Crude Distillation Unit Operations and Troubleshooting

Overview

The crude distillation unit is the first and largest unit in a refinery, and its performance sets limits for everything downstream. Poor fractionation, fouled preheat trains or unstable desalters quickly translate into lost yields, off-specification products and higher energy use. This course gives operators and engineers a detailed, practical understanding of how atmospheric and vacuum distillation units work and how to run them well. It covers crude characterisation, desalting, the preheat train and fired heater, column internals, pumparounds and side strippers, overhead systems and corrosion control, and the vacuum unit with its ejector system. Participants then learn to read column profiles, recognise flooding, weeping and entrainment, and diagnose common problems. The final day focuses on optimisation and safe start-up and shutdown.

Objectives

• Explain crude characterisation and its impact on distillation
• Describe the operation of desalters, preheat trains and fired heaters
• Explain column internals, pumparounds and side strippers
• Control product cut points and fractionation quality
• Diagnose flooding, weeping, entrainment and other column problems
• Manage overhead corrosion and fouling
• Optimise atmospheric and vacuum unit performance safely

Who should attend

Training methodology

The course uses detailed process flow diagrams, column profiles and operating data from working units. Participants calculate yields from crude assays, analyse temperature and pressure profiles to locate problems, and work through troubleshooting scenarios drawn from real incidents, such as desalter upsets, tray damage and overhead corrosion. Where available, a dynamic simulator is used to show how variables interact. Discussions draw on participants' own operating experience, and an assessment closes the course.

Programme outline

Dates and fees

Fees are in GBP. per delegate.

Certificate

Frequently asked questions