The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The largest volume products of the industry are fuel oil and gasoline (petrol).
2. Table of Contents
Overview:................................................................................................................................................3
Pre Treatment Section:...........................................................................................................................3
Naphtha Splitter:.....................................................................................................................................4
HSD Treatment:.......................................................................................................................................4
LSU Extraction:........................................................................................................................................4
Hydrotreater: ..........................................................................................................................................5
Reformer Unit: ........................................................................................................................................6
Naphtha: .................................................................................................................................................7
HSD:.........................................................................................................................................................7
Furnace Fuel Oil: .....................................................................................................................................7
Process Economization: ..........................................................................................................................8
Control Parameters:................................................................................................................................8
Naphtha Splitter Section:........................................................................................................................8
Hydroreformer Section:..........................................................................................................................9
ORC-2 (Crude Distillation, Vacuum Tower and Isom Unit) .....................................................................9
Overview:................................................................................................................................................9
Crude Distillation Unit:............................................................................................................................9
Kero-hydrotreater:..................................................................................................................................9
LPG Separation Unit:...............................................................................................................................9
Isom Unit:................................................................................................................................................9
Comparison between ORC-1 and ORC-2:..............................................................................................10
The HSEQ Department..........................................................................................................................10
Safety: ...................................................................................................................................................11
Individual Safety:...................................................................................................................................11
Emergency Response Team:.................................................................................................................12
Health:...................................................................................................................................................12
Environment and Quality Management: ..............................................................................................12
Lab:........................................................................................................................................................13
Oil Movement & Tank Farm..................................................................................................................14
Overview:..............................................................................................................................................14
Furnace Fuel Oil Tank Farm: .................................................................................................................14
LPG Bullets: ...........................................................................................................................................14
ATG Apparatus:.....................................................................................................................................15
3. Overview:
Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) as the name suggests is a distillation process in which
distillation of crude is done. Distillation is a physical separation process in which Crude oil is
split into its different components on the basis of volatility. The general products of the CDU
are:
• Naphtha: Both Light and Heavy Naphtha streams.
• Kerosene: A blend of different components which can be further separated into fuels of
different characteristics
• Diesel Streams: Diesels blends which are later separated into High Speed Diesel, Low
Speed Diesel etc.
• Residues: Mainly considered as Furnace Fuel Oil.
The main part of the CDT are:
• Desalter • Pre flash Tank • Distillation Tower • Naphtha Splitter
Pre-Treatment Section:
These sections include the pretreatment steps leading to the distillation tower. The process
flow for this section is shown below:
The section starts with crude charging. There are two flow trains for pretreatment, at a time
one of them is in operation whereas the other is on standby. As in all refineries in the world,
the first unit process is desalting. The desalter at BYCO are only used when the salt
concentration excides 5 ppm but in the crude feed this concentration is usually below 1 ppm
hence the desalters are not in operation (Can be activated in accordance to requirement).
After desalting the crude is heated to 200 degrees through heat exchange. Then the crude is
fed to the pre flash tower where the lighter fractions are removed. These fractions leave as
gases from the tower top and collected in the reflux drum. Here they condense to form
naphtha rich liquid which is split into two streams, one that goes back as reflux and the
other that is the naphtha splitter feed. The lightest fractions of crude mainly impurities,
methane and ethane leave reflux drum as gases which are flared out. The heavier crude
components leave the pre flash tower as liquid and are preheated to 370 degrees through a
furnace before being feed into the distillation tower.
Distillation Tower: After pretreatment section the crude enters the distillation tower at 700
degree centigrade. In the distillation tower, steam is used as a heating source and it brings
about the necessary conditions for separating the crude into its components. The distillation
tower system is shown below:
Distillation Tower Highlights:
• Number of Trays: 38 in total.
• Type of Tray: Fixed Valve Plates.
• Refinery Capacity: 35,000 barrels per day
• Top Pump Around: Available between Plates 8 and 10
• Bottom Pump around: Available between Plates 28 to 33
• Feed Charge: At the 34th Plate
4. • Feed Inlet Temperature: 370 degrees Centigrade.
