize this spare capacity wher-
the two are shown in Figure 5.3. By inspection, it is ob-
ever possible.
vious that Method I is the better process design because:
2. If the cooling water system has insufficient spare capac-
ity for the design, air-cooled condensers and product
coolers are usually cheaper than additions to the refmery
cooling water system. 1. Equip~ent costs will be lower since the large tower
3. In recent years, the trend has been toward maximizing will bd deSigned for a lower pressure.
air-cooler usage and minimizing cooling water usage 2. Opera1ing costs will be lower since the deisobutanizer
t h.
.1 \ "'II1II
,•
98 Petroleum Refinery Distillation I
I
(3
1 mole
iC 4
1 mole
I
120·
2.0plio
120·
98psio I
I
F-3moles
(3- 1
2 mole
I
i(4- 1
n(4-1 I
210°
260 sio
150~
108 s;o
I
I
••
n(4
1 mole
RELATIVE NO. OF TRAYS
2
RELATIVE TOWER DIAM.
TOWER DESIGN PRESSURE, psig 300
2.61
I
120
I
METHOD
I
(3
I
120·
169psic
120·
2.040psi
1 mole
I
F-3mole :2 moles
(3 -I
i(4 -1
n(4 -1
190·
200·
179p'ia 260psi
nC4 iC 4
1 mole 1 mole
RELATIVE NO. OF TRAYS 2

RElATIVE TOWER DIAM_ 3_02
TOWER DESIGN PRESSURE, psig 210 300
METHOD 2
Figure 5.3. Process design alternates for production of propane, iSObutane and "-butane.
I
I
•II
condenser load wil! be approximately half that of Feed Preheat

Method 2. This will be reflected in a lower rebailer
heat duty for Method 1. A further section of Harbert's paper considers the ques-
tions of preheating the feed to a tower and how much feed
This type of analysis should be applied in the arrange- preheat is desirable. He points out that the feeling among
ment of any multitower fractionation train. Harbert (7) designers is that tower feed should be preheated. He states,
addressed himself to this problem and arrived at three rules- "It is usually thought that the feed should be hot and one
of-thumb for arriving at the most economical arrangement rule that the writer has heard is that the [mole?] percent of
of towers in any given fractionation plant. the feed vaporized should equal the [mole?] percent of the
overhead product." He goes further to point out that the
J. "Try and achieve a 50-50 split of the feed into distil- heat requirements of any given tower are determined by the
late and bottoms." If the quantities of the two product separation being made rather than by the heat added to the
streams are made as nearly equal as possible, consistent process by the feed.
with the required material balance, the heat needs of To further explore this question, a parametric study
the two halves of the column also approach equality, was made by this author to determine the effect of the
and the heat degrdded across the tower is used to the thermal condition of the feed upon the overall process de-
maximum, once in each half of the tower. This leads to sign of a tower and the heat quantities involved. This work
minimum heat needs for the separation. was based on analyzing three binary hydrocarbon systems
2. "Minimize the charge to a tower where a difficult sep- so that the calculations could be easily treated by hand.
aration is required." The feed to a tower having high However, the relationships developed also apply to multi·
" reflux requirements and, thus, high heat requirements componen t systems.
should be minimized. This will result in minimizing
equipment sizes and utility consumptions. Heat Required by Distillation Processes
3. "Total heat inputs to all the towers of a system provide
i, a good measure of the process effectiveness." Consider This subject has been treated thoroughly throughout
a given fractionation system operating at conditions of the literature, but, for sake of clarity, it is represented here.
"
minimum reflux (and infinite trays). The tower ar-
, rangement which results in minimum thermal cost-

considering both the cooling of reflux and reboil heat·
Basic Heat Effect. In reference to Figure 5.6,
ing-will usually define the optimum arrangement of F=D+W

'" towers. This also applies to systems requiring refrig-
erated reflux where one must consider compression as
well as heat transfer costs. D leaves the tower as a dew pOint vapor, and W leaves
the tower as bubble point liquid. The heat effect incurred
In the example of Figure 5.3 which selects Method J as by this process is expressed as
the better design, Rule 2 was used as the principal criterion.
By inspection, heat loads become minimized, and Rule 3
" confinns that Method 1 is the better choice. However, the
real impact of the above rules can best be seen in the design
of an overall fractionation unit. Note that the heat removed in 'condensing D to a bub-
Consider Figure 5.4, which is a flowsheet for a com· ble point liqUid plus the amount of heat contained in D as a
plex refinery saturates gas plant based on 100,000 BPSD bubble point liquid is equal to the heat content of D as a
crude oil feed to the refinery. The material balance for this vapor.
operation is given by Table 5.3. The arrangement of proc-
Heat Effect Due to Minimum Reflux. Calculations can
essing steps is typical of many refineries, particularly of
those which have grown by expansion and revamp. be made to determine the minimum reflux ratio required to
Now consider Figure 5.5 and Table 5.4, the flowsheet affect the desired separation for a given thermal condition
of the feed. This heat effect takes into account the heat
and material balance, respectively, for a unit prex.'essing the
same feedstock into the same products but arranged in ac- removed by the condenser, QCM, in condensing the distil·
cordance with Harbert's rules. By inspection, one can late plus the minimum amount of reflux required by the
quickly see the savings in both capital and operating costs process and is expressed as
which can be achieved by an intelligent approach to process
layout. OeM = (D + RM) x (H - h)
,
•
1 WHOlE NAPHTHA "
fEED
.
:;
,
~
DEHEXANIZED
",
" NAPHTHA
"
Figure 5.4. Typical flow scheme, refinery saturates gas plant.
TABLE 5.3
Material Balance Summary for Refinery Saturate. Ga. Plant-TypIcal Flow Scheme (Figure 5.4)
Slream No 1 2 3 4 5 6 2 8 9 10 12 13 15
" " 16 17
Component
C, 35.55 35.55 34.60 89 WI

C, 124.22 124.22 3.03 121.1<;1 I PLOS J.I I 3.11
i('. 59.58 58,98 60 6 5S,<;IH
.C, 119.53 116,54 2,99 2.99 11654 '" 57.51
115.37
54.63 2,~ij
i(', 59.96 1.50 58.46 49.20 9.26 8,68 58 58 , SO '" 1.50

5.77 109.60
1.50
I1C, 62.69 .63 62.06 9.08 52.98 51.43 1.55 1.55 .63 .63 03
eye. C, 32.51 32.51 32.51 .8' 3 L70 ~S.53 3.17 3.17
22 OMB 6.63 6.63 6.63 07 6.56 5.25 1.31 UI
23 OMB 10,81 10.81 10.81 .05 10.76 7.53 3.23 3.23
2 MEP 62.72 62.72 62.72 62.72 IS.82 43.90 43.90
3 MEP 39.61 39,61 39.61 39.61 7.92 31.69 31.69
nCo 82,40 82,40 82.40 82.40 8.03 74.37 72.31 2.06
C.Ho 24.52 24,52 24.52 24.52 2.39 22.13 21.52 .61
C, • 1179.95 1179.95 1179.95 1179.95 117<).95 7.37 117: 58
Total. 1900.68 337,42 1563.26 61.87 150U9 61,04 1440.35 80.&0 1J5'!.75 184.50 117525 376'! :99 73 1~ 1.61 17M, I: 63.51 11461
moles/hour
.~.
iCol··
~
-" N"~H1H"
l
~
'HO
i; ~
~ •
~
~
OEHHANf
NA~H1HA '" ~,
"
Figure 5.5. Alternate flow scheme, refinery saturates gas plant.
TABLES.4
Material Bala~ Summlry tOl' Rltfinery Saturates Gas Plant-Aitltfnate Flow Scheme (Fi;ure 5.5)
Stream No.
Component
1 2 3
• 5 6 7
• 9 10 11 12 13 1. 15 16 17
C, 35.55 35.55 35.55 35.55 34." .,

C, 124.22 124.22 124.22 t2Ul 3.11 3.03 IIS.08 3.1l
;C, 59.58 59.58 58.98 .60 .60 .60 1.47 5751 1.47 5-4.63 2.88
0<:, 119.53 119.53 116.54 2.99 2.99 2.99 1.17 11537 1.17 5.77 109.60
ic, 59.96 59.96 LSO 58.46 57.88 1.50 1.50
0<:,
cyc.C,
62.69
32.51
62.69
32.51
.63 62.06
32.5 1
60>1
AI
"
U5
31.10
49.20
9.08
8."
51.43
.81
.58
1.55
28.53 3.17
.63 1>3
22 DMB
23 OMB
6.63
10.81
6.63
10.81
6,63
10.81
.07
1)5
."
10.76
.07
.05
525
753
131
3.23
2MEP 62.72 62.72 62.72 61.72 18.82 43.90
3MEP 39.61 39.61 39.61 39.61 7.92 31.69
0<:, 82.40 Bo.34 2.06 80.34 80.34 8.03 7231
C&H 6 24.52 23.9] .61 23.91 23.91 2.39 21.52
C, • 1l79.95 7.37 1172.58 7.37 7.37 7.37
Total, 1900.68 725.43 1175.25 337.42 388.01 122.91 265.10 61.87 61.04 80.60 184.50 159.30 178.12 37.69 121.61 6351 114.61
molts/hour
... - - .. -------:;-0-"
DEW POINT I Q c
,_ -VAPOR
--'----L---"'--_'"i
I
01----,-----'1-
I
D
BUBBLE POINT
LIQUID
BUBBLE POINT
R-liQUID
~,--------->., ----LlH
OVERAll HEAT
EFFECT
L - - - - - -__ W BUBBLE POINT

LIQUID
Figure 5.6. Heat requirements for a typical one feed-two product distillation.
where RM = minimum reflux calculated for the system.

This is the minimum heat requirement for the process
and is expressed as This heat is added to the system by one or more reboilers.
Basis of Study
The study considered the following range of variables.
Heat Effect Due to Actual Reflux. The additional reo Input Data
I
flux above the minimum requirement incurs an incremental
duty in condensing this extra vapor. Thus,
• I. Three binary systems: difficult (propylene-propane) ~
Q = 1.17; average (propane-n-butane) (~. Q = 2.375,
easy (propane-n-pentane) @o: = 5.22.

QCA = (D + R) x (H - h)
, 2. Three different feed compositions: 0.25,0.50 and 0.75
light component mole fraction.
where R = actual reflux for the system. The total heat 3. Two different feed thermal conditions: dew-point
requirement for the operating system is then expressed as vapor and bubble-point liquid .
•
TABLE 5.5
Raw Data-Fractionation Study

System
XF, mol frac.
Lt. Compo .50 .25 .75 .50 .25 .75 .50 .25
Thermal Condo SV SL SV SL SV SL SV SL SV SL sv SL sv SL SV SL SV SL
of Feed
NM . Min Trays 49.573-AII Cases 9.000-AII Cases 4.81-AII Cases
RDM!t; 8.33 7.63 13.20 11.56 27.82 21.7<) 1.05 633 2.29 I \4 5.90 3.71 568 .106 1.47 .319 4.16 .90
RnnsG 9.79 8.97 15.51 13.59 32.64 25.60 1.23 .744 2.69 1.34 6.93 4.36 .667 .125 1.73 375 4.89 1.05
NTP 102.1 102.2 100.8 101.2 99.7 100.1 21.2 23.1 19.8 21.7 19.4 19.8 16.6 16.5 11.9 14.3 11.1 12.5
NT8.'EOC'
'" 7 144.6 144.6 142.5 143.1 141.1 141.6 28.<) 31.6 :!6.9 29.6 2td 26.9 22.3 22.1 15.5 19.0 14.4 16.4
Qc, ·M'BTU/hr
100moiF 4.5634.2154.5914.0554.487354;1 1.018.7<)4 1.105 .701 1.139 769 770 519 .8:8 .418 .856 .2')')
QR, r.eBTl':/hr
100moiF J.')70 422239884.0623.87') 3.550 ;1.'11 .'(31 405 750 .431 .so5 .051 .677 .OS5 .640 .126 .502
Top TrJY V,
V, mol/hr 821 758 826 72') 807 637 17U 13.'1 184 I 17 190 128 127 86 136 69 141 4')
L, mol/hr 745 682 776 679 783 61 J 94 57 134 (, 7 166 105 51 9.5 86 19 117 25
Bottum Tray.
V, mol/hr 721 758 716 72'1 707 637 70 IJJ 84 117 90 1:!8 27 86 36 69 41 49
L. mol/hr 745 782 776 779 783 713 94 157 134 167 166 205 51 109.5 86 II? 117 125
Average Rei
Vol. 117-AllCa:,cs 2.375 - All CJ,CS 5.220 All Cases
Assumptions TABLE 5.6'
I. Constant compositions of distillate and bottoms at Comparative Data-Fractionation Study

0.98 and 0.02 mole fraction of light component, re-
spectively.
2. Operating reflux ratio:::: minimum reflux ratio x 1.175.
(XF)C, ~ .75 .50 .25
3. Constant molal overflow, i.e., the internal material
balance was not determined by heat balance calcu- (Rsv/RsLlD 1.0920 1.1420 1.2770
lations. For these systems which are very close to ideal,
(NSv/NSLlTP 1.0000 .9958 .9965
the error inherent in this assumption is small.
(ASV/ AsLlV. L. 1.0830 1.1330 1.2670
Values Calculated for Each System. The following (QSV/QSLlR .9403 .9818 1.0930
quantities were calculated for each feed composition at
each feed thermal condition. System: C 3 , nC 4
L Minimum reflux ratio. (XF)C, .75 .50 .25

