Courses

A refinery turns a dark, barely usable liquid into the liquefied petroleum gas, petrol, jet fuel, diesel, fuel oil and bitumen that keep the economy moving. In this course for refinery operators and technicians, engineers and downstream commercial staff, you follow the teams of the Refinaria Litoral Norte, a fictitious refinery, from the arrival of a new crude to the dispatch of the products. Learn to relate crude quality, API gravity and sulphur content to the refinery configuration and the products, to explain desalting, atmospheric and vacuum distillation and the cuts obtained, and to describe the conversion and treating units: catalytic reforming, isomerisation, fluid catalytic cracking, hydrocracking, coking, hydrotreating, sulphur recovery and utilities. Calculate a simple blend that meets a specification in a spreadsheet exercise, and learn about fuel properties and the quality categories of the Worldwide Fuel Charter. Finally, relate refining margins, reliability and the API RP 754 process safety indicators in a case study. Includes downloadable materials and a blending exercise in Excel. The course is delivered in Portuguese.

What you will learn

• Relate crude oil quality, particularly API gravity and sulphur content, to the refinery configuration and the products obtained.
• Explain desalting and atmospheric and vacuum distillation, and identify the cuts obtained.
• Describe a refinery's conversion and treating units and the utilities that serve them.
• Explain the main fuel quality properties and calculate a simple blend that meets a specification.
• Explain how a refining margin is calculated and what influences it.
• Relate reliability, shutdowns and process safety indicators to the safe operation of a refinery.

Modules

1. The refinery and crude oil79 min
2. Atmospheric and vacuum distillation78 min
3. Conversion and treating77 min
4. Product quality and blending78 min
5. Refinery economics and safe operation78 min

Who it is for

Refinery operators and technicians, engineers, downstream commercial staff