Oil refinery - Knowledge

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the U.S. from 1976 until 2014 when the small Dakota Prairie Refinery in North Dakota began operation. More than half the refineries that existed in 1981 are now closed due to low utilization rates and accelerating mergers. As a result of these closures total US refinery capacity fell between 1981 and 1995, though the operating capacity stayed fairly constant in that time period at around 15,000,000 barrels per day (2,400,000 m/d). Increases in facility size and improvements in efficiencies have offset much of the lost physical capacity of the industry. In 1982 (the earliest data provided), the United States operated 301 refineries with a combined capacity of 17.9 million barrels (2,850,000 m) of crude oil each calendar day. In 2010, there were 149 operable U.S. refineries with a combined capacity of 17.6 million barrels (2,800,000 m) per calendar day. By 2014 the number of refinery had reduced to 140 but the total capacity increased to 18.02 million barrels (2,865,000 m) per calendar day. Indeed, in order to reduce operating costs and depreciation, refining is operated in fewer sites but of bigger capacity.

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monitoring). This allows process engineers to treat corrosion as another process variable that can be optimized in the system. Immediate responses to process changes allow the control of corrosion mechanisms, so they can be minimized while also maximizing production output. In an ideal situation having on-line corrosion information that is accurate and real-time will allow conditions that cause high corrosion rates to be identified and reduced. This is known as predictive management.

1335: 1320: 620: 1416: 33: 1350: 2938: 563: 1302: 48: 62: 1398: 1286: 927: 1733: 1365: 2775:(PPE) may be necessary depending on the specific chemical being processed or produced. Particular care is needed during sampling of the partially-completed product, tank cleaning, and other high-risk tasks as mentioned above. Such activities may require the use of impervious outerwear, acid hood, disposable coveralls, etc. More generally, all personnel in operating areas should use appropriate 1792: 1744: 378:. The industry grew slowly in the 1800s, primarily producing kerosene for oil lamps. In the early twentieth century, the introduction of the internal combustion engine and its use in automobiles created a market for gasoline that was the impetus for fairly rapid growth of the petroleum industry. The early finds of petroleum like those in Ontario and 432:

changed to Edeleanu GmbH, in 1930. During Nazi's time, the company was bought by the Deutsche Erdöl-AG and Edeleanu, being of Jewish origin, moved back to Romania. After the war, the trademark was used by the successor company EDELEANU Gesellschaft mbH Alzenau (RWE) for many petroleum products, while the company was lately integrated as EDL in the

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engineering, the vast majority of these processes are automated and enclosed, thus greatly reducing the potential health impact to workers. However, depending on the specific process in which a worker is engaged, as well as the particular method employed by the refinery in which he/she works, significant health hazards remain.

991:, hydrogen sulfide is afterward transformed to elementary sulfur to be sold to the chemical industry. The rather large heat energy freed by this process is directly used in the other parts of the refinery. Often an electrical power plant is combined into the whole refinery process to take up the excess heat. 1482:(reformer product). The reformate has higher content of aromatics and cyclic hydrocarbons which is a component of the end-product gasoline or petrol. An important byproduct of a reformer is hydrogen released during the catalyst reaction. The hydrogen is used either in the hydrotreaters or the hydrocracker. 2986:

Corrosion is fought by a complex system of monitoring, preventative repairs, and careful use of materials. Monitoring methods include both offline checks taken during maintenance and online monitoring. Offline checks measure corrosion after it has occurred, telling the engineer when equipment must be

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Today, national and state legislation require refineries to meet stringent air and water cleanliness standards. In fact, oil companies in the U.S. perceive obtaining a permit to build a modern refinery to be so difficult and costly that no new refineries were built (though many have been expanded) in

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In the United States, for various complex economic and political reasons, the construction of new refineries came to a virtual stop in about the 1980s. However, many of the existing refineries in the United States have revamped many of their units and/or constructed add-on units in order to: increase

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Corrosion of metallic components is a major factor of inefficiency in the refining process. Because it leads to equipment failure, it is a primary driver for the refinery maintenance schedule. Corrosion-related direct costs in the U.S. petroleum industry as of 1996 were estimated at US$ 3.7 billion.

