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Expect Asia
Expediting and Inspection in Thailand, Asia
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  • Home
  • About Us
  • Services
    • Expediting
    • Inspection
    • Welding Processes
      • Oxyfuel Gas Welding
      • Resistance Welding
      • Solid-state Welding
      • Other Welding
      • List of welding codes
    • Non Destructive Testing
      • Methods
      • Methods and techniques
      • Personnel training, qualification and certification
      • Terminology
      • Reliability and statistics
    • Process Plants
      • Operation
      • Major Products
      • Common process units found in a refinery
      • Flow diagram of typical refinery
      • The crude oil distillation unit
      • Specialty end products
      • Siting/locating of petroleum refineries
      • Safety and environmental concerns
      • Corrosion problems and prevention
      • Chemical Plants
    • Equipment Types
      • Pumps
      • Columns
      • Pressure vessels
      • Fired heaters
      • Heat exchangers
      • Pipes
      • Pipe fittings
      • Stacks
      • Valves
  • Project List
    • Download Project List
  • News
  • Careers
  • Contact

The crude oil distillation unit

The crude oil distillation unit (CDU) is the first processing unit in virtually all petroleum refineries. The CDU distills the incoming crude oil into various fractions of different boiling ranges, each of which are then processed further in the other refinery processing units. The CDU is often referred to as the atmospheric distillation unit because it operates at slightly above atmospheric pressure.
Below is a schematic flow diagram of a typical crude oil distillation unit. The incoming crude oil is preheated by exchanging heat with some of the hot, distilled fractions and other streams. It is then desalted to remove inorganic salts (primarily sodium chloride).

Following the desalter, the crude oil is further heated by exchanging heat with some of the hot, distilled fractions and other streams. It is then heated in a fuel-fired furnace (fired heater) to a temperature of about 398 °C and routed into the bottom of the distillation unit.

The cooling and condensing of the distillation tower overhead is provided partially by exchanging heat with the incoming crude oil and partially by either an air-cooled or water-cooled condenser. Additional heat is removed from the distillation column by a pumparound system as shown in the diagram below.
As shown in the flow diagram, the overhead distillate fraction from the distillation column is naphtha. The fractions removed from the side of the distillation column at various points between the column top and bottom are called sidecuts. Each of the sidecuts (i.e., the kerosene, light gas oil and heavy gas oil) is cooled by exchanging heat with the incoming crude oil. All of the fractions (i.e., the overhead naphtha, the sidecuts and the bottom residue) are sent to intermediate storage tanks before being processed further.

Schematic flow diagram of a typical crude oil distillation unit as used in petroleum crude oil refineries.

In this section
  • Operation
  • Major Products
  • Common process units found in a refinery
  • Flow diagram of typical refinery
  • The crude oil distillation unit
  • Specialty end products
  • Siting/locating of petroleum refineries
  • Safety and environmental concerns
  • Corrosion problems and prevention
  • Chemical Plants

Ex-pect Asia Co., Ltd.
267/110 Sukhumvit Rd.,
T. Maptaphut A.Muang Rayong 21150
Thailand

Telephone: +66 (0) 38 608151
Gary Mobile: +66 (0) 89 9303324
K. Wuttichart Mobile: +66 (0) 892265626

267/110 ถนนสุขุมวิท ตำบลมาบตาพุต อำเภอเมือง จังหวัดระยอง 21150

Telephone: +66 (0) 38 608151
K. Wuttichart Mobile: +66 (0) 892265626

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Expect Asia - Expediting and Inspection for the petrochemical Industry in Thailand, Asia