Petroleum Refining Process Course

Lesson 1 • Refinery Configuration Overview

Introduces topping, hydroskimming, and complex refinery layouts. Connects configuration choice to crude slate and product demand.

Lesson 2 • Health, Safety, and Environmental Basics

Covers hazard identification, process safety fundamentals, and environmental compliance concepts. Establishes the safety mindset required throughout the course.

Lesson 3 • Refinery Economics and Margins

Explains crack spreads, product yield value, and operating cost drivers. Grounds technical decisions in economic performance metrics.

Lesson 4 • Petroleum Products and Specifications

Defines key refined products and their quality specifications. Links product requirements to the selection of processing routes.

Lesson 1 • Crude Preheat Train and Desalting

Explains heat integration in the preheat train and electrostatic desalting operation. Connects feed preparation quality to column performance and corrosion control.

Lesson 2 • Atmospheric Distillation Column Operation

Details tray and packing internals, reflux control, and side-draw product quality. Directly addresses the primary separation unit in any refinery.

Lesson 3 • Vacuum Distillation Unit Design

Covers vacuum generation, transfer line design, and VGO/VR cut-point control. Extends distillation knowledge to heavy crude fractionation.

Lesson 4 • Thermodynamic Principles of Distillation

Covers vapor-liquid equilibrium, relative volatility, and flash calculations. Provides the theoretical basis for column design and operation.

Lesson 1 • Visbreaking Process

Explains soaker and coil visbreaker configurations for fuel oil viscosity reduction. Positions visbreaking as a mild thermal option upstream of deeper conversion.

Lesson 2 • Thermal Cracking Chemistry

Explains free-radical mechanisms, bond dissociation, and coke formation pathways. Establishes the chemical foundation for all thermal conversion processes.

Lesson 3 • Delayed Coking Unit Operation

Covers drum switching cycles, heater outlet temperature control, and coke cutting procedures. Focuses on the most widely used residue upgrading technology.

Lesson 4 • Fluid Coking and Flexicoking

Describes fluidized-bed coking reactors and integrated gasification in Flexicoking. Contrasts continuous fluid coking with batch delayed coking.

Lesson 1 • FCC Yield Optimization and Troubleshooting

Addresses operating variable manipulation, delta-coke control, and common upset scenarios. Builds skills for maximizing gasoline or propylene production.

Lesson 2 • FCC Main Fractionator and Gas Plant

Explains product separation in the main column and wet gas compressor train. Links fractionation efficiency to gasoline and LPG recovery.

Lesson 3 • FCC Reaction Chemistry and Catalysts

Covers carbocation mechanisms, zeolite catalyst structure, and selectivity control. Provides the chemical basis for yield prediction and catalyst selection.

Lesson 4 • FCC Feed Quality and Pretreatment

Covers VGO hydrotreating, resid FCC feed considerations, and contaminant limits. Demonstrates how feed quality drives catalyst consumption and product yields.

Lesson 1 • Catalyst Deactivation and Cycle Management

Addresses coke deposition, metal poisoning, and start-of-run to end-of-run temperature management. Builds skills for maximizing catalyst cycle length.

Lesson 2 • Hydroprocessing Reaction Chemistry

Covers hydrodesulfurization, hydrodenitrogenation, and hydrodearomatization reaction networks. Establishes the chemical framework for catalyst and condition selection.

Lesson 3 • Hydrotreating Unit Operation

Details LHSV, hydrogen partial pressure, and temperature control for various feedstocks. Provides operating guidelines for naphtha, distillate, and VGO hydrotreaters.

Lesson 4 • Hydrocracking Process and Catalyst Systems

Covers single-stage and two-stage hydrocracker configurations and bifunctional catalyst design. Extends hydrotreating knowledge to full conversion of heavy gas oils.

Lesson 1 • Reformer Troubleshooting and Catalyst Regeneration

Addresses catalyst deactivation, coke burn-off procedures, and chloride redistribution. Builds skills for maintaining reformer performance across the full catalyst cycle.

Lesson 2 • Reformer Severity and Yield Optimization

Explains weighted average inlet temperature, space velocity, and H2/HC ratio effects on yield. Provides tools for balancing octane, reformate yield, and hydrogen production.

Lesson 3 • Semi-Regenerative and CCR Reformer Design

Compares fixed-bed semi-regenerative and continuous catalyst regeneration reformer configurations. Connects design choice to severity, cycle length, and hydrogen purity.

Lesson 4 • Reforming Reaction Chemistry

Covers dehydrogenation, isomerization, cyclization, and hydrocracking reactions on bifunctional catalysts. Establishes the chemical basis for octane production and hydrogen generation.

Lesson 1 • Solid Acid and Ionic Liquid Alkylation

Introduces emerging solid acid and ionic liquid catalyst technologies as HF/H2SO4 alternatives. Positions these technologies within the context of safety and environmental drivers.

Lesson 2 • Alkylation Chemistry and Feedstocks

Covers isobutane-olefin alkylation mechanisms and feedstock quality requirements. Establishes the chemical basis for alkylate octane and selectivity.

Lesson 3 • HF and Sulfuric Acid Alkylation Units

Compares hydrofluoric acid and sulfuric acid alkylation reactor designs and safety systems. Connects acid type to product quality, acid consumption, and hazard management.

Lesson 4 • Gasoline Pool Blending Fundamentals

Explains blending indices, linear and nonlinear blending rules, and component inventory management. Connects individual stream properties to final gasoline specification compliance.

Lesson 1 • Amine Gas Treating Units

Covers amine solvent selection, absorber-regenerator design, and H2S/CO2 removal efficiency. Positions amine treating as the primary acid gas removal step before sulfur recovery.

Lesson 2 • Claus Sulfur Recovery Process

Details thermal and catalytic Claus stages, sulfur condenser design, and recovery efficiency. Converts H2S from amine units into elemental sulfur for sale or disposal.

Lesson 3 • Steam Methane Reforming for Hydrogen

Covers SMR reaction chemistry, reformer tube design, and PSA purification. Establishes hydrogen production as the backbone of hydroprocessing operations.

Lesson 4 • Hydrogen Recovery and Network Optimization

Explains membrane separation, PSA, and pinch analysis for refinery hydrogen networks. Reduces hydrogen production costs by maximizing recovery from process streams.