• Reboiler: No reboiler, temperature controlled by the means of direct contact with
superheated steam at 460.C
The crude entered at the 34th plates splits unto 4 major fractions i.e. Naphtha, High Speed
Diesel, Kerosene and Furnace Fuel Oil. The Naphtha and gasoline which are the lightest
fraction of the Crude are very volatile and leave as vapor from the top of the distillation
column, after which they are collected into the reflux drum. The Reflux drum acts as a
separator vessel. Three streams leave from the reflux drum, one is the light impure gases
containing methane and ethane which are sent to the flare. The second is the tower reflux
which splits into the third stream which is sent to the Naphtha Splitter. At the 22nd Plate
HSD is removed for further treatment. Whereas at the 19th plate, Kerosene is removed
which is further purified by a side stripper before it can be exported out of the unit. At the
bottom of the tower we get the residue in the form of Furnace Fuel Oil.
Naphtha Splitter:
Naphtha is composed of a Lighter Fraction and a Heavier Fraction. Light Naphtha is very
valuable as it is a primary component of Gasoline, a fuel for automobiles. Whereas Heavy
Naphtha has to be reformed before it can be blend into Gasoline to improve its Research
Octane Number or in basic terms its efficiency. The Naphtha Splitter Unit is shown below:
The export streams form the Pre-Flash tower of the pretreatment section and the tower
reflux drum stream are combined. This combined stream is then heated to 115’C before
being fed to the Splitter column. In the column due to difference in Volatility the Light
Naphtha Stream separates from the Heavy Naphtha. The Light Naphtha is then cooled and
stored in the reflux drum. On cooling the Light Naphtha condenses and the even lighter
components flash out to the flare. The Light Naphtha is then sent to the LPG Plant. The
heavy Naphtha is collected from the bottom and sent to the Reformer Section.
HSD Treatment:
The HSD removed from the 22nd plate of the Distillation Tower is then treated in the HSD
Treatment section. Here the HSD is split into two streams each passing through a side
stripper where unwanted impurities mostly kerosene composites are stripped out. These
strippers are used to increase the flash point of diesel by stripping out lighter components.
After stripping these streams are then rejoined and exported out of the CDU.
LSU Extraction:
In this Unit, LPG is extracted from Light Naphtha coming from the Naphtha Splitter. LPG is a
mixture of 60% Propane and 40% Butane but the LPG produced in BYCO is primarily Propane
with traces of Butane. The LSU (LPG Separation Unit) PFD is shown below:
The process is similar to stripping in which the Naphtha Feed is heated in a tray column in
which Ethane then Propane and finally Butane are removed in separate columns. After LPG
removal from the Light Naphtha stream, it goes into MerOx Treater after which both
Naphtha and LPG are stored in their respective storage tanks. MerOx Treater: MerOx is a
5. term driven from Mer which stands for Mercaptans and Ox which stands for oxidation. This
process is used to remove Mercaptans i.e. the Sulphur containing hydrocarbons from the
LPG and Naphtha streams. It can also be used to treat Kerosene. Sulphur presence in fuel is
highly undesirable as it makes the fuels sour. Use of such fuels in combustion engines can
lead to corrosion and production of Sulphur oxides which are primary and secondary
pollutant. In MerOx treatment these Sulphur compounds are converted to liquid disulphides
which can be removed through separation techniques. MerOx treatment is done by means
of caustic showering. The reactions involved in the processes are as follows:
Step 1: 2RSH + 2 NaOH → 2NaSR + 2 H2O
Step 2: 4NaSR + O2 + 2H2O → 2RSSR + 4NaOH
Overall Reaction: 4 RSH + O2 → 2RSSR + 2H2O
After passing the reactor the liquid streams pass through separators which remove any oil-
soluble substances, organometallic compounds (especially copper) and particulate matter.
