• What is a distillation process?
  • The first process is known as distillation. In this process, crude oil is heated and fed into a distillation column. A schematic of the distillation column is shown in Figure 2.2 F i g u r e 2.2. As the temperature of the crude oil in the distillation column rises, the crude oil separates itself into different components, called ¡°fractions.¡±
  • What is crude distillation?
  • Overview Crude distillation is the first step in processing crude oil into its different end products, including gasoline, kerosene, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, and more. Crude stills are the oldest means for processing oil. The purpose of crude distillation is to recover the light materials from the oil.
  • How is crude oil extracted?
  • In the petroleum industry, the process of extraction of crude oil is divided into primary, secondary, and tertiary phases. In the primary phase of oil recovery (e.g., using pumps or gravity drainage), approximately 10% of the oil is extracted. In the secondary phase, water or gas is injected into the well.
  • How does a distillation column separate crude oil?
  • As the temperature of the crude oil in the distillation column rises, the crude oil separates itself into different components, called ¡°fractions.¡± The fractions are then captured separately. Each fraction corresponds to a different type of petroleum product, depending on the temperature at which that fraction boils off the crude oil mixture.
  • How oil is extracted from a reservoir?
  • In the case of oil, once extracted from the reservoir, the crude is transported via pipelines or oil tankers to the refineries. Once at the refinery, the different oil fractions are separated using a distillation process to transform it into higher quality products with added value.
  • What is extractive distillation?
  • Extractive distillation is a powerful tool to separate close-boiling mixtures or azeotropic mixtures. It can make it easier to keep the solvent in liquid phase and require less processing versus azeotropic distillation where the solvent must be condensed before being returned to the initial column.