Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

Diyala university- collage of Engineering

Chemical Engineering Department

Fourth Stage

Petroleum Refinery

Report about:-

Product Blending, Reid Vapor Pressure

Preparation:-

Zainab AbdAlhadi

Supervision:-

Dr. Ahmed Abass

0202
Table of content:-

Product Blending

1.1:-Introduction.

1.2:-Propose of product blending .

1.3:- product Blending technology.

Reid Vapor Pressure

1.4:-introduction

1.5:- Important of Reid Vapor Pressure .

1.6:- Advantages of RVP.

1.7:- THE ALGORITHM of RVP.

1.8:-APPLICATION EXAMPLES of RVP.

product Blending

1.1:-Introduction:-

Refining processes do not generally produce commercially usable products directly, but rather
semi-finished products which must be blended in order to meet the specifications of the
demanded products. The main purpose of product blending is to find the best way of mixing
different intermediate products available from the refinery and some additives in order to adjust
the product specifications. For example, gasoline is produced by blending a number of
components that include alkylate, reformate, FCC gasoline and an oxygenated additive such as
methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) to increase the octane number. Product blending is an
important technique used in the refining industry. It is the final stage in the conversion of crude
oil into useful fuels. The blender mixes together several streams from various process units to
provide fuel that meets government, international or customer specifications. Due to the fact
that is the final stage in a refinery process, the optimization of this process is vital. Regardless of
how efficient the upstream process units may be, this can be negated if poorly optimized
blending produces a substandard fuel. In many respects it is the most important process to
optimize and can also bring the maximum benefits in terms of payback .

Product blending is an important process in petroleum refining as refining processes do not

generally produce commercially usable products directly, but rather semi-finished products
which must be blended to meet the specifications of the demanded products. This chapter
discusses product blending, the main purpose of which is to find the best way of mixing different
intermediate products available from the refinery and some additives to adjust the product
specifications. The final quality of the finished products is always checked by laboratory tests
before market distribution. Gasoline’s are tested for octane number, Reid vapor pressure (RVP)
and volatility. Kerosene are tested for flash point and volatility. Gas oils are tested for diesel
index, flash point, pour point and viscosity. Product qualities are predicted through correlations
that depend on the quantities and the properties of the blended components. In the discussion,
various mixing rules along with correlations are used to estimate the blend properties such as
specific gravity, RVP, viscosity, flash point, pour point, cloud point and aniline point. The octane
number for gasoline is correlated with corrections based on aromatic and olefin content.
1.2:-Propose of product blending

There are few traditional solutions for pipeline security which are based on acoustic, pressure,
flow rate and other statistic methods of protection. However, these methods efficient only for
short period until integrated methods are studied and successfully bypassed by 3rd party
unauthorized persons. For example, acoustic or flow based systems allows real time passive
detection and surface localization of 3rd party unauthorized interruption, providing effective
alarm to the security forces or maintenance crews. Although detection enables real time and
high accuracy location anywhere along the pipes as well in the perimeter surrounding the pipes
most of such alarms, during the first time after system integration, are done intentionally by fuel
theft in order to create and define false data bank which later on will not respond to the real
theft event.

New concept which is currently implemented in countries that suffer from fuel theft is “Terminal
Blending Concept” which allows to perform final blending on terminals itself and by this prevent
unreasonable theft from the pipeline. Due to the fact that terminals are limited with their
abilities to perform complete blending of the final products, pre-final products are delivered by
pipeline to the terminals and perform final product blending at real time (by adding additives).

Pre-final product blending is directly related to the in-line blending, which is performed at each
refinery. Pre-final product of blended gasoline contains a broad variety of different process
streams, such as raw naphtha from the CDU, Naphtha from the FCC, Reformate, Isomerize,
Alkylate, LPG, etc. Process streams of various composition are blended with a ratio that directly
mixes these in gasoline bearing the required physical properties.

Octane boosters and additives such as MTBE, TAME, MMA, etc. are not included in the pre-
lender product and shall be added directly at fuel terminals prior to their dispatch to the
consumer markets.

Pre-final product which is transferred by pipeline to the fuel terminal becomes theft prevented,
due to the fact that these are not of the required quality therefor, has no economic value to the
thief. In order to prevent phenomenon of pre-final products theft for later on self-blending on
illegal small refineries, final products blended on terminals are locally marked. Product market
allows authorities to control and prevent illegal distribution of unauthorized quality and source
product. Legal fuels are marked with a dedicated marker that cannot be imitated or washed
out and can only be detected with a dedicated analyzer to enable legal prosecution by law
enforcement agencies.
1.3:- product Blending technology.

Blending technology applied at the fuel terminals is identical to that at the refineries except the
fact. it contain much less streams for blend and requires no on-line optimization software. It
consists of static blender with dosing control unit to be operated for 2-3 streams: pre-final
product, octane booster and additives if required. The heart of fuel terminal blending system is
analytical unit which usually includes process NIR analyzer used for online analysis and control
of final products quality, which is necessary for octane booster and additives dosing control.