2. Minimum trays required at total reflux. (RSV/RSUD 1.6590 2.0090 1.5900
3. Condenser duty per 100 moles feed. (NSV/NSL)TP .9180 .9120 .9800
4. Reboiler duty per 100 moles feed.
(ASV/ASL)V. L. 1.2780 1.5370 1.4840
5. Number of theoretical trays at finite reflux.
6. Number of actual trays assuming 70 percent overall (QSV/QSL)R .3983 .5400 .5354
tray efficiency.
System: C 3 , nC S
7. Vapor-liquid traffic at all key trays.
(XFlc, .75 .50 .25
Calculated Results and Conclusions
(RSV(RSL)D 5.3580 4.6080 4.6220
Table 5.5 illustrates the raw data and Table 5.6 the
(NSV/NSLlTP 1.0060 .8320 .8880
comparative data obtained from the calculations. For the
case of dew-point vapor feed, it is noted that this mode of (ASV/ASLlV. L. 1.4770 1.9710 2.8780
operation: (QSV/QSLlR .0753 .1328 .2510
1. Requires a greater reflux ratio and condenser duty. The 1. If a reboiler is limiting and the tower is not, capacity
disparity becomes greater as the separation becomes can be increased up to the limit of the tower by in-
easier. creasing feed preheat and additional condensing sur-
2. Requires fewer operating trays. The disparity becomes face.
greater as the separation becomes easier. 2. If the tower is limiting, additional capacity may be
3. Requires a lower rebailer duty in every case but one. obtained by reducing the heat content of the feed,
The disparity becomes greater as the separation be- thereby decreasing the heat load on the condenser at
comes easier. the expense of increased reb oiler duty. A detailed anal-
4. Requires greater column area with the load tray being ysis of the internal vapor·liquid traffic is required to
in the rectifying section. Thus, if swaging is not practi- optimize this case, and access to a computer can great·
cal, the only tower design economy can be effected by ly simplify the study.
reducing tray spacing in the stripping section.
In many cases, particularly in older plants, towers are
operating at conditions far different than those for which
The converse of all the above is true for the case of
they were designed. A study of such towers will often re-
bubble-point liquid feed.
veal that the owner is getting far more out of the tower
Based on the above facts, the following conclusions are
than calculations can predict. Unfortunately, test runs are
reached for design cases.
rarely possible in such cases due to various system limita·
tions. If a test run can be made, this is the surest way to
I. The practice of preheating column feed to save reboiler define capacity, but, more often than not, the engineer will
duty requires a greater condenser duty and greater tow- have to rely on calculations plus the experience of the
er area. Thus, the designer must consider utility costs owner, both being tempered by judgment.
for heating and cooling as well as equipment costs.
Generally speaking, more condensing surface is reo Example Design Calculations
quired per unit of heat transferred than is heating sur·
face. This is especially true in the case of fired re- In this section are presented procedures for calculating
boilers, although alloy requirements for tubes may every type of distillation process to be found in any re-
sometimes offset the apparent savings differentiaL finery gas plant. These are
2. In economic climates where cooling is expensive due to
water shortage or to high ambient air temperatures, I. Simple light ends fractionator
e.g., the Middle East, feed preheat by feed-bottoms 2. Whole naphtha stabilizer
exchange will almost always result in higher capital and 3. Whole naphtha splitter
operating costs. 4. Complex fractionator for whole naphtha
3. Feed preheat should neper be practiced in columns hav- 5. Reboiled absorber.
ing refrigerated condensers. Rather, maximum feasible
precooling of the feed is indicated, especially if refrig- Each procedure will be presented as a narrative explain-
eration recovery can be effected. ing in detail the required steps. These, together with the
r·
In difficult separations, minimizing the heat content of others presented in this work, describe design methods for
the feed will materially reduce reflux requirements and all types of refinery fractionation processes. This work does
tower area with no significant increase in tray require- not consider the absorber since this is very rarely found in
ments. the refinery. In addition, the literature is well stocked with
absorber design procedures; only new or, at least, previous~
For revamps of or additions to existing plants, the Iy unpublished work is presented here.
I These methods will emphasize "short cut" types of
problems are not so easily defined as in a design situation.
In many cases, systems are first limited by factors other calculations which enable the designer to obtain a close
than the tower, such as pumps, condensers, reboilers, exter- approximation of the answer prior to using more sophisti-
nal heat exchangers, etc., then the tower itself. Other fac- cated techniques if such are indicated to refine the design.
• tors may come into play such as plot area availability or the There are available at this time many highly developed com-
limitation to an expensive piece of equipment such as a puter programs for solVing distillation problems, but many
• fired heater. Utilities system limitations may force the de- of these require as input data estimates of temperature,
signer into a course of action which ordinarily might not be profiles of vapor and liquid traffic, number of trays, etc.
• indicated. The following general gUidelines are recom- The methods presented here can also be used as generators
mended for revamps/expansions. of preliminary data for computer input. An accurate first
•
,
•
estimate can often result in significant savings in computer ethane·rich fuel gas overhead and a propane product bot.
time~which is money-and in actual time which also is toms. The preceding knowledge is not required in order to
money. A second benefit is that supporting hand calcula- perform actual calculations but is included here to show the
tions enable one to analyze computer output much more relationships that come into play in setting up a design.
rapidly and to spot discrepancies much more easily. Having defined the key components and their required
recoveries, one can now establish the preliminary material
Calculation of Simple Discrete-Component Fractionators balance for the design. Ordinarily, one can assume that all
components lighter than the light key will appear com-
This type of column is found in the light ends section pletely recovered in the distillate and that all components
of the refinery gas plant and processes only identifiable heavier than the heavy key will be completely recovered
components. It is also the common type of fractionator with the bottoms. In the case where the separation is to be
found in the distillation section of natural gas liquids re- between components which have isomers, such as between
covery facilities or, for that matter, in most chemical plants propane and the butanes, isobutane being the heavy key, a
where the process objective is to make a separation between portion of the non-key isomer will follow along with the
two components. The design procedure for calculating this key. In the preliminary estimate of the material balance,
type of tower is outlined in the following discussion. the designer should guess the non-key component distribu-
tion because the presence of these components may mate·
Process Design Basis rially affect the temperatures and pressures within the
system. These assumptions will be checked later and then
As in any engineering design work, the first question to adjusted for the final calculations.
be resolved is "What is it that we are trying to accomplish?" Occasionally, a situation will arise where the key com-
or, in the case of distillation design, "What kind of separa- ponents are not adjacent when ranked according to volatil·
tion is required by the process?" The designer will generally ity. In this case, components lying between the keys will
be guided by criteria such as recovery requirements for cer- appear in substantial quantities in both product streams
tain components, allowable impurity levels in streams, and, for this reason, are called distributed components. In
economic values assigned to the various recovered streams setting up the preliminary material balance, the designer
and the like, all being overshadowed by whatever economic must estimate the quantitative presence of these com-
factors may exist which are unique to the project under ponents in the products. This preliminary assumption will
consideration. later be checked by the techniques described in a later por-
At the beginning of the design, the engineer must first tion of this procedure.
set the material balance for the tower. This is most often
done on the basis of making a separation between two com-
ponents whose volatilities, i.e., boiling point or vapor pres- Operating Temperatures and Pressures
sure characteristics relative to each other, make them adja-
cent in the listing of the components in the feed. These two The operating conditions at key points in the system
components are called key components and arc defmed as are established in the following sequence.
follows.
Reflux Drum Cond;tions. By definition of the process
"The Light Key Component is the heaviest component
requirements, it is usually known that the distillate must be
whose percent recovery is greater in the distillate than
in the bottoms. Conversely, the Heavy Key Component either a vapor or a liquid. From this knowledge, the reflux
is the lightest component whose percent recovery is drum conditions are set as a fu~ction of the available cool-
greater in the bottoms than in the distillate. ing media.
If cooling water is to be used in the condenser, set the
Obviously, key component recovery can never be 100 per- temperature in the reflux drum at the maximum allowable
cent. If it were, another component would be the key corn· temperature of the outlet cooling water. For example, coo!-
ponent. ing water is available at 85 degrees F, and its return temper-
In a typical case, the tower could be a depropanizer ature shall not exceed 120 degrees F. Therefore, set the
making a separation between propane and isobutane. Purity reflux drum temperature at 120 degrees F.
specifications on the butane product from the base of the In systems which are inherently high pressure, the
tower allow a relatively large concentration of propane. Iso- operating pressure level may be significantly reduced by
butane level in the recovered propane would be estimated taking an approach of 15 degrees F at the cold end of the
by what separation would occur in a deethanizer which condenser and a 15 degree F rise on the cooling water. For
would further fractionate the depropanizer distillate into an the conditions stated previously, the reflux drum would
•
t.
, t- operate at 100 degrees F, and the cooling water tempera- than the pseudocriticaJ temperature of the bottoms and
·
o ture range would be 85 to 100 degrees F. establish the pressure levels in the system. After calculating
If the condenser is to be cooled by air, set the tempera- the temperature required in the reflux drum, select a refrig-
" ture in the reflux drum no closer than 40 degrees F to the erant temperature level to give a cold end temperature dif-
, d available summer dry bulb temperature. For example, air is ference at the condenser of 15 to 25 degrees F.
,I available at 90 degrees F dry bulb. This will result in a A third alternate is to yield the overhead product as
, 11 minimum reflux drum temperature of 130 degrees F. two phases, their composition being determined by making
,- In the case where the condenser duties are large and a flash calculation at the appropriate temperature dictated
, lS where there is a genuine need to reduce tower pressure by by the available cooling media at this maximum operating
d cooling the overhead to the minimum feasible temperature, pressure level.
, 'e the condenser function may be satisfied by a combination A second criterion that must be observed is that the
n of air and water cooling provided that the temperature of pressure in the reflux drum must not fall below 5 psig. This
, a the vapor leaving the top tray is sufficiently high. For ex- may necessitate operating the reflux drum at a temperature
ample, vapor could be cooled-condensed from 200 to 130 higher than that normally attainable with the available cool-
,, degrees F, using 90 degrees F air, and from 130 to 100 ing media. This practice is limited to systems whose distil-
1- degrees F, using water from 85 to 100 degrees F. This late product is hexanes or heavier. i.e., whose atmospheric
, ;-
technique minimizes cooling water consumption, at the pressure boiling points exceed 120 degrees F.
e same time maintaining reasonable equipment sizes. Having
•'n established the temperature in the reflux drum, the pressure
is calculated by bubble-pointing in the case of liquids or
• dew-pointing in the case of vapor distillates.
Checking the Preliminary Material Balance
Tap Tray Temperature. For the case of a liquid distil· The original assumptions as to the distribution of non-
late, the composition of the vapor leaving the top tray is key components are now checked by employing Hengste-
the same as that of the distillate product. Thus, the top tray beck's (16) technique which postulates that all components
temperature is determined by making a dew point calcula- in a distillation are distributed according to the relation-
tion on the distillate composition after taking a pressure ship,
increase of 5 to 10 psi above that in the reflux drum. For
the case of a vapor distillate, the condenser is the top sepa· log (D/W) = f (log 0:)
ration stage, and its temperature is already known. Later,
after the reflux requirements have been determined, the top
This is used in the following sequence.
tray temperature is calculated by adding the reflux to the
vapor distillate and dew-pointing the resultant mixture after
1. Calculate the arithmetic average temperature and pres-
taking the necessary pressure increase. For vapor distillate
sure of the tower based on the vapor from the top
systems, this is necessary only to specify the condenser and
n stage and the liquid from the bottom stage.
is not required for the distillation analysis.
2. At this condition, tabulate the vapor·liquid equilibrium
Bottoms Temperature. The bottoms temperature is its coefficient, the K value, for each component in the
•;s bubble point after taking a pressure increase of 5 to 10 psi system. Then, calculate their volatilities relative to the
e across the trays. In the case of relatively low pressure opera- heavy key component.
•'x tion, the actual pressure which can be obtained and which 3. For the key components only, calculate D/W, which is
I- becomes known only after the equipment design is com- their ratio of distribution between distillate and bot-
I
plete may necessitate a reevaluation of the assumed pres- toms.
e sure profile. This is seldom critical in towers operating 4, On log-log paper, plot the points, Co; D/W). for the two
•e above 100 psia. A design criterion that must be satisfied at keys and draw a straight line between them. The ratio
I- this point is that the base temperature should not approach of distribution for aU components in the system will lie
• the pseudocritical temperature of the bot toms product by on this line. At any given value of Q, the corresponding
e any closer than 25 degrees F. If this situation arises, two value of D/W for that component is found which, for
• alternatives are nonnally open. First, consider producing the purpose of this illustration, will be designated as z.
,e the distillate as a vapor using the conventional condenser
-y coolant. This will result in operating the reflux drum at the D/W =z. which reduces to D =zW =z(F - D)
,e same temperature as before but at the dew-point pressure.
-'r If, however, the production of a liquid distillate is
,d mandatory, set the base temperature at 25 degrees F less D = F [Z/(1 + z)]
5. If revisions are required to the assumed material bal· tolerances, but \Vinn's method is a little more time consum.
ance, the temperatures and pressures within the system ing to use.
must be checked for the new balance and revised where
necessary. Unless a serious error is made in the original Minimum and Operating Reflux Ratios
assumptions, more than one iteration will seldom be
required. This procedure is particularly useful in sys· The literature is full of methods and procedUres for
terns having distributed components. calculating the
. . minimum reflux required to effect apecl- s'
fled separatIOn. Most are complex and require a gOod deal
Thermal Condition of the Feed of time, quite often involving trial·and·error. Of all those
known to this author, Underwood's (10) procedure is the
The thermal condition of the feed to the tower is gen· simplest to use for manual calculations.
erally not treated as a design variable except in a revamp The method recommended here is an analytical solu-
situation where one might attempt to control vapor or liq- tion for the reflux-to-distillate ratio which has been found
uid loadings in the tower by controlling the feed flash. to check very closely the values obtained from other more
Since feed comes to the tower system from another system, sophisticated calculation procedures. It has been of particu·
its thermal condition upon entering the environment of the lar value in setting up and analyzing distillation problems
tower is a function of its temperature and pressure level on the computer. It involves a three-step procedure COf-
into which the feed enters. The thermal content of the feed
can be altered by heat exchange against other streams, by
relating key component vapor-liquid equilibrium at the feed
point and the purity of the reflux liquid.
,,
heating or by cooling utillzing plant utilities. The implica- A stepwise illustration for the case of bubble-point
tions to design of the thermal condition of the feed have feed is as follows. In this discussion, note that the x and y
been treated in detail earlier in this chapter. Fo'r the pur· values refer to the light key mole fractions in a pseudo-
pose of final design involving any feed heat exchange, one binary system consisting only of the keys. These concentra·
can calculate the feed bubble point and dew point at tower tion values are f o.
pressure and then a flash at some intemlediate temperature
for the purpose of drawing a heating curve.
xR = mole fraction in reflux
Average Relative Volatility xp = mole fraction in total feed , I'
xFV = mole fraction in feed point equilibrium liquid
The average relative volatility for the light key-heavy YFV = mole fraction in feed point equilibrium vapor
key pseudobinary system is determined by calculating these
values at the conditions of dew-point vapor leaving the top
, ,- ,
stage and bubble-point liquid leaving the bottom stage and 1. Calculate the light key concentration in the vapor
then using the lesser of geometric and arithmetic mean val- phase which is in equilibrium with the bubble point
feed. This quantity is
•
ues. The geometric mean will usually be the smaller value
and the one to use. •
The average relative volatility will be used in all calcula-
tions involving the determination of tray and reflux require- ••
ments. 2. Calculate the following quantity
•
Minimum Number of Stages at Total Reflux
f
3. Calculate the minimum reflux-to-distillate ratio as
The minimum number of separation stages required to
attain the specified separation at conditions of total reflux •
ROM = m/ (I - m), moles keys in reflux/moles keys in
is calculated by Fenske's (II) equation.
distillate. •
NM = Ilog (ltght key in distillate x heavy key in bot- I
toms) / (light key in bottoms x heavy key in distil- A similar treatment for dew point vapor feed yields
late)] ';'Ioga.
= log (LKO x HKW) / (LKW x HKD) .;. log Cl
these sequential equations.
XFy=X F / [a-(a-I)X F ]
•
An alternate method is that ofWinn (12), which can be m = (XR - XF) / (XR - XFY) •
used as a check. The two methods agree within reasonable ROM = m/ (I - m)
•
(
111-
For feeds which are partially Oashed, the value of ROM McCabe- Thiele Analysis
can be closely approximated by interpolating between the
values for saturated liquid and saturated vapor feeds in di- The feed tray location is obtained by making an anal·
rect proportion to the percentage of total keys vaporized in ysis of the key component pseudobinary system similar to
the feed flash. the familiar McCabe-Thiele procedure (9). Hengstebeck has
for Also note carefully that the reflux ratio is expressed as also shown ways to treat multicomponent systems by this
:ci- moles of keys in reflux/moles of keys in distillate. In the technique. The calculational sequence is as follows.
e31 case of a liquid distillate, the ratio is a straightforward total
JSe moles of retlux/total moles of distillate. In the case of 1. Calculate and plot the x - y equilibrium envelope as
:he vapor distillate, however, the total moles of reflux wi!! be
greater than the value which is calculated as the ratio of the y=axl [I +(a-l)xJ
lu-
total moles of distillate since the distillate vapor is richer in
nd keys than the reflux liquid. 2. Draw in the feed line at the appropriate degree of
," ..:u-
He Over the years, studies of many light hydrocarbon hac- vaporization. Note that the line is vertical for bubble
tionators have established that the economic optimum re- point feed and horizontal for dew point feed. For par-
,, ms flux ratio ranges from 1.15 to 1.25 times the minimum. For tially vaporized feed, a flash calculation is necessary to
or- determine the light key concentration in the vapor and
separations where the relative volatility is low or where
" 'ed there is a degree of uncertainty as to its accuracy, a ratio of liquid phases as YFY and xFY, respectively; these are
1.2 to 1.3 times the minimum is often employed. not the same YFV and xPV values discussed earlier in
'int this procedure. Having determined these values, the
Jy feed line is drawn in from paint (xFY' YFV) to point
: lo- xF on the 45 degree line.
ra- Estimate of Number of Trays at Finite Reflux
3. Draw in the rectification section operating line from
• GiHiland's (13) correlation is recommended for esti- point xR on the 45 degree line to point
• mating the number of theoretical separation stages required

by the design. An alternate method is that of Mason (14).
• Gilliland is quite simple and is used as follows.
4_ Draw in the stripping section operating line from point

