PREFACE

Technology is the making, modification, usage, and knowledge of tools,

machines, techniques, crafts, systems, and methods of organisation, in order to
solve a problem, improve a pre-existing solution to a problem, achieve a goal,
handle an applied input/output relation or perform a specific function. Thus, for
a science student, importance of industrial training immense, without which the
principles learnt can’t be fully utilized.

An engineering principle learnt in a classroom is always borne out by practical

experience. It creates a strange sense of excitement running into an old friend
amongst a crowd of strangers. All the pumps, compressors, turbines, valves,
etc., pictures of whose pictures only have we seen were right before us.

During the training, we witnessed how problems were diagnosed and delivered.
Many of the technicians had neither studied in major universities, nor were they
merely implementing what their engineer-in charge was suggesting. They had
been working hands-on for years and this had given them something like an
intuitive feel for the work. Many of them learnt from their years of experience
and practical knowledge although without having any degree from a prestigious
institute.

In the past twenty days, I learnt how and industry runs and what the work of an
engineer is. It gave me a practical outlook of whatever I have got to learn till
now.

This training report presents a detailed summary of my enriching industrial

experience in Guwahati Refinery.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The internship opportunity I had with IOCL, Guwahati was a great chance for
learning and gaining practical knowledge. Therefore, I consider myself very
lucky as I was provided with an opportunity to be a part of it. I am also grateful
for having a chance to meet so many wonderful people and professionals who
guided me through this internship period. I would like to express my deepest
sense of gratitude and a special thanks to Mrs Debanuja Borah (Training
Department) for granting me permission to undergo internship training at IOCL,
Guwahati Refinery. I am also highly thankful to our guide, Mr Lalan Kumar
Paul for his continuous support. It has been a pleasure to work with them and
the cooperation of the shift engineers and staffs is much appreciated.

Rishav Singha
B.E in Chemical Engineering
BBEC, Kokrajhar

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 OVERVIEW OF IOCL

Indian Oil Corporation, (BSE: 530965) is an Indian State owned oil and gas
company. It is the largest commercial enterprise of India, ranking 105 th on the
Fortune Global 500 list in 2009. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is the biggest
company in terms of revenue, followed by Reliance Industries, according to the
Fortune 500 list of Indian companies for 2012. Indian Oil and its subsidiaries
account for 47% share in the petroleum products market, 40% share in refining
capacities and 67% downstream sector pipe lines capacity. He Indian Oil group
of companies owns and operates ten of India’s 19 refineries with a combined
capacity of 60.2 MMTPA.

Indian Oil’s product range covers petrol, diesel, LPG, Auto LPG, ATF,
Lubricants, Naphtha, Bitumen, Paraffin, Kerosene, etc. Xtra premium petrol,
Xtra Mile Diesel, Servo Lubricants, INDANE, Auto Gas LPG, Indian Oil
aviation are some of its prominent brands.

Recently Indian Oil has also introduced a new business line of supplying LNG
(Liquefied Natural Gas) by cryogenic transportation thus called “LNG at
Doorstep”.

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 REFINERIES OF IOCL

 Gujarat Refinery, at Koyali, Gujarat, is Indian Oil’s largest refinery,

commissioned in 1965. It has the first hydro cracking unit of the country.
Its present capacity is 13.7 MMTPA.
 Panipat Refinery was commissioned in 1998 and its present capacity is
12 MMTPA.
 Barauni Refinery, in Bihar, was commissioned in 1964 and its present
capacity is 6 MMTPA.
 Haldiya Refinery is the only coastal refinery of the corporation in West
Bengal. It was commissioned in 1975 and its present capacity is 5.8
MMTPA.
 Guwahati Refinery, the first public sector refinery of the country started
in year 1962.
 Digboi Refinery, India’s oldest refinery, was commissioned in 1901. Its
present capacity is 0.65 MMTPA.

 Subsidiaries-

Bongaigaon Refinery (2.95 MMTPA)

Chennai Refinery (9.5 MMTPA).

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7|Page
 GUWAHATI REFINERY

Guwahati Refinery (Assam), the first public sector refinery of the country, built
with Romanian collaboration, was inaugurated by Lt. Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the
first prime minister of the country, on January 1 st, 1962. The refinery
symbolizes the nation’s march towards indigenization of the technology. With a
capacity of 1 MMTPA, Guwahati Refinery processes crude oil received from
the Assam Oil Fields and cater to the requirements of the petroleum product of
the North Eastern region.

Its major products are LPG, motor spirit (petrol), Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF),
kerosene, High Speed Diesel, Light Diesel and raw petroleum coke. Keeping
pace with changes in the industrial environment, Guwahati Refinery is making
efforts to produce specialty products. It is the only refinery in India to produce
green needle coke, a high value import substitute.
Entering into the era of ecologically friendly fuels, Guwahati Refinery has
installed three new units: The ISOSIV, the Hydrotreater and the INDMAX.
The ISOSIV unit produces lead free petrol by the molecular sieve technology,
which separates octane rich MS components from feed naphtha. The
Hydrotreater Unit (HDT) enables the refineries to produce high speed of low
sulphur and create cetane number conforming to BIS specifications. The HDT
also produces ATF, Superior Kerosene Oil with high smoke point and low
sulphur. The Indane Maximisation (INDMAX) technology developed by R & D
Centre of Oil and was installed at the refinery. It is designed to achieve LPG
yield as high as 44% through fluidised catalytic cracking of residual feed stock
like reduced crude oil, coker fuel oil and coker gasoline. The INDMAX unit
also enables Guwahati Refinery to upgrade all its residual products to high
value distillate products and make it a zero refinery.

