Mines ChE Home | Jechura Home

Class Information
Page Revisions
Lecture Notes
Extra Instructor Notes
Homework Assignments
Special Projects
Quiz Solutions
Safety Topics
Useful External Links

  CHEN409 Petroleum Refining Processes
Instructor
 John Jechura
Class Location
Class Hours		 AH 340
Tue/Thu 5:00 - 6:15 pm
Office Location
Office Hours		 AH 349
Tue/Thu 6:15 - 7:15 pm & by appointment
Phone 303-843-2097 (URS Washington Division)
E-mail Mines e-mail address
Syllabus

Page Revisions
  • November 20, 2009. Posted solution for Homework #8.
  • November 18, 2009. Set due dates for Homework #9, #10, & #11.
  • November 11, 2009. Added solution to Homework #7.
  • November 6, 2009. Added solution to Homework #6. Added slides for use of FCC yield charts.
  • October 18, 2009. Added Homework #6 , #7, & #8. Added solution to Homework #5. Added additional links to crude oil assays in under Refinery Feedstocks & Products in the Lecture Notes section.
  • October 12, 2009. Aspen problem statement posted.
  • October 8, 2009. Added solution to Homework #4.
  • October 2, 2009. Target RVP of problem #3 in Homework #5 modified.
  • September 29, 2009. Added Crude Tower Products slides & spreadsheet. Added presentation material from Keith Zink, BP.
  • September 28, 2009. Posted Homework #4 & #5 and solution for Homework #3.
  • September 14, 2009. Further instructions on how to use the interpolation macros.
  • September 9, 2009. Added solution to Homework #2. Adjusted due date for Homework #3.
  • September 7, 2009. Added expanded example (with corrected mid-increment temperatures) for analyzing Assay #2 in Lecture Notes section. Added summary of instructions to import a macro into Excel.
  • September 4, 2009. Added solution to Homework #1.
  • August 26, 2009. Added external links for safety related web sites.
  • August 23, 2009. Slides updated for 2009 class. Homework #1 posted.
Class notes (associated chapters in text)

Introduction
Refinery Feedstocks & Products (Chapters 2 & 3)
Crude Oil Distillation (Chapter 4)
Bottom of the Barrel Processing: Coking & Thermal Processes, Hydroprocessing, & Solvent Deasphalting (Chapters 5 & 8)
Catalytic Cracking (Chapter 6)
Hydrocracking & Hydrotreating (Chapters 7 & 9)

Gasoline Finishing: Reforming, Isomerization, & Alkylation (Chapters 10 & 11)
 Supporting Processes (Chapter 13)

 Economics & Planning – Optimization (Chapters 12 & 14)
  • Sample spreadsheet
Alternative & Biofuels

Summary of refinery operations

 Extra instructor notes

Guest presentation by Keith Zink, BP, BP Refining Opportunities

Useful VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) code (notes for downloading ):
The use of the VBA code is potentially limited depending upon which version of Microsoft Excel one is using.

Calculation of Physical Properties from Properties of Petroleum Fractions

Pure component data (spreadsheet)

Fundamental Conversion Factors

Modeling petroleum systems with Aspen Plus®:
Homework Assignments

Due Date & Link to Problem Statement Topic & Link to Solution
#1 Tuesday, September 1 Chemical Species in Petroleum Fractions
#2 Tuesday, September 8 Crude Oil Assay
#3 Tuesday, September 15 Crude Oil Assay
#4 Tuesday, October 6 Blend crude oils
#5 Thursday, October 8 Gasoline Blending & Properties
#6 Tuesday, November 3 Thursday, November 5th Delayed Coking
#7 Thursday, November 5 Tuesday, November 10th FCCU
#8 Thursday, November 12 Tuesday, November 17th Combined FCCU & Delayed Coking
#9 Tuesday, November 24th Hydroprocessing
#10 Thursday, December 3rd Reforming & Alkylation
#11 Tuesday, December 8th Blending & Optimization

Special Projects

Problem statement. Due Friday, November 13, 2009.

Quizzes
Quiz Date Topic & Link to Solution
#1 September 1, 2009 Crack Spread Calculations
#2 September 10, 2009 Working with assays
#3 November 5, 2009 Blend calculations
#4 November 17, 2009 Coker calculations
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
#10

Return to Top
Safety Topics
Date Presenter Topic
August 27 1. Jamie Thorpe Avoiding the Flu: 3 Steps to Stay Healthy
September 1 2. Chris Peters Pipeline Pigging
September 3 3. Jeremy Cimini Personal Protective Equipment (PPE’s) for Industrial ‘Flash’ Fires
September 8 4. Fan Zhang Impaired Driving
September 10 5. Bridget Peters
6. Lauren Zemp		 Proper on-site safety apparel
Field Operator Safety - Sample Collection
September 15 Keith Zink (Guest) Coker Safety
September 29 7. Joanna Haag
 Dangers of Gas Cylinders
October 1 8. Spencer Nelson Hurricane Safety
October 6 9. Peter Trask Food Safety -- Botulism
October 8 10. Lisa Loechel Winter Driving
October 22 11. Zachary Ward
12. Celina Barajas		 Dangers of Natural Gas Hydrate Plugs
Heat & Cold Stress
October 27 13. Amanda Prebarich
14. Susan Steblay		 Seat Belt Safety
Understanding the MSDS Labeling System
November  3 15. Brian Gerlach
16. Sally Moriarty		 Confined Space Entries
Detecting & Preventing Natural Gas Leaks at Home
November 5 17. Alex Hermes
18. David Grabowski		 Tire Safety
Ergonomics
November  10 19. Anthony Chau
20. Craig Melton		 Stairway Safety
H2S safety
November  12 21. Aaron Gremmer
22. Michael Eyser		 International Travel
Electrical Fires 
November  17 23. Dana Lipfert
24. Huy Duc		 Opening boxes with box cutters
Driving Safety
November  19 25. David Rogers
26. Cody Willingham
27. Chris Gardner		 Carcinogens
Hunter Safety
Standard Operating Procedures
November  24 28. Haroun OMar
29. Abdullah Alshawaf
30.Jason Kauggman		 Nightclub safety
Heart attacks
Bicycle safety
December 1 31.
32. Zack Mills
33. Helen Park
Motorcycle Safety
Eye Safety
December 3 34.
35.
December 8 36.
37. Dan Lescanec 
Avalanche saftey
December 10

Return to Top

Useful External Links
Crude Oil, Gasoline, & Heating Oil Prices (Current, Opening, & Last Day):
Retail Gasoline Prices:
 		Petroleum Technology Companies:
Petroleum Companies:
Industry Groups:
Industry News Service:

 		U.S. Department of Energy:

Environmental Protection Agency:
 California Energy Commission:
Safety Related Sites: