imported>Milton Beychok |
imported>Milton Beychok |
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| A '''refinery''' is an industrial manufacturing facility composed of a group of [[chemical engineering]] [[unit processes]] and [[unit operation]]s<ref>{{cite book|author=McCabe, W., Smith, J. and Harriott, P.|title=[[Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering]]|edition=7th Edition|publisher= McGraw-Hill|year=2004|id=ISBN 0-07-284823-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Perry, R.H. and Green, D.W. (Editors)|title=[[Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook]]|edition=8th Edition|publisher=McGraw-Hill|year=2007|id=ISBN 0-07-142294-3}}</ref> used for converting certain raw materials or into products of value or for the refining of partially converted raw materials into finished products.
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| ==Types of refineries==
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| The various types of refineries include:
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| * [[Petroleum refinery]]: Converts petroleum [[crude oil]] into [[Octane rating|high-octane]] motor fuel ([[gasoline]]/petrol), [[diesel oil]], [[liquefied petroleum gas]]es (LPG), jet aircraft fuel, [[kerosene]], heating [[fuel oil]]s, [[lubricating oil]]s, [[asphalt]] and [[petroleum coke]].
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| * [[Sugarcane|Sugar refinery]]: Converts [[sugar cane]] and [[sugar beets]] into crystallized [[sugar]] and sugar syrups.
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| * [[Natural gas processing]] plant: Purifies and converts raw natural gas into residential, commercial and industrial fuel gas, and also recovers byproduct [[sulfur]] and [[natural gas liquids]] (NGL) such as [[ethane]], [[propane]], [[butane]]s and [[pentane]]s.
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| * [[Salt refinery]]: Converts salt ([[Sodium chloride|NaCl]]), produced by the [[solar evaporation]] of sea water, into crystallized salt used for cooking and for flavoring of food.
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| * Various metal refineries converting metallic ores into end product metals such as [[alumina]], [[copper]], [[gold]], [[lead]], [[nickel]], [[silver]], [[uranium]], and [[zinc]].
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| {{Image|Petroleum refinery.jpg|right|250px|A petroleum refinery.}}
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| ==A typical petroleum refinery==
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| {{main|Petroleum refining processes}}
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| Petroleum refineries are very large industrial complexes that involve a great many different processing units and auxiliary facilities such as utility units and storage tanks. Each refinery has its own unique arrangement and combination of refining processes largely determined by the refinery location, desired products and economic considerations. There are most probably no two refineries that are identical in every respect.
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| The image below is a schematic [[Process flow diagram|flow diagram]] of a typical oil refinery that depicts the various [[unit]] processes and the flow of intermediate product streams that occurs between the inlet crude oil feedstock and the final end products. The diagram depicts only one of the literally hundreds of different oil refinery configurations. It does not include any of the usual refinery facilities providing utilities such as steam, cooling water, and electric power as well as storage tanks for crude oil feedstock and for intermediate products and end products.<ref>{{cite book|author=Gary, J.H. and Handwerk, G.E.|title=Petroleum Refining Technology and Economics|edition=2nd Edition|publisher=Marcel Dekker, Inc|year=1984|isbn=0-8247-7150-8}}</ref><ref>[http://www.chevron.com/products/prodserv/fuels/bulletin/motorgas/3_refining-testing/pg2.asp Guide to Refining] from [[Chevron Corporation|Chevron Oil]]'s website</ref><ref>[http://www.uop.com/refining/1010.html Refinery flowchart] from [[UOP LLC|Universal Oil Products]]' website</ref><ref>[http://www.cheresources.com/refining15.gif An example flowchart] of fractions from crude oil at a refinery</ref>
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| [[Image:RefineryFlow.png|frame|center|Schematic flow diagram of a typical oil refinery]]
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| [[Image:NaturalGasProcessingPlant.jpg|thumb|250px|right|A natural gas processing plant]]
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| ==A typical natural gas processing plant==
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| {{main|Natural gas processing}}
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| There are a great many ways in which to configure the various unit processes used in the processing of raw natural gas. The image below is a generalized, schematic [[Process flow diagram|block flow diagram]] of a typical natural gas processing plant configuration. It shows the various unit processes used to convert raw natural gas into sales gas pipelined to the end user markets.