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processes and the flow of intermediate product streams that occurs between the inlet crude oil feedstock and the final end products. The diagram depicts only one of the literally hundreds of different oil refinery configurations. The diagram also does not include any of the usual refinery facilities

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include careful planning and oversight of the refinery cleaning, maintenance, and turnaround processes. These occur when many of the engineering controls are shut down or suppressed and may be especially dangerous to workers. Detailed coordination is necessary to ensure that maintenance of one part

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PMA) can be measured in urine. In addition to monitoring the exposure levels via these biomarkers, employers are required by OSHA to perform regular blood tests on workers to test for early signs of some of the feared hematologic outcomes, of which the most widely recognized is leukemia. Required

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The most important route of exposure for BTX chemicals is inhalation due to the low boiling point of these chemicals. The majority of the gaseous production of BTX occurs during tank cleaning and fuel transfer, which causes offgassing of these chemicals into the air. Exposure can also occur through

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facility in 1976. However, many existing refineries have been expanded during that time. Environmental restrictions and pressure to prevent the construction of new refineries may have also contributed to rising fuel prices in the United States. Additionally, many refineries (more than 100 since the

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Although occupational injuries in the United States were not routinely tracked and reported at the time, reports of the health impacts of working in an oil refinery can be found as early as the 1800s. For instance, an explosion in a Chicago refinery killed 20 workers in 1890. Since then, numerous

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The cooling and condensing of the distillation tower overhead is provided partially by exchanging heat with the incoming crude oil and partially by either an air-cooled or water-cooled condenser. Additional heat is removed from the distillation column by a pumparound system as shown in the diagram

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of the oil). All of the many other refining processes discussed below were developed during the war or within a few years after the war. They became commercially available within 5 to 10 years after the war ended and the worldwide petroleum industry experienced very rapid growth. The driving force

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Materials methods include selecting the proper material for the application. In areas of minimal corrosion, cheap materials are preferable, but when bad corrosion can occur, more expensive but longer-lasting materials should be used. Other materials methods come in the form of protective barriers

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Workers are at risk of physical injuries due to a large number of high-powered machines in the relatively close proximity of the oil refinery. The high pressure required for many of the chemical reactions also presents the possibility of localized system failures resulting in blunt or penetrating

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involves a complicated system of interrelated chemical reactions that produce a wide variety of petroleum-based products. Many of these reactions require precise temperature and pressure parameters. The equipment and monitoring required to ensure the proper progression of these processes is

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because it operates at slightly above atmospheric pressure. Below is a schematic flow diagram of a typical crude oil distillation unit. The incoming crude oil is preheated by exchanging heat with some of the hot, distilled fractions and other streams. It is then desalted to remove inorganic salts

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Petroleum products are usually grouped into four categories: light distillates (LPG, gasoline, naphtha), middle distillates (kerosene, jet fuel, diesel), heavy distillates, and residuum (heavy fuel oil, lubricating oils, wax, asphalt). These require blending various feedstocks, mixing appropriate

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Many governments worldwide have mandated restrictions on contaminants that refineries release, and most refineries have installed the equipment needed to comply with the requirements of the pertinent environmental protection regulatory agencies. In the United States, there is strong pressure to

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Given the highly automated and technically advanced nature of modern petroleum refineries, nearly all processes are contained within engineering controls and represent a substantially decreased risk of exposure to workers compared to earlier times. However, certain situations or work tasks may

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and allowed a massive development of the refining plants. Successively, the process was implemented in France, Germany, U.S. and in a few decades became worldwide spread. In 1910 Edeleanu founded "Allgemeine Gesellschaft für Chemische Industrie" in Germany, which, given the success of the name,

297:(960–1127), a workshop called the "Fierce Oil Workshop", was established in the city of Kaifeng to produce refined oil for the Song military as a weapon. The troops would then fill iron cans with refined oil and throw them toward the enemy troops, causing a fire – effectively the world's first " 2949:

Corrosion occurs in various forms in the refining process, such as pitting corrosion from water droplets, embrittlement from hydrogen, and stress corrosion cracking from sulfide attack. From a materials standpoint, carbon steel is used for upwards of 80 percent of refinery components, which is

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Heat is also a hazard. The temperature required for the proper progression of certain reactions in the refining process can reach 1,600 °F (870 °C). As with chemicals, the operating system is designed to safely contain this hazard without injury to the worker. However, in system

1788:. Each of the sidecuts (i.e., the kerosene, light gas oil, and heavy gas oil) is cooled by exchanging heat with the incoming crude oil. All of the fractions (i.e., the overhead naphtha, the sidecuts, and the bottom residue) are sent to intermediate storage tanks before being processed further. 1766:

The crude oil distillation unit (CDU) is the first processing unit in virtually all petroleum refineries. The CDU distills the incoming crude oil into various fractions of different boiling ranges, each of which is then processed further in the other refinery processing units. The CDU is often

1583:. There are also other uses for dimerization. Gasoline produced through dimerization is highly unsaturated and very reactive. It tends spontaneously to form gums. For this reason, the effluent from the dimerization needs to be blended into the finished gasoline pool immediately or hydrogenated. 1840:

Refineries that use a large amount of steam and cooling water need to have an abundant source of water. Oil refineries, therefore, are often located nearby navigable rivers or on a seashore, nearby a port. Such location also gives access to transportation by river or by sea. The advantages of

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The wide array of high pressure and/or high temperature reactions, along with the necessary chemical additives or extracted contaminants, produces an astonishing number of potential health hazards to the oil refinery worker. Through the advancement of technical chemical and petroleum

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and electrical resistance. Online monitoring has generally had slow reporting rates in the past (minutes or hours) and been limited by process conditions and sources of error but newer technologies can report rates up to twice per minute with much higher accuracy (referred to as real-time

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Following the desalter, the crude oil is further heated by exchanging heat with some of the hot, distilled fractions and other streams. It is then heated in a fuel-fired furnace (fired heater) to a temperature of about 398 °C and routed into the bottom of the distillation unit.

600:. There was no market for the more volatile fraction, including gasoline, which was considered waste and was often dumped directly into the nearest river. The invention of the automobile shifted the demand to gasoline and diesel, which remain the primary refined products today. 2837:, they indicate that petroleum refinery workers have a significantly lower rate of occupational injury (0.4 OSHA-recordable cases per 100 full-time workers) than all industries (3.1 cases), oil and gas extraction (0.8 cases), and petroleum manufacturing in general (1.3 cases). 3763: 2761:

can help to prevent a fire or other systems failure from spreading to affect other areas of the structure, and may help prevent dangerous reactions by keeping different chemicals separate from one another until they can be safely combined in the proper environment.

1132:), byproducts of sulfur removal from petroleum which may have up to a couple of percent sulfur as organic sulfur-containing compounds. Sulfur and sulfuric acid are useful industrial materials. Sulfuric acid is usually prepared and shipped as the acid precursor 4005: 2769:

of the facility will not cause dangerous exposures to those performing the maintenance, or to workers in other areas of the plant. Due to the highly flammable nature of many of the involved chemicals, smoking areas are tightly controlled and carefully placed.

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Environmental and safety concerns mean that oil refineries are sometimes located some distance away from major urban areas. Nevertheless, there are many instances where refinery operations are close to populated areas and pose health risks. In California's

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transporting crude oil by pipeline are evident, and oil companies often transport a large volume of fuel to distribution terminals by pipeline. A pipeline may not be practical for products with small output, and railcars, road tankers, and barges are used.

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fires, explosions, and other significant events have from time to time drawn the public's attention to the health of oil refinery workers. Such events continue in the 21st century, with explosions reported in refineries in Wisconsin and Germany in 2018.

960:. These are not usually transported but instead are blended or processed further on-site. Chemical plants are thus often adjacent to oil refineries or a number of further chemical processes are integrated into it. For example, light hydrocarbons are 6521:

Ikeda, M.; Higashikawa, K.; Sakamoto, K.; Miyama, Y.; Takeuchi, A.; Zhang, Z.-W.; Kawai, T. (January 1, 2003). "Methyl isobutyl ketone and methyl ethyl ketone in urine as biological markers of occupational exposure to these solvents at low levels".

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ingestion via contaminated water, but this is unlikely in an occupational setting. Dermal exposure and absorption is also possible, but is again less likely in an occupational setting where appropriate personal protective equipment is in place.

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According to the composition of the crude oil and depending on the demands of the market, refineries can produce different shares of petroleum products. The largest share of oil products is used as "energy carriers", i.e. various grades of

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Petrochemical plants and solvent manufacturing (fine fractionating) plants need spaces for further processing of a large volume of refinery products, or to mix chemical additives with a product at source rather than at blending terminals.