Product blending plays a key role in preparing the refinery products for the market to satisfy the
product specifications and environmental regulations. The objective of product blending is to
assign all available blend components to satisfy the product demand and specifications to
minimize cost and maximize overall profit. Almost all refinery products are blended for the
optimal use of all of the intermediate product streams for the most efficient and profitable
conversion of petroleum to marketable products. For example, typical motor gasoline may
consist of straight-run naphtha from distillation, crackate (from FCC), reformate, alkylate,
isomerize, and polymerate, in proportions to make the desired grades of gasoline and the
specifications.

Basic intermediate streams can be blended into different finished products. For example,
naphtha’s can be blended into gasoline, or jet fuel streams, depending on the demand. Until the
1960s, the blending was performed in batch operations. With computerization and the
availability of the required equipment, online blending operations have replaced blending in
batch processes. Keeping inventories of the blending stocks along with cost and physical data
has increased the flexibility of and profits from online blending through optimization programs.
In most cases, the components blend nonlinearly for a given property (e.g., vapor pressure,
octane number, cetane number, viscosity, pour point), and correlations and programming are
required for reliable predictions of the specified properties in the blends .
Reid Vapor Pressure

1.4:- introduction

Reid Vapor Pressure is a common measure of the volatility of gasoline. It is defined as the
absolute vapor pressure exerted by a liquid at 100°F (37.8°C) as determined by the test method
ASTM D323. The test method applies to volatile crude oil and volatile no viscous petroleum
liquids, except liquefied petroleum gases

New restrictions on vaporization loss of petroleum products give added emphasis to the
measurement of vapor pressure for petroleum fractions and their blends. The common method
for measuring vapor pressure is the Reid vapor pressure (RVP) test. Now an algorithm is
available to calculate RVP without performing the actual test.

The algorithm, based on an air- and water-free model, uses the Gas Processors Association
Soave-RedlichKwong equation of state and assumes liquid and gas volumes are additive. Since
the calculations are iterative, they are incorporated into a general-purpose process simulator to
compare predicted values with experimental data. Good agreement is found between predicted
and experimental values. Furthermore, the algorithm is fast and can be used to predict RVP of
any hydrocarbon mixture of known composition.

is a common measure of the volatility of gasoline. It is defined as the absolute vapor pressure
exerted by a liquid at 100 °F (37.8 °C) as determined by the test method ASTM-D-323. The test
method applies to vapor pressure of gasoline, volatile crude oil, and other volatile petroleum
products, except liquefied petroleum gases. RVP is stated in units of psi but would be more
correct to be stated as psig as ASTM-D-323 is measuring the gauge pressure of the sample in a
non-evacuated chamber.

Invented in 1927 because true vapor pressure could not be measured in the field. ASTM D-323
issued in 1930. Intended to be used as standard, applicable anywhere regardless of ambient
conditions or altitude .
atmosphere is simply stated as “zero”.

since a portion of the liquid has been vaporized to fill the vapor space, the liquid has lost some
of the lighter components. This effectively changes the composition of the liquid and thus yields
a slightly lower vapor pressure than the true vapor pressure of the liquid in its original
composition. The RVP of a mixture, then, is slightly lower than the true vapor pressure of the
mixture at 100 °F (37.8 °C). The GPSA gives the approximate true vapor pressure for gasoline
and crude oils from their RVP at various temperatures.
Despite the inaccuracy of RVP measurement, it is used to specify volatility limits for crude oils in
sales contracts. Crude stabilization systems can be designed to meet RVP requirements because
the RVP of a mixture is always less than the true vapor pressure at 100 °F (37.8 °C). Therefore,
the separation in the stabilizer should be designed to yield a mixture with a true vapor pressure
at 100 °F (37.8 °C) equal to the RVP requirement. This will yield a bottom product with an RVP
slightly below the required RVP. Typical RVP requirements for crude sales range from 10 to 12
psi (70 to 82 kPa.) RVP.

1.5:- Important of Reid Vapor Pressure .

he matter of vapor pressure is important relating to the function and operation of gasoline-
powered, especially carbureted, vehicles and is also important for many other reasons. ... Thus,
oil refineries manipulate the Reid Vapor Pressure seasonally specifically to maintain gasoline
engine reliability.

1.6:- Advantages of RVP.

Direct REID vapor pressure measurement.

Perfectly suited for testing crude oil .
Fully traceable, documented test results.
Two independent measurement positions .
Robust design requires little or no maintenance .
Automation reduces operator involvement.
Small foot print, quick warm-up, precise measurement .
User-friendly Windows interface.

1.7:- THE ALGORITHM of RVP.