The MerOx treater flow for LPG and Naphtha are the same. The Flow is shown below:
The Naphtha or LPG Stream are sent into the prewash tank. In the prewash tank there is a
set level of caustic through which the products are bubbled out. The density difference
causes the Naphtha and LPG to move towards the top and the caustic to settle down. After
prewashing the Naphtha and LPG are sent through the extractor. Caustic is showered from
the top and it helps in absorbing the Sulphur as shown in the step one of the reactions. After
extraction the Naphtha and LPG pass into the settler where due to difference in densities
the caustic settles down and the sweetened Products are received on the other end. The
MerOx treater flow for Kerosene is different. This is because of very small difference in
densities with caustic, hence it can’t be separated on basis of densities. The flow is shown
below:
The kerosene stream after prewashing is fed to the Settler Reactor, in this vessel there is a
fixed bed of Charcoal. The Kerosene is then reacted with caustic and a catalyst. After the
reaction the product stream is removed from the bottom and fed to the salt filter. The salt
filter has a bed of salt, this salt absorbs the water which forms as a result of the reaction.
After passing the salt filter the kerosene enters the clay filter, in this filter all the solid
particles are removed. The caustic removed is sent for regeneration. The sweetened
kerosene is rundown as a product. The regeneration is similar for both LPG and Kerosene
MerOx. The reacted caustic is first oxidized to form Disulphides (As shown in the second
reaction) and pure caustic is formed as a byproduct. This caustic is again used as a washing
and reacting agent in the system. The Disulphides are insoluble in the caustic and are
separated in 3 phase separators where the impure gases flash out, the caustic is removed
from the middle and the Disulphides are removed from the boot.
Hydrotreater:
Hydro treatment or hydro processing is a pretreatment step before the Heavy Naphtha can
be reformed. During the hydro treatment process the following are removed from the
Naphtha stream:
• Sulphur and its compounds
• Nitrogen and its compounds
• Metallic components removed
• Olefins and aromatics saturated.
6. These removals are important because most of these compounds act as catalyst poison in
the reformer as well as it reduces load on the reformer as most of the unsaturation is
already removed. The reactions that take place in the reactor are catalytic so Cobalt
Molybdenum Catalyst is used and the reaction temperatures of 300 degrees centigrade are
maintained through pre heating.
The following reactions take place in the reactor:
1. Hydrodesulphurization: Removal of Sulphur and its organic compounds.
2. Hydro-de-nitrogentaion: Removal of Nitrogen and its organic compounds by conversion
into ammonia
3. Hydrodeoxyenation: Removal of organic oxygen compounds by conversion into water
4. Hydrodemetallization: Removal of organometals by conversion into metal sulfides.
5. Hydrocracking: Breakdown of large hydrocarbon chains into smaller chains
6. Hydro aromatization: Conversion of chains into cyclic and aromatic structures
After Hydro treatment the Heavy Naphtha is ready for reforming. The real PFD for this unit
as follows:
The Naphtha from Storage or Distillation tower is preheated to the Hydrotreater reactor
conditions after which the product is sent to the separator where the impure gases like
Nitrogen oxides, Sulphur Oxides, Oxygen and water vapors are separated as Fuel gas. The
hydrotreated product is then sent to the Desulfurizer where Sulphur is extracted from the
hydrotreated product. The bottom product of the desulfurizer is Hydro-de-sulphurized
stream that can be used as reformer feed or stored as sweet naphtha. The Reactor is
composed of three layers. The top and bottom layer are resins in between which there is a
fixed bed of the catalyst. The resins are used as sieves and strainers for solid impurities. The
resins also ensure proper flow of naphtha through the catalyst, which is important to avoid
channeling.
Reformer Unit:
The heart of the refinery is the reformer whereas the brain is the reformer reactors. The
reformer section is used to convert the heavy naphtha into a reformate stream of high-
octane number. Heavy Naphtha is complex mixture of up to 300 hydrocarbons with carbon
atoms ranging from 5-12 per molecule. These components can be categorized as
Naphthene, Paraffins, Olefins and Aromatics. The key of the reforming process is to change
the structures of the paraffins, naphthene and olefins to increase the aromatic composition
of reformate. The more the aromatics i.e. benzene, xylenes, toluene etc. present in
reformate the better the octane number. The higher the octane number of Gasoline it will
enhance the efficiency of the engine and reduce the chances of knocking in the engine,
which can be catastrophic in the long run. The PFD for this section is as follows:
In general, in a reformer 86 different reactions take place. Which can be categorized into
the following 6 basics types of reactions:
• Dehydrogenation: Naphthene or cyclic compounds release Hydrogen to form aromatics.