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Introduction to heat exchanger train optimisation, yield and energy optimization
of Crude Distillation Unit and Delayed Coker Unit, installation and
commissioning of high efficiency boilers have contributed to a great degree
towards energy conservation. A new 12 MWSTG vapour blow down recovery
system in DCU pressurised cooling tower system for old process unit facilities
reduction in consumption.

Fire and Safety Department

In the IOCL refinery, crude oil which is processed and petroleum products such
as gasoline, diesel, LPG etc. are produced which are highly inflammable and
volatile in nature. Leakage of any of these fuels may directly lead to fire and
accident. So safety measures are to be taken for the same.

Following Rules &Regulations are to be followed to ensure safety inside the

refinery:

 Apparatus likely to cause ignition and may emit radiation are not
permitted inside the refinery for ex. matches, battery powered mobile
phones, laptop, camera, or any other electronic gadgets which may emit
radiation.
 Smoking is strictly prohibited inside the refinery; however there are
smoking booths are present inside the refinery.
 Every person inside the refinery should put on a pair of safety shoes and a
protective helmet.

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  Personnel should use gloves and suitable goggles while handling
chemicals or performing hot jobs. All equipments are included under PPE
(Personal Protective Equipment) and are intrinsically safe.
 Multilevel jobs should be avoided and it should all be done with utmost
precaution.
 Proper fastening should be applied while working at heights more than 2
meters.
 Walking on false flooring/ceiling or pipe is not allowed.
 Standing under suspended load may be dangerous and should be avoided.

Classification of Fire

Fire can be classified on the basis of inflammable materials:

 Class A fire: It involves solid materials, normally of organic compounds.

Extinguishing mixture used for such type of fire is water.
 Class B fire: It involves flammable liquid flammable liquefiable solid.
Extinguishing mixture used for such type of fire is fine water spray.
 Class C fire: It involves gases or liquefied gases. Extinguishing material
for such fire is DCP, CO2.
 Class D fire: It involves materials like Mg, Na, tin etc. Extinguishing
materials for such type is tertiary eutic chloride.
 Class E fire: It involves live electrical system and equipment.
Extinguishing materials used is DCP, CO2.

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CRUDE DISTILLATION UNIT (CDU)

Objective
Main objective of this unit is for pre-heating, desalting, fractionating,
condensing hydro-carbon vapours, heating. CDU strips the crude into various
products like Kero1, Kero2, reduced crude oil, LPG, heavy gasoline & light
gasoline .The products obtained from this unit may be termed as "straight run"
products and needs treatment to meet the product specification.

Feed: Receives Crude from OM & S (Oil movement & supply section). It has
following characteristics.

Characteristics Results
Density at 15C (gm./ml) 0.8743
Sp. Gravity at 15.6C 0.8752
API Gravity 30.2
Sulphur content (ppm) 0.21
Pour point (C) -9
Total Acid Number (mgKOH/gm.) 0.19
Total Nitrogen (ppm) 455
Asphaltine (%wt.) 0.33
Characterisation factor 11.51
Water content (%wt.) 2.05
Salt content (ppm) 8.7

Operating Conditions:

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  Max Temperature: 350C
 Pressure: 1.0-2.0 kg/cm2

Flow Diagram

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13 | P a g e
Process Description
The crude from battery limit is pumped by pump P-1/1A through a preheat train
where it is heated to a temperature of 130°C before entering the desalter (V-
101). In the desalter, demulsifier mixed crude is mixed with hot water through a
mixing valve. Thus the salt in crude dissolves in water and separated from the
oil. Crude after desalter at about 130°C is pumped to Pretopping column (CL-1)
for pre-fractionated through the two preheat train A & B. From CL-1 column
IBP-110° TBP cut drawn from column top as light Gasoline to stabilizer feed
surge drum r-005 through caustic wash vessel V-004. And rest topped crude
from CL-1 bottoms is pumped by pumps P-2/2A to Atmospheric furnace (C-
1A) via a train of exchangers at about 246°C. The furnace is a vertical
cylindrical type has two passes with bottom firing and has convection and a
radiant section. The topped crude enters on flow control to each of the two
passes of the furnace. After heating up to 365°C, this partially vaporized crude
from furnace outlet is routed to the flash zone of the main fractionating column
(CL-2).

In main fractionating column crude separated in to different products of

different cuts.

The overhead of the column collected in main fractionating column reflux drum
(V-2). The hydrocarbons from V-1 pumped by pumps P-5/5A as heavy gasoline
to NSF feed surge drum (V-001). From column three sides draw SR Kero-1, SR
Kero-II and SRGO routed to stripper CL-3A, CL-3B and CL-3C respectively.
After that each product pumped out from stripper bottom through exchanger

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and cooler to respective storage tank at around 40 °C. The bottom portion of
CL-2 pumped out by pump P-9/9A as Reduced Crude Oil (RCO) through
exchanger and cooler to storage tank at around 75 °C or it can be directly used
as feed of Delayed Coking Unit (DCU) at around 95 °C.

