University of Saskatchewan

Department of Chemical Engineering

ChE 460.3 Oil and Natural Gas Upgrading
FINAL EXAMINATION
DATE:
INSTRUCTOR:
TIME:

Friday, December 20, 2002

Professor T. Pugsley
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 (3 Hours)

Part I: Closed Book. (25 Marks for this Section)

Instructions:

Please answer all of the following questions. Time allowed: 45 minutes

Write your answers in the examination booklet.

Question #1
Organize the following petroleum fractions by boiling point (lowest to highest): kerosene, naphtha,
gas oil, residue, straight-run gasoline.
Question #2
Give the structural formulas for the following hydrocarbons: n-butane, n-heptane, 1, 2, 4trimethylpentane, ethylene, 1, 3-butadiene.
Question #3
A particular crude oil has a Watson K-factor, Kw, of 12.8. Is this a paraffinic or a naphthenic crude?
Question #4
Explain with no more than four sentences how a desalter works.
Question #5
What is the approximate temperature at the bottom of an atmospheric tower? The bottoms from the
atmospheric tower is sent to a vacuum distillation column for further separation. Why is this
separation performed under vacuum conditions.
Question #6
Define what is meant by a catalyst. What is the catalyst used in the alkylation unit of a refinery?
Question #7
Explain the difference between skeletal density and solid density.
Question #8
What are three possible regimes of fluidization? What is the regime of fluidization in a cat cracker
riser?

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Question #9
Provide an example of a Geldart A Powder; a Geldart B Powder.
Question #10
Match the following crude oil fractions with their primary conversion process.
Vacuum residuum
Straight-run naptha
Vacuum gas oil

catalytic reformer
coker
fluid catalytic cracker

Question #11
In the catalytic reforming process, what is the influence of an increase in pressure on: reformate
yield? octane number of reformate? coke yield?
Question #12
Arrange the following C7 hydrocarbons in order of increasing octane number: 3-heptene, n-heptane,
toluene
Question #13
A catalytic reformer consists of three adiabatic reactors in series with furnaces between each reactor.
Why are the furnaces needed?
Question #14
Arrange the following unit operations in their order of appearance in a hydrogen plant: Benfield
absorber, methanator, shift converter, steam reformer.
Question #15
A blended gasoline consists of the following components. What is the posted octane number?
Component
94 RON reformate
Alktylate
Straight-run Gasoline
Cat Cracked Gasoline
Butane

Barrels

MON

RON

2000
1500
1000
2500
800

84.0
96.0
62.0
77.0
92.0

94.0
97.0
66.0
92.0
93.0

Question #16
What is the reason for the name delayed coking?
Question #17
Besides polyethylene, what are two important end uses of ethylene?
Question #18
With no more than three sentences, describe what is meant by emission factor.
End of Part I
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December 2002
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Part II. Open Book. Personal calculators permitted.
Instructions: Please answer any three of the following four problems. Time Allowed: 2 hours, 15
minutes. Write your answers in the examination booklet.

Question #1 (25 Marks)

The following data is available for an FCCU. Use this data to perform a pressure balance in the
FCCU and hence estimate the catalyst suspension density in the spent catalyst and regenerated
catalyst standpipes.
Reactor Dilute Phase Pressure

30 psig

Reactor-Stripper Catalyst Bed Level

20 feet

Reactor-Stripper Catalyst Density

35 lbs/ ft3

Spent-Catalyst Standpipe Height

35 feet

Pressure Above Spent Catalyst Slide Valve

44 psig

Spent Catalyst Slide Valve P

6.1 psig

Regenerator Dense Bed Level

6 feet

Regenerator Dense Bed Catalyst Density

25 lb/ft3

Regenerated Catalyst Standpipe Height

31 feet

Pressure above Regenerated Catalyst Slide Valve

43.2 psig

Regenerated Catalyst Slide Valve P

5.2 psig

Question #2 (25 Marks)

In the Claus plant of an oil refinery, sulphur compounds are converted to elemental sulphur. In the
first step of the process, H2S is contacted with stoichiometric air in the Claus furnace to give SO2 and
H2O. The reaction occurs in the gas phase at 500oC and atmospheric pressure. At this temperature,
the equilibrium constant for the reaction is 0.93.
(a) Write the balanced chemical equation for the combustion of H2S in the Claus furnace.
(b) Assuming that the reactants and products behave as ideal gases and that equilibrium is
attained, determine the composition of the outlet gas from the Claus furnace.

Question #3 (25 Marks)

You are a new-hire in a petroleum refinery and, much to your surprise, the feed preheat furnace for
your unit is not equipped with fuel analysis equipment. You climb to the top of the furnace stack
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and obtain the following flue gas analysis on a dry basis: 1.5% CO, 6% CO2, 8.2% O2, and the
balance N2. Assuming that there is no atomic oxygen in the fuel, calculate the ratio of hydrogen to
carbon in the fuel gas. What do you think the fuel is? What is the per cent excess oxygen fed to the
furnace?
Question #4 (25 Marks)
A refinery must produce 33 MB/D of furnace oil this winter. The crude oil supply is 30 MB/D of
Louisiana Crude and 170 MB/D of West Texas Crude. The distillation curve data for these crudes is
given below.
To meet the specified furnace oil production, 20 MB/D of straight run light gas oil (SRLGO) will
need to be produced from the atmospheric tower and sent to furnace oil blending.
Additionally, the refinery wishes to maximize jet fuel production. The jet fuel boiling range is 300525oF and the start of the SRLGO boiling range corresponds to the end point of the jet fuel range.
What is the boiling range of the SRLGO if 20 MB/D is to be produced?
NOTE: For the purpose of this question, assume that the volumes of the two crude oils (Louisiana
and West Texas) are additive. The attached graph may be useful as well.
Temperature
(oF)
< 113
113 - 260
260 - 315
315 - 500
500 - 750
750 - 1000
> 1000

West Texas
(% vol.)
15
12
18
10
20
10
15

Louisiana
(% vol.)
20
18
15
15
12
10
10

END OF EXAMINATION

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