Refining distillation equipment is one of the key devices in modern refineries, responsible for the critical task of separating and purifying petroleum raw materials. With continuous advancements in refining technology, distillation equipment has made significant progress in production efficiency, energy saving, environmental protection, and safety, meeting today's demand for high-quality fuels and chemical raw materials. This article will introduce the main functions of refining distillation equipment, application cases, and how it achieves efficient and safe oil separation in modern refineries.
1. Basic Principle of Refining Distillation Equipment
Refining distillation equipment is a crucial device for separating petroleum into multiple products. Through heating and fractional distillation technology, the different components of crude oil are separated based on their boiling points. The main equipment includes heaters, distillation columns, condensers, and separators. Distillation equipment can be classified into atmospheric distillation and vacuum distillation. Atmospheric distillation is used to separate light oils, while vacuum distillation is suitable for the separation of high-boiling, heavy components.
2. Advantages of Refining Distillation Equipment
1. High Efficiency in Separation
The distillation equipment efficiently separates crude oil based on the differences in boiling points of various components. Modern equipment optimizes tray and packing structures, significantly improving separation efficiency and ensuring oil quality.
2. Energy Saving and Consumption Reduction
Modern refining distillation equipment uses advanced heating systems and heat exchange technologies, effectively reducing energy consumption. Additionally, vacuum distillation technology allows for the processing of heavy oils at lower temperatures, reducing energy loss.
3. Environmental Protection and Low Emissions
Refining distillation equipment has gradually integrated exhaust gas recovery, waste heat utilization, and other environmental protection technologies, reducing emissions and minimizing environmental pollution, while meeting environmental standards.
4. High Automation
With the development of digitization and intelligent technologies, distillation equipment is increasingly equipped with automated control systems. These systems allow for real-time monitoring of temperature, pressure, flow rates, and other parameters, improving operational stability and safety.
3. Typical Application Cases of Refining Distillation Equipment
Case 1: Continuous Distillation System in a Large Refinery
In a large refinery, a modern continuous distillation system was installed to meet the high-quality demands of gasoline, diesel, and other oil products. The system utilizes the following technologies:
Segmented Heating and Multi-Stage Distillation
Crude oil is preheated in multi-stage heaters and then enters an atmospheric distillation column for segmented distillation. After multi-stage separation within the column, products such as gasoline, kerosene, and diesel are obtained, each within different boiling point ranges.
Efficient Condensation System
The condensation system adopts a separated condensation technique, cooling the product gases to suitable temperatures and storing them separately, ensuring high purity and recovery rates for each product.
Real-Time Monitoring and Intelligent Control
The continuous distillation system is equipped with an intelligent monitoring system that automatically detects temperatures and pressures in each section, adjusting operational parameters in real-time to ensure stable separation and improve production efficiency and equipment safety.
Energy-Saving and Consumption Reduction Design
The heat exchange system recovers heat from high-temperature exhaust gases to preheat the crude oil, reducing heating energy consumption. The refinery's overall energy efficiency improved by over 15% compared to traditional equipment, significantly lowering energy costs.
Case 2: Vacuum Distillation Equipment Retrofit in a Medium-Sized Refinery
In a medium-sized refinery, due to the high content of heavy oil in the crude oil, the original distillation equipment's separation performance was insufficient and energy consumption was high. The refinery underwent a technological retrofit of its vacuum distillation equipment:
High-Efficiency Vacuum Distillation Column
The new vacuum distillation column operates under a low boiling-point environment, successfully separating light components and increasing the utilization rate of raw oil by 20%. The vacuum system was equipped with refined controls to ensure a stable vacuum environment, enabling continuous and efficient separation.
Exhaust Gas Recovery System
The retrofitted vacuum distillation equipment includes an exhaust gas recovery system, preventing direct discharge of exhaust gases. The recovered gases are used as fuel gas, reducing energy consumption and lowering exhaust emissions.
Stable Control System
To avoid abnormal fluctuations during the vacuum operation, a precision automated control system was used. This system automatically adjusts the top pressure of the column to ensure stable vacuum conditions, achieving efficient separation and improving oil product quality.
Case 3: Green and Environmentally Friendly Refining Distillation System
In a green and environmentally friendly refinery, in response to low-carbon production requirements, new eco-friendly and energy-saving technologies were applied in the distillation equipment:
Two-Stage Distillation and Waste Heat Recovery
The environmentally-friendly refinery’s distillation system uses a two-stage distillation process: the first stage separates light oils from intermediate oils, and the second stage treats heavy oils in a vacuum. This not only improves oil separation efficiency but also reduces total energy consumption.
Intelligent Exhaust Gas Treatment System
The exhaust gases produced during distillation are filtered and catalytically decomposed before being discharged, ensuring that the pollutants meet emission standards. Additionally, by-products from the exhaust gas treatment system can be used as fuel or recycled energy.
Remote Control and Data Analysis
The distillation equipment in the eco-friendly refinery is equipped with a data analysis system that collects operational data in real-time and optimizes operations through AI analysis. Remote control and cloud data storage make equipment management more convenient and operation safer.
4. Technical Advantages of Refining Distillation Equipment in Modern Refineries
1. Operational Flexibility
Modern refining distillation equipment is highly flexible, allowing operational parameters to be adjusted according to the characteristics of different crude oils, ensuring more precise oil separation.
2. Multi-Layered Safety Protection
The intelligent control systems of refining distillation equipment monitor operational conditions in real-time, preventing issues such as excessive temperature or abnormal pressure, reducing operational risks, and ensuring safe production.
3. Modular Design
Modern distillation equipment adopts a modular design, with parts that can be independently maintained and upgraded, reducing downtime and increasing production efficiency.
4. Resource Recovery and Utilization
Through exhaust gas and waste heat recovery systems, modern distillation equipment better utilizes resources, reduces energy waste, and aligns with energy-saving and emission reduction policies.
5. Conclusion
The widespread application of refining distillation equipment in modern refineries has improved petroleum separation efficiency and oil product quality. The introduction of advanced technologies and intelligent control systems has made equipment operation more efficient, energy-saving, and environmentally friendly. In refineries of various scales and types, the proper application of distillation equipment has optimized production processes and significantly reduced costs. In the future, with the further development of intelligent and green technologies, refining distillation equipment will play an even more important role in achieving efficient and low-carbon petroleum processing.