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has been particularly active in protecting worker health in the industry, and adopted a policy in 2017 that requires petroleum refineries to perform a "Hierarchy of Hazard Controls Analysis" (see above "Hazard controls" section) for each

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is resistant to the most common forms of corrosion, particularly from hydrocarbon impurities at temperatures below 205 °C, but other corrosive chemicals and environments prevent its use everywhere. Common replacement materials are

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As shown in the flow diagram, the overhead distillate fraction from the distillation column is naphtha. The fractions removed from the side of the distillation column at various points between the column top and bottom are called

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Prior to World War II in the early 1940s, most petroleum refineries in the United States consisted simply of crude oil distillation units (often referred to as atmospheric crude oil distillation units). Some refineries also had

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or other special acid-resistant cement that is shot onto the inner surface of the vessel. Also available are thin overlays of more expensive metals that protect cheaper metal against corrosion without requiring much material.

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Noise is another hazard. Refineries can be very loud environments, and have previously been shown to be associated with hearing loss among workers. The interior environment of an oil refinery can reach levels in excess of

638:) crude oil has been used directly as a burner fuel to produce steam for the propulsion of seagoing vessels. The lighter elements, however, form explosive vapors in the fuel tanks and are therefore hazardous, especially in 3999: 6475:

McClellan, William A.; Wong, Otto; Gibson, Roy L.; Weiss, Nancy S.; Tsai, Shan P.; Wen, C. P. (January 1, 1985). "Long-Term Mortality Study of Oil Refinery Workers. IV. Exposure to the Lubricating-Dewaxing Process".

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additives, providing short-term storage, and preparation for bulk loading to trucks, barges, product ships, and railcars. This classification is based on the way crude oil is distilled and separated into fractions.

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Liquified gas storage vessels store propane and similar gaseous fuels at pressure sufficient to maintain them in liquid form. These are usually spherical vessels or "bullets" (i.e., horizontal vessels with rounded

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at or near an oil refinery for the storage of incoming crude oil feedstock as well as bulk liquid products. In 2020, the total capacity of global refineries for crude oil was about 101.2 million barrels per day.

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Online systems are a more modern development and are revolutionizing the way corrosion is approached. There are several types of online corrosion monitoring technologies such as linear polarization resistance,

5488: 723:. Since the lighter liquid products are in great demand for use in internal combustion engines, a modern refinery will convert heavy hydrocarbons and lighter gaseous elements into these higher-value products. 4829:

Morata, Thais C; Engel, Terry; Durão, Alvaro; Costa, Thelma RS; Krieg, Edward F; Dunn, Derek E; Lozano, Maria Angelica (January 1997). "Hearing Loss from Combined Exposures among Petroleum Refinery Workers".

3973: 778:. While the molecules in crude oil include different atoms such as sulfur and nitrogen, the hydrocarbons are the most common form of molecules, which are molecules of varying lengths and complexity made of 3953: 6594:

Hessel, Patrick A.; Herbert, F. Alex; Melenka, Lyle S.; Yoshida, Ken; Nakaza, Mahashiro (May 1, 1997). "Lung health in relation to hydrogen sulfide exposure in oil and gas workers in Alberta, Canada".

2061:(VOCs) that are found in the oil refinery environment, and serve as a paradigm for more in depth discussion of occupational exposure limits, chemical exposure and surveillance among refinery workers. 1118:

industry, among others. May be shipped in bulk to a site to prepare as packaged blocks. Used for wax emulsions, candles, matches, rust protection, vapor barriers, construction board, and packaging of

6701:; Ryan, Louise; Christiani, David C.; Snow, Rachel; Carlson, Jerold; You, Liangya; Cui, Shangcong; Ma, Guohong; Wang, Lihua (November 1, 2000). "Petrochemical exposure and menstrual disturbances". 212:

The Chinese were among the first civilizations to refine oil. As early as the first century, the Chinese were refining crude oil for use as an energy source. Between 512 and 518, in the late

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Baltrėnas, Pranas; Baltrėnaitė, Edita; Serevičienė, Vaida; Pereira, Paulo (November 2011). "Atmospheric BTEX concentrations in the vicinity of the crude oil refinery of the Baltic region".

2035:. The systematic review did mention that several of the associations were not due to factors directly related to the petroleum industry, rather were related to lifestyle factors such as 3229: 607:

In 2009 through 2010, as revenue streams in the oil business dried up and profitability of oil refineries fell due to lower demand for product and high reserves of supply preceding the

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To ensure both proper separation and environmental protection, a very low sulfur content is necessary in all but the heaviest products. The crude sulfur contaminant is transformed to

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Madani, Ismail M.; Khalfan, Sameer; Khalfan, Hussain; Jidah, Jasim; Nabeel Aladin, M. (April 1, 1992). "Occupational exposure to carbon monoxide during charcoal meat grilling".