Xw on the 45 degree line to the intersection of the
L Calculate (RO - ROM) 1(RO + I).
rectification section operating line and the feed line.
2. From Figure 5.7, obtain the value of
5. By the familiar stairstep technique, obtain the number
(N -NM)/(N+ 1)=1((;-
,.- lormt 3. Calculate the number of 100 percent efficient separa-
of trays in each section and apply a suitable tray ef-
ficiency, remembering to take credit for the condenser
tion stages as
and/or reboiler if this is indicated.
Overall Heat Balance
• We are now faced with the problem of equating theo- The shortcut design is completed by calculating the
heat quantities in the feed, distt1late, bottoms and the con-
, retical to real stages. Two rules apply.
denser duty_ The reboiler duty is then calculated by dif-
1. A partial condenser is counted as one 100 percent ef- ference as
ficient separation stage.
2. A reboiler may count as one 100 percent efficient OR = (OC + 00 + OW) - OF
~)in separation stage only if it processes the total liquid
..
"Ids
from the bottom tray on a once-through basis, yielding
boilup vapor and bottoms liquid. If this criterion is not
Calculation of Fractionation of Discrete Components and
Hydrocarbon Mixtures Defined by a Continuous Boiling
met, take no tray credit for the reb oiler. Observing Range
'"
~
rules I and 2 to reevaluate the number of stages re-
quired as tower trays, one now applies a tray efficiency This column is quite often the first processing step in
which is nothing mare than a judgment factor to ob- the refinery gas plant and, in some cases, is the only naph-
tain the number of actual trays to be specified for the tha fractionation step used. It is also found in most con-
.." tower. version units, i.e., reformers, hydrotreaters, etc., for remov-
." ..
.."
,
Figure 5.7. Gilliland's correlation, theoretical to real trays (used with permission of the American Chemical Society).
ing light ends formed in the process from the heavier liquid hydrocarbon liquid having defined physical properties
product. It may also be found in the oil production areas in rather than a componential description. The design pro-
use as a crude oil stabilizer. In this latter service, the col- cedure for calculating this type of tower is outlined in the
umn removes the light ends as a distillate liquid so that the following discussion.
bottoms product will have a vapor pressure less than atmos-
pheric when stored at ambient temperature. The process Process Design Basis
objective is to make a sharp separation between discrete
components, but. in this case as opposed to the previous This question is a little easier to resolve here than in
example, the major portion of the tower feed consists of the case of discrete-component fractionators since the only
I
I
I
( I
real criterion for product quality is vapor pressure of the the naphtha debutanizer bottoms were to be used as cata-
bottoms product. Thus, there is no economic driving force lytic reformer charge stock, then one might make as sharp a
to remove any more light components than necessary to separation as possible between the butanes and pentanes in
meet vapor pressure specifications, especially since butane order to minimize feed to the reformer. This is the type of
is blended back into the gasoline to ensure a certain vapor thinking involved in setting up one of these towers.
pressure. It is also a fact that, in most economic climates, In a typical deSign, the separation might be defined as a
butane commands a higher price as gasoline than as LPG. recovery percentage of n-butane in the distillate to define
Given a feedrate and its characteristics, it is first necessary the light key and an allowable level of isopentane in the
to establish the approximate componential structure before distillate to define the heavy key. From this point on, the
one can define the tower material balance. design separation is defined by the following sequential
steps.
Feedstock Definition
1. Knowing the required light key recovery and assuming
The properties of the feedstock can be quoted in one that all components lighter than the light key will ap·
of two ways. The usual way is by an ASTM or TBP distilla- pear elltirely in the distillate, tabulate the light keys
tion and the liquid specific gravity. Alternately, it may be and lighter in the distillate.
described by a light ends analysis up through the pentanes 2. Add in the allowable heavy key to the distillate.
with the remainder being described as "C 6 and heavier"; a 3. Calculate the volume percentage of the feed which is to
specific gravity is also required here. If experimental data be yielded as distillate. This will establish the TBP cut
on the feedstock is lacking, one can determine the above- volume and temperature point on the TBP plot of the
mentioned properties from an assay of the parent crude oil. feedstock.
Now, from the overall distillation, either TBP or 4. For the purpose of establishing the distillation curves
ASTM, and the specific gravity of the feed, previously dis- of the tower bottoms product, one can assume with
cussed techniques (3), (4) and (5) are employed to deter· only a very small possibility of error that the TBP
mine the following basic information. initial point of the bottoms is equal to the nonnal
boiling point of the ligh t key and that the TBP end
L If given the TBP distillation, convert it to an ASTM or point of the distillate is equal to the normal boiling
vice versa if given the ASTM distillation. point of the heavy key. From these two points, draw in
2. Atmospheric EFV distillation. the TBP curve of the bottoms product.
3. Characterization factor, K. 5. Convert the bottoms TBP curve to ASTM and EFV
'I
'!
4.
5.
Average molecular weight.
Pseudocritical temperature and pressure.
curves. Calculate the properties of the bottoms and
plot its phase diagram.
6. Phase diagram plot. 6. Calculate and tabulate the properties of the feed, distil·
i late and bottoms streams.
': Pure Components in Feedstock
From this pOint on, much of the material has been
If at all possible, the concentration of light ends in the presented and discussed in the previous section. Thus, fur-
feed, ethane through the pentanes, should be taken directly ther discussion will be limited to new concepts.
from the parent crude oil assay. In the next section which
describes the whole naphtha splitter, methods will be pre· Operating Temperatures and Pressures
, sented for estimating the componential composition for the
whole feed, including light ends. Having determined the
light ends makeup of the feed, tabulate the properties and 1. Set the operating temperature in the reflux drum.
flow rates of materials to be fed to the tower. 2. Calculate the reflux drum pressure by making either a
bubble-point or dew-point calculation on the dh:tillate
Design Separation as indicated.
3. In the case of a liquid distillate, calculate the top tray
As pointed out earlier, separation criteria are somewhat vapor temperature.
less stringent than in pure-component light ends fractiona- 4. Take a reasonable pressure increase across the tower
tion. Establishing the design separation for a naphtha de- and determine the temperature of the bottoms liquid
butanizer, for example, might reduce to a study of how product from the phase diagram. This condition is bub-
much butane can be left in the bottoms without exceeding ble paint liquid at the total pressure in the base of the
vapor pressure specifications on the gasoline. If, however, tower.
•
5. Calculate the average relative volatility for the pseudo- it is necessary to determine the same properties in order to •
binary system made up of the key components.
6. Calculate the minimum number of trays required for
define the feedstock for further calculations.
•
3:
the separation at conditions of total reflux.
7. Calculate the minimum reflux ratio required for the
separation as indicated by the thermal condition of the
Componential Definition of Feedstock
The composition of the feedstock is estimated by •

dividing the continuous TBP curve into volumetric portions
feed. Note that the flash curve for the feed can be whose boiling ranges describe the pure component boiling
obtained from the feed phase diagram at the feed tray
total pressure.
points of all materials present having the same number of
carbon atoms. This does not mean that the C6 cut of any •,
8. Set the operating reflux-to-distillate ratio. given stream will contain a mixture of C6 paraffins, naph·
9. Estimate the number of theoretical stages required for thenes, ole fins and aromatics. Rather, the origin of the feed·
the separation at the design reflux ratio. Apply a suit- stock will give a clue to its composition.
able tray efficiency and determine the actual number A virgin naphtha from the crude still would be ex-
of trays to be provided.
10. Make a McCabe-Thiele analysis for the design separa-
pected to contain mostly paraffins and naphthenes with the
possibility of some aromatics, depending upon the nature
•
tion to check the number of trays required and to of the parent crude.
locate the feed tray. Another common naphtha, catalytic reformate, would
•
11. Calculate the overall heat balance for the system.
Calculation of Fractionation between Two Defined Hydro-

contain mostly isoparaffins and aromatics. The characteri-
zation factor of the mixture will usually categorize its com·
position. A value of 10 means a high degree ofaromaticity
.,
carbon Mixtures while a value of 12 means high paraffinicity. Naphthenes
have K values in the range of 11, but this could also des· · ,
This column in the refinery gas plant is used to frac- cribe a mixture of aromatics and paraffins. Thus, the 1<
tionate further the debutanized naphtha from the bottom value and a knowledge of the origin of the feed will aid in •
of the naphtha debutanizer into fractions having the re· estimating the categories of the components present. Des
•
quired characteristics. An alternate use is as the first tower
in the refinery gas plant where it yields a full-range light
naphtha distillate and a heavy naphtha bottoms. In this
Once this has been resolved, the whole feed is broken
up into pseudocomponents by the following technique. ..
, '1'
latter case, the distillate would require further stabilization 1. For all components possibly present which have the I'Od
in another tower. The reasoning behind this configuration same number of carbon atoms, tabulate their pure }-,u
would be to optimize the gas plant design in accordance component boiling points as the boiling ranges of all ~.~
with Harbert's guidelines. The design procedure of ca1cu~ the isomers of a given category. As an example, the
lating this type of tower is outlined in the following dis· lightest C, paraffin boils at 122 degrees F and the
cussion. heaviest at 156 degrees F. The comparabl~ tempera·
tures for the C6 olefins are 106 degrees F and 164
Process Design Basis degrees F. Thus, a mixture of only C 6 paraffins would
be characterized by a boiling range of 122 to 156 de·
In this case, the properties of both streams are des~ grees F. A mixture of C6 paraffins and olefins would
cribed in terms of their distillation characteristics even have a boiling range of 106 to 164 degrees F, which
though the feedstock will contain significant quantities of also includes the 122 to 156 degree F segment.
identifiable light ends. This is because the design separation 2. After the presence of all possible types of components
will be a split between light and heavy fractions rather than has been established, select the applicable boiling
between the light ends and a defined mixture as in the ranges. For heavy fractions, there is usually a tempera- •
previous section. ture overlap between light fraction end point and
The properties of the products and the fractionation heavy fraction initial point. The TBP cut point be-
requirements are usually defined in tenns of their ASTM tween the two is arbitrarily taken as the mid·point be- ter
end points, ASTM boiling ranges, ASTM (5·95%) gaps and tween the two. For light fractions. there may be a
the like. temperature gap between the initial point of the first poi
pseudocomponent, which has a boiling range, and the •
Feedstock Definition heaviest discrete component. which has a pure com· tur
~. .14
ponent boiling point. In this case, the TBP cut point
The feedstock is described and defined in accordance between the two is taken as the midpoint. When this bo
i.: T....
with the criteria previously outlined. As was the case there, has been done, the liquid volume percent of all c~m-
.~:.
ponents present by the number of carbon atoms will Note that the limiting criteria discussed earlier for bot·
have been established. toms temperature and reflux drum pressure must also be
3. For each component in the feed, tabulate the volu- observed in these types of towers.
metric quantities present. Using the properties of n-
paraffins, calculate the weight and mole quantities 1. Calculate the average relative volatility for the pseudo·
present in the feed to the tower. There will almost binary system made up of the key components.
always be a discrepancy between the gravity and mole- 2. Calculate the minimum number of trays required for
cular weight calculated here and those values pre- the separation at conditions of total reflux.
viously derived. This is because of the error inherent in 3. Calculate the minimum reflux ratio required for the
the assumption that the feed contains only normal separation as indicated by the thermal condition of the
paraffins when it has been clearly established that it is feed.
a mixture of several types. Unfortunately, making this 4. Set the operating reflux ratio.
assumption is the only way to obtain weight and grav- 5. Estimate the number of theoretical stages required at
ity data on the feedstock pseudocomponents other the operating reflux ratio. Applying a suitable tray ef-
than resulting to a laboratory investigation. This latter ficiency, set the number of actual trays to be provided.
approach is seldom economically justifiable. The error 6. Make a McCabe-Thiele analysis to check the number of
is of little real consequence since, as will be seen later. theoretical stages and to locate the feed tray.
the equilibrium data used in the fractionation calcula- 7. Calculate the overall heat balance for the system.
tions will be based on vapor pressure data derived from
, the bulk properties of the pseudocomponents. In order Calculation of Fractionators Producing Three Defined
to avoid confusion, adjust the molal flow rates of each Hydrocarbon Mixture Products
component present so that the total will equal the
actual number present as calculated earlier. This type of column is common in catalytic reformers,
hydrotreaters and desulfurizers but can be used wherever it
Design Separation is desirable to produce an overhead distillate, either liquid
or vapor, sidedraw liquid distillate and a bottoms product.
Depending upon the way in which the fractionation It can also be used as the first step in naphtha fractionation.
requirements are defined, estimate the design separation The procedures are similar in many respects to those of
, and tabulate the distribution of components between the

product streams and note the recovery of light and heavy
earlier sections, so this discussion will be devoted to pain ts
of dissimilarity or to principles not previously covered. The
key components. first three steps are calculated exactly as in the previous
• section.
, Product Properties
I. Process design basis
From the TBP curves used in deriving the design split 2. Analysis of feedstrearn
, and assuming that the characterization factor of the prod- 3. Breakdown of feed into pseudocornponents
ucts is the same as that of the feed, derive the ASTM and
EFY distillations, the API gravity, the average molecular
, weight, the pseudocritical properties and the phase dia-
grams. The molecular weight of the bottoms should be cal·
Design Separation
, culated as the difference between feed and distillate. This part of the calculation will be handled as before,
except that:;a split must be set between the distillate and
, Operating Conditions the sidecut and between the sidecut and the bottoms.
Using the distillate phase diagram and the design cri- Product Properties
• teria covering the condenser cooling media, set the operat·
For each product, the required product properties are
• ing conditions in the reflux drum as the distillate bubble
point pressure at the appropriate temperature. Taking a calculated and a phase diagram is drawn.
, suitable pressure increase to the top tray, set the tempera-
ture at the distillate dew point. Taking a suitable pressure Operating Conditions
increase to the base of the tower, set the temperature of the
bottoms products as its bubble paint of the indicated pres· Draw a process flowsheet and set up a material balance
sure. for the tower showing all pseudocomponents. As before,
\.
-.•'-.--=-======~====-.-,~,~,---"'-,-
... - . -"-
. ------------------'1 I
/)'
the phase diagrams are used to determine operating tem- distillate product, the sidecut and the reflux from the
peratures and pressures. sidecut draw tray. This has the same composition and
is at the same temperature as the sidecut. The com·
Thermal Condition of Feed position of the vapor flowing upward to the sidecut
draw tray is established by material balance and is the
Calculate the degree of feed flash at its temperature upper section feed. Calculate the light key mole frac·
and pressure. tion in the combined key pseudobinary system.
At this point, all the information has been developed 2. For the two keys of the distillate-side cut fractionation,
to enable the fractionation calculations to begin. Referring calculate the average relative volatility using pseudo.
back to the previous example, the procedure was to calcu- component vapor pressures at the top tray and side·
late the operating reflux ratio from which the condenser draw tray temperatures.
duty was established. The rebailer duty was then calculated 3. Calculate the minimum reflux for the required separa-
by making an overall system heat balance. In a two-distil- tion and set the operating reflux ratio at 1.25 times the
late product column, however, the required reflux ratios minimum. For the operating reflux. calculate the reo
must exist at both the top tray and the sided raw tray. quired condenser duty.
Another feature of this type of tower is that the lower 4. Calculate the minimum number of trays at total reflux. "
('\.,
section where the feed enters at some intermediate tray is a 5. Estimate the number of theoretical and actual trays. fJ
two-product tower in its own right. This section yields the 6. Calculate the dew paint temperature of the vapor feed (,\,
sidecu t as a top tray liquid by the same mechanism as in a to the upper section using K data derived from pseudo-
crude tower. The vapor passing this tray contains all the component vapor pressures. ~'
distillate components plus the vapor necessary to satisfy the 7. Recalculate the condenser duty based on an upper sec-
system heat balance. The latter portion contains the com· tion overall heat balance and compare with the value
~d
1;
ponents of the sidecut. Thus, the upper section is a rec- calculated in Step 3. If this value of Oc is greater tMm
tifying section whose feed must be established from calcu- the previous value, the reflux available to the top sec- ~~c
lations around the lower section. tion is greater than that required for that separation,
This method first calculates reflux and tray require- and the sidecut-bottoms separation is controlling.
ments for the base section in order to establish upper sec- Thus, the design is satisfactory as is. If the. results in-
tion feed. The upper section is then analyzed for reflux dicate that satisfying the lower section reflux require.
requirements which are compared to reflux availability, a ments.will not provide sufficient upper section reflux,
function of the system heat balance. The detailed pro- the design will have to be reworked in accordance wi th
cedure is as follows. the following section. Assuming for the moment that
the design is satisfactory. proceed to Step 8.
8. Calculate the heat input to the ~stem required from
Lower Section Design
the reboiler by making an ovetall system heat balance.
9. Using the revised operating reflux ratio, reestimate the
I. For the two keys of the bottoms-sidecut fractionation,
calculate the average relative volatility using pseudo- actual tray requirements.
component vapor pressures at the sidecut draw tray 10. Make a McCabe-Thiele analysis of both sections in
and bottoms temperatures. order to establish overall tray requirements and the
2. For the required fractionation, calculate the minimum locations of the feed and draw trays.
reflux ratio and set the operating reflux at 1.25 times
Redesign Procedure (If Required)
the minimum.
3. Calculate the minimum number of trays required by In Step 7 above, it may be established that upper sec·
Fenske's equation. lion reflux requirements will control the design. If so, the
4. From Gilliland's correlation and an appropriate ef- following procedure is to be followed.
ficiency, estimate the actual tray requiremen ts.
I. Set the upper section reflux ratio at 1.25 limes the
Upper Section Design minimum and calculate the condenser duty.
2. By a trial-and-error procedure, solve the upper section
1. For the upper section, draw a process flowsheet and set overall heat balance by assuming a value for reflux
up a component material balance. Note that the bot· from the sidecut draw tray. Calculate the upper section
tom tray of the upper section is the top tray of the feed by material balance and then fInd its dew point.
lower section and that the upper section bottoms prod- When the heat balance calculation meshes, compare the
uct is the sidecut. The material balance is based on the light key mole fraction of the combined key pseudo·
•
binary feed to the upper section with that value used in The function of the reboiled absorber is to make a
previous Step I. There will seldom be a significant dif-
, .
ference here. If there is, however, recalculate the reflux
separation between two components recovering the desired
amount of the heavier as part of the bottoms liquid and
, ,
requirements for this new separation and repeat the
heat balance. One iteration will usually be sufficient to
rejecting" the lighter of the two to the overhead gas stream.
As in distillation, these two components are called the
firm up the design for the upper section. heavy key and the light key, respectively. Note that all
3. Reestimate the number of trays in the lower section components present which are heavier than the heavy key
using the new reflux ratio. will be recovered in the bottoms liquid. Liquid to the top
4. Make a McCabe-Thiele analysis of both sections to set tray of the tower is provided by a cool, relatively heavy oil.
the overall tray requirements and key tray locations. This is used to wash back heavy components in the up flow-
ing gas stream by the mechanism of absorption rather than
Reboiled Absorber by condensing and refluxing a part of the column overhead
stream as in a distillation operation. The lean oil is usually
The following is a discussion of reboiled absorbers in either a speCial oil heavier than any of the components in
various services and a suggested manual procedure for calcu- the tower feed, or it will correspond to the composition of
lating the absorption section. The method is simple, rela- the heaviest product stream made from the feed. The only
tively rapid and has the same degree of accuracy as a com- requirement, however, is that the lean oil must be heavier
puter analysis. The method can also be used for estimating than the light key.
" lean oil rates to the top of the tower as a starting point for
Feed enters the column as a vapor-liquid mixture con-
'. computer calculations. Reboiled absorbers are notoriously
difficult machine calculations unless relatively loose conver-
taining all the components of the system. The degree of
feed vaporization which is desirable plays an important role
gence limitations are specified. Thus, an accurate first esti-
in the economics of the design and will be discussed later in
mate of lean oil rates could result in significant savings of
greater detail. Optimization of the feed flash balances the
t. computer time.
maximization of light key in the vapor while minimizing its
heavy key content. The light key and lighter components
'. are stripped out of the liquid falling from the feed tray, and
Introduction this internal vapor, together with the feed flash vapor, flows
upward from the feed tray to the absorption section where
The reboiled absorber is an item of mass transfer equip- the heavy key and heavier components are absorbed in the
ment which is often found in the gas processing sections of lean oil. The estimation of the composition and volume of
all types of process plants, although it is more common in the stripping section exit vapor is the key to the design and
I.
the natural gas processing and petroleum industries. It is is the principal subject of this section.
used to make a separation between heavy materials which In the hydrocarbon processing industries, the reboiled
• are recoverable at moderate temperatures and pressures and absorber is most often found in natural gasoline plants and
, to reject all lighter components. By using absorption-strip- refinery gas plants. In certain circumstances, one might be
ping rather than distilIation, the separation can be effected found in the recovery section of a pyrolysis plant. Figures
• at less severe conditions. For example, a typical column

