Steam Stripping - Introduction

• Steam stripping [SS} is widely used in petroleum refineries and

petrochemical plants to remove volatile contaminants and other immiscible
components from wastewater.
• Superheated steam is passed through the contaminated mixture of volatiles.
• SS is effective for;
i. lower boiling points volatile compounds than water,
ii. have limited solubility in water.
iii. Wastewater having low concentrations of contaminants
iv. SS economically minimize emissions.
 Steam Stripping [SS] and Volatile Contaminants
• Volatile contaminants include hydrocarbons, (VOCs),
chlorinated hydrocarbons, VOX and BTEX), H2S, phosphine
and NH3.
• Superheated steam enters from the bottom and feed
from upper section of the packed column .
• WORKING PRINCIPLE
• The steam dilutes the hydrocarbons in the vapor phase,
which reduce partial pressure of hydrocarbons.
• Reduction in partial pressure causes more hydrocarbons to
evaporate.
 Steam stripper to recover volatile and
immiscible components
• Reflux is introduced at the top of the tower,
• Stripping column either contains
i. tray/ plate column, or
ii. packed tower
• Plate / packing facilitates contact between steam and contaminated feed,

• Column is made of Stainless steel filled with random packing plastic

packing (glass reinforced polypropylene).
 Principle of Steam Stripping
• SS works of the principle of reduction of partial pressure by heating via
steam injection.
• A steam stripper consists of
i. A supply pump with heat exchanger,
ii. A packed or dish column,
iii. A condenser with a separation drum and
iv. A reflux device, and a decanter.

• Wastewater must be free from solid matter, otherwise tubes of heat

exchanger could be blocked.
 Steps for refining by steam
stripping process
• The VOC contaminated process
is fed to the top of the
stripping column.
• Live (or re-boiled) steam
enters at the bottom of the
stripper.
• Steam rises up and evaporates
volatile organics and leaves as
overhead stream, Superheated
Steam
• Overhead vapor passes
through the condenser.
• VOC and water effluents from
the condensate are separated
via a decanter.
• The condensed overheads are decanted to separate into an organic
product and a water layer saturated with organics.

• If VOCs are soluble in water, rectification stages and refluxing may be

added to the column to further remove water from the process.

• The water layer can be recycled to the feed vessel or is sometimes

refluxed back to the column to increase the efficiency and/or degree of
separation.

• Bottoms stream from the stripping column, containing VOCs can be

recycled as process water or discharged.
Advantages Stream Stripper
• A stream stripper selectively removes dissolved contaminates which cannot be removed
with the classic stripping methods,
• Steam Stripping can achieve high removal efficiency (~ 99 %) and low effluent
concentrations ( less than 5 ppb),
• Most cost-effective at feed concentrations as low as 2 ppm,
Disadvantages Stream Stripper

• Steam stripping consumes relatively large amounts of energy because electricity is used.
• Further, lime residue is also left behind, which could pollute the stripping tower.
Continuous fouling is a major drawback.
• Environmental issues may be aggravated due to the release of flue gases & condensed
fluids as by-products. Mostly, the streams after SS require further treatment.
 COMPONENTS OF STEAM STRIPPERS.

Steam Strippers are generally composed of.

• Sieve trays or packed column filled with random and regular
packing (stainless steel or acid proof plastics)
• Distributors, redistributors, mechanical supports and mist
eliminators
• Column internal include decanter and flow regulators, safety
devises etc.
• Mechanical details to stabilize the entire system e.g. columns
with all associated internals, and trays types, spacing, down
comer, weirs etc.
 Process Design of SS
Initial phase is divided in the following steps.
1) Specify the degree of separation and number of components to be separated
along with the product specifications.
2) Select the operating conditions; batch/ continuous, operating pressure,
3) Select the type of contacting device plates or packed,
4) Determine theoretical and actual number of stages, reflux requirements
(minimum and actual R.R.), number of equilibrium stages,
5) Fix the nature of feed, location of feed plate, reflux point,
6) Calculation of Heat load of condenser and reboiler,
 Performance of Stripping column Factor
Performance depends upon the following 2 parameters,
1. Mass-transfer and operational variables such as convective mass-transfer
coefficients for both streams and overall pressure drop.
2. Stripping factor - ratio of vapor molar flow rate to the liquid molar flow
rate multiplied by the slope of vapor-liquid equilibrium curve.
• The stripping Factor (S) = m Gs / LF
• Gs and LF - molar flow rates of steam & feed,
• m - slope of the equilibrium line.
• Stripping Factor should be 3 to 6,
• Less than 3 will disturb heat balance and cause sub-cooling ,
• Above 6 will super heat the feed,
• To optimize the design, a balance between the steam requirement w.r.t
stripping factor be maintained.
 PROCESS & MECHANICAL DESIGN of SS

