Petroleum refining is the separation of petroleum into fractions
and the subsequent treating of these fractions to yield marketable
products.
A refinery is essentially a group of manufacturing plants which
vary in number with the variety of products produced. Refinery
processes must be selected an d pro ducts manufactured to give a
balanced operation in which petroleum is converted into a variety
of products in amounts that are in accord with the demand for
each.
As the basic elements of crude oil, hydrogen and carbon form the
main input into a refinery, combining into thousands of individual
constituents, and the economic recovery of these constituents
varies with the individual petroleum according to its particular
individual qualities, and the processing facilities of a particular
refinery.
Table 1: History of Petroleum Refining ProcessesContd. Next
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