The un-stabilized Naphtha or light gasoline from stabilizer feed surge drum (V-
005) is routed to Stabilizer (C-003) through a train of exchanger at around
125°C for LPG recovery. From C-003 top finished LPG pumped out by pump
P-008A/B to the storage vessel. C-003 bottom as stabilized naphtha mixed with
heavy gasoline coming from NSF feed surge drum (V-001) and routed to
Splitter-1 (C-001) column through a train of exchanger. From C-001 a top cut of
45-130 °C pumped out to storage tank as Light Naphtha (LN). From bottom of
C-001 a part routed to furnace F-001 that circulated again in column and rest are
pumped out to Splitter-2 (C-002) for further splitting through a train of
exchangers. In C-002 naphtha split into two cuts and from the C- 002 top 100-
155 °C cut drawn as reformed Naphtha (RN). From bottom of C-002 a part
routed to furnace F-002 that circulated again in column and rest are pumped out
as Heavy Naphtha (HN) through exchanger and cooler to storage tank at around
40C.

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DELAYED COKER UNIT (DCU)

Objective:

To produce valuable distillate from Heavy ends/residues from CDU by thermal

cracking.

Feed:

RCO/Vacuum Residue/other heavy ends or residues from CDU.

Typical Operating Conditions:

 Temperature Range: 495-505C

 Pressure: 2-3 kg/cm2(g)

Delayed Coker Unit Flow Diagram

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Theory of Coking
During the processing of crude oil in the Crude Distillation Unit, Hydrocarbon
fractions of different boiling ranges are separated out.

These fractions are LPG, Gasoline, Kerosene, Gas Oil and Reduced Crude,
obtained from the fractionating column of Distillation Unit. The heavier
hydrocarbon fraction, obtained as Reduced Crude Oil at the bottom of the
fractionating column is of less value.

It is therefore, required to subject the heavier hydrocarbon (RCO) to still higher

temperature (495C) to crack the heavier ends for producing the lighter ends. At
this temperature, the larger hydrocarbon molecules of high boiling point ranges
are thermally decomposed to smaller low boiling distillates such as Gas,
Gasoline, Kerosene and Gas Oil and at the same time.

Some of the molecules which are reactive, combine with one another, giving
even larger molecules than those present in the original stock forming Residual
Fuel Oil and Petroleum Coke. The phenomenon or the process under which the
above changes in the molecular structure of the hydrocarbons taking place, is
known as Thermal Cracking or more precisely Coking.
The coking process therefore involves two types of reactions.

Primary Reaction:
In this reaction, the heavier hydrocarbons molecules decompose into smaller
ones. This is known as cracking.

CH3CH2CH2CH3  CH4 + CH3CH=CH2

n-Butane Methane Propene

CH3CH2CH2CH3  C2H6 + CH2=CH2

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 n-Butane Ethane Ethylene

Secondary Reaction:

In this reaction, the smaller reactive molecules combine with one another to
produce heavy tarry materials. This reaction is called Polymerization.
Polymerization of heavier reactive molecules take place in reaction chambers,
forming coke in an alternate production time of 24 hours. The coke chamber
provides residence time of 24 hours for the cracking and polymerisation
reaction to take place. For this lengthening of the time of liquid phase cracking
and polymerization, the whole process of coking is known as Delayed Coking.

2C2H4  C4H8

3C3H6  C9H18

C4H8+C9H18  C13H26

CH3CH2CH=CH2=CH2  CH3CH2CH2CH3CH2CH=CH2

Process Description

This section describes the process of Delayed Coker Unit of IOCL, Guwahati
Refinery. The process consists of the following steps:

 Pumping and Preheating of RCO feed.

 Introduction of RCO feed to the main Fractionation’s (03-CL-02) and
control of bottom temperature.
 Introduction of Fractionation’s (03-CL-02) bottoms into heater and
cracking.
 Cracking to coke and distillates.
 Removal of RFO.
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  Fractionation.
 Withdrawal of side cuts.
 Cooling of Circulating Reflux (CR).
 Coke Chamber Operations.

Vapours from Quench Column and RCO are fractionated in the fractionation
column and following product streams are obtained:

 Coker off gases

 Coker Gasoline (CG)
 Coker Kerosene (CK)
 Coker Gas oil (CGO)
 Furnace feed

Withdrawal from the side cuts generates the following:

 Coker Kerosene
 Coker Gas Oil
 Coker Fuel Oil
 Circulating Reflux

Delayed Coking Process

Feedstock: Vacuum Residue.

Good process for increasing distillates and minimizing black oil production.

Production Yields:

Gas loss = 5%
LPG = 4%
Naphtha = 6%
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 LCGO = 27%
HCGO = 33%
RPC = 25%
Gas oil & Naphtha production in this unit need further treatment.

