Petrochemical Feedstocks and Pretreatment

Crude Oil Composition and Characterization

• Detailed analysis of crude oil's complex hydrocarbon mixtures, including paraffins, naphthenes, aromatics, and asphaltenes.
• Understanding the role of sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, and metals as contaminants and their impact on downstream processing.
• Evaluation of crude oil properties using standard tests like API gravity, sulfur content (ASTM D4294), TAN (Total Acid Number, ASTM D664), and simulated distillation (ASTM D2887) to predict processing behavior.
• Application of TBP (True Boiling Point) distillation curves for detailed feedstock characterization and process simulation.

Natural Gas Processing

• Separation of natural gas components: methane, ethane, propane, butane, and pentanes-plus (C5+).
• Removal of acid gases (H2S and CO2) using amine gas treating (e.g., DEA, MEA, MDEA) with detailed process flow diagrams and chemistry of absorption and regeneration.
• Dehydration techniques using glycol dehydration (TEG, triethylene glycol) to prevent hydrate formation and corrosion in pipelines.
• NGL (Natural Gas Liquids) recovery methods: cryogenic separation (e.g., turboexpanders) and absorption processes.

Feedstock Pretreatment Processes

• Desalting of crude oil: electrostatic desalting to remove water, salts, and solids to prevent corrosion and catalyst poisoning.
• Naphtha hydrotreating: removal of sulfur, nitrogen, and olefins from naphtha to improve its suitability as a feedstock for catalytic reforming.
• Residue hydrotreating: upgrading heavy residues (e.g., vacuum residue) by removing sulfur, nitrogen, and metals, and reducing viscosity and asphaltene content.
• Coking processes (delayed coking, fluid coking) to convert heavy residues into lighter products and petroleum coke. Understanding coke properties and applications.

Primary Petrochemical Processes

Steam Cracking (Ethylene Production)

• Detailed mechanism of thermal cracking of hydrocarbons (ethane, propane, naphtha) at high temperatures to produce ethylene, propylene, and other olefins.
• Design and operation of cracking furnaces, including coil design, heat flux distribution, and coke formation mitigation strategies.
• Quench systems for rapidly cooling the cracked gas effluent to stop the cracking reactions and prevent polymerization.
• Separation and purification of ethylene and propylene using cryogenic distillation and extractive distillation.
• Management of by-products, including pyrolysis gasoline (pygas) and fuel gas.

Catalytic Reforming (Aromatics Production)

• Chemistry of catalytic reforming reactions: dehydrogenation, isomerization, cyclization, and hydrocracking using platinum-based catalysts.
• Design and operation of catalytic reformers: fixed-bed reactors with continuous catalyst regeneration (CCR) or semi-regenerative reactors.
• Separation and recovery of aromatics (benzene, toluene, and xylenes – BTX) using solvent extraction (e.g., Sulfolane, NMP).
• Isomerization of xylenes to maximize the production of paraxylene, a key raw material for polyester fibers and resins.

Propylene Production Technologies

• Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC): Optimizing FCC units to maximize propylene yield through catalyst selection and operating conditions.
• Metathesis: Conversion of ethylene and butenes to propylene using metathesis catalysts.
• Propane Dehydrogenation (PDH): Dehydrogenation of propane to propylene using catalysts like platinum or chromium oxide.
• On-Purpose Propylene Production: Detailed analysis of different technologies for dedicated propylene production.

Secondary Petrochemical Processes

Polymerization Processes

• Polyethylene (PE) production: LDPE (low-density polyethylene), HDPE (high-density polyethylene), and LLDPE (linear low-density polyethylene) production using different catalysts and processes (e.g., Ziegler-Natta, metallocene).
• Polypropylene (PP) production: Homo-polymer, random copolymer, and impact copolymer PP production using Ziegler-Natta and metallocene catalysts.
• Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) production: Suspension, emulsion, and bulk polymerization of vinyl chloride monomer.
• Polystyrene (PS) production: General-purpose polystyrene (GPPS), high-impact polystyrene (HIPS), and expanded polystyrene (EPS) production.