• Dehydrocyclization: Paraffins release hydrogen to convert to Naphthene and Aromatics.
• Isomerization: Structures of Paraffins, Naphthene and Aromatics altered without change
in molecular weight.
7. • Trans alkylation: The transfer of an attached alkyl from one structure to another.
• Hydrocracking: Breakdown of Larger Paraffins and Naphthene into smaller Paraffins.
• Hydro alkylation: Removal of Alkyl groups attached to Aromatics. The reactions are
catalyst driven. The catalyst used is basically a Rhenium/Aluminum by metallic catalyst.
Overall conversions are shown below:
• cyclohexenes: 99% Conversion
• Cyclopentanes: 87% Conversion
• Paraffins: 39% Conversion
The best feature of the reformer is that hydrogen that is required is produced from the
reaction as a byproduct. For each percent hydrogen required, 12.5% more is produced. This
excess ratio enables the refinery to full fill its hydrogen requirement in reformer and
Hydrotreater section. Most of the reactions are endothermic in nature. The catalyst has a
SOR (Start of Run) Temperature of 475’C to EOR (End of Run) Temperature of 510’C in the
first two reactors, as most of the reactions here are endothermic. The reactions in the last
reactor are exothermic thus the heating requirement there is very low. Reformate before
rundown is stabilized by stripping LPG components out and have the required product
specs. After stabilizing the Gasoline Reformate is run down as a commercial grade product.
Product Specs Summary:
Every Refinery Product has to have some set Product Specs before it can be sold to the
market. The important specs of the different refinery products are listed below:
Naphtha:
For Naphtha product the most important Product Spec is Ride Vapor Pressure (RVP). RVP is
a common measure of the volatility of gasoline. It is defined as the absolute vapor pressure
exerted by a liquid at 100 °F (37.8 °C) as determined by the test method ASTM-D-323.
The higher the RVP, it reflects more volatility. Volatility is a measure of the presence of
lighter ends in a liquid mixture. Volatility is a big hazard during transportation as the Flash
point of the vapor clouds is lower than that of the liquid mixture, thus it can explode in the
vessels designed in accordance to the transportation specs of the liquid mixture. To reduce
the RVP of Naphtha and Gasoline it stabilized to strip out the LPG and lighter impurity gases.
HSD:
HSD is the most valuable product produced at BYCO. Hence it is refined to produce the
purest blends. The following Specs are checked for HSD: 1. 90% D-86 Test: This ASTM graded
taste is used to determine the Boiling Point ranges of the HSD mixture 2. Pour Point 3. Flash
Point 4. Cloud Point 5. IBP 50%: To calculate the initial boiling point of the HSD Mixture. 6.
Color 7. Water Content
Furnace Fuel Oil:
Furnace Fuel Oil has the following Specs:
1. Flash Point
2. Viscosity
3. Pour Point
8. Process Economization:
One of the most crucial elements of any refinery is process economization. The heating
requirements of a refinery are very high and if these requirements are fulfilled by external
means it will require a hefty fixed capital cost. On the other hand, the energy produced as a
result of the refining process are very high, that they can overcome the requirement deficit.
Thus, a process is economized by using the process energy produced. In CDU section, the
Products produced from the distillation tower are very hot, having unrequired energy. This
energy is recovered by heat exchange to preheat crude oil before it enters the desalter
section and the Preflash tower. The Pump arounds are also cooled with heat exchange with
crude oil. In most of the overhead collection tanks in this section, very light gases and
impure gases with high heating value are separated and used as a fuel in furnaces. Similarly,
in the hydro reformer section, the bottom products of the desulphurizer and stabilizer are
reboiled in the convection zone which has a very high energy reservoir. There is a process
boiler installed which is used to make process steam, further utilizing energy and making
steam for use in the process. The preheating exchangers and furnaces are heated by the
overhead and bottom products. Furnace Fuel Oil, a product of the distillation tower, which
is heated by an oil heater to heat reboilers installed in the facility. Such steps ensure
process economization making the process eco-friendly and pocket friendly as well.