• Process design involves

i. computation of number of trays,
ii. diameter of the shell,
iii. location and diameters down-flow pipes,
iv. weirs height, etc.
• In packed column design involves the determination of,
i. geometrical parameters e.g. tower dia. and height
ii. packing height (Z),
• CFD simulation software's helps in designing.
 ARRANGEMENT OF TOWERS
A logical arrangement of towers is a main component of designing, planning and
control to facilitate operation in the refineries;

i. The Standards of process sequencing should be followed in allocation and

installation of columns/ towers, separators, converters, reformers, along
with their axillaries equipment's,
ii. A proper arrangement ease out the refining operation, facilitate
maintenance and enable services within the refining plant,
iii. A suitable arrangement maximize the output, improve quality and minimize
cost of purification.
 Principles of layout plan in oil refinery

Layout planning means the best physical arrangement of all resources, equipment,
to consume space within a facility.

• Logical sequencing is one of the basic principles of layout design, for effective and
efficient operation to ensure smooth flow of streams.
• There are four basic layout types: process, product, hybrid, and fixed position.

A planned layout aims to achieve the following objectives:

i. To achieve economies in handling of raw materials, work in- progress and finished
goods.
ii. To reduce energy losses, pressure drops, human resource and accidents.
iii. To have most effective and optimum utilization of available floor space.
iv.  To achieve greatest co-ordination and efficiency of 4 M's (Men, Materials,
Machines and Money) in a plant.
 Main Characteristics or Features of an Upright Layout
• Proper allocation of equipment, service/ maintenance and other operations.
• Layout designers adhere to a set of principles (like alignment, visual
hierarchy, operational sequencing, hazardous nature of materials and
processes) when designing a unique and effective layout
Flexibility in refining operations.
• Refining processes are dynamic depending upon the nature of crude oils and technology
developments in processes , equipment & techniques.
• Oil refinerie’s layouts are rigid because of heavy structures and continuity of flow.
Ensuring Co-ordination between various sections of the plant.
• Prefer integrated production planning and scheduling ;
i. To ensure refinery profitability,
ii. For logistic reliability,
iii. Ensure process, personal, plant safety.
Training, supervision, monitoring and control.
iv. Operator training system (OTS);
v. Implementation of best practices (SOPs); and
vi. Safety alert systems (SAS)., Fire alarms, smoke detectors and fail safe
measures,
Reduced discomfortness i.e.
• Proper lighting, ventilation and reduce the impact of heat, noise,
vibrations, dust, fumes, odors etc.
Arrangement of towers depend upon 7 basic
operations in Petroleum Processing
 Arrangement of Towers in Oil Refineries
• A series of  distillation towers is arranged to separate crude oil into its fractions)
for further processing by other processing units.
• Atmospheric and vacuum distillation depending upon the crude characteristics
and capacity limit for the entire refinery.