makes a separation between ethane and propane at 350 psia
5.8 and 5.9 illustrate the role of the reboiled absorber in
two different types of units, both of which are designed to
• by using 40 degree F lean oil. If this same separation were

accomplished by distillation, a temperature level of -30
recover propane as the lightest salable liquid. In the gasoline
plant, the raw gas from the driers is cooled and then chilled
degrees F would be required. Or, at a top temperature of 40 ahead of the high pressure absorber. Hydrocarbon conden-
degrees F, a column operating pressure of approximately sate is knocked out before the gas enters the absorber, and
1,200 psia would be necessary. Thus, the advantages of this this liquid is part of the ROD feed. The gas portion enters
type of separation are easily seen. the absorber where cold lean oil absorbs a predetermined
• The descriptive tenn reboiled absorber is somewhat

misleading in describing the function, although it is the
amount of the propane. For the purposes of this discussion,
it is assumed that essentially all the butanes and heavier
• name most commonly used. Another descriptive name and

the one most often used in the hydrocarbon processing
components are also absorbed as well as some of the ethane
and lighter components. The removal of these lighter mate-
• industries is rich oil demethanizer where high ethane re-
covery is attained or rich oil deethanizer when propane
rials while minimizing propane loss to the residue gas is the
function of a rich oil deethanizer. In modem plants, the
recovery is practiced; in either case, the abbreviation ROD absorber operates in the range of -30 degrees F. Refrigera-
is often used. The most accurately descriptive name but, tion is recovered by exchanging the warm lean oil against
unfortunately, the one least used now is stripper-reabsorber. the cold rich oil. This heats the rich oil to approximately 80
"----
•
•
•
\,
"I
'"
, i
.\ :;;,
\
114 Petroleum Refinery Distillation 1
ABSORIHR PRE SATURATOR RICH OIL

DcETHANIZER
RICH Oil
f RAC TIONA TOR
DEPROPANIZER DEBUIANIZER
••
rP
•
fUE L GAS
TO PLANT
"•
"•
II
I
rl r ~
••
!
~
i
I
HNTANES
I"
~
~,
••I
'" COOLANT
GASOliNE
-I
~"
".- I
"" AIR/WATER
RESIDUt
fTHANE AND
GAS
• P;.-
I
Figure 5.8. Natural gas processing plant for recovering propane and heavier. Note: condensers and reboilers not shown.
LIGHTER
P;-
I
I
'" I
'IIMAIY CAl
rlACllONAlOR
D£ETHAN IZEI1 DEBUTANIUI OEPROPANIZER
"': I
...'
ETHANE AND
liGHTER
TO FUEL CJ flACT ION
.. I
.. I
.. I I
II!;"
'-, ~,
I
,!,:,
I
IT.CYClE OIL cw
~,
I
I
FlOM
REAClOIS
HVY. CYCLE Oil
.'
tc, I
C-4 FRACTION I
L_~_ SlURIY OIL
't=:-,~ __________ C5 AND HEAVIER
-.;: I
Figure 5.9. FCC unit gas plant for recovering propane and heavier. "', I
I . I
I
• I
~
I
I
.' I
I
degrees F at which temperature it, together with the raw Design Basis
gas condensate, enters the ROD as a two-phase mixture.
This stream is quite a bit heavier than the gas fed to the The overall material balance will usually be set prior to
absorber and usually contains 70 to 80 mole percent heavy commencing the design of the ROD and will be based on
key and heavier and is 80 to 90 mole percent liquid. As a reasonable key component separations. Normally, a mini~
rich oil deethanizer, this tower will produce ethane and mum of 97 percent of the heavy key is recovered in the
lighter as an overhead gas while recovering propane and bottoms. The maximum amount of light key in the bot-
heavier as a bottoms liquid. In the FeCU gas plant, the toms is often set by downstream product specifications.
function and operation is generally the same as in the The operating pressure should be set as high as possible,
natural gasoline plant. The charge to the FCCU plant is consistent with using the available heating media. The maxi-
leaner in ethane and lighter, thus allowing operation at a mum operating base temperature of the bottoms liquid
higher temperature and lower pressure level. If these plants should not approach the pseudocritical temperature of the
had been designed for ethane recovery, the ROD would bottoms liquid by any closer than 25 degrees F.
function as a rich oil dcmethanizer. ROD bottoms would
still now to the rich oil fracionator whose overhead would Economics
now now to a conventional decthanizer where the ethane,
or C2 fraction, would be yielded as a vapor distillate. The The temperature level chosen for the lean oil will be
rest of the recovery section would remain unchanged. determined by several factors. Obviously, the lower the
Note the presaturator shown in Figure 5.8. The pur- temperature, the lower the oil rate and the smaller the re-
pose of this is to saturate the lean oil to the high pressure boilers and lean oil chillers. But, on the debit side, lower
absorber with light components at the pressure level of the temperatures increase refrigeration costs, require somewhat
ROD. The presaturated liquid is then pumped to the ab- more expensive materials of construction and more insula-
sorber. Since it contains light ends, the absorption of these tion and suffer more severe startup and operating problems.
components in the absorber is considerably less than ifpure The lean oil temperature will dictate the overall economics
lean oil had been used. This serves two purposes. It allows a of a given plant design once the key component recovery
to lower absorption temperature and lean oil circulation rate has been set. This is a detailed subject outside the scope of
at the same level of refrigeration since the absorption of this work but is mentioned here so that it is well under-
light components is minimized. But more important from stood that lean oil temperature cannot be determined
the viewpoint of both capital investment and operating arbi trarily.
costs, it minimizes the size of the residue gas compressor The feed flash temperature also plays an important
since the gas which is absorbed in the presaturator is part in the economics of design. Light ends remaining in the
pumped up to the absorber pressure rather than having to liquid must be stripped out. They carry with them heavy
be compressed up. ends which must be reabsorbed. Conversely. the less vapor
in the fresh feed, the lower the lean oil rate. Most RODs
run at feed temperatures of 80 to 130 degrees F. If the feed
is cold, e.g., from a cold absorber, refrigeration should be
Principles of Design and Operation recovered by cooling hot lean oil. [f the feed is hot, e.g.,
• from compressor discharge, it should be cooled to the low-
, The design of most natural gas processing plants is
est practical temperature, using either cooling water or air.
based on the recovery of a certain component, usually
either propane or ethane. Since both the absorber exit gas
and the ROD overhead gas contain the base component as Absorption Section Calculations
the heavy key, the design material balance of those two
systems must be interdependent. For example, in setting up The calculation procedures discussed in this section are
• the preliminary material balance for a gas plant based on 70

percent propane recovery, the absorber must overabsorb so
based on estimating the total vapor feed to the absorption
section. This is followed by conventional calculations to
• that there is enough extra propane in the ROD feed to
permit a reasonably low lean oil rate to the latter tower.
determine lean oil and tray requirements for the desired
separation. The final step calculates the temperature profile
• The optimum absorption will result in the lowest total lean
oil rate to the absorber and the ROD combined. As a rule·
across the absorption section and estimates intercooler re-
quirements.
• of-thumb, the absorption section of the ROD will have to
absorb a minimum of 95 percent of the heavy key vapor Known Data. The following information must be es·
• feed, including the internal vapor. tablished firmly prior to commencing calculations.
I
•
•
•
•
•
, 16 Petroleum Refinery Distillation
1. Feed total flow rate and composition. The value of (HK6)1 is the first estimate of the heavy
2. Feed temperature and pressure. key from the stripping section< It is added to the heavy key
3. Lean oil composition and available temperature levels. in the feed flash vapor for the second iteration.
Maximum lean oil availability if there is a limitation. Iteration 2 is made as follows.
4. Recovery of heavy key in the bottoms liquid and rejec·
tion of light key to the overhead gas. I. (HKI), = (HK6), + (HKF~).
2. (HK3), = (HKIJ, - (HK2).
Feed Flash. Calculate the feed flash. Using this and the 3. (LK3), = K; (HK3),
key split required by the design separation, set up a mate- 4. (LK4), = (LK3), + (LKFU.
rial balance table and flow sheet showing the internal 5. (LK6), = (LK4J, - (LKL).
streams at the feed tray. 6. (HK6), = K', (LK6J,.
Estimate of Key Components Leaving the Stripping This procedure is repeated until the following is satis-
Section. The flow rates of the light and heavy key com· fied.
ponents in the vapor stream leaving the stripping section is
estimated by a continuously iterative technique which is
(HK6)n + I = (IIK6)n-
based on the assumption that the ratio of heavy key to light
key in the stripping section,exit vapor, V~, is the same as in Nine to 10 iterations wil! usually suffice to define the total
the feed flash vapor and that the ratio of light key to heavy key feed to the absorption section.
key in the absorption section exit liquid is the same as in
the feed flash liquid. This is the definition of a feed tray Estimate of Average (LNJ. The temperature of the gas
from an equilibrium viewpoint. Referring to Figure 5.10, leaving the top tray will be determined principally by the
tabulate the following data from the feed flash calculation temperature of the lean oil. The temperature approach at
and the overall tower material balance. the top of the tower can be anywhere from 5 to 50 degrees
F and will depend somewhat on the presence of com-
l. Heavy key, moles/hour in feed flash vapor, F~, as ponents lighter than the keys in the exit gas. It is generally
HKF~. true that the average temperature in the absorption section
2. Heavy key in overhead gas, G, as HK2. will be no more than 5 degrees F higher than this exit gas
3. Light key in feed flash liquid. FL. and LKFL. temperature. In the case of reboiled absorbers which have
4. Light key in bottoms liquid, L, as LK5. liquid intercoolers, the above statement can almost be con-
5. Calculate the ratio of heavy key to light key in F~ and sidered a rule.
designate as K'l' The question of trays versus lean oil rate is a classical
6. Calculate the ratio of light key to heavy key in F', and illustration of economic analysis. However, in the case of
designate as K;. Set up a flowsheet and material bal- reboiled absorbers, the solution is seldom clear-cut since a
ance for the iterative procedure. savings in trays and tower height requires an increased lean
oil rate. This in turn increases the refrigeration require-
For iteration I, the following arithmetical operations ments and necessitates greater capital investment and opera-
are performed. ting costs. For the most part, the number of trays is preset,
allowing lean oil rates to vary as a function of key com-
1. In stream I, Fy A, the heavy key is the same value as in ponent recovery. A suggested value for the number of trays
F~. (HK I), = (HKF~) where the numeral I inside the is 10 theoretical trays, which will usually result in approxi-
parentheses refers to the stream number, and the'sub- mately 20 real trays. For low recoveries, this may result in
script numeral 1 denotes the iteration number. lean oil rates which are too low for satisfactory tray opera-
2. The heavy key in the absorption section down flow liq- tion. In this case, the number of trays should be reduced to
uid, LA, is (HK3), = (HKI), - (HK2). provide an adequate oil rate.
3. The light key in LA !S(LK3), = K;(HK3),. The L/Y ratio for the required recoveries of the key
4. The light key in the stripping section feed liquid, F LS, components are calculated for a range of temperatures en-
is the sum of the absorption section exit liquid and the compassing the expected absorption temperature. This pro-
5.
feed flash liqUid. (LK4), = (LK3), + (LKF L).
The light key in the stripping section overhead vapor,
cedure is as follows.
V~, is (LK6), = (LK4). - (LKL). I. Calculate the required absorption for the total light
6. The heavy key in V~ is calculated as and heavy key components entering the absorption sec-
(HK6), = K', (LK6).. tion as estimated by the iterative procedure.
I
•
, Refinery Light Ends Fractionation 117
(2) G
...L
---
H K2
-_lo
--
ABSORPTION
SECTION
FYA CD
~
F 'y V's (6) .-
H KF'y
KI~(~)
F'y
r---= l=
" F
,
• I'
'.
'T F',
LKF't
L'A (j)
K2~(}&)F"
r~
cr FLA «)
STRIP PING
SECTI ON
FEED TRAY
,
'. 0'Q O
"
'---r" ® L
LKS
Figure 5.10. Vapor and liquid traffic in a reboiled absorber. Note: lean oil and reboiler not included in overall or feed tray
balances.
•
• 2, Using an absorption factor chart (20), fmd the proper The component which has the highest value of L/V is the
• 3.
values of the absorption factor, A. for 10 trays.
Using K values covering the desired temperature range,
one whose recovery sets the design.
An interesting point which has come to light in the
calculate the required L/V as analysis of several demethanizers and deethanizers is that,
in demethanizers, the controlling separation remains be-
L/V = AK. tween C2 and C3 up to a recovery level of about 75 per-
•
118 Petroleum Refinery Disti!lation
cent, based on fresh feed. Above this level of C2 recovery, tray. Note that the heavy key absorption factor is constant
the calculation of a C 1 - C2 split more accurately describes throughout the design. T~e degree of light ends absorption
the operation. on the top tray can be estimated closely since their total
absorption has already been established.
Light Ends in Absorption Section Feed Gas. Estimate
the rates of components in the feed gas to the absorption Estimate of Operating Temperature and Lean 0;1 Rate
section which are lighter than the controlling key com-
ponent at the same temperature used in the previous step. At the same assumed temperature, the lean oil rate
This procedure is as follows. required to form a bubble point liquid with the estimated
top tray absorbate is calculated. This rate is then used to
I. At a constant absorption factor which is detennined by calculate the average L!V and the key component absorp·
the controlling key, calculate L!V :::: AK at the indi- tion factor.
cated temperature levels.
2. Tabulate K values for all light ends at these tempera· (L/V).WG. = 0.5 [(Lo)jG + (Lo + (IVA + G))/(FVAlj
tures.
3. Calculate the absorption factors for all the light ends.
4. From the absorption factor chart, estimate recoveries
for the light ends using 10 trays. From these recoveries, where the heavy key K value is evaluated at the assumed
the light ends in the feed gas can be estimated. temperature. This is a trial-and-error procedure.
Ordinarily, the variation in feed gas quantity with tem- Heat Balance
perature will be relatively smal1. For variations of this order
of magnitude, the use of flow rates at a temperature The heat released by the absorbat~ is calculated as an
thought to be near the average absorption temperature is isothermal condensation at the calculated temperature of
justifiable since the equilibrium data are seldom any more the top tray. This heat must be absorbed by the lean oil. If
accurate than this. the lean oil rate which was calculated as shown above is too
small to absorb the heat, assume a higher top tray tempera-
Heavy Ends in Absorption Section Feed Gas. The pres- ture and repeat the calculations.
ence in the absorption section feed gas of components
heavier than the controlling key component is estimated by
the following assumption. tLo = (Q/Lo)/CLo, degrees F.
tLo = (tTOP TRA Y - t Lo INLET)' degrees F.
Components heavier than the controlling (heavy) key
are present in the stripping section exit vapor and,
hence, in the absorption section feed vapor, in the
same ratio to this heavy key as they exist in the feed Lean Oil Losses to the Overhead Gas Stream
flash vapor.
The amount of lean oil going overhead with the gas
This is expressed algebraically as stream is estimated by making a dew point calculation on
the exit gas at the top tray temperature.~
Total Lean Oil Requ;rements