Intermediate Chemicals Production

• Ethylene Oxide (EO) and Ethylene Glycol (EG) production: Oxidation of ethylene to ethylene oxide followed by hydration to ethylene glycol.
• Cumene production: Alkylation of benzene with propylene to produce cumene, a precursor to phenol and acetone.
• Acrylonitrile production: Ammoxidation of propylene with ammonia to produce acrylonitrile, a key raw material for acrylic fibers and resins.
• Formaldehyde production: Oxidation or dehydrogenation of methanol to produce formaldehyde.

Specialty Chemicals and Additives

• Production of antioxidants, UV stabilizers, plasticizers, and flame retardants for polymers.
• Synthesis of surfactants, detergents, and emulsifiers based on petrochemical feedstocks.
• Manufacture of adhesives, coatings, and inks using petrochemical derivatives.
• Production of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and fine chemicals from petrochemical building blocks.

Petrochemical Plant Operations and Control

Process Control Systems

• Distributed Control Systems (DCS): Architecture, configuration, and programming of DCS systems for process monitoring and control.
• Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC): Application of PLCs for discrete control and safety interlocking systems.
• Advanced Process Control (APC): Implementation of model predictive control (MPC) and real-time optimization (RTO) techniques to improve process efficiency and stability.
• Instrumentation and Sensors: Understanding the principles and application of various sensors for measuring temperature, pressure, flow, level, and composition.

Plant Safety and Risk Management

• Process Hazard Analysis (PHA): Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) studies, What-If analysis, and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) for identifying potential hazards and mitigating risks.
• Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA): Assessing the effectiveness of independent protection layers in reducing the likelihood and consequence of hazardous events.
• Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS): Design and implementation of SIS to prevent or mitigate hazardous events, including safety instrumented functions (SIF) and safety integrity levels (SIL).
• Emergency Response Planning: Development and implementation of emergency response plans for various scenarios, including fires, explosions, and chemical releases.

Optimization and Energy Management

• Process Optimization: Techniques for optimizing process operating conditions to maximize product yield, minimize energy consumption, and reduce waste.
• Energy Integration: Application of heat exchangers, heat pumps, and combined heat and power (CHP) systems to improve energy efficiency.
• Waste Heat Recovery: Recovery and utilization of waste heat from process streams and flue gases.
• Water Management: Optimization of water usage, wastewater treatment, and reuse in petrochemical plants.

Petrochemical Plant Lifecycle Management

Project Engineering and Construction

• Feasibility studies: Technical and economic evaluation of petrochemical projects, including market analysis, technology selection, and cost estimation.
• Process design: Development of process flow diagrams (PFDs), piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs), and equipment specifications.
• Construction management: Planning, scheduling, and execution of construction activities, including equipment installation, piping fabrication, and electrical wiring.
• Commissioning and start-up: Testing and commissioning of equipment and systems, and start-up of the petrochemical plant.

Maintenance and Reliability

• Preventive maintenance: Scheduled maintenance activities to prevent equipment failures and extend equipment life.
• Predictive maintenance: Condition monitoring techniques (e.g., vibration analysis, infrared thermography, oil analysis) to predict equipment failures and schedule maintenance activities.
• Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability (RAM) analysis: Quantitative assessment of plant reliability and availability to identify bottlenecks and optimize maintenance strategies.
• Root Cause Analysis (RCA): Systematic investigation of equipment failures to identify the underlying causes and implement corrective actions.

Decommissioning and Environmental Management

• Decommissioning planning: Development of decommissioning plans that address safety, environmental, and regulatory requirements.
• Equipment dismantling and removal: Safe and efficient dismantling and removal of equipment and structures.
• Site remediation: Removal of contaminated soil and groundwater to restore the site to its original condition.
• Waste management: Proper handling, treatment, and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste generated during decommissioning.