Control Parameters:
In recent times process variable control has become essential to ensure product quality and
process safety. Different types of controllers like level control valves, pressure control valves
and flow control valves etc. are used in industries.
Following Crucial Controllers are installed at ORC-1.
Preflash Section: Location Type Control Parameter Operation Fail Safety Comments
• Crude Feed PCV Pressure Air to Close Open Feed is crucial for system
• Naphtha Splitter Feed LCV Level Air to Open Closed Valve closes in case of Air
Failure
• Tower Reflux TCV Temperature Air to Close Open Reflux is active in any condition
• Born Furnace Feed LCV Level Air to Open Close Feed cut off on air failure Crude
Tower Section: Location Type Control Parameter Operation Fail Safety Comments
• Bottom PA FCV Flow Air to Close Open Active irrespective of Air
• Reflux TCV Temperature Air to Close Open Active irrespective of Air
• Top PA TCV/FCV Temperature/Flow Air to Close Open Active irrespective of Air
• Kero Stripper Feed LCV Level Air to Open Closed Closed on Air Failure
• HSD Stripper Feed LCV Level Air to Open Closed Closed on Air Failure
Naphtha Splitter Section:
Operation Fail Safety Comments
• Naphtha Feed PCV Pressure Air to Close Open Active irrespective of Air
• Reflux TCV Temperature Air to Close Open Active irrespective of Air
• Fuel Gas PCV Pressure Air to Close Open Active irrespective of Air
9. Hydroreformer Section:
Operation Fail Safety Comments
• Naphtha Feed FCV Pressure Air to Open Closed Active irrespective of Air
• Fuel Gas Overhead PCV Temperature Air to Open Closed Active irrespective of Air
• Desulphurizer Reflux TCV Temperature Air to Close Open Active irrespective of Air
• Desulphurizer Feed LCV Level Air to Open Closed Closed on Air Failure
• Desulphurizer Bottom FCV Flow Air to Open Closed Closed on Air Failure
• Stabilizer Reflux TCV Temperature Air to Close Open Active irrespective of Air
ORC-2 (Crude Distillation, Vacuum Tower and Isom Unit)
Overview:
ORC-2 is also a refining process. It has a capacity of 35000 bpd. The following diagram is a
PFD overview of ORC-2:
Crude Distillation Unit:
The CDU of ORC-2 is similar to ORC-1. It just varies in configuration. As shown below:
Kero-hydrotreater:
One of the major differences in ORC-1 and 2 is that here Kero is hydrotreated to make
further products.
LPG Separation Unit:
The LPG Separation Unit is very similar to the one in ORC-1. The only addition is De-
isohexanizer which is a stripping column that strips out molecules with carbon equal or less
than 6. These molecules are then sent to Isom Unit for isomerization.
Isom Unit:
Isom unit is basically an isomerization reactor system. In this system the normal paraffinic
chains are converted to isoparaffinic chains. There are following sub sections in the Isom
Unit:
Pretreatment Section:
In the pretreatment section the ISOM feed enters after LPG separation. It is collected from
the overhead drum of de-Iso-hexaniser in the LPG Separation Unit. The feed is first screened
through strainers and filters to remove solid debris and impurities. After that it is preheated
before being fed into the drier. In the drier there are hydrophobic material that separate
water or moisture from the liquid stream. It is very essential to remove the moisture as it is
a strong acidic poison. There are two driers installed in a series. After passing the drier the
feed has been pretreated and is feed into a buffer vessel.
Reactor Section:
From the buffer vessel the liquid stream is again heated to the reaction temperature and
fed to reactors attached in series. The catalyst used in the reactor is Platinum/Aluminum
10. Complex with chloride covering. In the reactor, reformation occurs and straight chained
hydrocarbons are converted to branched hydrocarbons that can be blended with gasoline to
enhance RON.
After the reaction reformate is feed to the stabilizer. The function of stabilizer is to strip out
the lighter ends from the stream. The lighter ends are usually LPG or impure gases used as
Fuel. The bottom of the stabilizer is fed into the absorbent chamber.