Absorption Section Feed Gas. Using the information
developed in the previous two steps, tabulate the composi- The total amount of lean oil which must be fed to the
tion of the feed gas to the absorption section. top tray of the tower is the sum of the amounts calculated
above.
Top Tray Calculations. A complete material, heat and
equilibrium balance is made around the top tray in the Tray-by· Tray Material Balance. Using an absorption
tower by the following step~by-step procedure. factor chart and the assumed average absorption tempera-
ture, estimate the absorption of each component on each
Component Absorption tray and tabulate a tray-by~tray material balance. Note that
the components lighter than the heavy key are absorbed
From the absorption factor chart, estimate the absorp~ from the top while the heavy key and heavier are absorbed
tion of the heavy key and lighter components on the top from the bottom.
Calculated Temperature Profile. Develop a tempera- McGraw-HilI Book Company, Inc. 1959).
ture profile for the absorption by calculating bubble points 3. 1.B. Maxwell, Data Book on Hydrocarbons (Princeton,
on the liquid leaving each tray. Plot this temperature profile N.J.: D. van Nostrand Co., 1965).
4. W.e. Edmister, Applied Hydrocarbon Thermodynamics
and calculate the average temperature as the arithmetic
(Houston: Gulf Publishing Company, 196 I).
average of all points. This is the average absorption temper- 5. Technical Data Book'-Petroleum Refining (Washing-
ature. ton, D.e.: American Petroleum Institute, 1966).
Estimate the heat released on each tray by the absorb- 6. J .M. Ascrizzi, "Ethane Specifications for Ethylene Pro-
ate. Calculate the lean oil temperature rise across each tray. duction," Hydrocarbon Processing 46, no. 4, (April,
1967), pp. 139-40.
Plot this temperature profile and calculate the average 7. W.D. Harbert, "Which Tower Goes Where'!" Petroleum
absorption temperature. In many cases, these temperatures Refiner 36, no. 3 (March, 1957), pp. 169-74.
wiII be somewhat greater than those calculated from bubble 8. H.e. Bozeman, "New Techniques Spur Changes in
points. Light Ends Processing," Oil and Cas Journal (August
If the average absorption temperature as calculated 31,1964), pp. 48·57.
9. W.L. McCabe and E.W. Thiele, "Graphical Dcsign of
from bubble points exceeds the assumed average absorption
Fractionating Columns," Indu.strial and Engineering
temperature, use intcrcooling of lean oil back to its base Chemistry 17, no. 6 (Junc, 1925), pp. 605-11.
temperature. The appropriate tray for locating the inter- 10. A.J.Y. Underwood, J. Inst. Pet. 32 (1926), pp. 614-26.
cooler or intercoolers if more than one is required can be II. M.R. Fenske, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 24
determined by inspection of the temperature profiles. (1932), p. 482.
12. F.W. Winn, "New Relative Volatility Method for Distil-
Plot a new temperature profIle using the heat release
lation Calculations," Petroleum Refiner 37, no. 5
data but showing the effect of the intercooler(s). This new (May. 1958).
average absorption temperature is the final value and must 13. E.R. Gilliland, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 32
not exceed the orginally assumed value. (1940), p. 1220.
Calculate the duties of the intercooler(s). 14. W.A. Mason, Petroleum Refiner 38, no. 5 (May, 1959),
p.237.
J 5. W.e. Edmister, "Absorption and Stripping Factor
Stripping Section Calculation Functions for Distillation Calculations by Manual and
Digital-computer Methods," AIChE Journal 3, no. 2
(June, 1957),pp. 164·71.
Detailed instructions for calculating the stripping sec- 16. RJ. Hengstebeck, "A Simplified Method for Solving
Multicomponent Distillation Problems." AIChE Trans-
tion of the tower and the overall heat balance are not given actions (1946), pp. 309-29.
here since they are quite straightforward. 17. R.J. Hengstebeck, "A Rigorous Graphical Method for
Calculating Multicomponent Distillations," Chemical
Engineering Progress 53, no. 5 (May, 1957) pp. 243-48.
18. C.S. Robinson and E.R. Gilliland, Elements of Frac-
tional Distillation 4th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hili
References Book Company, Inc., 1950).
19. B.D. Smith, Design of Equilibrium Stage Processes
1. W.L. Nelson, Petroleum Refinery Engineering, 4th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1963).
(New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1958). 20. Engineering Data Book (Tulsa, Oklahoma: Natural Gas
2. R.J. Hengstebeck, Petroleum Processing (New York: Processors Suppliers Association, 1966).
,\~~ "
11 .1
11
(l
''II
(l l'
""
••
&1
",.
~
~ ••
C'
••
~
'", I
jj;"
•
"'i II
Although a pyrolysis gas quench tower physically occurs by virtue of being cooled below its dew point by ...
appears to be very similar to other types of refinery frac-
tionators considered previously, there is very little process
countercurrent contract with cool oil Or water. All process
heat is removed from the system by cooling the circulating ... I
similarity. Strictly speaking, a quench tower is a direct· quench fluids in external exchange equipment. No signifi- I
...'" I
contact gas cooler and scrubber, and any separation that cant amount of process heat is removed by internal reflux
occurs is limited to a single stage flash. However, this type within the tower. The reasons for this are fairly obvious.
of tower is included for discussion because the general cal· Hot, spent quench liquid is pumped from the bottom of a
culation procedure is similar to those used elsewhere and section, through a cOQler and back to the top of the same
... I
because the analysis of the pyrolysis oil separation is han-
dled most easily by using petroleum oil techniques.
section. From an equilibrium viewpoint this liquid is always
much heavier than it should be with respect to the vapor I
...'" I
This chapter describes a pyrolysis gas quench tower for composition of the zone under study and can be considered
a light naphtha cracking plant in ethylene production. The an equilibrium liquid only upon leaving the bottom tray.
,,:' I
tower, as illustrated in Figure 6.1, is designed to employ a This greatly simplifies the calculations since all separations
two·stage oil quench operating with indigenously produced can be considered as simple flashes, thus avoiding tedious
quench liqUids. The attendant water section of the tower is
a single stage operation. Also included are general proce-
fractionation calculations.
r·,
I
dures for calculation of a tower operating with an outside
quench oil and for calculation of an all·water tower.
Properties of Tower Feedstream
t:
I
These techniques may be applied to any type of
quench tower design. whether it be propane cracking for
The effluent gas from a cracking furnace consists of a
large volume of light hydrocarbon gases, the dilution steam r I
ethylene or vacuum region decp cracking such as for acety·
lene or butadiene manufacture. as long as the proper analy-
and a small quantity of heavy pyrolysis products which are
liquids at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure. r I
t: I
sis and characteristics of the pyrolysis oils are correctly The relative amounts of pyrolysis oil, to be referred to as
identified. PO, are a function of the feedstock to the furnace and
.: I
While a quench tower has trays or packed sections, cracking severity, i.e., depth of cracking. The conditions of
external coolers, reflux lines and all the apparent parapher- the feed to any quench tower in terms of composition,
nalia of any conventional refinery distillation column, it
does not do any fractionation. Any interphase mass transfer
temperature and pressure are set by two factors. The first is
the furnace outlet temperature, determined by reaction ., I
120 I
I
• II
t
I
t·',
, I
I
I
Pyrolysis Gas Quench Tower 121
conditions which are normaHy in the range of 1,500 degrees

F. The second is the amount of cooling that takes place
between the furnace and the tower. Current designs call for
generating high pressure superheated steam immediately
downstream of the furnaces followed by line quenching.
This latter cooling is accomplished by directly injecting oil
or water into the cracked gas transfer line. The principal
aim is to reduce the cracked gas temperature as rapidly as
possible to avoid further uncontrollable reactions. The heat
recovery available from this cooling is of secondary impor-
tance to the process, although it may be 3 great overall
significance to the economics of the total plant. From this
discussion, it becomes obvious that the temperature of the
cracked gas entering the quench tower will be determined ENv.m-~
independently of any tower design considerations.

The breakdown of the hydrocarbon portion of the fur-
nace outlet into gas and heavy oil components is due to the
sampling methods of a furnace effluent. The hot gas is
cooled in a sampling device, usually nothing more than a
small water cooled heat exchanger. The resulting gas is sepa· VLOS
rated from the liquids produced, caught in a sample bomb Qvos
and analyzed by an appropriate method. The condensate,
mostly water, is extracted, and the hydrocarbon portion of
the liquids formed is recovered from the extract and ana·
Iyzed. While it would be possible to synthesize a continuous
TBP curve to describe both the gas and heavy oil fractiOns,
it serves no useful purpose since fractionation does not
occur here. The general characteristics of the portions of
the feed are given below_ ENV.ll
Hydrocarbon Gas
LO
The composition of this stream is given on a weight

and a molar basis. It will normally cover all light com-
pounds present from hydrogen through C4 or C s . which
represents the cut point between the gas and the residual ENV.1.
liquid fractions_ For this portion of the total tower feed,
calculate the average molecular weight, critical temperature
and pressure and the molal average (60 degrees F, 14.7 psia)
heat capacity. F
QF
Pyrolysis Oil
• The pyrolysis oil, PO, is characterized as a conventional

full-range hydrocarbon liquid, the nature of which is some-
• what different than those normally encountered in a refin-
ery_ While it is similar to streams in a catalytic cracking unit
• in that it is rich in ole fins, diolefins and aromati(.'S, it is Figure 6.1. Pyrolysis gas combination-oil and water
quench tower.
much more highly cracked. Thus, the heavier portion which
• boils above approximately 425 degrees F is rich in polynu-
clear aromatics such as naphthalene and similar materials_ possibilities and obtain experimental data describing the
In some cases, a solid phase may develop upon cooling the properties of the oil under study. For the purposes of sepa·
heavier portions. The process designer must consider such ration calculations, the TBP distillation and gravity of PO
·,
•
.-"'-"--
•
••
•
., '
are required as basic data. From this, the following data routed directly to fuel oil blending to a residual hydro-
should be developed: treater or to a coker if available.
a. Atmospheric EFY curve by Packie's procedure. If the recovered oils are used only for fuel, the mOre
b. Phase diagram. economical design would be only one oil section, and the
c. Vacuum region phase diagram by Edmister's liquid would consist of the total oil condensed at the tem-
procedure. perature and pressure conditions entering the water section.
d. Weight-volume-mole relationship. From an equipment viewpoint, the one oil section
design is more economical since only one set of pumps.
Steam exchangers and piping are required. However, the two-oil
section design provides two levels of hot oil temperatures.
This is the dilution steam that is charged to the furnace giving a higher degree of heat recovery or possibly low pres·
along with the cracking charge stock. The steam dilution sure steam generation. The design of the oil section should
rate is set by reaction section design requirements and is give thorough consideration to the various questions of
usually described as pounds steam per pound of charge. incremental capital investment and operating costs.
General Basis of Design Water Section
In a combination oil-water quench towey, the hot The function of the water section IS to cool the gas
cracked gas is first contacted with cool oil which reduces from the oil section exit temperature to the minimum pos·
the gas temperature to a point slightly above the water dew sible temperature consistent with the available utility cool·
point of the gas and at the same time condensing out the ing medium, simultaneously condensing the bulk of the
heavy portion of the PO. The gas then passes to the water dilution steam. It is quite pos:;ible to achieve a 5 degree F
section where it is cooled by direct water washing. The approach of cooled gas to inlet quench water temperature.
dilution steam and some additional lighter PO are can· This is a very important point since the lower the quenched
densed. The general points to be considered in setting up temperature. the lower the horsepower required for the
the design are as follows. cracked gas compressor. It has generally proven economical
to design the external quench water coolers for as low as a
Oil Section 10 degree F cold end approach. This, in effect, means that
the design temperature of the quenched cracked gas should
Pyrolysis oil is a valuable liquid rich in benzene, tolu- be no less than 15 degrees F higher than the maximum
ene, xylenes, naphthalene and other materials that are in available cooling water temperature.
high, demand. Unfortunately, the heavy high boiling back The inlet ~temperature of gas to the water sectIon
end has little material value for other than fuel oiL It can be should be approximately 50 degrees F above the cracked
converted to a satisfactory catalytic cracking feedstock by
severe hydro treating, and it can be hydrocracked. However,
gas water dew point temperature. The cool oil temperature "
to the top tray of the upper oil section should be set at
even in a large cracker, the volume of PO produced is so least 15 degrees F above the dew point. This latter consider·
small that it could not support such processing units by ation cannot be violated without the inherent possibility of
itself. Even so, it is advantageous to operate a two-stage oil liquid water condensing in the oil section causing severe
quench section if the total yield of oils in these two sec-
tions would be sufficient to justify splitting them. The
foaming of the oil and affecting tower stability.
The temperature of the outlet water is open to wide
••
lower section would be designed to condense out every- choice by the designer. The water rate can be minimized at
thing heavier than catalytic heavy-cycle oil which requires a the expense of heat transfer trays or vice versa. At this
TBP cut point of 850 to 950 degrees F. By using a high point, refer to Figure 6.2 which is a typical cracked gas if
I
scrubbing liquid rate, the entrainment of heavy oil and/or
pyrolysis semisolids to the upper oil section is minimized.
cooling curve. A line drawn from the inlet water point.
coordinates (zero BTU per hour. 95 degrees F), through the
I
,
The remainder of the oil condensed out at the conditions water dew point on the cracked gas curve, coordinates-
entering the water section will be recovered in the upper (129.3 million BTUs per hour,' 195 degrees Fl. and ex· t,
section and should be relatively clean.
This type of design is advisable only if oils are to be
tended to the water section limit line, approximate coordi·
nates (136 million BTUs per hour, 201 degrees F), describes ,.
recovered. In this case, the upper section oils are sent to a the minimum water rate and is analagous to a minimum
hydrotreater, an aromatics recovery unit, a coker or a simi- reflux rate in distillation work. This means that, for this •
lar unit. It is not suitable for cat-cracking feedstock because
of its high aromaticity. The oil from the lower section is
case, the quench water must leave the tower at a tempera·
ture of less than 201 degrees F in order to absorb the ,
f
T
DEW POINT
LIGHT OIL SECTION
>
c ,I
WATER DEW POINT

I
'OO~ /196"
-------
-----
IOO~
• I
,I'00 I I
---c:o-----.,,"',. --~,±,,~---~.!c, I --f, ----C,~,----"~,---~
• '"
,~
'" HEAT CONTENT OF GAS. MM !lTU/HR
Figure 6.2. Typical cracked gas cooling curve and quench tower temperature profile.
required amount of heat, using a finite number of heat possible condensation. However. the g<ls must be thor-
transfer trays. oughly scrubbed in order to wash back the nearly infinitesi·
• The quench water usually flows to a fairly large settling mal carbon and pyrolysis solids particles. This can only be
vessel operated at atmospheric pressure. In this vessel, a accomplished by bringing the gas and liquid into vigorous
separation occurs between the quench water and the oil contact. As is known from tray design principles, contact·
condensing in the water section. Limiting the hot quench ing efficiency can be obtained only at the expense of pres-
• water to a maximum of 180 degrees F provides for ade- sure drop. In this respect, a quench tower can be thought of
quate suction pressure to the quench water pumps. In Fig- as an absorber as well as a gas cooler. For this reason. it is
ure 6.2 the outlet water temperature was set at 150 degrees recommended that the tower be designed for a maximum
• F because of the pinch which could have developed had

180 degrees F been selected. On the surface of it, this seems
pressure drop of 5.0 psi for pressure services. For vacuum
quench towers where this much pressure drop is not :lYaila-
like a good subject for an economic study. but without ble. the problem can be overcome by using 2 grid-type
good heat transfer tray data, accurate results cannot be packing which provides good contact with reasonably low
• attained. pressure loss.
• Tower Pressure Drop Heat and Material Balance Calculations
The basic operating principle of the quench tower is to The following outlines a procedure for calculating the
cool the gas to the minimum temperature feasible with the heat and material balance around the various sections of a
available cooling medium. This will guarantee the maximum combination oil-and-water quench tower.
,
•
\'
-~
124 Petroleum Refinery Distillation II
••"
Preliminary Calculations cooling curve for the cracked gas, taking into account the
condensation of water and PO. This curve is required for
The following preliminary calculations are required to the thermal design of the tower.
••
establish the basic design approach. PO flash calculations have already been made in the
preliminary calculations. Thus, it is simple to calculate the
1. At the tower inlet pressure, calculate the PO dew paint heat curve from the tower inlet temperature down to the
water section inlet temperature. In the water section, it is
•
temperature. Calculate the water dew point tempera-
ture assuming no previous condensation of PO. necessary to set .several temperatures and pressures, calcu-
2. Given the overhead temperature and total pressure, cal- late the amount of water condensed and then calculate the
culate the quantity and composition of PO which heat effect, evaluating the heat content of the condensate
remains vaporized. This calculation is made as follows. at the outlet quellch water temperature. Note that the
water section calculations are based on assuming that the
II
a. The total gas leaves the tower saturated with water
vapor. Calculate the mole fraction of (hydrocar- pressure drop and molal PO condensation will vary linearly I.
bon gas + PO) \caving the tower in the overhead with temperature.
I
gas.
b. Assume a volume percent vaporization and convert
to moles per hOllr PO vapor going overhead bv
using the volume-mole-weight curves.
c. Calculate the PO partial pressure, P'PO, in the
overhead vapor.
.
External Cooling Streams
Water Section
The minimum inlet water temperature is set by assum-