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| The block flow diagram also depicts how processing of the raw natural gas yields byproduct sulfur, byproduct ethane, and natural gas liquids (NGL) such as propane, butanes and natural gasoline (denoted as pentanes +).<ref>[http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/natural_gas/feature_articles/2006/ngprocess/ngprocess.pdf Natural Gas Processing: The Crucial Link Between Natural Gas Production and Its Transportation to Market]</ref><ref>[http://www.uop.com/gasprocessing/6070.html Example Gas Plant]</ref><ref>[http://www.axens.net/upload/presentations/fichier/axens_gpagcc_2004v2.pdf From Purification to Liquefaction Gas Processing]</ref><ref>[http://www.spe.org/specma/binary/files/5804785Syn10682.pdf Feed-Gas Treatment Design for the Pearl GTL Project]</ref><ref>[http://lnglicensing.conocophillips.com/NR/rdonlyres/B78B6727-E5F4-4505-B9C3-96CC94D7B30D/7357/AICHELNGNGLIntegrationPaper.pdf Benefits of integrating NGL extraction and LNG liquefaction]</ref>
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| [[Image:NatGasProcessing.png|frame|center|Schematic flow diagram of a typical natural gas processing plant]]
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| ==Typical refining of sugar==
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| {{main|Sugar refining}}
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| Most of the sugar produced worldwide is derived either from [[sugar cane]] or [[sugar beet]]s. However, the sugar produced from sugar cane is at least twice the amount produced by sugar beets. For that reason, this section deals with sugar produced from sugar cane.
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| The refining of sugar cane into sugar is usually done in two stages. The first stage is the preparation and milling of freshly harvested sugar cane. In some cases, the preparation and milling may be done locally where the sugar cane is grown and harvested. In the milling stage, the sugar cane is first washed, chopped, and shredded by revolving knives. Then the shredded cane is mixed with water and crushed to produce a sugar juice.
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| {|border="0" align="center"
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| |align="center" |{{Image|Sugar Refinery 1.jpg|right|2O0px|A sugar refinery in [[New South Wales]], [[Australia.]]}}
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| |align="center" |{{Image|Cut sugar cane.jpg|right|200px|Cut sugar cane.}}
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| |align="center" |{{Image|Sugar Cane Refinery.png|right|250px|Flow diagram of sugar refining process.}}
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| |}
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| As shown in the above schematic flow diagram,<ref>[http://www.trivenigroup.com/sugar/plant-process.html Process flow diagram]</ref> the juice (containing 10 – 15 percent [[sucrose]]) is heated to about 65 – 70 °C and mixed with [[lime (mineral)|lime]] and with gaseous [[sulfur dioxide]] (SO<sub>2</sub>). The lime serves to adjust the [[pH]] of the juice to about 7.0 – 7.1 which arrests sucrose's decay into [[glucose]] and [[fructose]], and precipitates out some impurities. The sulfur dioxide serves to decolorize the juice. The juice is then further heated to about 100 – 105 °C and sent through a clarifier where the precipitated impurities and other solids are settled out and removed.
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| The clarified juice is next concentrated in a [[multiple-effect evaporator]] to make a syrup with about 60 – 65 weight percent sucrose. The syrup is again treated sulfur dioxide for further decolorization and then is further concentrated under [[vacuum]] until it becomes [[supersaturated]] with sugar. Upon cooling, sugar crystallizes out of the syrup.
