REFINERY CONFIGURATIONS IN INDIA-THE ROAD AHEAD Vartika Shukla and MK JoshiINTRODUCTION Configurations of refineries in India have changed dramatically India over the last three decades. Set up initially as low cost projects, the existing refineries have gradually evolved into large, complex units, the growth of which was driven initially by the following: • • Increased demand and discovery of indigenous crude oil Upgrading of heavier fractions to middle distillates conservation we are now looking at refineries of large capacity and high complexity with increasing process integration to achieve energy optimization in addition to generating products that meet stringent international specifications. change in refinery configurations have been: • • • • Crudes being processed in the refineries Changing product demand Increasing competition and the need to be profitable Environmental stipulations and improvement in product quality The driving forces for the These issues are discussed in the following sections. REFINERY CONFIGURATION IN 60’S AND EARLY 70’S Refineries set up during this time were based on processing of either indigenous crudes from the northeast region or imported curdes. These refineries were of low capacity. The largest being of about 3MTPA and were characterized by simple configurations which consisted of: a) Atmospheric distillation b) Naphtha splitting and catalytic reforming c) Visbreaking d) Treating units for LPG Kerosene etc The higher limit at this range corresponds to lube oil refineries. Conversion levels were not very high and since environmental stipulations were not at all stringent. Figure 1&2 shows the simplified configurations of petroleum refineries set up during this period. which were set up during this period. 30-40 Cr per million ton of capacity. high sulfur fuel oil could be easily consumed for meeting the internal requirements of the refineries. Fuel gas Naphtha Stabilizer Naphtha Splitter NHDS/SRR Gasoline Naphtha Crude Oil Atm Distillation Unit KTU ATF Kerosene Aromex Diesel Delayed Coking Unit Fuel oil Coke Figure I Configuration for north east crude based refinery . Visbreaking unit was replaced by Delayed Coking Unit and Kerosene treating the was essentially an extraction process for removal of aromatics so that smoke point specifications could be met. The typical costs for refinery projects at this stage ranged between Rs.For refineries which were designed to process crudes from the north-east. CPCL ( MRL –Ref I )did not have FCC initially. this period saw a significant emphasis on the installation of FCC Units in existing refineries as well as grass root refinery products. VGO HDS was included BPCL did not have Lube Block Figure 2 Configuration of Refineries set up to process Imported Crude Oil The oil price shock of the 1970’s necessitated re-examining of processing schemes and it was realized that there was a need for secondary processing facilities to upgrade heavy material to value added distillates.Fuel gas LPG Treating Unit Naphtha Naphtha Splitter Crude Oil Oil Atm Dist Unit Merox HDS SRR Motor Spirit ATF Kerosene Vac Dist Unit Diesel FCC Unit Merox Fuel oil Wax LOBS Extract Bitumen Naphtha Stabilizer Lube Block Extr’n/Dewaxing/HFU BBU Routing of all streams to different pools is not shown. The FCC Unit had been examined vis a vis other secondary processing options and was adopted as it found to be less expensive and also had a more proven track record. . Accordingly. It was found that the hydro cracking . 50 Cr per million-ton capacity. Since the new refinery projects involved the addition of secondary processing and treating facilities. During this phase also there was not significant upgrading of product quality and it was therefore possible to absorb the products from FCC Units in the refinery product streams. Six new FCC Units were set up during this period and unlike units installed in USA and Europe. these units were first of their type in the sense that they were designed to operate at low severity and to selectively produce more middle distillate.The technology also gave advantages of producing more LPG as well as gasoline. LPG to Treating unit/Product pool Atm Dist Unit FCC Gasoline to treating units/ Product pool Vac Dist Unit Existing HCU FCC Cycle Oil to HDT/diesel pool New DCU SDA Figure 3 Integration of FCC with other units in an existing refinery CONFIGURATION DURING LATE 1980 AND EARLY 1990 During this period major increase in the demand of middle distillates were foreseen and technology options were accordingly selected. Figure 3 shows a simplified configuration of refineries with FCC Units. investments costs were higher and typically ranged around Rs. Mangalore and NRL. Accordingly. Figure 4 shows a block flow diagram for a refinery with Hydro cracking and FCC combination. Such products are presently in the process of execution at BPCL and CPCL Refineries. Mathura Refinery. Panipat Refinery. sulphur recovery and other related units and this together with other factors like escalation changes in foreign exchange rates etc led to a significant increase in investment on grass root refinery projects and this went up to 500 crore million per ton. during this period a number of projects came up wherein hydro cracking was the primary secondary processing facility in grass root units and a number of existing refineries.option offered a technically acceptable route to maximize the production of