Oil Refinery: Definition, Processes, and Its Functions

An oil refinery is an unskippable process in making petroleum products. Refining is the purifying process of crude oil in the oil refinery so that it becomes petroleum products.

This article discusses what an oil refinery is, why this is important, and how to carry out this process. Thus, read the complete information below.

What Is an Oil Refinery?

An oil refinery is part of the downstream of the oil and gas industry. It processes crude oil into products that can be used or further processed. It also refers to an oil refinery where crude oil is processed into petroleum products.

Crude oil contains hydrocarbons that must be separated to be final, commercial, consumer products or industrial feedstocks. The hydrocarbons are paraffin, aromatic, cycloalkane, and other alkene hydrocarbons, such as ethylene and isobutane.

Then, the crude oil that undergoes the refining process will be categorized into light petroleum, which contains low sulfur and metal, as well as heavy petroleum.

The oil refinery process is crucial because it can produce petrochemical products, such as gasoline and diesel, and is important to the gas and oil industries. In addition, Statista mentioned that crude oil is one of the most in-demand commodities, and the order is predicted to reach 104 million barrels per day.

That is why the oil industry has become one of the most impactful sectors influencing the global economy. Moreover, changes in world oil prices can have an impact on the manufacturing and consumer sectors.

Why Must Crude Oil Be Refined in an Oil Refinery?

Crude oil cannot be used immediately after being extracted. Thus, it must be purified through a refining process. In an oil refinery, the components of crude oil are carefully separated at high temperatures.

Then, it will produce several parts called fractions when it reaches a certain boiling point. This stage of the refinery process is called distillation. The product of distillation is not the same as the crude oil on the market. This is because it needs to be further processed to be marketed according to applicable standards and quality.

The Processes of Crude Oil Refining in an Oil Refinery

The refining process is carried out at an oil refinery. It should be noted that this oil refining unit does a series of complicated processes to change petroleum into useful products. The processes in the oil refinery are as follows:

1. Crude Oil Arrives in the Refinery

The first step is that the oil refinery will receive crude oil extracted from the Earth. It typically uses pipelines or tanks connected to a refinery. Then, the oil will be valued according to the quality and composition.

2. Distillation

Next, crude oil will go through the distillation process. In this process, the oil will be heated in the furnace and transformed into vapor. The vapor will go into the distillation columns, and some components will be condensed at a certain height.

The lightest components, such as gases, will evaporate to the top of the fractionation tower, and the residue, such as diesel, will remain at the bottom.

3. Conversion

The components collected in the fractionation tower will be processed using cracking methods that will break down the hydrocarbons into smaller and more valuable pieces.

Then, the components will be reformatted to increase the quality and become usable products. Cracking needs quite a huge amount of energy and is endothermic.

Some cracking methods often used in the refining process are pure thermal cracking, which does not use a catalyst but uses heat; thermal cracking with a catalyst, which uses a catalyst and heat; and cracking with aluminum chloride as a catalyst.

4. Desulfurization

Cracking products will be desulfurized to decrease the amount of sulfur in them and remove other elements and impurity causes.

5. Mixing

The next process is mixing the purified product with other substances to make the quality meet the market demand. The product will be stored in a special tank and distributed to the markets.

Functions of an Oil Refinery

An oil refinery is an important part of the crude oil refining process. It has several functions, such as:

1. Producing Fuels

One of the main functions of a refinery is to produce fuel. As explained earlier, crude oil undergoes distillation, which separates the oil into certain products, one of which is fuel. The fuels produced include diesel, gasoline, and residual fuels.

2. Purifying the Petroleum Product

This distillation process works to purify the petroleum products, either fuels or chemicals. It is important to note that crude oil contains nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen. Those substances must be eliminated according to the environmental regulation and to improve the quality of the product.

3. Producing Industrial Chemicals

Oil refineries produce industrial chemicals, such as naphtha, propylene, ethylene, and many more. Those chemicals are processed to be rubbers, plastics, adhesives, solvents, coatings, and so on.

4. Processing Solid Products

The next function of an oil refinery is to process solid products by adding additives to crude oil and creating desired and standardized products. This process is important to manufacture products based on market demand.

For your information, an oil refinery not only processes crude oil but also is responsible for managing the environmental impact from the process. Consequently, crude oil managers can ensure that the waste produced does not pollute the environment as well as reduce emissions and pollutants.

That concludes the information about the oil refinery in the oil and gas industries. A refinery is part of crude oil refining, working to manufacture petroleum products, such as fuels and chemicals.

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