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are unlikely in petroleum refineries, as many of the raw materials, waste products, and finished products are hazardous in one form or another (e.g. flammable, carcinogenic).

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Wong, Otto; Raabe, Gerhard K. (May 2000). "Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and Exposure to Benzene in a Multinational Cohort of More Than 308,000 Petroleum Workers, 1937 to 1996".

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subvert these safety mechanisms, and expose workers to a number of chemical (see table above) or physical (described below) hazards. Examples of these scenarios include:

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content of their diesel fuel and home heating fuels to comply with environmental regulations and comply with environmental air pollution and water pollution requirements.

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unit may also produce fractions that can be refined into end products such as spindle oil used in the textile industry, light machine oil, motor oil, and various waxes.

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further distills the residue oil from the bottom of the crude oil distillation unit. The vacuum distillation is performed at a pressure well below atmospheric pressure.

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Storage tanks for storing crude oil and finished products, usually vertical, cylindrical vessels with some sort of vapor emission control and surrounded by an earthen

7308:"Safety and Health Topics | Oil and Gas Extraction – Safety Hazards Associated with Oil and Gas Extraction Activities | Occupational Safety and Health Administration" 7243:"Safety and Health Topics | Oil and Gas Extraction – Safety Hazards Associated with Oil and Gas Extraction Activities | Occupational Safety and Health Administration" 5480: 1722:

providing utilities such as steam, cooling water, and electric power as well as storage tanks for crude oil feedstock and for intermediate products and end products.

6279: 6143: 3945: 2077: 5055: 1912:, a shoreline necklace of refineries, built in the early 20th century before this area was populated, and associated chemical plants are adjacent to urban areas in 1063:, and hydrogen may also be produced as petroleum products. The hydrogen produced is often used as an intermediate product for other oil refinery processes such as 4918: 5318: 5677: 1508:

uses hydrogen to upgrade heavy residual oils from the vacuum distillation unit by thermally cracking them into lighter, more valuable reduced viscosity products.

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Amin, M. S.; Hashem, F. S.; El-Gamal, S. M. A. (July 1, 2012). "Thermal resistance of hardened cement pastes containing vermiculite and expanded vermiculite".

4716: 1502:(FCC) upgrades the heavier, higher-boiling fractions from the crude oil distillation by converting them into lighter and lower boiling, more valuable products. 1625:

into elemental sulfur. The large majority of the 64,000,000 metric tons of sulfur produced worldwide in 2005 was byproduct sulfur from petroleum refining and

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Kane, Russell D. (2006). "Corrosion in Petroleum Refining and Petrochemical Operations". In Cramer, Stephen D.; Covino Bernard S. Jr, Bernard S. (eds.).

3024: 1869: 3644: 860:, and other properties to meet product specifications. Another method for reprocessing and upgrading these intermediate products (residual oils) uses a 800:

Once separated and purified of any contaminants and impurities, the fuel or lubricant can be sold without further processing. Smaller molecules such as

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Heibati, Behzad; Godri Pollitt, Krystal J.; Charati, Jamshid Yazdani; Ducatman, Alan; Shokrzadeh, Mohammad; Karimi, Ali; Mohammadyan, Mahmoud (2018).

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Turk, Rajka; Zavalić, Marija; Bogadi-Šare, Ana (November 1, 2003). "Utility of a routine medical surveillance program with benzene exposed workers".

1256: 7282: 7188: 4118: 2753:(leading to structural failure). Other examples employed in petroleum refineries include the post-construction protection of steel components with 547:

for that growth in technology and in the number and size of refineries worldwide was the growing demand for automotive gasoline and aircraft fuel.

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to regularly evaluate workers' hearing and to promote its protection. Regular evaluation of workers' auditory capacity and faithful use of

1378: 301:". The workshop was one of the world's earliest oil refining factories where thousands of people worked to produce Chinese oil-powered weaponry. 2983:

alloys. These are primarily saved for the most problematic areas where extremely high temperatures and/or very corrosive chemicals are present.