middle distillates of very high quality and to offer the flexibility of upgrading existing refinery streams to the desired product quality by blending. Studies were also undertaken for other refineries where it was found that hydro cracking could be profitably integrated with the existing refinery configurations with capacity expansion as required. The incorporation of hydro cracking to the processing schemes also implied the inclusion of hydrogen production. . Hydro cracking unit was installed in parallel or upstream of FCC units with the objective of improving product slate and providing additional operating flexibility. Hydro cracking units were installed in Gujarat Refinery. ATU Stabilizer ARU Treating Splitter To LPG Pool HDS/CCR/SPL Atm Dist Unit Treating Isom SRU Fuel gas Sulphur LPG Naphtha Motor Spirit ATF Kerosene HDS H2 Unit HCU Vac Dist Unit FCC DHDT MEROX HTU Diesel SDU SEU/SDW/HFU VBU IDW/HFU LOBS Extract/CBFS Fuel Oil Naphtha to HTU/CCR/ Naphtha Pool DCU HCGO to HCU Coke Asphalt Figure 4 Refinery Configuration with Hydrocracker and FCC combination . Lubricating oils are also being looked at with a view to meeting API Grade II/Grade III specifications. Accordingly. Products like diesel and gasoline are being specifically targeted for quality improvement. refineries have to look at ways and means to improve their product pattern to produce more value added products. b) Installation of Gas sweetening. Addition of conversion facilities to upgrade heavy residues. which were being sold as fuel oil has also assumed importance. a) Isomerization b) CCR Reforming c) Hydro desulphurization d) Delayed coking e) Gasification for generation of power as well meeting the hydrogen and steam requirement of the refinery The studies are also be looking at the option of increasing refinery capacity and possible integration with a petrochemical complex so that more value can be added to the refining . The main implications of the changes in the product quality are: a) Increasing use of hydro conversion to upgrade heavy stocks into value added product as well as improve the quality of distillates. Sulphur Recovery (99% min) to meet environmental stipulations. These requirements have lead to significant investments but without a corresponding premium on the product prices. It is therefore expected that a combination of the following process units will need to be added in the refineries.Since the last 5 years product specifications have been attracting close attention of environmentalists as well as equipment manufacturers. which would be required to meet the future product specifications while ensuring that operations remain profitable. Product specifications are being closely reviewed to ensure compliance with environmental stipulations as well as optimum performance of the automotive industry. improve the energy efficiency so that total operating costs can be minimized. This has necessitated a close examination of refinery configurations and almost all the refineries are taking up studies to critically look at facilities. ethylene. Figure 5 shows the block flow diagram for possible linkages between a refinery and a petrochemicals complex . therefore. LAB feedstock or integration with aromatic complex so that more value can be added to the refining operations has assumed major significance. The Bina Refinery of M/s BPCL and the Haldia Refinery of IOCL are also addressing the requirement of improved Lube quality to meet API Grade II specs by adopting Hydro processing route for LOBS Production. Today generation of power or alternatively high value products like propylene. The IOCL refinery at Gujarat was interlinked with IPCL complex. BRPL was the one of the first instance of an integrated refinery and petrochemical complex. quite likely that refinery processing schemes and the addition of new facilities in existing refineries would be governed by economies of scale and the integration of petrochemicals as well as power generation to maximize profitability. The East India Refinery Project of IOCL and the Guru Gobind Singh Refinery projects of HPCL are instances of high conversion refineries with Integrated Gasification and Generation Cycle.operations. The Reliance refinery offers an excellent example of this approach and other refineries are also looking at similar options although not on such a large scale. The complexity of the refinery is therefore expected to increase. The Panipat Refinery of IOCL is also pursuing a project for integrating a PX/PTA complex with the refinery. It is. LLDPE LLDPE EO. Mixed Xylenes Cyclohexane Pyrolysis Gasoline LDPE. scheduling and optimization of refinery operations will continue to draw the industry ahead. OX. Technology options are available and judicious selection of these coupled with planning. C5’s Alkylation C4/C5 Isom Butylenes Iso butylene Source: Lyondell Figure 5 Possible Refinery/Petrochemical linkages CONCLUSION There has been a transformation in the face of the Indian Refining Industry in the recent past.HDPE.Benzene Cyclohexane Toluene PX. Fuels Sulphur. Coke Butane. PG Olefins Plant Aromatics Reformate Refinery Alkylate BT Extr’n H2 White Oil. EG Isopropanol Ethanol Polypropylene PO. Lubricants. profitability and efficiency has thrown up a number of challenges that the refineries have to meet forward and backward integration is accordingly being given due consideration. The increasing emphasis on product quality. .