HYDROGEN GENERATION UNIT (HGU)

Objective

To produce hydrogen and supply it to the Hydrotreater Unit for producing lower
sulphur gasoline and diesel fuels, and also to the MSQU Unit (to meet the
octane and aromatic specification of gasoline fuels).

Hydrogen Generation Unit consists of following sections:

1. Feed Treatment.
2. Pre-reforming.
3. Refining.
4. Heat Recovery.
5. Shift.
6. Product Recovery.

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PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM

Before giving feed to reforming unit, it is processed through feed preparation

train where feed is heated to temperature 320C-370C. It removes moisture and
undesirable product in the feed. Reforming tank consists of 2 sections: Pre-
reforming and Reforming. Previous section yields 6-10% H2 while later yields
70-80% H2. Thus amount of CH4, CO and CO2 decreases. Since CO is not eco-
friendly, it is removed by Shiff reaction. After processing through the Shiff
reactor, it is fed to PSA which results into 99.99% yield of H2. H2 thus produced,
is directed to HDT (major portion) and isomer unit. Some amount is also self-
used into HGU.
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SHIFF REACTION

CO + H2O  CO2 + H2

Steam to Carbon Ratio

1. Pre-reformer S/C ratio

2. Over all S/C ratio

Design value for steam/carbon ratio is based on various factors, including:

 Reformer Tube Skin Temperature

 Sudden fluctuations of feed gas composition
 Presence of higher hydrocarbons in reformer feed gas
 Distribution of duty between primary and secondary reformer.
 Material of construction of reformer tubes
 Requirement of steam in CO2 removal section

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HYDROTREATER UNIT (HDT)

Objective

The main objective of this unit is to reduce the sulphur content of diesel that is
coming from and to increase the efficiency of the fuel by increasing its cetane
number. Moreover, it also produces ATF from kerosene by increasing the
smoke point.

Feed

Feed is diesel coming from CDU and DCU.

Theory

Cetane Number or CN is a measurement of combustion qualities of diesel fuel

during compression ignition. It is a significant expression of diesel fuel quality
among a number of other measurements that determine overall diesel fuel
quality. Cetane number or CN is actually a measure of a fuel’s ignition delay;
the time period between the start of injection and the first identifiable pressure
increase during combustion of the fuel. In a particular diesel engine, higher
cetane fuels will have shorter ignition delay periods than lower cetane fuel.
Cetane numbers are only used for the relatively light distillate diesel oils.

Typical Values

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Generally, diesel engines run well with a CN from 40 to 55. Fuels with higher
cetane number which have shorter ignition delays provide more time for the fuel
combustion process to be completed. Hence, higher speed diesels operate more
effectively with higher cetane number fuels. There is no performance or
emission advantage when the CN is raised past approximately 55; after this
point, the fuel's performance hits a plateau.

The current standard for diesel sold in European Union, Iceland, Norway and
Switzerland is set in EN 590, with a minimum cetane index of 46 and a
minimum cetane number of 51. Premium diesel fuel can have a cetane number
as high as 60.

In North America, most states adopt ASTM D975 as their diesel fuel standard
and the minimum cetane number is set at 40, with typical values in the 42-45
range. Premium diesels may or may not have higher cetane, depending on the
supplier. Premium diesel often use additives to improve CN and lubricity,
detergents to clean the fuel injectors

and minimize carbon deposits, water dispersants, and other additives depending
on geographical and seasonal needs.

Dimethyl ether may prove advantageous as a future diesel fuel as it has a high
cetane rating (55) and can be produced as a biofuel. Alkyl nitrates (principally
2-ethyl hexyl nitrate) and di-tert-butyl peroxide are used as additives to raise the
cetane number.

Biodiesel from vegetable oil sources have been recorded as having a cetane
number range of 46 to 52, and animal-fat based biodiesels cetane numbers range
from 56 to 60.
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Airline Turbine Fuel (ATF)/Jet fuel

ATF is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-
turbine engines. It is clear to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly
used fuels for commercial aviation are Jet A and Jet A-1 which are produced to
a standardized international specification. The only other jet fuel commonly
used in civilian turbine engine powered aviation is Jet B which is used for its
enhanced cold-weather performance.

Jet fuel is a mixture of a large number of different hydrocarbons. The

range of their sizes (molecular weights or carbon numbers) is
restricted by the requirements for the product, for example, the
freezing point or smoke point. Kerosene-type jet fuel (including Jet A
and Jet A-1) has a carbon number distribution between about 8 and 16
carbon numbers; wide-cut or naphtha-type jet fuel (including Jet B),
between about 5 and 15 carbon numbers.

The HDT unit reduces the sulphur content of Diesel by treating it with
hydrogen at high temperature and pressure over the bed of the bed of
catalyst to convert the bound sulphur in the diesel to H2S. The unit is
also designed to achieve cetane number 48.5 during diesel operation
and 21mm smoke point during kerosene operation. The unit also has
the flexibility to process straight run kerosene 1 alone to produce ATF
if it is required.

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Normal capacity of the HDT is 0.55MMTPA of fresh feed. However,
the unit is designed for throughput of 0.6MMTPA of fresh feed (a
cushion of 10% on design capacity). The unit operates in two blocked
out modes; Kerosene and Diesel. Occasionally it can be operated
within a blocked out mode to produce ATF.