Absorbent Chamber:
The absorbent chamber is a mixing chamber in this chamber there are following four
streams:
Feed: The Reformate that is rich in Iso and Normal Paraffins.
Absorbent: A material that absorbs normal Paraffins.
Refinate: The product stream rich in Iso Paraffins.
Extract: The product stream rich in Normal Paraffins.
The function of this chamber is to separate the Iso Paraffins which are our desired product
from normal paraffins that is undesired secondary product.
Comparison between ORC-1 and ORC-2:
The principles behind the processes in ORC-1 and ORC-2 are same but there are following
differences:
• Efficiency: ORC-2 is more efficient process due to multiple extra refining steps.
• Capacity: ORC-1 has a max capacity of 12000 BPD whereas ORC-2 can be operated at
35000 BPD
• Configuration: There are multiple extra steps of refining in ORC-2
The HSEQ Department
Overview:
HSEQ stands for Health, Safety and Environment. As technology develops, the industries
become more complex and dangerous. To tackle any emergencies that might arise in any
industry there is a need of means of ensuring safety and health. Thus the concept of a HS
department which was responsible to maintain health and safety came into being. With
time it was observed that industries contribute a lot to the pollution of the environment.
Hence the authority to monitor the environment and ensure product quality, the alphabet E
which stands for environment was integrated with HS to make the HSE department. The
quality of the product has to be monitored to thus another department which ensures
quality is integrated into the HSE, this makes the HSEQ department BYCO has a fully
functional HSE department that runs around the clock 365 days an year. The details of which
are highlighted below.
11. The HSE department of BYCO can be broken down into:
• ERT (Emergency Response Team)
• Medical Services
• Process Safety
• Construction Safety and Analysis
• IMS (Integrated Management Safety)
Safety:
The processes taking place in a refinery are very sensitive and extremely hazardous. The HSE
department takes step to ensure safety and incase of any emergency has the capability to
respond to it.
Individual Safety:
In BYCO, the HSE department their safety moto is “Safety starts from you”. Every individual
that enters the refinery is entrusted with the responsibility to ensure his safety and the
safety of the equipment. There is a strict code on clothing inside the refinery, no one can
enter without wearing a helmet, safety shoes and an overall. Other than that for further
safety PPEs (Personal Protective Equipment) like googles, sound mufflers, gloves, SCBA (Self
Containing Breathing Apparatus) etc are readily available in case of need. Other than that
the HSE also arranges seminars and trainings to spread safety skills and habits in the
individuals working in the refinery. Equipment Safety: As much as human safety is
important, the safety of equipment is essential too. HSE department regularly inspects
equipment to check if it is in proper working condition and establishes rules to operate or
work with the equipment. In case of maintenance of equipment there is a proper work
permit system. These work permits are only provided after proper classification of the type
of work, hazard analysis and insurance that the work will not affect the other equipment.
There are four types of work permits at BYCO:
1. Hot Permit: Hot work is any process that can be a source of ignition when flammable
material is present or can be a fire hazard regardless of the presence of flammable material
in the workplace. For such work a hot work permit is required.
2. Cold Permit: A cold work permit shall be obtained for all general work that does not
involve activities related to hot work, i.e. the tolls and equipment used or the work itself do
not generate any spark. And cold work refers to general maintenance work on the plant or
equipment where the uses of any open flames, any source of ignition or any electrical
equipment is not allowed
3. Confined Space Certificate: A confined space is an enclosed area with limited space and
accessibility. To work in such places proper measures and equipment is required. After the
arrangements are made the HSE analyzes the work places and approves the certificate to
allow the progression of the work.
4. Excavation Certificate: A refinery is a series of complex pipes and equipment which are at
times even installed underground. Thus before any excavation work a proper certificate is
required to ensure that due to the relevant work none of the underground installations are
effected.
