Distillation is a process that is widely used in the chemical industry, as well as in other industries. Let us consider this process in more detail, taking oil refining as a basis. It is a mixture of various hydrocarbons, which, in turn, are used in many areas of modern chemical production.
Interesting Facts
Distillation is a chemical process that occurs at elevated temperatures. Scientists believe that oil is the remains of plants and animals that inhabited our planet millions of years ago. Thanks to processing, one can count on obtaining important raw materials for the national economy.
Distillation is the ability to isolate a variety of substances from the starting compound. For example, it is relevant for obtaining different types of fuel by distillation of oil. The variety of products that can be obtained indicates the importance and importance of processing on an industrial scale.
Modern tendencies
Gradually, coal mining and its processing receded into the background, giving way to oil and gas. This was the incentive for the creation of chemical technology that allows the processing of this natural raw material. How is the separation of various organic substances from the feedstock?
Is distillation a chemical process or a physical process? Let's try to understand this issue, identify its features.
The oil distillation process is carried out to obtain a high-quality (pure) product. At the first stage, desalination, followed by dehydration on the apparatus. This period ends with an oil content of 2-3 mg per 1 liter.
When the temperature changes, liquid hydrocarbons are removed. After the project begins to boil, reactions are carried out to isolate certain fractions. The temperature depends on the quantitative composition (hydrocarbons). For this indicator distinguish:
- gasoline (recommended temperature is 180 degrees);
- jet fuel (temperature range 190-230 degrees);
- diesel fuel.
After completion of the oil distillation process, fuel oil appears, which is used in industrial sectors for maintenance and repair of mechanisms.
Primary processing leads to the production of various components.
In many cases, primary processing involves additional cleaning and filtering of the resulting components. The remaining mixture contains a lot of other hydrocarbons, which also need to be allocated.
Getting a pure product
Distillation is an important process in chemistry, because it is with its help that one can obtain many organic compounds. Modern equipment and full automation of the process make it possible to talk about various ways of obtaining a variety of products from natural raw materials. Distillation is a multi-stage process that involves several variations:
- equilibrium distillation (single evaporation technique) involves the gradual heating of the product upon the appearance of steam, its subsequent decomposition into separate components;
- rectification;
- fractional distillation.
Distillation is considered the most popular, since the yield of products is much greater than with ordinary evaporation. During fractional distillation, at the first stage, it is possible to obtain fuel and components using raw materials without additional purification.
To summarize
The first technological process of oil refining is considered to be its primary distillation. Similar facilities are currently operating at every refinery. Direct distillation is based on various boiling points of hydrocarbons that are similar in physical properties.
The mixture is heated to a boil (partial evaporation is possible). The result is a residue and distillate that differ in composition from the initial mixture. On modern devices designed for oil distillation, a single evaporation is used.
It allows you to remove low-boiling fractions, and after reducing the partial pressure, the remaining fractions are removed. Since distillation is impossible to obtain final products that boil only at specific intervals, rectification of oil vapors occurs after a single evaporation.