The results from earlier investigators are reviewed in a later section. Their work helped define
the relations incorporated in the new algorithm. The iterative procedure calculates the vapor
pressure of a liquid fraction for the conditions specified by the RVP test, namely, original sample
at 35oF, pressure test started at 60oF, equilibrium vapor/liquid volume of 4 (i.e., V/L = n = 4),
and final equilibrium pressure measured at 100oF. The algorithm uses the following steps:

Step 1. Calculate the molecular weight of the sample mixture

Step 2. Evaluate the density of the sample at T = 35, 60, and 100oF. Compute the liquid
expansion of the sample using n = 4:
Step 3. Make a flash calculation at 100oF. For the first calculation, assume an initial ratio of the
equilibrium liquid L and feed liquid F so that L/F = 0.97.

Step 4. Using the values from step 3, calculate a new L/F with the equation

Step 5. Use the value of L/F from step 4 to recalculate the flash from step 3 and a new value of
L/F from step 4. In most cases, the assumed and calculated values agree within the specified
criterion within less than five iterations.

Step 6. The RVP is the flash pressure for the value of L/F obtained by iteration

The foregoing algorithm is implemented in a simulation package called PROSIM , which also
includes unit operations, such as distillation, absorption, heat transfer, compression, controllers,
recycling, and the capability of defining hypothetical components to represent oil fractions or
single pseudo components.

Reid vapor pressure (RVP) is a common measure of the volatility of gasoline and other
petroleum products. It is defined as the absolute vapor pressure exerted by the vapor of the
liquid and any dissolved gases/moisture at 37.8 °C (100 °F) as determined by the test method
ASTM-D-323, which was first developed in 1939 and has been revised several times (the latest
version is ASTM D323-15a). The test method measures the vapor pressure of gasoline, volatile
crude oil, jet fuels, naphtha, and other volatile petroleum products but is not applicable for
liquefied petroleum gases] ASTM D323-15a requires that the sample be chilled to 0-1 degrees
Celsius and then poured into the apparatus, for any material that solidifies at this temperature,
this step cannot be performed. RVP is commonly reported in kilopascals or pounds per square
inch and represents vitalization at atmospheric pressure because ASTM-D-323 measures the
gauge pressure of the sample in a non-evacuated chamber .The matter of vapor pressure is
important relating to the function and operation of gasoline-powered, especially carbureted,
vehicles and is also important for many other reasons. High levels of vaporization are desirable
for winter starting and operation and lower levels are desirable in avoiding vapor lock during
summer heat. Fuel cannot be pumped when there is vapor in the fuel line (summer) and winter
starting will be more difficult when liquid gasoline in the combustion chambers has not
vaporized. Thus, oil refineries manipulate the Reid Vapor Pressure seasonally specifically to
maintain gasoline engine reliability. The Reid vapor pressure (RVP) can differ substantially from
the true vapor pressure (TVP) of a liquid mixture, since RVP is the vapor pressure measured at
37.8 °C (100 °F) and the TVP is a function of the temperature, RVP is defined as being measured
at a vapor-to-liquid ratio of 4:1, whereas the TVP of mixtures can depend on the actual vapor-
to-liquid ratio; RVP will include the pressure associated with the presence of dissolved water and
air in the sample (which is excluded by some but not all definitions of TVP); and the RVP method
is applied to a sample which has had the opportunity to volatize somewhat prior to
measurement: .e., the sample container is required to be only 70-80% full of liquid (so that
whatever volatizes into the container headspace is lost prior to analysis); the sample then again
volatizes into the headspace of the D323 test chamber before it is heated to 37.8 degrees
Celsius.

1.8:-APPLICATION EXAMPLES of RVP.

Examples 1:- Precision Scientific supplies a bulletin concerning their Reid vapor pressure automatic
apparatus Model RVP100 showing the RVP value for several samples measured with different apparatus.
Their data were obtained from EPA, Michigan. For a pure component the RVP is equivalent to true vapor
pressure at 100oF. Table 1 shows the values reported by Precision Scientific and the values given by the
current algorithm for five compounds.

Example2:- Bardon and Rao give ASTM distillation curves and RVP values for three gasoline examples, a
low and a high volatility and indolene. Table 2 shows the RVP values reported by Bardon and Rao
compared with those obtained by the current algorithm. The values for the true vapor pressure and the
liquid fraction of the flash at 100oF that satisfy the convergence criterion of the algorithm are also
shown. Table 3 shows the ASTM distillation data for the indolene sample given in the article [13]. The
results show the method predicts RVP values very accurately, and considering that an equation of state
is used to predict the vapor-liquid equilibrium, this procedure can be applied to any sample (with any
number of components) of known composition.
Reference:-

1- https://www.bartec.de/ProdCatalogue/Assets/Datasheets/lng_0/P-700-RVP_1E.pdf
2- https://ceng.tu.edu.iq/ched/images/lectures/chem-lec/st4/c2/lec.26.pdf

3- https://library.e.abb.com/public/217a2b434b18e1ae8525717200686845/Blending
FTPA2000_Flyer_HPI PS Jan 2006.pdf

4- https://www.co2conference.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/2-Prim-2017-Reid-Vapor-Pressure-
and-NGL-Blending.pdf

5- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1081/LFT-20009686225

6- https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/reid-vapour-pressure