12. Emergency Response Team:
HSE has developed an Emergency Response team to tackle any emergency that might arise
in the refinery. The ERT is properly trained in search and rescue as well as tackling
emergencies like fire etc. The ERT team has two ambulances and two fire trucks which are
on the standby around the clock and have the ability to reach the site of any emergency
within a minute and a half. The usual emergency in any refinery is the threat of fire. The first
line of defense against these is fire alarms and water sprinklers installed in potential places
where a fire can occur. The ERT has two state of art fire trucks which have ability to tackle
fire with the means of water, foam and DCP (Dry Chemical Powder). There are also fire
extinguishers with DCP, CO2 and foam installed around the plant. Emergency Information
and Evacuation Plan: The first step to tackle an emergency is its information. The HSE has a
hotline established where any emergency can be informed at any time. Other than that
MCPs (Manual Call Points) are installed at different points across the refinery, which when
activated send an indication to the ERT informing them of the location of the emergency.
There are 6 assembly points in the plants, these points are established for cases of
emergency in which the workers have to be evacuated and these serve as muster points.
The ERT also analyzes and designs evacuation plans which are installed at all major facilities
in the plant indicating the path to the nearest Assembly Point.
Health:
HSE has a functional clinic and hospital at the plant. This clinic is manned by doctors and
nurses all around the year. All basic first aid services are present at the clinic. The clinic has
all modern equipment like ECG, defibulators and x ray machines etc. It also has an operation
theater where minor operations can take place. In case of severe emergencies the clinic has
2 operational ambulances on standby to take the victims to the nearest biggest hospitals.
The Health department also provide first aid trainings. It also holds seminars to impart
healthy habits and information to safeguard against different diseases.
Environment and Quality Management:
Another essential component of HSE is Environment and Quality Management. It is a social
responsibility of engineers and operators to protect the environment, this is monitored by
the HSE department. HSE department has a laboratory where the product and different
refuse of the plant. The products are analyzed periodically to analyze quality of the product.
Similarly the refuses and discharges are analyzed. If in case they excide the set limits, the
HSE analyzes the process to find the root cause of the deviation and eliminate it.
The main component of Quality Management is the IMS and ISO certification. IMS is
integrated management systems this system composes of internal and external auditors of
the HSEQ department that periodically analyze the plant to ensure quality, health, safety
and environmental protection. The results of the IMS analysis results in approval of ISO
certifications for the refinery. BYCO has the following certifications:
1. ISO 9001: This certification ensures Quality standards of the refinery. The certification
credits the Quality Management System of the refinery for running in accordance to the set
international standards.
13. 2. ISO 1401: This certifications is given to companies with Environmental Management
Systems set on the international standards.
3. OHAS 1801: This certification is given to companies maintaing occupational, health and
safety standards
Lab:
The lab is the hearth of the quality and environment management department. The lab
preforms test on the different products, feed and discharges of the process to look for
anomalies. In case of detection of anomalies processes are analyzed to find the root cause
and then steps taken to remove them.
The Lab has the following testing facilities:
• Gas Testing
• Environment Testing
• Waste Water Testing
• Fuel Testing
• Utility Water Testing
• Crude Testing Different equipment present in the lab include:
• Gas Chromatography: The chromatography used in analytical chemistry for separating and
analyzing compounds that can be vaporized without decomposition.
• Gas Liquid Chromatography: An analysis technique for finding the constituents of a liquid
mixture.
• Viscosity Bath: Apparatus used to find viscosities of different crude components.
• Flash Point: Analysis of flammability of fuels.
• Oxidation Stability: An index of the rate of oxidation which dependent on the quality and
type of base oil as well as the additive package used.
• Distillation: Test for crude components
• Spectrophotometer: Used to detect and quantify Mercaptans (Sulphur containing
hydrocarbons) in a sample.
• Spectrode: Used for metal analysis of sample.
Similarly the following tests are conducted in water analysis:
• pH Analysis
• Conductivity
• BoD/CoD Analysis
• Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Analysis
• Hardness Analysis
• Analysis of impurities: like Zinc, Phosphate, Chlorides, Free Chlorine, Iron and
Sulphides.
• Laglier Index: It simply indicates the driving force for scale formation and growth in
terms of pH.
• Ryznar Stability: The Ryznar stability index is calculated to give an indication about
the potential of scale and indirectly the corrosion potential.