PROCESS DESCRIPTION

 Pumping of feed to the desired pressure.

 Mixing recycle gas with feed.
 Heating of feed and recycle gas mixture to desired temperature.
 Contacting the feed and recycle gas mixture with catalyst.
 Cooling of reactor effluent.
 Separating liquid and vapour from the reactor effluent.
 Recycling the separated gases to reactor effluent.
 Stripping the liquid reactor to remove lower boiling fractions as wild
naphtha.
 Cooling and polishing of product before sending to storage.
 The diesel hydro treating unit (DHDT) consist of high pressure reactor
section and a low pressure product fractionators section. This two
sections along with offsite are described below in details:

Reactor Section: Fresh feed system

 Feed from gas blanketed storage in the offsite is passed on to

diesel/kerosene transfer pumps49-P-01A/B when the feed is diesel or
kerosene. Pressure, temperature and flow indications are provided for
diesel at the battery unit. The pump raises feed pressure to 8.4Kg/cm2.
However the ATF feed passes onto a separate SR kero 1 (ATF feed).
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  Transfer pump (49-P-02) which raises pressure to 7.7kg/cm2. The
provision has also been made for minimum circulation of
diesel/kerosene through transfer pump 49-P-0 1A/B.
 The pump feed is directed to feed coalesce (49-V-01) where water is
coalescing from feed. This is provided with water boot where water
coming along the feed gets separated. Water is drained automatically
from the water boot and sent to CBD/OWS.
 The feed from feed coalesce passes to feed surge drum via feed filter,
and is controlled by LIC-0802 on feed surge drum which is cascaded
with FIC-0701A/B. The filter is back wash type and is designed to retain
particles of size 25 microns or higher. The filter is provided a differential
pressure indicator and a higher differential pressure elating. The filter is
back washed to remove the deposits. Backwashing will be done through
an automatic sequence. The filtered feed is directed to the shell side of
the feed pre heat exchanger. The pre heated feed passes onto the feed
surge drum. Level in the drum is controlled by varying the rate of
additions of feed through level controller and feed controller valve
installed upstream. Feed from the drum passes onto the surge pumps
which pump it to around 120.9 kg/cm2 and direct it to cold combined
feed exchangers.
 Feed from the discharge passes through shell side of cold combined feed
exchanger and shell side of hot combined fed exchanger before passing
through surge heater. Flow controller is provided ensure proper flow of
diesel/Kerosene or ATF. Thus the combined gas-liquid feed is preheated
with reactor effluents to a temperature range of 56°C and 306-315°C for
diesel and kerosene respectively. It is around 240-248°C for ATF
depending on catalyst activity.
 The feed gas mixture after being preheated in the exchangers and passed
onto the charge heater 49-F-01 for further heating to proper inlet

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 temperature the heater is a vertical cylindrical heater with a top mounted
convection section.

Reactor Combined feed from the furnace passes onto the reactors for reactions
over the catalyst bed.

The DHDT unit has been designed for two cases:

 To improve HSD Cetane number to 48.5 and reduce Sulphur to 0.05

wt%.
 To improve HSD cetane number to 51

The amount of catalyst into the reactor as well as other design parameters are
based on the quality and quantity of fed stock the unit is designed to process.

Fractionating Section

The fractionation section is provided for separating sour gas naphtha from the
hydrodesulfurised diesel/kerosene/ATF product. This is accomplished by using
a stripper. The hydrocarbon liquid from 49-V-04 is sent to the stripper, 49-C-
02 through heat exchangers. The feed gets preheated by exchanging heat with
stripper bottoms in 49-E-07 and reactor effluent in 49-E-08.

Three way valves are provided at inlet outlet of 49-E-08A/B for changing
mode of operation. The pre heated feed enters 49-C-02 on the 10th tray from
the top. 49-C-02 has a total of 38 trays. Steam is injected to the bottom whereas
the vapors leaving the top tray are directed to the air cooled stripped overhead
condenser followed by water cooled stripper overhead trim condenser.

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29 | P a g e
 INDMAX

INTRODUCTION

INDMAX is a high severity catalytic cracking process exclusively developed

by IOC, R & D center to produce very high yield of LPG from various
hydrocarbon fractions viz., Naphtha to residues. The process employs
proprietary catalyst formulations having excellent metal tolerance with coke
and dry gas selectivity. The operating conditions of the unit are such that the
liquid hydrocarbon products are selectively over cracked to LPG containing
fractions of C3 and C4 olefins without proportionate increase in dry gas and
coke.

The process operates at a reaction temperature of 530-600C, catalyst to oil

ratio in the range of 15-25 (wt/wt) with higher riser steam in the range of 10-15
wt % of feed. Salient features of INDMAX process is the high severe Fluidized
Catalytic Cracking process in which high molecular weight components are
cracked to LPG range products.

The special features that distinguish INDMAX from FCC are as follows:

 High yield of LPG (40-65 wt% of feed)

 Very high catalyst/oil ratio coupled with high reactor temperature for
severe cracking.
 Novel catalyst formulation (IMX-50) for high yield of LPG, low coke,
low dry gas and very high vanadium tolerance.
 Wide flexibility in feed stock (Naphtha to heavy residue)

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 It is evident from the above that the INDMAX process is basically a fluidized
catalytic cracking process with newly developed catalyst and different
parameters.