••
I
d At P'PO and the vapor temperature, find the vol-
ume percent vapor at point (P'PO,T v) on the vacu-
ing an approach of 10 degrees F to the available cooling
water temperature. The criteria for setting the exit water
I
um region phase diagram. This point is translated
to the atmospheric EFV curve by assuming that
temperature has already been covered.
I
the difference between Tv and the nearest line of
constant vaporization is constant for the EFY
Light Oil Section
I
curve at atmospheric pressure and below. The va-
porization on the EFV curve should check the
The minimum oil inlet temperature should be at least
IS degrees F above the water dew point of the gas. The
I
assumed value. If it does not, repeat the
procedure.
outlet oil temperature should be set to provide a lower heat
level than is available from the base section. A rough rule-
I
3. Having set the temperature and pressure of the inlet gas
to the water section, make a flash calculation on the
of-thumb is that the hot light oil should be no closer than
50 degrees F to the hot heavy oil temperature. This will
I
PO at that point by the same procedure as in Step 2
above.
result in an effective two-temperature level heat recovery
system. A secondary procedure for setting the hot oil tem-
I
4. Set the temperature and pressure at the light oil section perature is to select a hot temperature point which will
yield approximately three McCabe-Thiele-type heat transfer
I
inlet. This is detennined by deciding what portion of
the oil is to be condensed in the heavy oil section. The stages as shown for the light oil section on Figure 6.2.
t·
I
criteria for this decision were discussed in the section
"General Basis of Design-Oil Section." Note that this i~ Heavy Ofl Section
'.
I
also the bottoms liquid temperature. Calculate the
flash on PO at these conditions by the same procedure The temperature of the outlet heavy oil is the same as I
as in Step 2 above.
5. Calculate the moles per hour, pounds per hour and
the bottoms temperature. The cool oil temperature is deter-
mined by the oil rate which is a function of tower diameter.
.. I
gallons per hour of the oil yielded from all three sec-
tions and from the overhead stream.
This must be set at the last of the design. It is desirable to
have a cool heavy oil at a higher level than the hot light oil I
,. I
6. Set up a process tlowsheet and material balance for all temperature.
inlet and outlet streams. Record key temperatures for
the gas and the bottoms liquid. Heavy Oil Section Heat Balance
t
I
Gas Cooling Curve The heavy oil section is calculated by making a heat
balance around Envelope I as shown on Figure 6.1. I
In order to determine the heat effect across each sec-
tion of the tower, it is useful to calculate and to plot a I
t
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
But since very small amounts of material are present with

respect to the large amounts of gases and water vapor, the
The external heat removal requirement is calculated by calculation is easily resolved.
The type of oil for this service is very important. Since
the liquid is in contact with hot gases at relatively low
pressure, the quench oil will decompose if it is a suitable
Light Oil Section Heat Balance cracking feedstock. Thus, straight-run distillates or gas oils
should not be used for this service. Rather, a catalytic cycle
The light oil section is calculated by making a heat oil, a coker gas oil or a stream with a similar processing
balance around Envelope II of Figure 6.1. history should be used.
Q11\ = Qi LOS = Q F All-Water Quenching Operation
QOUT = QOLOS =(QHO + QLO + QHOS) In cracking plants designed for light hydrocarbon feed-
stocks, the volume of PO in the furnace effluent is quite
The external heat removal requirement is calculated by small so that an oil quench is not usually employed. An
all-water system is common although it does not do as good
a job of washing the gas. In cracking units having an all-
water quench system, the downtime for cleaning the
The circulating oil rate in the light oil section is calculated cracked gas compressor is Significantly greater than in
plants using an oil wash. Reboiler fouling problems are also
by
more severe.
The calculations for such a system follow the same
general procedure as for the combination tower and is out-
lined below.
Water Section Heat Balance
1. Calculate the PO and water leaving with the overhead
The water section is calculated by making a heat bal- gas.
ance around Evelope III of Figure 6.1. 2. Set the outlet water temperature.
3. Calculate and plot the cooling curve, evaluating the
Q 1N = QiWS = Q F heat content of the liquids formed at the outlet water
temperature.
QOUT = QOWS = (QW + QLO + QHO + QHOS + 4. Calculate the required outside heat removal require.
QWS)· ments,
The external heat removal is calculated by Preliminary Process Design Calculations
To this point, all the process design has been done with
the exception of establishing the circulating oil rate and
The circulating water rate in the water section is calculated cool oil temperature in the heavy oil section. For the pur·
by pose of getting a vigorous wash of the hot gas, an inlet oil
rate of 20 gpm per square foot of tower cross·sectional area
is arbitrarily recommended. There is nothing magic about
this rate, but it has been used in the design of many success·
Operation with Quench Oil Makeup ful catalytic cracking fractionators in the desuperheating
and condensing sections, and the services are quite similar.
In the e..'ent that the rate of PO condensation in the The thermal design of the tower must also be checked and
system is insufficient to keep tars and heavy ends from the proper number of heat transfer trays provided. The fol-
accumulating to an inoperable degree, an external oil may lowing procedure is used to arrive at the final process design
be fed to the tower at a suitable rate. In designing for this of the tower.
case, it is necessary to flash the external oil at the exit
conditions from the various sections, actually reducing to a 1. Calculate and tabulate the vapor and liquid loadings at
double trial·and-error flash on both PO and the outside oil. the inlet and outlet of the light oil and water sections.
i1
t,' . ~
~
--
2. Using a suitable tower-sizing procedure. calculate the
required tower diameter at 24-inch tray spacing for the
above loadings. By varying tray spacing in all sections
as may be indicated, select the optimum minimum
1.
2.
3.
Calculate the log mean temperature difference for the
section.
From the heat balance calculations, tabulate Q for the
section.
Using a suitable heat transfer coefficient (References 7
t'f
t'f
t'f
• •
II
••
tower diameter.
3. Using this tower diameter, set the cool oil rate to the and 8 in Chapter 4), calculate the required tray area
t'f
tower at 20 gpm per foot of total cross-section area. and number of trays.
For this rate, calculate the cool oil inlet temperature t'f
••
which will absorb the required amount of heat. Tabu- Note that in the water section, there is sufficient devia-
late vapor and liquid loadings for the heavy oil section. tion from linearity' to preclude the use of the log mean ('t
Calculate the tower diameter for a 24-inch tray temperature difference. The curve is broken down into
smaller increments \vhere the log mean temperature differ- ('
••
spacing.
ence can he applied.
If this calculated tower diameter is less than the key
Vapor-Liquid Traffic
r:
tray tower diameter at 24-inch tray spacing, the design is
.•
satisfactory. If it is greater, the heavy oil section will be the th:
key section of the tower, and the oil rate should be In performing the process and mechanical design of the
•
designed for this latter diameter. tower, it is useful to know the vapor and liquid loadings at {;
all key trays. Also. the rapid shrinkage of the vapor in the
water section is of particular interest in optimization of the
.., I
Thermal Design
tray design. The data for calculating these loadings is availa-
The heat transfer tray area required to absorb the cal- ble in the cooling curve calculations and from the water
I
.. •
circulation ratc. The vapor temperature is then related to
culated amount of heat is detennined by the following pro-
cedures: the 3ctual tray number of the tower. ....
.. •
.. •
.. I
.•
.. •
... ••
te'
.' •
.',.. •
.. ••
. •
t·
t,
I
. • ••
t,
t;
t
•• I
t
t
•
II
CRUDE: TIA JUANA LIGHT
COUNTRY: VENEZUELA
Rep,esentative of: Current (March 1969) grade of Tia Juana Light
from the La Salina terminal in Lake Maracaibo. Assay run on
two-drum sample received from Amuay.
File No: SL.121C-AN.69

Report Date: December 18, 1969
Date Received: May 1969
Date Distilled: August 1969
Cos teen ter: 2520-311
Assay Run By: Humble Oil & Refining Company
Refining Department
Refinery Laboratory
Baytown I T exo s
• Sponsored By: Esse International - Cargo Sales
Esso Internotional - Supply and Tronspor~otion
, SO(NJ) - Logistics Coordination Deportment
• SO(NJ) - Planning Coordination Department
E. R. & E. - Engineering Information Center
• 127
,
•
,
•
TABLE 1
___CR_UDE_I ___ _JUANA

TIA _ _LIGHT
______ ~II
. ___ ____~
SL.121C-AN.69
WHOLE CRUDE DATA
Gravity °API 31.6

Specific Gravity 60/6C 0.8676
Su I fu r Wt. % 1.08
Pour Point of -5
Water and Sediment Vol. % 0.0
Salt Content, NaCI pt b 0.85
Reid Vapor Pressure psi 4.9
H,S (Dissalved) ppm 0
Neu!. Na. (0664) mg KOH/gm 0.11
Viscosities:
Kinematic @ 70°F cs 16.1

100"1' cs 10.2
Soybolt Universal @ 70"1' sec. 81.4
100°F sec.
59.5
LIGHT HYDROCARBONS
% ON CRUDE Wt. Val.
Methane
Ethane 0.02 0.04

Propane 0.22 0.37
I so Butane 0.18 0.27
Normal Butane 0.60 0.89
I so Pentone 0.56 0.77
Normal Pentane 0.82 1.13
Crude Assay 129
TABLE 2
I~C_R_U_D_E_I_______T_IA__J_UA_N_A__LI_G_H_T____________~I IL___S_L_._1_21_C_-_AN_._6_9__~
PERCENT DISTILLED VS 15/5 ASSAY STILL TEMPERATURE (FAHRENHEIT)
Total Distilled - % Volume On Crude

15/5 Cut Po;n' of VT
0 iO 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
1.6 2.0 2.4

100 2.8 3.2 3.7 4.1 4.6 5.2 5.9 6.6 7.3 8.0 I
200 8.8 9.7 10.5 11.3 12.2 13.0 13.9 14.8 15.7 16.7
300 17.7 18.6 19.5 20.4 21. 3 22.3 23.2 24.2 25.1 26.1
400 27.0 27.9 28.9 29.9 30.8 31.8 32.8 33.7 34.7 35.7
500 36.6 37.5 38.5 39.5 40.4 41.4 42.3 43.3 44.3 45.3
600 46.3 47.3 ,48.3
, 49.2 50.2 51. 1 52.0 52.9 53.9 54.8
,
700 55.7 56.7 57.7 58.6 59.4 60.3 61.3 62.2 63.0 63.8
64.6 65.4 66.3 67.2 68.0 68.8 69.6 70.4 71.2 71.9
., 800
900 72.6 73.3 74.1 74.8 75.5 76.2 76.8 77 .5 78.2 78.7
1000 79.3 79.9 80.5 81.1 181.6 82.1
~
i5
."
m
TABLE 3 ~
<3
ro
ICRUDEI - -- - - - - 11- -- _n_
c
3
:rJ
"!,
TIA JUANA LIGHT . SL.121C-AN.69 5'
m
-<
o
~.
LIGHT ENDS - COMPOSITION AND CALOJLATIONS
§\
o·
o
ASSAY STILL GAS C,/158"F. VT NAPHTHA TOTAL
1.!:I1 liq. Vol. % on Crude 3.n Liq. Vol. % on Crude LIGHT ENDS G. C. ANALYSIS
Mol. % Liq. Vol. % Liq. Vol. % From G. C. liq. Vol. % OF WHOLE CRUDE
From M. S. On Cut On Crude On Cut On Crude On Crude liq. Vol. %
C, & Lighter 3.1 2.2 0.04 0.04 0.1
C. 22.4 20.1 0.37 0.1 0.37 0.4

-----------.-- - -.- --------.---- ---------.--- ------------ --------.---- --.-------.--. ------------ ----.---.---.----.
i-e .. 12.9 . 13.6 0.25 0.3 0.02 0.27 0.4
n-e .. 42.0 42.9 0.79 2.4 0.10 0.89 0.8
(1.57) (1. 7)
-- - - - -- -- - - - - - - - -- -------------- ------------. ----- -----.- -.----------- .------------. ----------- ------------.----.
i-ell 11. 1 13.0 0.24 13.4 0.53 0.77 0.9
n-C II 6.9 8.2 0.15 24.7 0.98 1 .13 1 .2
C,+ 1.6 59.1 2.34 2.34

Total 100.0 100.0 1.84 100.0 3.97 5.81
- - ~-..
-----...:...--.... =:;;;;,;;,;==~--- .... -
- .. .. .. • "'.. ..- 4 ._.. .."
t ------.--.;--.I!!II.nn
::,_~~_T.~" .,;~...~_.,? '!? ~.~ r::!~:. ~ .~ .~ .-~ ~
"_JIIIIIJIIY.4iP-;';
.:"
Crude Assay 131
TABLE 4
CRUDE I
I TIA JUANA LIGHT SL.121C-AN.69
I I I
STRAIGHT RUN OEBUTANIZEO GASOLINES
ISIS Cut Point of VT 68· 158 68·212 68· 248 68· 302 68·374
ISIS Cut Point °C VT 20·70 20·100 20· 120 20· 150 20· 190
Yield Cut Range Vol. % 1.6-5.9 1.6-9.8 1.6-12.9 1.6-17.7 1.6-24.6
Yield on Crude Vol. % 4.3 8.2 11 .3 16.1 23.0
Gravity "API 83.5 74.3 69.8 64.8 59.5
Specific Gravity 60/60 0.6581 0.6876 0.7029 0.7208 0.7408
Totol Sulfu, Wt. % 0.008 0.008 0.008 0.008 0.011
Mercaptan Sulfur ppm 2 2 2 2 2
Reid Vapor Press. ps i 10.8 7.4 5.8 4.4 3.3
Research Oct. No.
Clear 68.0 63.3 60.2 55.7 49.8
+ 1.5 ml TELlUSG 83.2 78.8 75.7 71.2 65.1
+ 3.0 ml TEL/USG 87.8 83.6 80.7 76.7 71.5
Motor Oct. No.
+ 3.0 ml TEL/USG 87.0 82.7 80.2 77 .0 73.2
ASTM 0·86*
Vol. % 0 + L @ 70 00158 OF 99.0 35.0 16.0 9.0 4.0

@100 °C1212 OF 96.0 69.0 45.0 24.0
@12YC125rF 100.0 81.5 46.5
, @150 °CI 3:)2 of 100.0 72 .5
@180 °C/356 OF 99.0
* Oetoiled ASTM 0·86 doto in appendix tobl e 6

,
, AiiI~
•
•
,
TABLE 5
L
TIA JUANA LIGHT
_C_R_U_D_E_I__________________________________ .. ~I l________~~____~
SL.121t-AN.69
NAPHTHAS
15.15 Cut Point uF VT 68/158 158/212 2121248 2121302 248/302 3021374
15/5 Cut Point "C VT 20/70 70/100 100/120 100/150 120/150 150/190
Yield Cut Range Vol. % 1.6-5.9 5.9-9.8 9.8-12.9 9.8-17.7 12.9-17.7 17.7-24.[
1
Yield on Crude Vol. % 4.3 3.9 3.1 7.9 4.8 6.9
I Mid-Point 3.8
Yolo % 7.9 11 .4 13.8 15.3 21.2
Gravity "API 83.5 65.0 58.7 55.8 54.1 49.5
Specific Gravity 60/60 0.6581 0.7201 0.7440 0.7555 0.7624 0.7865
Total Sulfur Wt. % 0.008 0.008 0.008 0.008 0.008 0.018 I
Mercaptan Sui fur ppm 2 2 2 2 2 2

Reid Vapor Pressure psi 10.8 3.3 1.6 1 .0 I
Research Octane Number
1
Cleor 68.0 58.1 51.7 47.8 45.4 39.2 ,
)
+ 3.0 ml TEL/VSG 87.8
Color Saybolt +30 +30 +30
Aniline Point 'f' 132 128 127 127 132
I
I
GC GC HC' GC HC' HC' HC' I
Poraff ;ns Vol. % 90.4 62.6 52.3 52.3 51.9 51.6 47.5
Nophthene. Vol. % 8.1 32.8 37.2 34.3 34.9 33.3 32.3
Aromatics Vol. % 1.5 4.6 10.5 13.4 13.2 15.1 20.2
* Calculated from type analyses data in Table 9.
. ..
TABLE 6
Crude Assay 133
I.
'--CRU_DEI_ _ _TIA
_JUANA
__ LIGHT
____ ~IIL . ____~
. _SL.121C-AN.69
HYDROCARBON COMPONENT ANALYSIS
15/5 Cut Point of VT Gos to 68 68 - 158

I
15/5 Cut Point °C VT Gos to 20 20 - 70
1374l Yield Cut Range Vol. % 0.0-1.84 1.84-5.81
1190 Yield On Crude Vol. %
1.84 3.97
~
Moss Spec. Gas Chromo
.9 L iq. Vol. % liq. Vol. %
. I
i .2 On Noph. On Crude On Naph. On Crude
l.5 Eth an e 2.2 0.04

.7865 Propane 20.1 0.37 0.1 0.01
I so Butane 13.6 0.25 0.3 0.01
018
n-Butane 42.9 0.79 2.4 0.10
I so Pentone 13.0 0.24 13.4 0.53
n-Pentane 8.2 0.15 24.7 0.98
2, 2-Dimethyl butane 0.9 0.04
2,3- Dim ethy I bu ton e 2.1 0.08
l.2 2-Methyl pentone 16.0 0.64
3·Methylpentane 9.8 0.39
,-- Cyclopentone 2.4 0.10
n-Hexane 20.2 0.80
2,2- Oi methylpentane 0.1 0.01
2,4·Dimethy Ipentane 0.2 . 0.01
Methyl eye lopentone 4.7 0.19
2·Methylhexane 0.1 o 01
IC' 2,3-Dimethylpen tone
'--
,
, .5 3-Methylhexane
Cyclohexane
0.1
1 0
0.01
o 04
,~ • 3
Benzene 1 5 n nh
\~ Summo!y~
Paraffins Vol. % 90 4
Naphthenes Vol. % 8.1
Aromati C5 Vol. % 1.5
, Actual yields and inspections on fractions shown in Tables 6 and 7 are those as cut from the assay
still. Value shown in Tables 4 and 5 differ slightly as they havo boon adjusted to reflect calculated
complete split between C .. and C~ hydrocarbon s.
•
•
,•
•
•
'J
r, 141 Wi"
I ,
-~I
/. \
!
TABLE 7
""
~IC_R_U_D_E_I_________T_I_A_J_U_A_NA__L_I_GH_T__________~I 5_L_.1_2_1_C-_A_N_._69__ ~ ":
f'
.:
''1I
t1
L I_ _ _
HYDROCARBON COMPONENT ANALYSIS <".