• Total Alkalinity Test
14. Oil Movement & Tank Farm
Overview:
Oil movement section is responsible for crude storage, transfer to required plants and
shipment of finished products. Oil movement deals with the following materials:
• Crude Oil
• Naphtha both forms Heavy and Light
• LPG Gas
• HSD
• MS: Motor Spirit
Furnace Fuel Oil Tank Farm:
Tank farm is storage area of crude. The following types of Tanks are available here:
External Floating Roof: Commonly used to store large quantities of petroleum products
such as crude oil or condensate. It comprises an open- topped cylindrical steel shell
equipped with a roof that floats on the surface of the stored liquid. The roof rises and falls
with the liquid level in the tank. This assembly is designed to minimize vapor space and keep
the stored fluid under pressure at all times. In principle, this eliminates breathing losses and
greatly reduces the evaporative loss of the stored liquid. There is a rim seal system between
the tank shell and roof to reduce rim evaporation. The roof has support legs hanging down
into the liquid. At low liquid levels the roof eventually lands and a vapor space forms
between the liquid surface and the roof. The support legs are usually retractable to increase
the working volume of the tank. Due too little vapor space, and consequently a much
smaller risk of rim space fire. External roof tanks are usually installed for environmental or
economic reasons to limit product loss and reduce the emission of volatile organic
compounds (VOC), an air pollutant. The major disadvantage of this assembly is that rain
water and snow can accumulate on the roof; eventually the roof may sink. This water can
also seep into the tank and contaminate the stored fluid.
Internal Floating Roof: These tanks are nothing but cone roof tanks with a floating roof
inside which travels up and down along with the liquid level. This floating roof traps the
vapor from low flash-point fuels. Floating roofs are supported with legs or cables on which
they rest. IFR tanks are used for liquids with low flash-points.
Fixed Roof: Fixed roof tanks are common in production facilities to store hydrocarbons with
vapor pressures close to atmospheric pressure. In this use, they should be equipped with
pressure-vacuum valves and purged with natural gas to eliminate air intake into the vapor
space. Product evaporative losses can be high especially when crude is added to the tank
and vapors are expelled through the pressure vent valve.
LPG Bullets:
The two main forms of LPG are commercial butane and commercial propane. LPG may be
liquefied by moderately increasing the pressure or by reducing the temperature.
Refrigerated storage is used by gas suppliers to store large volumes of LPG. The main form
of LPG storage is in special tanks known as 'pressure tanks'. Commonly these pressure tanks
15. are termed 'bulk tanks' or LPG Bullets. because LPG has a high coefficient of expansion in its
liquid phase, the tanks are never completely filled with liquid (tanks are filled to
approximately 85% of their water capacity), the remaining space being taken up with vapor
(often referred to as the vapor space) to facilitate expansion without allowing the liquid to
become 100% full (often known as hydraulically full).
As LPG gas (vapor) is drawn from the tank, the vapor pressure in the tank falls and the liquid
boils, producing more vapor and restoring the pressure.to maintain boiling, the liquid
absorbs heat from itself, from the metal wall of the tank in contact with the liquid (known as
the wetted surface area) and from the air surrounding the tank. The available gas 'off take',
therefore, is dependent upon the surface area of the tank, the quantity of liquid within the
tank and the temperature. The low temperature of the liquid (often indicating excess off
take) may be indicated as 'sweating' (where the water vapor in air condenses on the wetted
surface area of the tank) and if the off take is large enough 'frosting' (where the condensed
water vapor freezes) on the walls of the tank.
When the liquid temperature rises, for instance in summer, the vapor pressure increases,
when the liquid temperature drops, the vapor pressure drops. These Bullets look like this:
ATG Apparatus:
ATG is Automatic Tank Gauge System. This system is installed in all the Tanks available in the
tank farm.
With help of sensors the ATG monitoring systems can control:
• Pressure
• Temperature
• Flowrate
• Pressure
In storage tanks, evaporation losses and storage conditions are very important. If the
conditions are not monitored it can lead to heavy losses as most of the refinery products are
extremely volatile. For this purpose ATGs are installed to monitor the conditions in real
time.