PROCESS SECTION

INDMAX unit consists of the following major sections:

 Feed storage and pumping section

 Reactor and Regenerator section
 Fractionation section
 Gas concentration section
 LPG/Gasoline Treatment section

PROCESS DESCRIPTION

FEED CHARGE SYSTEM

Cold RCO and CFO feed (except coker gasoline) are brought to the battery
limit from dedicated tanks and fed to the feed surge drum. The individual flow
rates are controlled through flow control valve located at the discharge of the
individual pumps, which is cascaded to the feed surge drum for manual
draining of accumulated water, if any. The feed surge drum pressure floats on
the Main Fractionator by means of a balance line, which ties into the
fractionator one tray above the TCO draw tray.

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 RISER

The riser is a vertical pipe through which the mixture of catalyst and oil vapors
flows concurrently. As indicated in the feed charge system, the CG and mixed
feed enter the riser through injection nozzles just above the ‘WYE’ section of
the riser. Stabilization steam enters through a single nozzle right at the base of
the riser to keep the catalyst in fluidized state. If any upset in pressure or
failure of feed supply to the riser takes place, the catalyst in the riser will
slump. The riser will then get plugged with a mass of catalyst. This condition
should not be allowed to occur and immediate action must be taken with the
blasting steam facility to prevent the plugging of the riser.

The regenerated catalyst that enters the riser through the regenerated catalyst
slide valve (RCSV), determine the riser top temperature. The hot regenerated
catalyst supplies the sensible heat, latent heat of vaporization and heat of
reaction required by the oil feed. The WYE section (where the catalysts take
turn from downward to upward) may cause turbulence and non-uniform
catalyst flow patterns. A high density zone is provided to absorb shocks and
stabilize the catalyst flow during the transition to upward flow.

A pressure control valve is provided at the main column O/H reflux drum for
steady operating pressure of the reactor system. This control valve determines
the O/H pressure of Main Fractionator. Reactor pressure floats on the Main
Fractionator Pressure and not directly controlled.

REACTOR

The main functions of the reactor are:

 To provide disengaging a space for the separation of the catalyst from

oil vapors.
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  To provide a space for the cyclone separator,
which recovers most of the entrained catalyst and returns it to the catalyst bed.
Conical bottom of the reactor-stripper shell is lined with hex-mesh and
abrasion resistant cement lining.

CATALYST STRIPPER

Catalyst from the dip-leg of the riser and the reactor cyclones falls down over
the baffles in the stripping section of the reactor. The stripping steam injected
at the bottom of the stripper contacts the catalyst particles in counter current
flow and strip-off oil vapors. Oil vapors along with the steam go up the reactor
to the fractionating column C-01. Uniform steam distribution for stripping is
ensured by the ring steam distributors provided in stripper at three different
elevations as indicated below.

Upper steam ring: Provides pre-stripping of the catalyst.

Middle steam ring: Provides main stripping.

Bottom steam ring: Provides fluidization of the catalyst before entering the
spent catalyst stand pipe.

Steam flow at each level can be independently controlled through respective

flow controllers. The designed total steam flow rate is about 2-3 kg of steam
per metric tons of catalyst. As the spent catalyst flows down the stripper, it
comes into contact with uprising steam from the three steam rings as indicated
above, which displaces the hydrocarbon vapors absorbed in/on the catalyst. A
series of disc and doughnut type baffles are provided to enhance the contact
between catalyst and steam. The spent catalyst is sent to the regenerator to
burn of the coke on the catalyst after stripping.

SPENT CATALYST STAND PIPE

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 The spent catalyst flows down the spent catalyst stand pipe through the spent
catalyst slide valve (SCSV). Aeration steam is added to the standpipe at
several elevations to maintain proper density and fluid characteristics of the
spent catalyst. The spent catalyst slide valve controls the stripper’s level by
regulating the flow of spent catalyst from the stripper to the regenerator. A
deflector plate provided at the exit of this stand pipe including slide valve and
expansion joint are lined with hex-mesh and abrasion resistant cement.

REGENERATOR

Spent catalyst from the stripper flows to the regenerator through the spent
catalyst standpipe. Coke deposited on the catalyst during the course of the
reaction in the riser is burnt off in the regenerator with controlled air supplied
into regenerator is designed for complete burning of coke (i.e to less than 0.05
wt% of coke on regenerator catalyst) deposited on the catalyst. The air rate is
to be adjusted to maintained desired concentration of oxygen in the flue gas as
the INDMAX regenerator is designed for total combustion. However, airflow
rate to the regenerator can also be regulated by the temperature difference
between dilute and dense bed. The heat of combustion released by the burning
coke heats the catalyst and eventually supplies the heat required by riser and
keep the system heat balanced.

REGENERATED CATALYST STAND PIPE

The regenerated catalyst from the regenerator is transferred to the bottom of

the vertical riser through regenerated catalyst standpipe. The regenerated
catalyst slide vlve controls the catalyst flow based on the riser top temperature.

