A visbreaker is a processing unit in an oil refinery whose purpose is to reduce the quantity of residual oil produced in the distillation of crude oil. It also helps to increase the yield of more valuable middle distillates. The visbreaker thermally cracks the large hydrocarbons molecules by furnace heating to reduce the viscosity. This … Continue reading Visbreaker
Tag: Engineering
Alkylation
This process is the transfer of an alkyl group from one molecule to another. In the context of oil refining it refers to the alkylation of isobutene with olefins.In a standard oil refining process isobutane is alkylated with low molecular weight alkenes, in the presence of strong acid catalyst either sulphuric or hydrofluoric acid; the … Continue reading Alkylation
Catalytic Cracking
CRACKING This is the process of breaking down complex long chained molecules into simpler short chained ones. In the oil industry this typically results in the breakdown of organic compounds such as kerogens or heavy hydrocarbons into smaller lighter hydrocarbon molecules. The process usually involves the breaking of the carbon bonds of the longer molecule. … Continue reading Catalytic Cracking
Continuous Distillation
A form of distillation whereby the process continues without interruption. The process produces at least 2 output fractions; one volatile and the other a bottom/residuum fraction. When heated the vapour above the liquid varies in composition from the liquid composition. As the mixture is heated the compounds with lower boiling points rise to the top … Continue reading Continuous Distillation
Steam Jacketed Process Line
This is used when it becomes necessary to keep an internal process at a particular temperature or physical state. The system has two main components an internal process line and an outer line that envelopes the process line. The process line in usually smaller and this is used to allow the free flow of a … Continue reading Steam Jacketed Process Line
LED Current Limiter Resistance Calculator
The total voltage in the system by Kirchoff’s law would be equal to the summation of the voltage drops across the diode and the resistor. Also by Kirchoff’s law the current flowing through the diode is the same flowing through the resistor and the circuit. As the system is in series this is even simpler. … Continue reading LED Current Limiter Resistance Calculator
A Simple Heat Exchanger
The Boiler
The boiler is essentially a device that is used to generate steam from the heating of water. The boiler will generate heat by means of either electric heaters or the combustion of a fossil fuel such as methane (natural gas). Even though the incoming fluid to be boiled is only water it does not mean … Continue reading The Boiler