Fuels & Combustion

(MEE322)
by

Dr. Thangaraja J
Assoc. Prof. SMBS

Main Building 235C

9 Feb 2016

Quiz I (15.2.16) 20 marks

Recap...

Composition of Petroleum

Paraffins, Olefins, Napthenes & Aromatics

Rating of Petroleum Fuels

Octane & Cetane Numbers

Crude Oil Classifications

Petroleum Utilization
A large number of different products is obtained from the petroleum refinery

Most of them are used as fuels

A small fraction is used as the basis for the (petro)chemical industry which gives us
such indispensable products as plastics, pharmaceuticals and textiles.

Petroleum Recovery
After geologists have located the general area in which petroleum is thought to
occur, a well is drilled
Selecting the site for drilling requires detailed knowledge of the geologic
features under the earth's surface
Drilling is also done to determine the extent of the reserves

Cable Tool Method

The older cable-tool method
used extensively until 1900,
involves raising and dropping
a heavy bit and drill stem
attached by cable to a
cantilever arm at the surface

It pulverizes the rock and

earth, gradually forming the
hole.
Drill bits
have many
designs

This method is generally

employed for penetrating
hard rocks at shallow depths

Well Completion
Completing a well and preparing for oil production involves insertion of a casing,
which comprises one or more strings of tubing
The casing provides
a permanent wall to the borehole to prevent cave-ins and inflow of
unwanted water
a return passage for the mud stream and

control of the well during production

An assembly of valves, known as Christmas tree is installed above a master
valve at the casing head if oil is expected to flow naturally (Liquid expansion,
evolution of dissolved gases from oil, influx of natural water, gravity or
combination of these effects )
If mechanical lift or by gas or airlift is anticipated, the Christmas tree assembly is
not anticipated

The first oil well in US, drilled

by Edwin Drake was only
21 metres deep
Today it is common to drill oil
wells several thousands of
feet deep, in some cases to
an extreme of 25,000 feet
(almost 7.6 km!)

Enhanced Recovery
When it is no longer possible to pump the oil with conventional techniques

Tertiary recovery

Secondary recovery

In Secondary recovery, conditions similar to flush production are created.

Instead of relying on naturally occurring water or gas to force the oil out, the oil
field is flooded with water pumped down into wells to force the oil out, or gas is
pumped down a well to create an artificial version of gas cap drive.

Secondary recovery methods

extract an additional 10 to 20% of
the available oil from a well

In general, it is usually necessary to decrease the viscosity of the

oil to achieve further recovery.
Tertiary recovery often involves heating the oil underground, such
as by injecting steam into the wells.

Tertiary
recovery is
more expensive

Steam methods
have been
mostly applied
In relatively
thick reservoirs
containing
viscous oils

Transportation
Once the oil has been pumped out of the ground, it must then be transported to the users

Pipelines

The best known is the Trans-Alaskan

pipeline, which runs for 1287 km

Ships oil tankers

The tankers are and carries

50 million barrels of oil across the
oceans, equivalent to about a three-day
oil consumption in the U.S.

Diesel Composition
It contains many

n-alkanes,
cycloalkanes,
polyaromatics,

alkylbenzenes

Diesel
property

Kuwait
crude

Nigerian
crude

Density

852

878

Cetane
number

54

41

[ Windom et al (2012) ]

Petroleum Refining
In general, refinery processes can be divided into three different types

Separation: Division of the feedstock into various

fractions depending on the nature of crude material
Conversion: Production of salable materials by alteration
of the chemical type of the feedstock constituents
Finishing: Purification of various product streams by
variety of processes which essentially remove impurities
from the product

 The Separation and finishing processes may involve

with a wash solution

Distillation or treatment

While the conversion processes usually involves

change in the number of carbon atoms per molecule, alter the molecular
hydrogen/carbon ratio
even change the molecular structure (Isomerization) without affecting
the number of carbon atoms per molecule

Pre-treatment
If salt water is not removed, the materials of construction of the heater tubes and
column intervals will be exposed to chloride ion attack and to the corrosive action
of hydrogen chloride
Simple brine suspensions
may be removed from crude oil
by heating under pressure
sufficient to prevent vapor loss
(90 150C) then allowing the
material to settle in a large
vessel
Emulsions may also be
broken by addition of treating
agents such as soaps, fatty
acids, sulfonates and long
chain alcohols

Fractions

Approx. Boiling
range (C)

Fuel gas

-162 to -42

Propane

-42

Butane

-12 to -0.5

Light Naphtha

-1 to 150

Applications
Contains methane, ethane and some
propane refinery fuel
LPG
LPG component of gasolines in cold climate

Straight run gasoline, solvents

Heavy
Naphtha

150 to 205

Catalytic reformer feed, component of jet

fuels and solvents

Kerosene

205 to 260

Illuminant, Fuel

Stove oil

205 to 290

Fuel

Light gas oil

205 to 315

Fuel oil, Diesel fuel, absorbent

Heavy gas oil

315 to 430

Catalytic cracking feed

Vacuum gas oil

430 to 540

Catalytic cracking feed, suitable crudes yield

lubricating oil

Residue

595 and above

Bitumen, Petroleum coke making

Petroleum Distillation
The initial fractionation of
crude oil essentially involves
distillation of the material
into various fractions

Distillation has remained a

major refinery process

It is the first step in crude oil

refining, Crude oil which is
contaminated by saltwater
must first be treated to
remove the emulsion.

Cast iron vessel

Continuous Distillation or Battery Still

Number of stills coupled together in a row (battery)

Stills were arranged so that oil flowed by gravity from the first to last