• FZ = Fractional Zone
• PD = Petroleum Distillate
 CH414 Petroleum Refining Engineering (3-0-3):Prerequisite(s): CH212
• Types of reflux employed,
• Introduction, Origin, • Packie's approach,
• Processing plans, schemes and product
• Formation & composition of petroleum, patterns of refineries,
• Indigenous and world resources, • Modern separation, Conversion and
• Refinery products, Properties, Standard treatment processes,
tests, • Thermal & catalytic cracking and
reforming,
• Characterization and evaluation of • Hydrocracking, Auxiliary processes and
crude oil stocks, operations,
• Crude pre heating and preliminary • refinery corrosion and metals,
treatment, • Blending plants, Product design and
• Pipe-still heaters, Desalting, marketing,
atmospheric and vacuum distillation, • Use of linear programming techniques to
solve refinery blending and production
• Steam stripping, Arrangement of problems,
towers, • Overview of petroleum act.
• Distillation and calculation of
number of trays,
Distillation and calculation of number of trays,
 Design of Distillation Column
Design calculations are conducted to determine;
• Number of theoretical stages,
• Operating parameters and
• Tower and internal dimensions.
Design steps are summarized as given below:
1) Perform material and energy balance for each stream and products,
2) Determine operating pressure (and /or temperature) in the columns,
3) Calculate minimum number of theoretical stages using Fenske’s equation
4) Calculate minimum reflux rate using Underwood equations
5) Optimize operating R.R “VS” No. of theoretical stages,
6) Select column internals (tray or packings), Compute diameter and height of down-
comer and weir etc.
7) Calculate the tower diameter and height.
 Economical operating parameters
• Optimum reflux ratio ~ in between 120 to 150 % of Rmin.
• Optimum number of stages vary from 150 to 200 % of the minimum values.
• A safety factor of at least 100% should be ensured,
•The optimal location of feed plate using Optimization of crude distillation
system using ASPEN plus or HYSIS.
• To Improve energy efficiency of refining process implement Six Sigma
methodology.
• To calculate height of the column to achieve optimum operating conditions
without any accumulation within the column, using the following equation,

Hopt. = Number of Tray X Tray spacing

= 46X 1.5 Ft. = 69 Ft.
 MATERIAL BALANCE
• Material balances are prerequisite to design entire refining process.
• Material balance is based on the law of conservation of mass,

A general material balance (around a single process unit, or around the entire
process) may be written as under:
Input + generation − output − consumption = accumulation
For steady-state continuous process, the above equation becomes:
Input + generation = output + consumption

Input = Output [ if generation and consumption are equal at S.S. Condition

 BASIC CALCULATIONS
The basic calculation for design the units of refinery is 200000 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑙/𝑑𝑎𝑦
convert into kg/day

The specific gravity of the crude oil from literature at specific temperature
15.7 ℃ is 0.8418

𝑆𝐺𝑜𝑖𝑙 = 𝜌𝑜𝑖𝑙 / 𝜌water

Calculation of API gravity
Material Balance around the Stripper Towers:
Material balance of the inputs, outputs and refluxes around the strippers as following:
• Material balance around the heavy naphtha (H.N) stripper ( if the reflux at the top tower =
6%)
• The input amount for strippers towers (H.N) and steam =

Reflux at the strippers towers (H.N) and steam = {H.N input to strippers - input without reflux}
CALCULATION OF AMOUNT OF STEAM
 Material Balance
Input = 24411234 + 8668 = 2419902 kg/day
Output =153342 + 2266560 = 2419902 kg/day

Similarly apply M. B. around the other units

• M. B. around the Stripper for Kerosene (ker.):

• M. B. around the Stripper for Diesel (diel).

Material Balance around Stripping Towers

The simulation for these calculations are done by MATLAB as given below
 ENERGY BALANCE
When the mass transfer balance is completed, then apply energy balance
based on law of conservation of energy.

TYPES OF ENERGY
1. Gain or loss KINETIC ENERGY,
2. Gain or loss of POTENTIAL ENERGY,
3. Heat contents variations due to CONDUCTION, CONVECTION, OR RADIATION.
4. Work done (either expansion work or shaft work) on, or by the system.

The total amount of energy entering the system = The sum of all of the
different types leaving the system.
CALCULATION OF ENERGY BALANCE FOR THE HEAT EXCHANGERS
• The energy balance for all the heat exchangers,
• Table (given below) initial and final temperature of various products along with the
specific heat,
Initial and final temperature for oil products and the specific heat
Initial and final temperature for oil products and the specific heat
 Heavy Naphtha heat exchanger

Mass flow rates of heavy naphtha (H.N.) and crude oil are 5701476 and
29733489.6 Kg/day respectively,
The temperature of crude oil = 26.67℃
The temperature of (H.N.) at inlet to the heat exchanger = 141.67℃
The temperature of (H.N.) at outlet from the heat exchanger = 82.22℃

The energy balance Q = [mc (∆T)] H.N. = [mc (∆T)] oil.

