Refining and Petrochemistry Course

Lesson 1 • Natural Gas Composition and Properties

Defines dry and wet gas, condensate, and associated gas streams. Links gas composition to downstream processing requirements.

Lesson 2 • Crude Oil Composition and Classification

Examines hydrocarbon families and non-hydrocarbon impurities in crude oil. Connects chemical composition to refinery feed selection.

Lesson 3 • Petroleum Industry Overview

Maps the upstream, midstream, and downstream value chain. Provides context for the refining and petrochemical sectors covered in later chapters.

Lesson 1 • Laboratory Crude Oil Testing

Introduces standard physical and chemical tests applied to crude samples. Provides the measurement basis for all subsequent refinery feed decisions.

Lesson 2 • Crude Assay Report Interpretation

Teaches reading and comparing full crude assay reports from suppliers. Enables informed crude selection for specific refinery configurations.

Lesson 3 • Crude Blending Fundamentals

Covers linear and non-linear blending rules for crude mixtures. Prepares students to optimize feed quality before refinery entry.

Lesson 1 • Atmospheric Distillation Column Operation

Covers tray and packing internals, reflux, and side-draw configurations. Connects column design to product cut quality and yield.

Lesson 2 • Vacuum Distillation Unit Principles

Addresses reduced-pressure distillation of atmospheric residue to recover gas oil fractions. Links vacuum operation to downstream conversion unit feeds.

Lesson 3 • Crude Preheat Train and Desalting

Explains heat exchanger networks and electrostatic desalting before the furnace. Establishes feed preparation as critical to column performance.

Lesson 4 • Distillation Products and Specifications

Defines key product streams from naphtha to residue and their quality targets. Prepares students to evaluate whether downstream processing is required.

Lesson 1 • Residue Upgrading Technologies

Surveys solvent deasphalting, ebullated-bed, and slurry-phase hydrocracking for bottom-of-barrel conversion. Prepares students to evaluate residue upgrading economics.

Lesson 2 • Fluid Catalytic Cracking Fundamentals

Introduces the FCC riser reactor and regenerator system for gas oil conversion. Connects catalyst circulation and coke burning to unit heat balance.

Lesson 3 • Delayed Coking Process

Covers the cyclic drum operation that converts vacuum residue into coke and distillates. Links coke quality to end-use markets such as anodes and fuel.

Lesson 4 • Thermal Cracking and Visbreaking

Explains mild thermal cracking to reduce residue viscosity and improve fuel oil yield. Establishes thermal reaction fundamentals before catalytic processes.

Lesson 1 • Hydrogen Management in the Refinery

Examines hydrogen production, purification, and network optimization across hydrotreating units. Prepares students to balance hydrogen supply and demand refinery-wide.

Lesson 2 • Hydrotreating Chemistry and Catalysts

Covers hydrodesulfurization, hydrodenitrogenation, and hydrodemetallization reactions. Establishes the chemical basis for catalyst selection and reactor design.

Lesson 3 • Diesel and Kerosene Hydrotreating

Addresses deep desulfurization and aromatics saturation for ultra-low-sulfur diesel and jet fuel. Connects operating severity to cetane improvement and smoke point.

Lesson 4 • Vacuum Gas Oil Hydrotreating

Covers pretreatment of VGO to reduce FCC and hydrocracker feed contaminants. Demonstrates how feed quality improvements translate to conversion unit performance.

Lesson 1 • Reformer Unit Design and Operation

Explains semi-regenerative, cyclic, and continuous catalytic regeneration reactor configurations. Connects design choice to octane target, run length, and hydrogen purity.

Lesson 2 • Reformate Composition and Octane

Analyzes reformate aromatic content and research octane number as functions of severity. Links reformer output to gasoline blending and BTX extraction.

Lesson 3 • Catalytic Reforming Reactions

Covers dehydrogenation, isomerization, and dehydrocyclization reactions over platinum catalysts. Establishes the chemical foundation for reformate and hydrogen co-production.

Lesson 1 • Steam Cracking of Hydrocarbons

Explains high-temperature pyrolysis of ethane, naphtha, and gas oil to produce ethylene and propylene. Establishes steam cracking as the central olefin production technology.

Lesson 2 • Aromatics Extraction and Separation

Addresses liquid-liquid extraction and extractive distillation to recover BTX from reformate and pyrolysis gasoline. Connects aromatic purity to downstream polymer and chemical uses.

Lesson 3 • Propylene and C4 Olefin Sources

Surveys FCC propylene, propane dehydrogenation, and metathesis as propylene supply routes. Examines butadiene extraction and isobutylene recovery from C4 streams.

Lesson 4 • Ethylene Plant Separation Train

Covers the cryogenic fractionation sequence that recovers pure olefin products from cracked gas. Links separation design to product purity and energy consumption.

Lesson 1 • Refinery Configuration Types

Compares topping, hydroskimming, conversion, and deep-conversion refinery configurations. Establishes how configuration determines product slate flexibility and complexity.

Lesson 2 • Energy Integration and Pinch Analysis

Applies pinch technology to minimize utility consumption across the refinery heat exchanger network. Links energy savings to operating cost reduction and emissions targets.

Lesson 3 • Refinery-Petrochemical Integration Strategies

Examines shared feedstock streams, utility systems, and co-location benefits between refineries and petrochemical plants. Prepares students to evaluate integrated complex investments.

Lesson 4 • Linear Programming for Refinery Planning

Introduces LP models for optimizing crude mix, unit throughputs, and product blending. Demonstrates how LP shadow prices guide capital and operational decisions.