Energy use in petroleum refineries

Technical Report · Wed Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1976

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/7261027· OSTI ID:7261027

Haynes, V. O.

Refining petroleum accounts for about 4 percent of the total energy consumed in the United States and about 15 percent of all industrial consumption. The kinds of energy used and the manner in which energy is used are discussed on a process-by-process basis. Emphasis is placed on existing processes to identify and quantify process and equipment substitutions which might significantly conserve energy. General industry and process information is given and estimates of potential savings are made. A few research and development opportunities are identified and nontechnical factors are discussed. Nearly one-half the energy consumed by refineries is obtained from by-product refinery gas and coke, and about one-third is supplied by natural gas. On a regional basis, refineries were found to vary by a factor of two in the amount of energy used to refine a unit of crude oil. Refineries in regions traditionally abundant in inexpensive natural gas were found to use relatively more natural gas and energy. About 36 percent of the energy used by petroleum refineries is consumed in the distillation units to separate the refinery streams into their basic components. Including energy for manufacturing hydrogen, about 24 percent of the total is used for cracking of the heavier components. Most of the remainder is used for reforming, hydrogen treating, and alkylation, distributed about 11, 17, and 6 percent respectively. Potential energy savings discussed in this report total 61 x 10/sup 13/ Btu/yr based on 1974 capacities, a figure which represents about 20 percent of the energy consumed to refine petroleum.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., Tenn. (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-26
• OSTI ID: 7261027
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM-5433
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020400* -- Petroleum-- Processing
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
298000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Consumption & Utilization
CATALYSTS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CRACKING
DECOMPOSITION
DISTILLATION
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
PETROLEUM REFINERIES
PYROLYSIS
REFORMER PROCESSES
SEPARATION PROCESSES