 Kerosene Heat Exchanger
Mass flow rates of Kerosene & crude oil are 2077680 & 29733489.6 Kg/day respectively,
Inlet temperature of kerosene in the heat exchanger =180.56℃
Outlet temperature of kerosene from the heat exchanger = 40℃
Temperature of crude oil i.e. inlet to 2nd heat exchanger = 35.64 ℃
Overall Energy Balance
 Complex Engineering Problem
Design of Shell & Tube Heat Exchanger for a crude oil refinery
(Capacity 200000 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑙/𝑑𝑎𝑦)

STEPS FOR DESIGN OF HEAT EXCHANGER:

Design a shell-and-tube exchanger for the following data:
2077680kg/day =86570kg/h of kerosene (42°API) leaves the base of a kerosene side stripping
column at 180.56℃ and is to be cooled to 40℃ by exchange with
37723113.6kg/day=1571796.4kg/h
Light crude oil (34°API) coming from storage at = 33.74℃.
Kerosene enters in the H.Ex. at a pressure of 5 bar and crude oil at = 6.5 bar.
A pressure drop of 0.8 bar is permissible on both streams.
Allowance for the fouling factor = 0.0003 (𝑊/𝑚2 -℃)−1 on the crude stream and
0.0002 (𝑊/𝑚2℃)−1 on the kerosene stream.
Design procedures
for shell-and-tube
heat exchangers
Heat exchangers in oil refinery

• The oil refineries are the industries where heat exchangers are extensively used.

• Crude oil is to be heated and products are to be cooled.

Fabrication details shell-and-tube heat exchangers

 FEASIBILITY of CRUDE OIL REFINERY
• Feasibility is an economic evaluation w.r.t. technological, legal, environment, and
scheduling of a new project as compared to existing refineries.

PLANT COST m
m

• Refinery (A) capacity = 20.000 barrel per day, New plant (B) capacity = 200.000 barrel per day,
• Estimate the cost of plant B ,if the original year is (1989) to new plant (2018) depending on the cost
index to obtain the fixed cost whereas the cost of refinery A= $1.3*108 and m= 0.27

0.27
 CALCULATION OF NUMBER OF TRAYS OF A DISTILLATION COLUMN.

• LEWIS and MATHESON method for calculating number of plates for the
requisite separation is a simple but successful method .
• If the composition of liquid phase on any plate is known, then vapor
composition at equilibrium can be calculated using vapor pressures or relative
volatility data of individual component.
• A set of operating equations is developed for each component in rectifying and
stripping sections.
• A mixture of components A, B, C, D, having mole fractions x , x , x , x , in
A B C D

liquid phase and y , y , y , y , in the vapor phase,

A B C D

=
 Plate to Plate calculation
• Composition in liquid and vapor phase changes plate to plate to establish equilibrium,
• Relative volatility of a liquid mixture varies with temperature and pressure, w.r.t. a key component,
• A lighter component means having lower boiling point (or a higher vapor pressure),
• A heavier component means having higher boiling point (or a lower vapor pressure),
• Large-scale industrial distillation is rarely undertaken if the relative volatility is less than 1.05

• The components to be separated in
top and bottoms fractional recoveries are
called key components.
• Classification of components w.r.t. boiling
points i. e.
i. the most volatile component is called
the light key and
ii. least volatile component is called the
heavy key
• Bubble point
In thermodynamics, the temperature (at a given pressure) where the first bubble of vapor is
formed when heating a liquid consisting of two or more components;
•  Dew-point, the temperature at which the saturated vapor starts to condense, and
first droplet is formed ;

In multicomponent distillation
bubble and Dew points are
determined by;
 Example 11.14 Chemical Engineering Vol. 2, 5th Edition By Coulson and
Richardson's)
A mixture of ortho, meta, and para-mono-nitrotoluenes containing 60, 4, and 36 mole per cent
respectively of the three isomers is to be continuously distilled to give a top product of 98 mole
percent ortho, and the bottom is to contain 12.5 mole per cent ortho. The mixture is to be distilled at a
temperature of 410 K requiring a pressure in the boiler of about 6.0 kN/m2. If a reflux ratio of 5 is
used, how many ideal plates will be required and what will be the approximate compositions of the
product streams? The volatility of ortho relative to the para isomer may be taken as 1.70 and of the
meta as 1.16 over the temperature range of 380 – 415 K.

