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Crude Distillation Curves

Crude Oil Distillation Curves

Types of distillation curves:
1. TBP (True Boiling Point) distillation curve.

2. ASTM (D86/D1160) distillation curve.

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3. EFV (Equilibrium Flash Vaporization)

TBP Curve: is the most useful.
- However, no standard test exists for measuring the TBP.
- Most common TBP test is Hempel& D-285.
(Neither specifies # of stages or reflex ratio used).
- Trend is toward 15/5 distillation (D-2892).
ASTM Curve: is more common because it is simple to
determine in the laboratory.
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TBP/ASTM distillation curves:are the most important

characterization properties of the crude/intermediate/product
streams.
Both TBP, ASTM distillation curves are measured at 1 atm
pressure. In both these cases, the boiling points of various
volume fractions are being measured.
The basic difference between TBP curve and ASTM
distillation curve is that while TBP curve is measured using
batch distillation apparatus consisting of no less than 100 trays
and very high reflux ratio, the ASTM distillation is measured in
a single stage apparatus without any reflux.
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Therefore, the ASTM does not indicate a good separation of

various components.

Construction of the TBP & API Curves:

When a refining company evaluates its own crude oils to
determine the most desirable processing sequence to obtain the
required products, its own laboratories will provide data
concerning the distillation and processing of the oil and its
fractions.
In many cases, information not readily available is desired
concerning the processing qualities of crude oils. In such
instances, true boiling point (TBP) and gravity-midpercent
curves can be developed from U.S. Bureau of Mines crude
petroleum analysis data sheets (Fig. 3.5).
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The major deficiency in a Bureau of Mines assay is the lack

of information concerning the low-boiling components.
The Bureau of Mines analysis is reported in two parts:
1- The first is the portion of the distillation performed at
atmospheric pressure and up to 527°F (275°C) end point.
2- The second at 40 mm Hg total pressure to 572°F (300°C)
end point.
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The distillation temperatures reported in the analysis must be

corrected to 760 mm Hg pressure using charts developed by
Esso Research and Engineering Company (Figure 3.6).

Figure 3.6 Boiling point at 760 mmHg versus boiling point at

40 mmHg.
The 572°F (300°C) end point at 40 mmHg pressure corresponds
to 790°F(421°C) at 760 mmHg.
Estimatesof the shape of the TBP curve above 790°F (421°C)
can be obtained byplotting the distillation temperature versus
percentage distilled on probabilitygraph paper and extrapolating
to 1100°F (593°C). (See Fig. 3.7.) The datapoints above 790°F
(421°C) can be transferred to the TBP curve.
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Figure 3.7 Crude distillation curve

The gravity mid-percent curve is plotted on the same chart with
the TBPcurve. The gravity should be plotted on the average
volume percent of the fraction,as the gravity is the average of
the gravities from the first to the last dropsin the fraction (Figure
3.8).
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Benchmark Oils
Benchmark oils are used as references when pricing oils.
There are approximately 161 different benchmark oils, of which
the main three West Texas Intermediate, Brent Crude, and
Dubai Crude. Crude oil is the most actively traded commodity
and is bought and sold in “contracts.” A contract trades in units
of 1,000 barrels of oil and benchmarks help to determine the
price of a barrel of oil in a contract.
►West Texas Intermediate (WTI)
WTI is probably the most famous of the bench mark oils. It is a
light, sweet crude with an API gravity of 39.6 degrees. That
gives it a specific gravity of 0.827, which means that at 60
degrees Fahrenheit, WTI is only 8/10 as heavy as water. It
contains 0.24% sulfur and is refined in the Midwest. It comes
from the Southwestern United States.
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The production of WTI crude oil is on the decline. WTI

commands a premium of about a $5 - $6 per-barrel over the
OPEC Basket price and about $1 - $2 per - barrel over Brent.
►Brent Crude
Brent is actually a combination of crude oil from 15 different
oil fields in the Brent and North Sea areas.
Brent Crude, named after a goose, comes from the North Sea.
It is a light, sweet crude with an API gravity of 38.06 and a
specific gravity of 0.835, making it slightly “heavier” than West
Texas Intermediate. The sulfur content is 0.37%. The price of
Brent Crude is used to set prices for roughly 2/3 of the world’s
oil. It is mostly refined in Northwest Europe and is also called
Brent Blend, London Brent, and Brent petroleum. The Brent
field is located in the East Shetland Basin, halfway between
Scotland and Norway. Prices for other crude oils are generally
priced as a differential to Brent, i.e., Brent +/ -.
Brent crude is generally priced at about $3 - $4 per-barrel
premium to the OPEC Basket price and about a $1- $2 / barrel
discount to WTI.
►Dubai Crude
Dubai Crude is light and sour, with an API gravity of 31
degrees and a specific gravity of 0.871. Its sulfur content is 2%,
making it 6 times more sour than Brent Crude and 8 times more
sour than West Texas Intermediate. Dubai Crude is also known
as Fateh.
►OPEC Reference Basket (ORB)
This is not specific crude, but rather is a weighted average of
petroleum that comes from OPEC countries. There are currently
11 different oils combined into the ORB. It averages an
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APIgravity, with the present combination, of 32.7 degrees and

has a sulfur content of 1.77%. It was recently changed to reflect
the average quality of crude oil in OPEC Member Countries.
The change decreased the API and increased the sulfur content
of the basket.
►Minas: Also referred to as Sumatran Light and comes from
the island of Sumatra. It is a light, sweet crude. The API gravity
is approximately 35 and the specific gravity is 0.8498. It has a
sulfur content of only 0.08%. It is produced at a rate of
approximately 420,000 barrels per day.
►Tapis: Often referred to as the “World’s Costliest Oil” and
comes from a single field in Malaysia. Its value comes from the
fact that WTI and Brent Crude are difficult and expensive to
export to Asia and because it is of extremely high quality.
Tapis has an API gravity of 45.2 degrees and a sulfur content of
0.0343%. These are exceptional numbers, indicating that Tapis
is very light and very sweet. Unfortunately, output from the
Tapis field has been falling steadily since 1998.
►Russian Export Blend
This type of oil has been the standard for Russian crude oil.
This is also a perfect example of sour oil because of its high
amount of sulfur. Russian expert blend oil is heavily exported to
Italy and Netherlands
►Bonny Light
Bonny light comes from Nigeria and is a light, sweet oil. It has
an API gravity of 32.9 and a sulfur content of 0.16%.
►Isthmus-34 Light
This is a sour crude with and API gravity of 33.74 degrees and
a sulfur content of 1.45%. It is produced in Mexico. Though
Mexico is not a part of OPEC, this oil was once part of the
OPEC Reference Basket. It was removed in from the ORB when
it was changed in 2005.
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