Modes of operation of slide valve operation are described as below:

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  Auto mode: Pressurized hydraulic fluid from pump accumulator is
supplied to the servo valve. MV6 is in auto position and SOL is
energized. This will keep pilot check valves CV3, CV5 and CV6 open.
Servo valve now controls the cylinder position.
 Manual mode: Pressurized hydraulic fluid is supplied by pump and
accumulator A1. MV6 is in manual position and SOL-2 is de energized.
This will keep pilot check valves CV3, AV5 and CV6 closed. MV1 now
controls the cylinder position.

BFW/QUENCH WATER SYSTEM

To protect the cyclones from damage by high temperature during the upset,
BFW spray is provided to control the temperature in case of overshoot of
cyclone temperature beyond the maximum operating temperature. The water
sprays are strictly for emergency use for a short period of time to arrest
excessive temperature excursions in the regenerator.

MAIN AIR BLOWER & ITS AUXILIARIES

A centrifugal Main air blower, driven by electric motor, supplies combustion

air for the process. Atmospheric air is introduced to the air blower through an
intake filter and silencer. The blower air is sent to regenerator will trigger the
emergency shutdown circuit during blower failure.

FRACIONATING SECTION

The main fractionator column (C-01) consists of 22 valve trays (separation

section) and 8 disc and doughnut trays for the heat transfer (quench section).

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 The reactor effluent, comprised of cracked hydrocarbon vapors, steam and
inert gas, enters the fractionator at the bottom of quench section (at a
temperature of around 550C and a pressure of 1.4 kg/cm2g) blow tray no. 30
where the cracked vapors and inerts are cooled and the bottom heavier product
is condensed. Main fractionator bottom liquid is pumped by main column
bottom pump to feed/MCB exchanger where bottom liquid is cooled to around
316C. part of the cooled bottom liquid is sent back to tray. No. 22 of C-01 as
a quench medium. The purpose of quench is to keep the temperature at C-01
below 360C in order to prevent coke formation. CLO is further cooled in
CLO cooler to the required battery limit temperature before sending them to
from the unit as rundown product.

WASTE HEAT RECOVERY UNIT (WHR)

The waste heat recovery unit of INDMAX plant is located downstream of the
orifice chamber to recover the sensible heat available with the flue gas. The
WHR unit consists of a refractory lined gas inlet transition channel, the first
resistance to flow of the flue gas is in the form of screen tubes, this is followed
by the super heater (E-18), a convection bank (Steam generator E-17) and an
economizer bank (BFW preheater E-16) and an insulated outlet channel of
varying metallurgies for different temperature zones.

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 SULPHUR RECOVER UNIT (SRU)

OBJECTIVE: To recover the sulphur content from the following acid gas
streams:

 Acid gas from Amine Regeneration Unit (ARU)

 Sour gas from Sour Water Stripper Unit (SWS)

FEED: The following gas streams:

 Acid gas from Amine Regeneration Unit (ARU)

 Sour gas from Sour Water Stripper Unit (SWS)

OPERATING CONDITIONS:

Temperature: 1350C-1400C

THEORY:

Sulphur Recovery Unit has been designed to recover sulphur from the
following acid gas streams:

 Acid gas from Amine Regeneration Unit (ARU)

 Sour gas from Sour Water Stripper Unit (SWS)

SRU consists of:

 Claus Train based on the consumption of the acid gses coming from
ARU and SWS
 The Tail Gas coming from SRU and the Sweep Gas coming from
Sulphur Pit, are fed to the Thermal Incinerator to oxidise the residual
H2S.

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 The flue gas leaving the incinerator is discharged to the atmosphere via a
stack.

BRIEF PROCESS DESCRIPTION

The process design of SRU is based on 3 Stage Modified Claus Process. This
process consists of one thermal stage (Main Combustion Chamber) and three
catalytic stages (Catalytic Converters). 96% Sulphur recovery is achievable
from this configuration. Acid Gas from ARU and Sour Gas from SWS are fed
to the SRU. In SRU, H2S present in the feed gas is converted to elemental
sulphur.

PROCESS EQUIPMENT AND SYSTEM DESCRIPTION

MODIFIED CLAUS SECTION

Claus Section includes Main Combustion Chamber (also called as Reaction

Furnace), three catalytic converters and heat recovery facilities. A feed mix of
acid gas and sour gas is fed to the burner of Main Combustion Chamber. The
burner is designed to provide complete mixing of air and feed gas for
oxidation of all hydrocarbons, residual sulfur compounds(like mercaptans, if
any), ammonia and a nominal one third of H2S in feed gas to SO2 without use
of any supplement fuel gas. The use of a high Intensity burner promotes the
combustion of ammonia in the feed gas to nitrogen and water. The adiabatic
flame temperature for such a case is kept above 1350 oC to ensure complete
destruction of ammonia. However, the design provides the features to increase
the flame zone temperature, if needed in case the feed gas composition varies.
In the reaction furnace, standard Claus reaction proceeds to produce gaseous
sulphur.