Solution
• Assume that top product contains 0.6 mole % meta & 1.4 mole % and para (given 98
mole % ortho in top product)
• Assume Feed (F) = 100 kmol and D and W kmol of product & bottoms,
• xdo and xwo (mole fraction of the ortho in the distillate and bottoms),
• Apply overall and component material balance for the given compositions.
100 = D + W ……. Equation 1
An ortho balance gives:
60 = Dxdo + Wxwo {substituting “ D ” using equation 1}
60 = (100 − W)0.98 + 0.125 W
from which: D = 55.56 kmol and W = 44.44. kmol

The compositions and amounts of the streams are then be obtained as:
 Equations of operating lines.
The liquid and vapor streams in the column are obtained as follows:
• Above the feed-point:

Liquid down flow, Ln = 5D = 277.8 and Vapor up flow, Vn = 6D = 333.4

• Below the feed-point, (assuming the feed is liquid at its boiling point)
Liquid down flow, Lm = Ln + F = (277.8 + 100) = 377.8
Vapor up, Vm = Lm − W = (377.8 − 44.44) = 333.4

The equations for the operating lines may then be written as:
Composition of liquid on first plate
Composition of the
bottom product
Optimization
Heat exchangers in oil refineries are essential equipment and need to be optimized, 
• Optimization of heat exchangers are the minimum cost, maximum effectiveness, minimum
pressure drop, etc.
• However, the method used for estimating the coefficient and pressure drop in shell & tube
H.Exs. (Kern’s method) is not accurate,
• The conventional approach for the optimization of heat exchangers is lengthy and doesn't
ensure the optimum solution.
• Soft-wares based approaches are applied due to the complexity of design and developing
heat integration and networking of heat exchangers,
Cost Estimation: Includes Fixed costs and operating costs;
• Fixed costs : Equipment to be fabricated, installed including instrumentation, insulation
and other axillaries, insurances, depreciations,
• Operating costs typically include crude throughput (e.g., USD/bbl crude oil) plus all
operational charges , vary with
i. refinery size
ii. refinery complexity.
Corrosion
 Corrosion Definition
• When a refined metal is naturally converted to a more stable form
such as its oxide, hydroxide or sulfide state this leads to
deterioration of the material.
• CORROSION TYPES 
i. Uniform Corrosion. Uniform corrosion is considered an even attack
across the surface of a material and is the most common type of
corrosion. ...
ii. Pitting Corrosion.
 A localized form of corrosion by which cavities or "holes" are formed in
the material. 
 Pitting is considered to be more dangerous than uniform corrosion 
damage because difficult to detect, predict and design against.
ii. Crevice Corrosion. A localized attack on a metal surface at, or
immediately adjacent to, the gap or crevice between two joining surfaces.  
• Intergranular Corrosion. It occurs when the grain boundaries in a metal form an anode
and the interior of the grain acts as a cathode.
• This type of corrosion usually occurs in stainless steels, however may occur in other
metals,
• Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) : It is the cracking induced due to combined influence
of tensile stress and a corrosive environment.
• The impact of SCC usually falls between dry cracking and fatigue threshold of metals.
• Galvanic Corrosion (also called ' dissimilar metal corrosion' or erroneously 'electrolysis')
• induced when two dissimilar materials are coupled in a corrosive electrolyte.
• It occurs when two (or more) dissimilar metals are brought into electrical contact under
water.
 Corrosion problems in oil refining and petrochemical industries

Objective

• Introduction to corrosion
• Corrosion causes in oil, gas, and refining industry.
• Corrosion phenomena and influencing factors,
• Corrosion control and monitoring methods are illustrated.
• Corrosion management during operation
• Vital soluation of corrosion problems.
Introduction to corrosion
• Metallic equipment and pipelines have direct contact with oil, gas,
and refinery products,
• Processes in refineries occur in metallic equipment at high
temperatures up to +1400 °C and pressures from 1000 bar to vacuum,
• High hazardous, flammable, explosive, toxic components causes
corrosiveness and harmful for human health and environment.
• The combination of numerous factors makes oil, gas and refinery
equipment very vulnerable to impart corrosion which may lead to
serious accidents.
 Corrosiveness of crude oils
• Chemistry of crude oils is complicated and many factors impart
corrosiveness,
• The following impurities enhance possibilities of corrosion,
i. Total acid number (TAN),
ii. Total sulfur content,
iii. Water, salt content, and microorganisms.
iv. CO2 dissolved in water forms carbonic acid (H2CO3) which
causes corrosion as shown in the following reaction:

Fe(s) + CO2(g) + H2O(L) → FeCO3(s) + H2(g)

 PREVENTION MEASURES to CONTROL CORROSION:

a) Selection of appropriate materials of construction and Provision of corrosion

allowance at design stage,
b) Removal of water vapor from natural gas.
c) Thermal insulation of equipment's and piping system.
d) Employ paints or thick organic coatings or electroplating ,
e) Use of corrosion inhibitors.
f) Periodic cleaning of the systems and streams.