4886: 3441:(2008). "1000 Years of Missing Industrial History". In Emilia Calvo Labarta; Mercè Comes Maymo; Roser Puig Aguilar; Mònica Rius Pinies (eds.). 2749:, pressure/chemical sensors to detect/predict loss of structural integrity, and adequate maintenance of piping to prevent hydrocarbon-induced 1635:

uses steam to remove hydrogen sulfide gas from various wastewater streams for subsequent conversion into end-product sulfur in the Claus unit.

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crude oil without the need of using refined products of crude oil such as naphtha. The crude oil feedstock has typically been processed by an

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Health in the aftermath of a malodorous chemical explosion: Subjective health complaints and post-traumatic stress symptoms among workers

5860:"Biomonitoring-based exposure assessment of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene among workers at petroleum distribution facilities" 3416: 2906: 2894: 2882: 2870: 2858: 2846: 4420: 3886: 3481: 2039:. Evidence for adverse health effects for nearby residents was also weak, with the evidence primarily centering around neighborhoods in 642:. Instead, the hundreds of different hydrocarbon molecules in crude oil are separated in a refinery into components that can be used as 7780: 7360: 6386: 6078: 4991:

Smargiassi, Audrey; Kosatsky, Tom; Hicks, John; Plante, Céline; Armstrong, Ben; Villeneuve, Paul J.; Goudreau, Sophie (April 1, 2009).

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that can be measured to determine exposure. Benzene itself can be measured in the breath, blood, and urine, and metabolites such as

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established America's first oil refinery in Pittsburgh on Seventh Avenue near Grant Street, in 1853. Polish pharmacist and inventor

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to desulfurize naphtha from atmospheric distillation. Naphtha must be desulfurized before sending it to a catalytic reformer unit.

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Walther W. Irion, Otto S. Neuwirth, "Oil Refining" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2005, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim.

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hazard. Safety regulations have resulted in a below-average injury rate for refining industry workers. In a 2018 report by the

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normally accompanies the presence of a refinery. Aside from air pollution impacts there are also wastewater concerns, risks of

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to higher-octane branched molecules for blending into gasoline or feed to alkylation units. Also used to convert linear normal

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Raw or unprocessed crude oil is not generally useful in industrial applications, although "light, sweet" (low viscosity, low

423:, invented, patented and tested on industrial scale the first modern method of liquid extraction for refining crude oil, the 7565: 6716: 5915:

Domingo, José L.; Schuhmacher, Marta; López, Eva (May 1, 2008). "Human health risks of petroleum-contaminated groundwater".

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between corrosive substances and the equipment metals. These can be either a lining of refractory material such as standard

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The first large refinery opened at Ploiești, Romania, in 1856–1857. It was in Ploiesti that, 51 years later, in 1908,

17: 5666: 6115: 4997: 4626: 4545: 4520: 4400: 4370: 4338: 4298: 4264: 4190: 4151: 3562: 3533: 3205: 789:, and a small number of oxygen atoms. The differences in the structure of these molecules account for their varying 478:

was claimed to be the largest oil refinery in the world. For most of the 20th century, the largest refinery was the

6763: 5515: 3539: 5387:"Occupational Exposures in the Oil and Gas Extraction Industry: State of the Science and Research Recommendations" 3847: 2987:

replaced based on the historical information they have collected. This is referred to as preventative management.

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Below is a list of the most common regulations referenced in petroleum refinery safety citations issued by OSHA:

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A party searching for a site to construct a refinery or a chemical plant needs to consider the following issues:

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can even be reprocessed to break a heavy, long-chained oil into a lighter short-chained one, by various forms of

237: 222: 201: 3593: 5815:"Estimation of VOC Emission in Petroleum Refinery ETP and Comparative Analysis with Measured VOC Emission Rate" 3308: 275: 2971:

containing more chromium dealing with more corrosive environments. More expensive materials commonly used are

328:. However, the modern history of the petroleum industry is said to have begun in 1846 when Abraham Gessner of 4685: 3634: 2834: 2772: 2693:(PEL) for an 8-hour work-day. Noise exposures that average greater than 85 dB over an 8-hour require a 1858: 1301: 588: 5481:"33 accidents happened at oil refineries as EPA delayed updating disaster rule, says environmentalist group" 503: 7523:"TABLE 1. Incidence rates of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses by industry and case types, 2017" 7307: 3790: 2725: 2694: 1976: 449: 7836: 7831: 7595: 7274: 7178: 3525: 3059: 2081: 1959: 1795:

Schematic flow diagram of a typical crude oil distillation unit as used in petroleum crude oil refineries

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that are the ingredients for the chemical industry, ranging from polymers and pharmaceuticals, including

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Standard inspection, product sampling, process turnaround, or equipment maintenance/cleaning activities.