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| The crystallized sugar is separated from the residual liquid syrup (''[[molasses]]'')s by [[Centrifuge|centrifuging]]. The end product is a white, crystalline sugar referred to as ''mill white'', ''plantation white'' or ''crystal sugar''. To produce ''[[granulated sugar]]'', in which the individual sugar grains do not clump together, sugar must be dried. Drying is accomplished by first drying the sugar in a hot [[rotary dryer]], and then by blowing cool air through it for several days.
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| The refining process described in this section is sometimes referred to as the ''Double Sulfation (DS)'' process. There are other refining processes that use [[calcium phosphate]] (instead of lime) to remove impurities from the sugar juice (and/or the sugar syrup) and treatment with [[activated carbon]] (rather than gaseous sulfur dioxide) for decolorization.
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| The fibrous solids, called ''[[bagasse]]'', remaining after the crushing of the shredded sugar cane, are burned for fuel within the sugar refinery. Any surplus bagasse can be used for animal feed, in paper manufacture, or burned to generate electricity for the local power grid.
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| ==Salt refining== | | ==Salt refining== |
| {{main|Salt refining}} | | {{main|Salt refining}} |
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| {{Image|Inca salt ponds.jpg|right|250px|Inca salt ponds in Peru.}} | | {{Image|Inca salt ponds.jpg|right|250px|Inca salt ponds in Peru.}} |
| {{Image|Dead Sea salt.jpg|right|250px|Salt in the Dead Sea, Ein Gadi, Israel.}} | | {{Image|Dead Sea salt.jpg|right|250px|Salt in the Dead Sea, Ein Gadi, Israel.}} |
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| ==The equipment used in refineries==
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| Refineries utilize a great many different types of physical equipment such as:
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| * [[Centrifuge]]s
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| * [[Gas compressor|Compressors]]
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| * [[Industrial cooling tower|Cooling towers]]
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| * [[Control valve]]s
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| * [[Crusher]]s
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| * [[Crystallizers]]
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| * [[Continuous distillation|Distillation towers]] and other [[Pressure vessel|pressure vessels]]
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| * [[Electrical generators|Electric power generators]], [[transformer]]s and [[electric motors]]
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| * [[Electrolysis]] cells
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| * [[Evaporators]]
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| * [[Filter (chemistry)|Filters]]
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| * [[Flare stack]]s
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| * [[Furnace]]s
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| * [[Mixer]]s and [[blender]]s
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| * [[Control system|Monitoring and control systems]]
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| * [[Piping]] and [[valve]]s
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| * [[Pump]]s
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| * [[Relief valve]]s
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| * [[Rotary dryer]]s
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| * [[Steam generator]]s
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| * [[Steam turbine]]s and [[gas turbine]]s
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| * [[Storage tank]]s
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| * [[Industrial wastewater treatment|Wastewater treatment]]
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| {{col-end}}
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| ==References==
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| <references/>
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| ==See also==
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| * [[Aluminium oxide|Alumina]]
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| * [[Bagasse]]
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| * [[Bayer process]] and [[Hall-Héroult process]] (used to produce aluminium from bauxite ore)
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| * [[Liquefied Natural Gas]] (LNG)
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| * [[Liquefied petrolem gas]] (LPG)
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| * [[Natural gas]]
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| * [[Petroleum refinery]]
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| * [[Petroleum]]
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| * [[Sugar cane]]
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| * [[Sugar beet]]
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| ==External links==
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| * [http://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/otm_iv/otm_iv_2.html Complete, detailed oil refinery description]
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| * [http://www.naturalgas.org/naturalgas/processing_ng.asp Processing natural gas]
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| * [http://www.sucrose.com/learn.html Aluminum production process flow sheets]
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| * [http://www.worldlpgas.com World LP Gas Association]
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| * [http://www.npga.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1 National Propane Gas Association, USA]]
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| * [http://www.ferc.gov/for-citizens/lng.asp Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Overview]
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| * [http://www.sucrose.com/learn.html Making sugar]
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| * [http://www.ussugar.com/sugar/sugar_refining.pdf Sugar refining]
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