Waste Heat Boiler and Sulphur Condensers:

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 LP steam is generated in Waste Heat Boiler (WHB) by cooling hot process
gases from Main Combustion Chamber. Sulfur Condenser-I, II and III generate
LP steam, which is fed to the LP steam header. Part of LP steam is used for
tracing purpose in the unit, and for heating coils in Sulfur Pit Balance LP
steam is exported to steam header.

BFW from B/L is preheated to 130oC in BFW Pre-heater to avoid cold spots in
WHB and sulfur condensers. Preheated BFW is fed to WHB under flow
control cascaded with in level control. This control is provided to prevent tube
dry out under all situations. BFW is also fed to the Sulphur condensers I/II/III
under its respective level control.

FUEL GAS OPERATION Fuel gas operation is the run to be performed to

heat up the plant starting from cold or to sweep the plant from Sulphur after
the acid gas operation and then to cool down the plant for inspection or for
extended shutdown periods. During this operation, the adiabatic flame has to
be maintained below the maximum operating temperature of refractory
material lining the reaction furnace; quench steam is used to moderate the
flame temperature at values not higher than 1400°C; quench steam is injected
in the burner into the acid gas tip.

SULFUR DEGASSING: The Sulphur is recirculated to Sulphur Pit by means

of Sulphur Pumps and this agitation enhances the reaction of poly sulphides
transformation.

REACTIONS IN THE THERMAL INCINERATOR

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 The incineration of tail gas produced in the SRU is necessary to transform all
sulphur compounds present in SO2, flue gases produced in the incineration are
allowed to be discharged to atmosphere via a stack.

The tail gas ignition temperature is much higher than the actual tail gas
temperature, being the fuel components in tail gas present at very low
concentrations. For this reason, the tail gas combustion has to be supported by
fuel gas combustion.

Also the oxygen excess in flue gas is a very important factor for the tail gas
incineration. In fact, oxygen excess favors the oxidation of sulphur
compounds, besides increasing the not desirable production of SO3 and NO3.
(The expected residual NO3 at incinerator outlet is less than 50 ppm).

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 MOTOR SPIRIT UNIT (MSQU)
Objective:

 To split INDMAX gasoline and wild naphtha in the 3 cut splitter and
separate a heart cut stream.
 To increase RON of hydro treated light naphtha cut in the Isomerization
Unit.
 To treat in NHDT, a mix of light naphtha heart cut from 3 cut splitter
and straight run light naphtha in order to produce a sulphur free stable
free naphtha to feed the isomerization unit.

INTRODUCTION:

The MS Quality Upgradation consists of 3 Cuts Splitter (unit 055), SR Light

Naphtha splitter (unit 056), the Naphtha Hydrotreatment and Isomerization
Units (unit 057).

NHDT SECTION:

Purpose of this Naphtha Hydro Desulphurization Unit is to protect

Isomerization catalyst by eliminating or reducing to an acceptable level of
impurity of naphtha.

There are basically 2 fundamental reaction involved in this:

1. Hydro refining.
2. Hydro generation

PROCESS
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 Feed: Medium splitter cut from INDMAX and top product from Straight Run
Light Naphtha (SRLN). Before actual processing, feed is prepared by passing
through various units:

Heater: It raises temperature of the feed and brings the feed’s temperature to
equilibrium.

NHDT: It produces sulphur free stable naphtha to feed in the isomerization

unit. It also saturates olefins.

Stripper: It separates lighter gas like H2S into stabilizer unit and heavy one
into drier section where remaining water vaporized.

BENSAT Reactor: Benzene ring is converted into straight chain

hydrocarbon.

ISOMER Reactor: It increases Octane number by converting straight chain

into isomer unit.

Stabilizer: It separate off gas like HCL from motor spirit.

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PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM:

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 ISOMERIZATION UNIT:

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 Isomerization is the conversion of hydrocarbons to their isomers, which have
the same molecular formula but a different arrangement of molecules. The
C5/C6 isomerization section specifically converts the normal C5/C6 paraffins to
their isomers, i.e. to a higher octane branched arrangement, over a proprietary
platinum catalyst in presence of hydrogen. The conversion per pass of the
normal paraffins to their isomers is determined by the reaction equilibrium at
the reactor operating conditions. The low octane methyl-pentanes and the
unconverted n-hexane are recycled back to the isomerization reactors to
achieve the objective of RON clear 87 minimum.

PROCESS DESCRIPTION

The flow scheme is identical for both SOR and EOR operation; however, the
operating conditions are different. These variations are defined in the Design
Basis Section. The Unit consists of the following sections:

 Feed Dryers and Hydrogen Dryers.

 Reactors.
 Stabilizer.
 Deisohexanizer.
 Caustic Scrubber.
 Dryer Regeneration.
 Chloride Injection Facility.

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 TPM
Today, with competition in industry at an all-time high, Total Perfect
Maintenance (TPM) of the industry may be the only thing that stands between
success and a total failure for some companies. It has been proven to be a
program that works. It can be adapted to work not only in industrial plants, but
in construction, building maintenance, transportation, and in variety of other
situations. Employees must be educated and convinced that TPM is not just
another “Program of the Month” and the management is totally committed to
the program and the extended time frame necessary for full implementation. If
everyone involved in a TPM program does his or her part, an unusually high
rate of return compared to resources invested may be expected.

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