<"
1515 Cut Point DF vT 158-212 Summary:
62.6
~i
'1 t1
•
15/5 Cut Point DC vT 70-100 Paraffins Vol. SC
32.8 ~I
Yield Cut Range Va I. % 5.9-9.8 Naphthenes Vol. cr,~
3.9 4.6 ~;I

Yield On Crude Vol. % Aromatics Vol.
'" I)
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY Vol. % On Vol. % On •••

(',
t',
.•
Naphtha Naphtha
C
Methane 2, 4-Dim ethylhexone 0.2
E thone Methy Icyclohexane 7.7 {;
Propane
Isobutane
3, 3·0i m ethy Ihexane
2,2,3- Trim ethy 1pentane
I
n-Butane
I sopentane 0.3
2,3,4- T ri methy Ipen tone
2-M ethy 1- 3- E thy Ipen tone
I
n-Pentane
2,2-Dimethyl butane
0.3 1- T rans-2-Ci s-
4- T ri methy I cyclopentan e 0.2 I
2, 3-Dimethy I butane Ethylcyclopentane 0.6 I
2-Methy Ipentone
3-Methy Ipentone
1 ,8
1 .q
1- T ron s- 2-(i s-
3- T ri methy Icyclopen tone 0.1 I
Cyclopentone
n-Hexane 11 1
2, 3-Dimethy Ihexane
2-Methy Ih eptone o2 I
2,2·Dimethylpentone
2,4-0imeth y l pentone
0.3
1.0
4-Meth y Iheptane
3, 4-D imeth y Ihexone I
2,2,3- T rimethy Ibu tone
Methy 1eyelopentone 5.9
3-Methy Ihep tone
3-E thy Ihexone
I
3, 3-Di methylpentone
2-Methylhexone
n~
9. 1
1-Ci s-:J-DimeihyTeyel"hexone
1- T ron s-4·Dimethyl eyc lohexone
I
2, 3-Di methy Ipenton e
3-M.thy Ihexon e
3.6 l,1-Dimethylcyelohexone
1-Methyl- Trons-
I
Cyclohexane
111
R 1 3-E thy Icyelapentone I
2 2 4- Trimethylpentane
1 1-Dimethylcyelopentone 1 5
1-Methy l-Cis-
3- E thy I cyclopentone I
3-Ethylpentone
l·Ci .-3- Dim ethy Icy elopentone
1.0
2.3
1-Meth y l-Trons-
2· E thy I cyclopentone I
1- T rono-3-Dimethyl eydOJ>Onton.
_ ,1- T rons-2-Dimethy Icyclopentane
? 1
3.8
n·Qctone
2,2,4- Trim ethy Ihexane I
n-H,,!,tone
1-Ci s-2-Dimethy I eyc!op.ntane
20.3
0.3
1- Trons-2-Dimethyleyc!ohexone
2,4,4- T rim.thylhexane I
Benzene
2,2-Dimethy Ihexane
1 .7 2,3,5- T rimethylhexane
Toluene ~ Q
I
1,1,3- Trimethyl eyclopentane
2, 5-Dim ethylhexane
0.2
0.2
I-Trans-3-Dimethyleyelohexane
loCi s-4-Dimethy leyelohexane
I
I
~
.- I
I
'" J
t-..
,10.
I
L
_ D E_I
C R_U -_------=-:~
TIA JUANA LIGHT _ ___.JI. 1_ _ _
SL.121C-AN.69 ------1
HYDROCARBON COMPONENT ANAL YSIS
15/5 Cut Point cF VT 212-302 Summary:

15/5 Cut Point "C VT 100- 150 Paraffins Vol. % 52.3
Yield Cut Rance Vol. % 9 8-17 7 Nophthenes Vol. % 14 1
Yield on Crude Vol. ~ Vol. % 1 •
.c
7.9 Aromatic s
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY Vol. % On Vol. % On

Nophtho Naphtha
n-Hexone 224- Trimethvlhexane
22-Dimethvloentane 1- T ron s-2-0i methv leve 10 hexane
24- D imethylpentone 2,4,4- T rimethy Ihexane
223- Trimethylbutone 2,3,5- T ri methy 1hexane
Methv Icy c lope nta n e Toluene 3.6
3 J 3- Dime thy I pen ta ne 1- T ran s-3-0i methy I eye lohexone
2-Methvlhexane 0.4 1-e i s-4-0 imethv !eve lohexane
1.7
23-Dimethylpentane 0.1 22-Dimethvlheptone
3-Methvlhexane n 7 24-Dimethvlheotone
eye lohexane 0.1 26-Dimethvlheptane
? 24- Trimethvlpentane 44-Dimeth y lheptane
1 12.Tr-lmethylcyclopentone 0.1 l-Methyl-C i 5-2- E thy Ieye lopentone
3-EthvlDentane 2 5-Dimeth Iheptane
1-( i s-3-0 i methv Iey e Iopento ne 0.1 35-0imeihylheptone
1- T rans-3-D i met~~e I~eentone 0.1 33-0imeth v lheptone
1- T ran 5- 2- 0 i methv Icv e I0 eentone 0.3 1-( i 5-2-0 imethy I eyelohexone 0.5
n-Heptane 5.4 E thy Iey e Iohexone 4.5
1-C i s- 2-0 i methy Ieye lopenta n e 2 Methyl 3 Ethyl Hexane
Benzene 2,3,3- Trimethylhexone
2 ,2-=Oi methyl hexane 3,3,4=1 rimeth"ylhexane
1,1,3- T ri methylcye lopentane n 4 2,3- D i meth y Ihepta ne
2,5-0i methy Ihexan e 0.5 3,4-0 imethylheptane
2 4~Dimethylhexane 717 4- thv heptone
Methyleye lohexane 5.6 4-Methyloetane 1.3
3 3-Dimethylhexane 0.1 1,1,4- Trimethyleyelohexone
2,23-Trimethylpentane 2-Methyloetane 3.7
2,3,4- Tri methylpentane 3-Ethylheptan e
2 MethYT 3tthyl Pentane n ? 3-Meth y loetane 3.2
1- T rans-2-C i s-4- 2.3-0 i meth, 1-3- E thy I penton e
T ri methvl eve iooentane 0.6 3 3-Diethvloentane
E thv levclooentane n 7 l-Ci s-3- T rans-5-
1- T ran s· 2-Ci s-3- Trim eth~ I'eve lohexane
T rimethv Ieyciopenta ne
0.7 1- T rans-2- T rans-4-
2 3-Dimethylhexane n Ii T rimethyleyclohexane
2-Methylheptane --;;? n-Nonane 7 A
4-Methylheptane 7 ? C II Naphthenes
34-0imethylhexane o6 Ethylbenzene
1 "
3-Methy Ihe ptone 4.1 Paraxylene
3-Ethylhexone 0.1 Metaxylene 5.5
loCi s-3-0imet~lC;elohexane Orthoxylene
1 "
~_1- Trans-4-Dimethylcyc lohexane 4.3 C. Isoporoffins
1, t-=Oimethylc yelohexane n-Decane
l-Methy 1- T ron .-3· C to Plus Naphthenes
E thv leve looe ntan e IsopraPYT'benzen e
l·Methyl-Ci .-3-
O.B
n-Propylbenzene
0.7 I
E thv leve 10Dentane Meta-t t yl- oluene
l·Methy I· T ron s- 2· Para-Ethyl- T cluene
Ethvlevclopentane Other ell & Heavier Paraffins 0.7
n-Octane 14 ~ 1 (II & Heavier Naphthenes 13.B
TABLE 9
~IC_R_u_D_E_I________T_IA__J_UA_N_A__L_IG_H_T____________~I S_L_.1_2_1C_-_A_N_.6_9__
L I_ _ _ ~
HYDROCARBON TYPE ANALYSIS
1515 Cut Point OF VT 212-248 248-275 275-302 302-320
Range of Cut Vol. % 9.8-12.9 12.9-15.2 15.2-17.7 17.7-19_4

Yi eld on Crude Vol. % 3.1 2.3 2.5 1 .7
Yield on Cut:
Paraffins. Vol. % 52.3 52.6 50.7 52.8

Naphthenes Vol. % 37.2 34.2 32.5 31.4
Arom ati c s Vol.% 10.5 13.2 16.8 15.8
15/5 Cut Point Of VT 320-347 347-374 374-401 401-428
Ronge of Cut Vol. % 19.4-22.0 22.0-24.6 24.6-27.2 27.2-29.8

Yield on Crude Vol. % 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.6
Yield on .Cut:
Paraffins Vol. % 46.3 45.2 48.7 42.1
Naphthenes Vol % 32 .2 33.1 34 8 40 .4
Aromatics Vol. % 21.5 21.7 16.5 17.5 ..
- ~
,I
Cut Point VT 536-563
15/5
Range of Cut
Of
Vol. %
428-455
29.8-32.3
455-482
32.3-34.8
482-509
34.8-37.5
509-536
37.5-40.0 40.0-42.6
.'
t
Yield on Crude Vol. % 2.5 2.5 2.7 2.5 2.6 ,I

,I
Yield on Cut:
n
Paraffins
Naphthenes
Vol. %
Vol. %
48.7
35.8
46.4
34.1
44.6
32.8
43.9
29.6
41. 3
28.1
t
-
t,
n
Aromatics Vol. % 15.5 19.5 22.6 26.5 30.6
II
-~
---
I
- --
I
I
\,
I
~
Crude Assay 137
TABLE 10
L
. CRUO_E_ _
TIA JUANA LIGHT _ ------'I. .L_-----'
SL.121C-AN.69
KEROSENE & TURBO FUELS
15/5 Cut Po;nt of VT 302-401 302-455 302-536 374-536 401-509

15/5 Cut Po;nt °C VT 150-205 150-235 150-280 190- 280 205-265
Yield Cut Range Vol. ~
" 17.7-27.2 17.7-32.3 17.7-40.0 24.6-40.0 27.2-37.5
Y;eld On Crude Vol. % 9.5 14.6 22.3 15.4 10.3
Mid-Po in t Vol. % 22.5 25.0 28.9 32.3 32.4
Gravity °API 48.2 46.2 43.2 40.7 40.6
Specific Gravity 60/60 0.7874 0.7963 0.8100 0.8217 0.8222
Totol Sulfur Wt. % 0.021 0.045 0.14 0.19 0.17
Mercaptan Sulfur ppm 2 1 1 1 2
Smoke Point mm 24 23 22 20 20
Lum. No. 53.0 49.9 45.5 41.8 41.7
Freezing Point, IP of -89 -76 -54 -38 -37
Cloud Point Of > -80 -78 -56 -40 -38
Pour Point Of > -90 -80 -60 -45 -40
Aniline Point Of 133 136 143 150 150
Diesel Index 64 63 62 61 61
Color Soybolt +30 +24
Refractive Index @67OC 1.4180 1.4238 1.4309 1.4380 1.4383
Paraffins Vol. % 47.8 46.9 46.2 45.7 45.4
Nophthenes Vol. % 33.0 34.8 33.9 34.6 35.8
Aromatics Vol. % 19.2 18.3 19.9 19.7 18.8
Aromatics, FIA Vol. % 18.7 18.0
Vi scosities:
Kinematic @ -3CfF cs 3.91 5.30 9.30 16.0 16.2

O°F 2.53 3.35 5.10 7.80
"
iii 100°F 1.00 1.17 1.48
7.70
1.87 1.88
'--~----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
•
TABLE 11 w
CO
CRUOE I -_. __ . _. -- -]
TIA JUANA LIGHT [- ~12::.;J -0
~
(3
MIDDLE DISTILLATES r0-
c
3
OJ
15/5 Cut Point "F VT 302·40 I 32').650 40 1·509 40 1·650 509-590 590-698 302·698 ;
~
15/5 Cut po.nt "C VT 150·205 160-343 205-265 205-343 265- 310 310-370 1so· 370 ro
Yield Cut Range Vol. %
.<
17.7-27.2 19.4-51.1 27.2-37.5 27.2-51.1 37.5-45.2 45.2-55.6 17.7-55.6 o
Yield On Crude Vol. % 9.5 31.7 10.3 23.9 7.7 10.4 37.9 0."
Mid.Po'l'Il Vol. % 22.5 35.3 32.4 39.2 41.4 50.4 36.7 =
Grovity "API 48.2 39.3 40.6 36.8 35.5 30.7 38.5 'o·"
~
Specific Grav"Y 60/60 0.7874 0.8285 0.8222 0.8408 0.8473 0.8724 0.8324
Total SUtfUI WI. or. 0.021 0.35 0.17 0.44 0.51 0.91 0.42
Anilin. Point "F 133 154 150 159 162 171 154
Dienl Index 64 61 61 59 58 53 59
C.'one Index 52 49 54 55 58 53
Cloud POlnl "F > -80 -18 -38 -8 2 36 8
POur point OF :> -90 -20 -40 -10 0 35 5
Refractive Indll'll: " 67''( 1.4180 1.4435 1.4383 1. 4498 1.4533 1.4671 1.4457
Nevi. No. mg KOH/gm 0.08 0.09 0.09
Viscositi.,:
Kinemotic @ l00'-'f
" 1.00 2.30 1.88 3.08 3.70 8.10 2.55
iii 127'F 0.87 1.83 1. 54 2.40 2.82 5.70 2.02
i\> 150 U F 0.74 1. 46 1. 23 1. 83 2.12 4.05 1. 57
@ 210"F 0.54 0.97 0.85 1. 17 1. 32 2 . 17 1.03
Sr.lybolt Univtlrsal ~ 100''F sec. 33.6 32.2 36.2 38.2 52.4 34.5
if! 122"F 32 .0 34.0 35.4 44.7 32.7
A. R. . 7.6 8.8 9.0 9.9
N. R. 25.5 26.3 26.9 29.7
-
i
I
i
I
l_._ TABLE 12
F' .'
~ ~
! ~7" ~
.• ~ .~ ~ ~ ~ • ~ •• .. "'.. .. !' ~. ~""l ~ ...., fl ~:::L _~." ... .. .:::l\:::l\ ::> .;;>
'.~' - - - - ~ ~ ~m tiiJ ..;; ;;;;..;, ~ ;;,~;;,;,- .. ",,;.~;;,;;;. .... -l. __~_

,,;
1fIIf• • , .I.' ...... ' "

- li...:
r ~
I TlA JUANA LIGHT
TA.BLE 12
SL.121C-AN.69
CAS OILS
15/5 Cut Point of VT 650·752 752·851 851·950 950·1049 6.50-851 650- 1049 851·1049
15/5 Cut Point "C VT 343·400 400·455 455·510 510·565 343-455 343-565 455-565
Yield Cut Range Vol. % 51.1-60.3 60.3-68.8 68.8-76.2 76.2-82. I 51.1-68.8 51.1-82.1 68.8-82.1
Yield On Crude Vol. % 9.2 8.5 7.4 5.9 17.7 31.0 13.3
Mid·Point Vol. % 55.7 64.6 72.5 79.2 60.0 66.6 75.5
Gravity °API 27.9 24.7 21.9 19.3 26.3 23.9 20.7
Specific Gravity 60/60 0.8877 0.9059 0.9224 0.9383 0.8964 0.9106 0.9297
Totol Sulfur WI. % 1.08 1.20 1.35 1.55 1.14 1.28 1.44
Aniline Point "I' 178 189 199 207 183 192 202
Con Corbon WI. % 0.010 0.026 0.40 2.84 0.018 0.66 1. 50
Pour Point "I' 55 85 105 120+ 70 90 115
Refractive Indell ti>'67'l: 1.4748 1.4870 1.4975 1.5064 1.4807 1.4896 1.5016
Neul. No. mg KOH/gm 0.21 0.24
Nitrogen WI. % 0.080 O. I 02 0.152 0.285 0.091 0.144 0.212
Viscosities:
K inemotic @ lQOOf 14.3 47.5 24.7 68.0
@ 150"F
" 6.3 15.0 38.5 108 9.4 20.2 60.0
.175'F 4.4 9.5 22.2 55.8 6.35 12.8 33.0
• 210"1'
Say bolt Univenal @ IOO"F
.150"1'
.., 3.05
74.7
46.6
5.95
221
77.6
12.3
180
27 .0
502
4.15
118
57.0
7.65
315
99.0
17.2
280
.17S'F 40.7 57.4 108 260 46.9 69.3 156
.21(1'1' 36.4 45.7 67.5 129 39.9 51.2 86.8
Metals:
Vanadium ppm 0.68

Niclcel ppm 0.38
Iron ppm 0.60
A. R. 10.0 II .2 12.0 12.0 10.6 11.0 12.0
N. R. 32.0 34.2 --_. __
37.6
._--- 42.7 32.9 34.8 39.7
'\
TABLE 13
L
TIA JUANA LIGHT
_C_R_U_D_E_I____________________________________ ~I' .l__~~~~~~~
SL.121C-AN.69 __~
LUBE DISTILLATES
WAXY DEWAXED
LUBE LUBE
~J
15/5 Cut Point OF VT 796-1015 796-1015 I
~. I
15/5 Cut Point 't: VT 424-546 424-546
Yield Cut Range Vol. % 64.4-80.1 - ~., I
Yield On Crude Vol. % 15.7 14.1 ~I
72.3 -
Mid-Point Vol. %
I
{'I,
Gravity °API 22.2 20.3
Specific Gravity 60/60
~. I
0.9206 0.9321
Total Sulfur Wt. % 1.36
.
c·1
Con Carbon Wt. % 0.54 Phenol Treating
t>;~1
"~i
Aniline Point "I' 198 188 Susceptibility*
Refractive Index @67°C 1.4960 Phenol Treating
Neut. No. mg KOH/gm 0.24 Characteristics of
" I
Nitrogen Wt. %
OF
0.14
Dewaxed Lube Cut
.,. I
Pour Point
Wax Content Wt. %
110
9.1
0
-
Phenol/Oil
Ratio I
.,. I
Wax Melting Point "I' 113 Treat VI .. I