Regular monitoring to identify corrosion initiation on the inner

surfaces, equipment and pipelines.
 Engineering design - Engineering design includes:
a) Design according to standards procedures, ASME, TEMA, BS,
ASTM,  piping design standards and codes,
b) Select suitable materials of construction as per standards
prescribed in corrosion charts,
c) Design geometrically balance and aligned pipelines to avoid
cracks (crevices),
d) Prevent air infiltration and avoid “dead zones” (zones for
stagnation of water).
e) Implement protection, control and corrosion monitoring and
inspection measures,
f) Apply suitable coatings, use corrosion inhibitors e.g. biocides,
anti-scaling agents, and cathodic protection and
g) Eradicate corrosive impurities (H2S, H2O, O2).
 Selection materials of construction
• Materials (alloys, polymer and composite materials)
suitable for different environments in the technology of
• natural gas.
• There is no ideal material that resist under all conditions however
stainless steels and nickel based alloys are more effective against
corrosion for crude oil and natural gas systems ,
• But stainless steels and nickel alloys may cause pitting and crevice
corrosion, intergranular corrosion, and stress corrosion cracking.
• Titanium alloys can be used in natural gas wells at high pressures and
temperatures in the presence of H2S and CO2 [39]. Iron-nickel (9%) alloys
are used as material for cryogenic tanks for storage of liquefied natural
gas (LNG) at –162 oC.
LP MODEL
Use of linear programming techniques to solve refinery blending and
production problems
INTRODUCTION TO LP MODEL

• Linear programming (LP, also called linear optimization) is a

method to achieve the best outcome (such as maximum profit
or lowest cost) in a mathematical model, represented
by linear relationships
•  This technique is useful for quantitative decisions in business planning,
in industrial engineering, and also in social and physical sciences.
• The pioneer work to implement LP model for oil industry was
conducted by Charnes, Cooper and Mellon in 1954,
 LP model for oil refineries

LP model depend upon the following variables:

i) Feed flow rate: A combination of rates of flow of crude oil and product
streams

ii) Feed properties to be standardized by blending various crude oils, having

different properties,

iii) Operating variables: 2 types independent and dependent variables e.g.

Temperature, pressures, flow rates and properties etc.

iv) Formulate objective functions and solve for the known constraints, (time,
market and material constraints)
 Linear programming formulation 

Constraints or limitations
The LP Model
There are two basic LP models:
i. the maximization model in standard form,
ii. the minimization model in standard form.
For example, to maximize profit,
 APPLICATION OF LP MODEL IN REFINERY OPERATIONS

• Linear programming is the most widely applied to optimize,

many diverse applications in refineries e.g., to solve refinery
blending and production problems.
• Formulating the Linear Programming model for Refinery operations,
blending crudes, maximizing profitability or cost minimization etc.
• Solving Linear Programming model for particular conditions of a
Refinery,
• Sensitivity Analysis to identify the most effective parameters,
• Simplex Method and compute software solutions using optimal Lagrange
Multipliers:
• Addition of New Variables and More Constraint, the LP models may
become non-linear model.
• Solution of nonlinear and mixed-integer (MIP) LP models are
used for real-world planning and scheduling of petroleum
 Parameters Non-linear model

• Next generation process gauge for high-level total sulfur

measurement (0.02% to 6% S) of crude, bunker fuel, fuel oils,
and other highly viscous hydrocarbons, including residuum's
• On-Line sulfur gauge and Compact design with no routine
maintenance
• Refinery Optimization with Mixed Integer Linear Programming
• Software application for linear programming oil refinery to
resolve Integrated Supply Problems in the Oil Industry. 
Linear Programming Example

A refinery must produce 100 gallons of gasoline and 160 gallons of diesel
to meet customer demands. The refinery would like to minimize the cost of
crude and two crude options exist. The less expensive crude costs $80
USD per barrel while a more expensive crude costs $95 USD per barrel.
Each barrel of the less expensive crude produces 10 gallons of gasoline
and 20 gallons of diesel. Each barrel of the more expensive crude produces
15 gallons of both gasoline and diesel. Find the number of barrels of each
crude that will minimize the refinery cost while satisfying the customer
demands.
ROLE OF OPTIMIZATION IN THE REFINING BUSINESS