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in Jamnagar, India with a combined production capacity of 1,240,000 barrels per day (197,000 m/d).

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columns. In many ways, oil refineries use many different technologies and can be thought of as types of

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Infrastructure should be available for the supply of raw materials and shipment of products to markets.

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unit distills the incoming crude oil into various fractions for further processing in other units. See

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into lighter, more useful products. All of the fractions are processed further in other refining units.

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Oil refineries are large-scale plants, processing about a hundred thousand to several hundred thousand

255:, derived from petroleum that became accessible from natural fields in the region. In the 9th century, 3476: 4941: 4876: 2776: 2713: 2698: 2646: 2355: 2320: 2058: 1913: 1892:

prevent the development of new refineries, and no major refinery has been built in the country since

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failures, this is a potent threat to workers' health. Concerns include both direct injury through a

1349: 1285: 7455:"Safety and Health Topics | Oil and Gas Extraction | Occupational Safety and Health Administration" 5078:"Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Refined Petroleum Solvents (77–192)" 3825: 1499: 1334: 1319: 888: 845: 371: 7242: 7062:

Chen, Jong-Dar; Tsai, Jui-Yuan (2003). "Hearing Loss among Workers at an Oil Refinery in Taiwan".

1718: 7851: 5115:

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part D: Journal of Automobile Engineering

4069:

Shafiq, Iqrash; Shafique, Sumeer; Akhter, Parveen; Yang, Wenshu; Hussain, Murid (June 23, 2020).

4031: 3446: 3079: 3029: 2765: 2704:

While not specific to the industry, oil refinery workers may also be at risk for hazards such as

1672: 1445: 1311: 1083: 907: 428: 351:

Romania was registered as the first country in world oil production statistics, according to the

127: 2808:

Worker health and safety in oil refineries is closely monitored at a national level by both the

1157:, which is used for paving roads, lots, etc. An asphalt unit prepares bulk asphalt for shipment. 856:. The final step in gasoline production is the blending of fuels with different octane ratings, 7152: 3069: 3064: 2228: 2084:(OELs) for many of the chemicals above that workers may be exposed to in petroleum refineries. 2020: 1945: 1626: 1020: 797:, and it is this variety that makes crude oil useful in a broad range of several applications. 445: 3471: 3406: 507: 7856: 7846: 7841: 7826: 4431: 3944:Álvarez, Eloy; Bravo, Manuel; Jiménez, Borja; Mourão, Ana; Schultes, Robert (November 2018). 2992: 2817: 2746: 2231:"on a regular basis". The utility of these tests is supported by formal scientific studies. 1981: 1929: 1865: 1743: 1658: 1428: 872: 359: 294: 40: 7357: 4804: 1553:

to produce high-octane components for gasoline blending. The "alky" unit converts light end

861: 401: 337: 7706: 7424: 7342: 6786: 6653: 6533: 6349: 6217: 5924: 5871: 5764: 4799: 2742: 2224: 1917: 1896: 1881: 1714: 1622: 1505: 1485: 1438:

unit washes out salt from the crude oil before it enters the atmospheric distillation unit.

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with 840,000 bbl/d (134,000 m/d) are the second and third largest, respectively.

441: 363: 213: 151: 147: 88: 51: 7522: 7454: 4028:"U.S. Energy Information Administration > Petroleum > Navigator > Refinery Yield" 1900:

1980s) have closed due to obsolescence and/or merger activity within the industry itself.

8: 7790: 7030: 6785:

Bråtveit, M.; Moen, B. E.; Hollund, B. E.; Lygre, S. H. L.; Tjalvin, G. (April 1, 2015).

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Central nervous system depression, weakness, irritation of the eyes, skin, nose, throat.