Vi scosity Index 74 46 Row Stock 46 ~. I
Vi seasi ties: 86
Kinematic @ 100"1' cs ( 152) 245
1/1
2/1 95
, I
@ 150"1' 38.1 50.7 3/l 99 .. I
@ 175 OF 22.6 28.2 ., I
@210"F
Soyboh Universal @100"1' sec
12.4
704
14.7
1137
Viscosity
Gravity
Constant
} 0.871
. I
- --
@210°F 67.9 76.9 *.From Established
Correlations
, I
t I
t·
t I
te. I
·. . . . 1
~~
....
t.
·.... 1
~r I
t'i
....J
"..1•
f".
~ .. .. """, ""II ..
"\ t_
TABLE 14
~
~_ TIA JUANA LIGHT SL.121C-AN.69
RESIDUA
15/5 Cut Point of VT 650. 700. 752+ 851+ 950+ 1049+ 4LB • 563+
ISIS Cut Point 'C VT 34:l> 371 ... 400+ 455+ 510+ 565+ 220+ 295+
Yield On Crud. Vol. % 48.9 44.4 39.7 31.2 23.8 17.9 70.2 57.4
Gravity °API 17.3 16.3 15.1 12.6 9.9 7.1 22.5 19.4
Specific Gravity 60/60 0.9509 0.9574 0.9652 0.9820 1.007 1.0209 0.9188 0.9377
Total Sulfur Wt. % 1.78 1.84 1.93 2.12 2.35 2.59 1.42 1. 64
Con Corbon W,. % 9.3 10.2 11. 2 13.8 17.2 21.6 6.8 8.1
Nitrogen W,. % 0.33 0.36 0.39 0.45 0.52 0.60
Neut No. mg KOH/gm 0.46
Pour Point "I' 45 50 60 75 95 120 15 30
Viscosities:
Kinematic @ lOOoF c. 890 1590 3100 83.0 315
@122°F 365 620 1120 46.2 148
@ 150"1' 148 235 400 1680 25.5 67.5
.210"1' 35.0 50.0 77 .0 220 101 0 7959 9.6 19.6
Furor @ 122"F .. e 172 292 528 70.6
.210"F 25.2 37.6 106 484 (3760)
• 275"F 77 320
Universal Ii 210"F .ee 165 234 359 1025 57.8 96.8
Redwood 1 II l00~ ne 3600 333 1260
Engler i 50<1( deg. 46.5 5.95 19.2
Metols:
Vanadium ppm 185 450

Nickel ppm 25 64
Iron ppm 28 48
MNI Wt. % 6.4 7.0 7.9 9.7 12.2 14.8 4.2 5.4
V8N 20.7 18.9 16.7 12.4 7.7 2.9 28.7 24.0
TABLE 15
[CRuDE TIA JUANA LIGHT II SL.121C-AN.69
STRAIGHT REDUCED ASPHALTS
Yield 15/5 Cut Flash - Viscosity Specific
Inspection: Val. % Point Cleveland Soft Point Penetration: Furol Gravity App. Pen.
On Crude "F VT Open Cup "F @77°F @39.2°F @275 uF (fJ/(fJ Rotj n9 Ratio
SAMPLES INSPECTED
No.1 , 6. 6 1075 715 138 36 15 376 1 .0231 41.7
No.2 17.9 1049 135 42 16 320 1.0209 38.1
No.3 19.4 1022 126 65 23 217 1.0151 35.4
No.4 20.8 995 117 101 32 148 1.0100 31. 7
j No.5 23.8
STANDARD GRADES (From Correlated Data)

950 100 240 65 80 1.0007 27.1
-
180/200 22.9 965 106 190 54 95 1.0035 28.4
II 85/100
71/80
51160
20.6
19.8
18.a '
1002
1015
1017
120
124
l?q.
95
75
55
30
25
70
160
195
750
1 .0114
1. 0136
1.0173
31. 6
33.3
36.4
!
31140 16.6 1075 715 140 35 14 455 1 .0246 40.0
f!'
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Crude Assay 143
GRAPH NO.1
H}LIQ_VOL.~,V
I
II
CRUDE
TEMP.
of 'IT TlA JUANA LIGHT SL.21C-AIi.69
,~,
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GRAPH NO, 2
-- GASOLINES t
ro
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OCTANE NO. CRUDE

GRAVITY
RE~ MOTOR °API __ _ _ ~A_JUANA LIGHT r_5L.l2lC-AN.:-l 'tl
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1 65
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4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
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YIELD ON CRUDE, LlQ. VOL. %
. .. '" -~-:l'
.. r;-", M
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Crude AsSiJY 145
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GRAPH NO.4
NAPHTHAS
'"""
°API rlot:-NO.
TAN E 1SUL FUR
WT. '"
fCRuOE
I TIA JUANA LIGHT r SL.12IC-IN.69/
":".
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2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
MrD VOL. ~ ON CRUDE
• ~,"IL,
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GRAPH NO, 5
KEROSENES
I
POUR
Pq,~NT
FR!E IE
Pq,~NT
SMOKE.
POINT L~~. Irtt~:~O
CRUDE
TIA JUANA LIGHT I I SL.121C-AN.69
0
f~
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MID VOL. " ON CRUDE
.... HAt"n MU. 0
KEROSENES -"
CD
ANILINf SUL'UR
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POINT _fiGHT ."" I CRUD.
• TlA JUANA LIGHT I I SL. 121 C-AN. 69 I '0

ro
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MID VOL. " ON CRUDE
I
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GRAPH NO.7
MIDDLE DISTILLATES AND GAS OILS
ANILINE
P~~NT P2~· CLOUD
••
I CRUDE
TlA JUANA LIGHT I I SL.121C-AN.69 I
-
- ~
- 120
- - - ~
60 --
- 100 -. - r'
- r
- -
80 _ 40 - - - - , ,
-
-
60 _ -
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-
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200 _ -20 _ - -
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180 _ -60 _ -
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140 _ :<>
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0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
MID VOL. "0 N CRUDE
I
<.n
o
CRUDE
RI
ct 51·C AR NR TIA JUANA LIGHT I ..
I SL.121C-AN.59 I "
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MID VOL. \Ii 0 N CRUDE
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GRAPH NO. 8
MIOOLE DISTILLATES AND GAS OILS
CAIUtOH
WflGHT
I H.
WflCHT
[!fOT un_____ TlA JUANA LIGHT
• • [_ SL.121C-AN.69
'-11_
l~:'-
5
·1
4
m
3
2
I 0.50 1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111IIIIIJIILlUU,
1 1 0.40
0.30 I111111111I11111 i 1IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHlllllllll1d41 W 111111111111111 lliil ILl III Q

c
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l
0.20
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0.00 111111 i 11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

65 70 75
11111 11111 11111 11II1 lilli-MOO
80 85
55 60 I ~
MID VOL. " ON CRUDE
\~
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f\
GRAPH NO. 9 n 'II
'---c_Ru_O_E________________________________
TIA JUANA LIGHT . ~1 SL.121C-AN.69 ~
l.L__________
I"
I"
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ill
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20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 •
--.--------------------------~.-
"'
Crude Assay 153
GRAPH NO. 10
CRUDE
T1A JUANA L1GHT SL.121C-AN.69

1,000
soo
600
.00
200
100
"
"
"
10
30 40 50 60 70 80 90
MID. "ON
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, , , , , , , ,
0:
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N
'"
N !!2 := ~
I
~
•
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0
~
a
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a
m
0
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N :=
Crude Assay 155
GRAPH NO. 12
RESIDUA
,
,,
•
,
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~!1
--
••
(f
GRAPH NO, 14
(f
••
RESIDUA
(f
CRUDE
VISC. (f'
('i'
I
(fi:' 'II
~!
(,,"
C'11
••
I
2,000
1,000
BOO
~
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400
1-"
IL
I
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I
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.'
t ••I
... I
.'"!
t7
I
,. I
.,"" I
I
10
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 •I
" ,.,]
,
•
Crude Assay 157
GRAPH NO. 15
STRAIGHT REDUCED ASPHALTS
L
_C_R_U_D_E__________ ~~~~~~
TIA JUANA LIGHT ______________________ . ~I l__~~~~~~__~
. SL.121C-AN.69
,
150
u.
0
• t·:
100
z
0
90
c.
"! 80
z
w
• f-
0
u.
70
25 30 40 50 60 70 80 100 150 200 250 300
• '" PENETRATION @7~F, cm/100 - 100 om,S .ec.
I 200
150
,
• 100
90
\ 80
• 70
3 7 8 9 10 15 20 30 40 50 60
\ PENETRATION 1?39.~F, cm/100 _ 200 om, 60 soc.
, I)
,
(jHA~H rtU. 10
STRAIGHT REDUCED ASPHALT

'"
_T
00
ICRUDE
SP. GR.
60/60 .,
POINT
po !N. TlA JUANA LIGHT I I SL. 121 C-AN. 69
I
"ro
~
(3
,,-
c
1.0250 SPtc: 3
. Cit",,,:
. . :xl
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~
1. 0200_ 150 .. . , .. ro
, ..
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,
-<
1.0150 140 _
o
240 SoFT POI
", ..
.. &
..
.. ~
1.0100 130 _ 220 _ ,
o·
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..
1.0050 120. 200 •
..
1.0000. 110. 180 •
100. 160 •
,
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..
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· .. ..
.
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- 80
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- · 20 - PElot - ,..,., .. , ..
. .
- - o- ..
- . 21 22
16 17 18 19 20 23 24
VOLUME" ON C RUDE
l~ ____________-----------
Crude Assay 159
GRAPH NO. 17
STRAIGHT REDUCED ASPHAlT VISCOSITY
, ,
100
••
..
20
,. 16 17 18 19 20 22 23
i
Book Book
Subject Page No. Subject Page No.
Absorption Factor 117 Flash Zone Temperature, Atmospheric Tower 20

Assay, Crude Petroleum 5 Vacu urn Tower 67
Atmospheric Crude Distillation, Basic Processes 6 Gap Specifications, ASTM (5·95) 10, 26
Type A (Pumparound Reflux) 7 Heat, Distillation Process Requirements 7,99
Type R (pumpback Reflux) 7 Hough1and, Lemieux, and Schreiner Correlations 81
Series of Flash Drums 7 Key Components, Definition of 104
Type U 7 Light Ends Fractionation 91
Atmospheric Tower 3 Light Ends Fractionator 104
Boiling Range, ASTM 10 Light Ends Plants, Types of 96
Crude Petroleum, Analysis of 3 Process Design Criteria 97
Crude Petroleum Characterization, Unit Ar~ngement 97
Calculation Procedure for 16 Material Balance Estimate, Atmospheric Tower 17
Cut Point, TBP 24 FCCU Tower 82
Cut Volume, TBP 23 Light Ends Towers 105
Distillations, Characterizing 3 Vacuum Tower 62
ASTM Distillation 4 McCabe - Thiele Procedure 107
EFV Distillation 4 Minimum Water Rate, Pyrolysis Gas Quenching 123
TBP Distillation 3 Naphtha Fractionation
Distributed Components, Definition of 104 Complex (Three·product) Tower 1!1
Draw Tray Temperatures, Estimation of 29,35 Stabilizer 107
Draw Trays, Types of 61 Splitter 110
Economics of Vacuum Tower Design 61 Overflash
External Heat Quantities, Definition of 29 Atmospheric Tower 7,19
FCCU Tower 78 Vacuum Tower 64,66
Process Design Consideration 90 Overlap, TBP 24
Flash Zone Pressure, Atmospheric Tower 18 Paclde Correlations 10
Vacuum Tower 67 F - Factor 13
161
t.
)
Book Book
, Subject Page No. Subject Page No,
, Preheat, Light Ends Tower Feed 99 Operating 107

115 10,106
, Presaturation
Properties, Petroleum Products and Fractions
Relative Volatility
Separation Criteria, FeCU Fractionation 81
Asphalt 58 Separation Criteria, Naphtha Fractionation 95
Cat. Cycle Oils 79 Separation Criteria, Petroleum Fractionation 8
Gas Oils 22 Degree of Difficulty of Separation 10
Heavy Distillate 21 Degree of Separation 10
Light Distillate 21 Separation Capability of System 10
Light Ends 93,94 Steam Requirements, Vacuum Towers 67
Liquiefied Petroleum Gases (LPG) 21,94 Stripping of Sidestreams, Stearn 30
Naphthas 21,79,94 Reboiling 31
Pitch 58 Temperature, Maximum Allowable
Pyrolysis Oils 121 Atmospheric Tower 19
Slurry Oil 81 FCCU Tower 84
Pyrolysis Gas Quench Tower 120 Light Ends Towers 105
All-Water 125 Vacuum Tower 67
Oil-Water Combination 122 Trays, Heat Removal 90
Process Design 125 Tray Requirements
Thennal Design 126 Atmospheric Tower 18
Quench Oil Makeup 125 FCCU Tower 83
Reboiled Absorber 113 Vacuum Tower 61
Reflux Heat, Definition of 29 Tray Requirements at Total Reflux 106
Reflux, Induced 38 Vacuum Tower 57
Reflux, Minimum Operating (Type A Tower) 40 Fuels Type 75
Reflux Ratio Lube Type 69
Minimum 106 Yields, Methods for Estimation 22

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What are the different types of distillation towers discussed in the document?

What are the different types of distillation towers discussed in the document?

What factors are considered in the design of vacuum distillation towers?

What factors are considered in the design of vacuum distillation towers?

, ~

gulf publishIng company ~~

01-1 02-1 03-1 0-4-1 N '11

::;0 II. 01 02 OJ 0<

I;;:-: t::-::; C b C..... l..,..-

fIG.2-3c-TYPE A fPUMPAROUNO REflUX) - ....

fiG. 2-3d - TYPE R (PUMPBACK REflUX)

, +LON ON ON+loN DN+I 1 LDN +1 ON +1

IV-ONJ+ lON+I ION+I

+lON ON V+lON ON ON -I- LON

(5-95) Gap = (t sH - t 9SL ) ASTM, degrees F

1-'-- f-q. i; i+~l;=H: I:::±: I

I , •. f-I', '11~"rlt-:--:~~F~f;CCi=c"='=--~ ij__~l~I~-"p~

:---i/'-"i-;';';-I ,- I-;f- 'i '-I-hi

PRODUCTS culty of separation, LHso ASTM. To illustrate, consider

1. Vapor rates are products only measured as liquids at 60

, Figure 2.8. Product and reflux volumetric flow rates. ForDI,

,~ cient steam stripping may be found in Nelson, pp. 515·516.

'* (t so ) TBP = 410 degrees F - (point B)

Therefore, from Figure 2.7, (5 - 95) Gap = + 6 degrees F.

., actual trays in the section. This product is designated as the

D3 - D4 Separation-use Figute 2.7.

/} t50 ASTM =417 - 202 = 215 degrees F

/}t 50 ASTM = 282 - 167 = 115 degrees F

Atmospheric Tower Charge Data Given: If

d. From these calculations, draw the following TABLE 2,1

• amount of crude vaporization which will occur at the con-

• the vacuum tower might have unused capacity when the

, • the bottoms liquid is sold directly as fuel oil, the most

l:D=TOTAL DISTILLATE PRODUCTS EXCLUSIVE OF OVERFLASH

Figure 2.11. Flash zone heat and material balance.

VOl. PERCENT VAPORIZED

Temperature taken to ensure that adequate reflux will be available in the

" Maximum allowable crude-oil temperature should be

,Ii set by the owner. It is general knowledge that, at tempera-

" Overflash is an extra amount of "yaporization above

7. Calculate the hydrocarbon partial pressure in the total

," loose specification for composition of matter. The follow-

22 Petroleum Refinery Distillation

L'r "Ii; ,j I "Y' I'Ti'I>,j,

I.". "I' .••• I, i. I . • j'l'j"F '"

. Fl, I. i. I I 1 1 , = i.'! I, V! / '" I •.• I. i i i " . ' . ; ,"1; I. I'i

Recommended ASTM Boiling Ranges for Products Atmospheric Tower If

TABLE 2.3 ASTM Distillations of Products If

streams down through heavy distillate and the ASTM end

Light naphtha to heavy naphtha

l. For the sidestreams, convert the ASTM to TBP distilla-

8ASIS-T8P CUT RANGE

, --/----JL-I-- T8P CUT

-" _~ __ .___ . . ___.__.-._L ._._-

To this point, the volumetric yields of all products and

Q'iD4= Q'OD3 +QR.4 --

a'i 03 ==Q' i02 +QR3

Figure 2.17. Heat and material balance summary-'btmospheric tower, Type U.

28 Petroleum Refinery Distillation

-" _~ ._ . . _..-._L ._._-