 The goal of refinery optimization is

• to maximize profitability enhancement,

• to develop investment plans for refinery capacity control due
to recent world economy slowdown,
• optimization also impart flexibility in the operation, 
 Periodic Optimization Strategies

Traditionally, oil refineries conduct the following periodic optimization studies:

i. Strategic plans for future concerning expansion ;
ii. Annual plans for budgeting, crude contracts and maintenance & shutdown
planning;
iii. Periodic rolling plans for crude selection, and conducting refinery operations
according to the foreseen demands;
iv. Short-term (typically weekly) plans for finding operating strategies regarding
crude availability, product delivery, operational and logistic constraints, as well as
economic issues;
v. Profitability improvement plans for local or plant-level modifications, and revamp
projects.
 OVERVIEW OF PETROLEUM ACT.

• The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) is established as

the successor to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) under the
Energy Act, 2019 issued by the Govt. of Pakistan with the approval the
parliament, to regulate and control of petroleum and coal industry,
marketing.

• The functions of the Authority as provided in Section 10 of the Energy

Act 2019 include:
(a) Regulate—
(i) Generation, importation, exportation, transmission, distribution, supply and use of
electrical energy with the exception of licensing of nuclear facilities;
(ii) Importation, refining, exportation, transportation, storage and sale of petroleum
and petroleum products with the exception of crude oil;
(iii) Production, conversion, distribution, supply, marketing and use of renewable
energy
(iv) Exploration, extraction, production, processing, transportation, storage exportation,
importation and sale of coal bed methane gas and other energy forms;

(b) Regulate, monitor and supervise upstream petroleum operations in Kenya in

accordance with the law relating to petroleum, the regulations made thereunder and the
relevant petroleum agreement;

(c) Provide such information and statistics in relation to upstream petroleum operations in
Kenya to the Cabinet Secretary responsible for matters relating to petroleum as may be
required from time to time;

d) Collect, maintain and manage upstream petroleum data;

(e) Receive, review and grant an application for a nonexclusive exploration;

(f) Co-ordinate the development of upstream petroleum infrastructure and promote
capacity building in upstream petroleum operations;
(g) Inspect and test any machinery or equipment that has been used, is used or shall be
used in upstream petroleum operations;
(h) Assess field development plans and make recommendations to the Cabinet Secretary
responsible for matters relating to petroleum for approval, amendment or rejection of the
plans;
(i) Assess tail-end production and cessation of upstream petroleum operations and
oversee decommissioning by a contractor;
(j) Verify the measurements of petroleum production to allow for estimation and
assessment of royalties and profits of oil and gas due to the National Government;
(k) Verify the recoverable cost of oil and gas due to the parties to a petroleum agreement;
(l) Audit contractors for cost recovery;
(m) Monitor in consultation with the Competition Authority conditions of
contractors’ operations and their trade practices;
(n) Provide information to the relevant authority for the collection of taxes and fees
from upstream petroleum operations;
(o) Set, review and approve contracts, tariffs and charges for common user upstream
petroleum facilities;
(p) Make proposals to the Cabinet Secretary responsible for matters relating to
petroleum in relation to regulations which may be necessary or expedient for the
regulation of the upstream petroleum sector or for carrying out the objects and
purposes of this Act;
(q) Work with the relevant statutory authorities to formulate, enforce and review
environmental, health, safety and quality standards for the upstream petroleum
sector;
r)Develop guidelines, in consultation with other statutory authorities, in relation to
the implementation of treaties, conventions or protocols affecting the upstream
petroleum sector;
(s) Regulate contracts on upstream petroleum operations not specifically provided
for under the law relating to petroleum;
(t) Advice the Cabinet Secretary responsible for matters relating to petroleum in the
evaluation of the bids and applications made for upstream petroleum blocks;
(u) Ensure that contractors uphold the relevant laws, regulations and petroleum
agreement terms;
(v) Ensure optimal levels of recovery of petroleum resources;
(w) Promote well planned, executed and cost-efficient operations;
(x) Ensure optimal utilization of existing and planned facilities