2040: 1937: 1933: 1925: 1921: 1905: 1877: 1755: 1468: 1451: 825: 596:

In the 19th century, refineries in the U.S. processed crude oil primarily to recover the

531: 304:

Prior to the nineteenth century, petroleum was known and utilized in various fashions in

190: 7179:"1910.95 – Occupational noise exposure. | Occupational Safety and Health Administration" 6657: 6537: 6221: 6041: 6009: 5977: 5928: 5875: 5768: 5205:"Recent Developments in Application of Artificial Intelligence in Petroleum Engineering" 4560: 3251: 3074: 7406: 7368: 7134: 7087: 7012: 6565: 6452: 6417: 6246: 6203: 5956: 5814: 5796: 5732: 5703: 5630: 5421: 5386: 5204: 5021: 4992: 4680: 2861: 2731: 2340: 2259: 2131: 1754:

There are many process configurations other than that depicted above. For example, the

1101: 1055:-containing molecules, elemental sulfur is also often produced as a petroleum product. 984: 957: 934: 274:

in the 13th century, who described the output of those wells as hundreds of shiploads.

7210: 5628: 3159: 3123: 2909: 2897: 2885: 2873: 2849: 197:, India, with a processing capacity of 1.24 million barrels (197,000 m) per day. 7762: 7752: 7715: 7607: 7410: 7398: 7138: 7126: 7079: 7004: 6996: 6992: 6924: 6916: 6912: 6881: 6873: 6869: 6826: 6818: 6753: 6728: 6720: 6677: 6669: 6665: 6621: 6613: 6557: 6549: 6503: 6495: 6457: 6439: 6328: 6320: 6251: 6233: 5948: 5940: 5887: 5859: 5825: 5788: 5780: 5737: 5426: 5408: 5259: 5224: 5183: 5150: 5132: 5077: 5026: 4961: 4857: 4849: 4722: 4622: 4574: 4561:

Alfke, Gunter; Irion, Walther W.; Neuwirth, Otto S. Neuwirth (2007). "Oil Refining".

4541: 4516: 4396: 4366: 4334: 4304: 4294: 4260: 4256: 4230: 4226: 4186: 4147: 4092: 3965: 3917: 3753: 3696: 3671: 3529: 3450: 3385: 3360: 3201: 3169: 3133: 2705: 2491: 2443: 2433: 2016: 1650: 1610: 1568: 1550: 1493: 1424: 821: 794: 790: 491: 487: 298: 264: 186: 131: 65: 7091: 7016: 6569: 5960: 5800: 5279: 726: 455:

Another close contender for the title of hosting the world's oldest oil refinery is

416: 7642: 7599: 7390: 7118: 7071: 6988: 6908: 6865: 6808: 6798: 6712: 6661: 6605: 6541: 6487: 6447: 6431: 6312: 6241: 6225: 5932: 5879: 5772: 5727: 5717: 5416: 5400: 5216: 5122: 5016: 5006: 4957: 4953: 4841: 4566: 4494: 4082: 4053: 3438: 3412: 2968: 2709: 2631: 2601: 2574: 2552: 2527: 2514: 2504: 2456: 2410: 2345: 2310: 2305: 1941: 1885: 1676: 1618: 1389: 1178: 1154: 1044: 976: 876: 849: 535: 424: 419:, a Romanian chemist of Jewish origin who got his Ph.D. in 1887 by discovering the 174: 7785: 7603: 6350:"OSHA Technical Manual (OTM) | Section IV: Chapter 2 – Petroleum Refining Process" 4570: 4087: 4070: 2728:

can be applied to petroleum refineries and their efforts to ensure worker safety.

220:

introduced the process of refining oil into various lubricants in his famous work

165:

Oil refineries are typically large, sprawling industrial complexes with extensive

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However, there are many less visible hazards that endanger oil refinery workers.

1603:

converts natural gas into hydrogen for the hydrotreaters and/or the hydrocracker.

1600: 1268: 868: 746:

Oil can be used in a variety of ways because it contains hydrocarbons of varying

700: 479: 7810: 7122: 6948: 5629:

Gyoung Taek Kim; Hyun Sik Hwang; Sung Lyong Oh; Byong Mu Kim (January 1, 2010).

5385:

Witter, Roxana Z.; Tenney, Liliana; Clark, Suzanne; Newman, Lee S. (July 2014).

4457: 1690:

to remove unwanted, mainly aromatics from lubricating oil stock or diesel stock.

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stabilizers as required), usually shipped in bulk to an offsite packaging plant.

433: 7646: 6787:"Health complaints after a malodorous chemical explosion: a longitudinal study" 6698: 3313: 2830: 2780: 2656: 2621: 2611: 2584: 2563: 2538: 2028: 1853: 1654: 1638: 1579:

can be dimerized into isooctene which may subsequently be hydrogenated to form

1488:

desulfurizes distillates (such as diesel) after atmospheric distillation. Uses

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