Chemical & Petroleum Engineering

School of Engineering and Physical Sciences

PROCESS INDUSTRIES A
SITE VISIT REPORT
COVER SHEET
Name: Arzu Gafarov H00177248
Date of Visit: 22 February 2014
Special Topic: Control and nstrumentation
Report Marker: Dr Goodwin
Date of Submission: 27/02/2014

Contents
1. Synopsis.......................................................2
2. Introduction.................................................2
3. Overview of the Site......................................3
3.1...................................................Distillation
3
3.2....................................................Separator
3
3.3.................................................Compressor
3
3.4...............................................Control room
3
4. Special topic- Control and nstrumentation.....4
5. Conclusion....................................................5
6. References...................................................5

1.Synopsis
The purpose of this report is to give some information about
scientific and technical topics. The report generally cover
special topic "Control and Instrumentation" which is given for
each student differently. However there are also some
information about chemical processes and devices which are
used on refining of oil, such as distillation, separation,
compression and control systems. Firstly there are given
information about Azerneftyag Oil Refinery where these all
information base on the visit to there.

2.Introduction
Azerneftyag Oil Refinery carries out its activity over the 130
years. In the end of the XIX century, in the Russian empire this
refinery was called as "oil king". In 1981, name of the refinery
was changed to "Azerneftyag", and in 1994 on the basis of
plant was founded "Azerneftyag" JV. Since March 2003 the
enterprise is operating as Baku oil refinery plant "Azerneftyag".
The plan of restoration of oil processing and production sector
in Azerbaijan was approved by Heydar Aliyev in 1970s.
Azerneftyag oil refinery is owned and operated by State Oil
Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR and other products
are included to The products which The Azerneftyag Oil
Refinerys produce are lubricants, kerosene, naphtha, heating
fuel. In the refinery NOAVT 2305 called devise is located. The
amount of water, salt and gases from the oil is decreased via
this device. The device has other functions too such as
separating some gases from the oil, such as CO, H 2S, N, etc.
Some of these gasses are used for some purposes as heating
on the other operations and the other part of the gases is
burned.
Construction of important devices called ELOU-AVT-6 and
ELOU-AVT-2 caused increasing of oil products that follow
international standard and creating more eco-friendly system.

Product
Bitumen
Diesel distillates
Industrial oil
Other oils
Gasoline
Transformer oil
Turbine oil
Kerosene

Mass ( 103 tonnes)

253.1
620.6
31.8
41.4
232.7
15.3
8.2
182.3

3.Overview of the Site

At Oil Refinery Plants efficiency of oil products depends on
generally the plant's facilities as all plants. Therefore the
machines were replaced with new ones over certain years
periodically for doing some processes more efficiently such as
distillation, compression and separation. So the all common
acts are applied at Baku Oil Refinery too.
3.1. Distillation
Distillation is used to separate mixtures of liquids by using
differences between boiling points of the different components.
Two types of distillation columns can be observed in
Azerneftyag Oil Refinery; ELOU-AVT-2 and ELOU-AVT-6.
Height of distillation columns and diameter is 80m and 6m
respectively, and the shapes of all distillers are cylindrical.
3.2.

Separator

They are used for separating the oil from the water, and
then oil is retained safely until it is removed. They are installed
for containing oil leaks from vehicles and plant and accidental
spillages. Oil separators need to be correctly designed,
installed and maintained for being more effective. However
there is not any separator in Azerneftyag.
3.3. Compressor
Compressors are used to increase the pressure of a fluid.
There is no big difference between compressors in Azerneftyag
and Baku Oil Refinery. There are two main compressors-

hydrogen and air compressors in Azerneftyag.

The first
3
compressor has 11 m height and 80 m capacity. Maximum
allowable temperature of this compressor is 170 o C. if the
temperature became more than it, compressor automatically
stops functioning. Second compressor is performing with the
rate of 130,000 m3/hour. Both compressors need electric for
work.
3.4.

Control room

Operations control Centre is a room where facilities and

processes are monitored by cameras and computers. So it play
main role for keeping danger away from workers and machines
of plant. Both Azerneftyag and Baku Oil Refinery are using
same software- CCS and Experian PKS. The control room in
Azerneftyag is situated 40 meters from main plant

4.Special topic- Control and nstrumentation

A host of control rooms are present on the refinery and all
the relevant information is gathered by computers. However,
the information is mostly related to the problems which occur
on distillation columns, separators, heat exchangers, pumps
and compressors. There is much instrumentation found on the
apparatuses, such as flow meters, level meters, temperature
indicators, pressure indicators and so forth.
Flow meter - is an instrument used to measure linear,
nonlinear, mass or volumetric flow rate of a liquid or a gas. The
measurement of petrol is carried out in an oil refinery at the
time when the refilled liquid leaves the refinery. Since the
refined oil is a volatile liquid, it is important to know how much
oil is being transported at each measurement site along the
pipeline. Similar requirement applies to natural gas as well.
Level meter- The petroleum, natural gas, and
petrochemical industries place high requirements on level
measurement. The petroleum and gas industry is a significant
sphere where level meters experience high growth over recent
years. Considering the fact that some oil-producing countries
enhance the industrial technologies of extracting and
transporting oil, some new high-end level meters will have a
wider application in this sphere. The trouble with a
considerable number of technologies is that they are installed
through a nozzle and are exposed to products. This can cause
numerous problems, particularly when retrofitting new

equipment to vessels that have already been relieved of stress,

as it may not be possible to tit the instrument at the location
required. Additionally, as the measuring element is exposed to
the contents within the vessel, it may either attacked or coats
the instrument leading it to fail in service. One of the most
reliable methods for measuring level is using a nuclear gauge,
as it is installed outside the vessel and doesn't normally require
a nozzle for bulk level measurement. The measuring element is
installed beyond the process and can be maintained in normal
operation without taking a shutdown. Shutdown is solely
required for an accurate calibration.
Temperature indicator - The temperature measurement
is an essential part of instrumentation in petrochemical
industries. Platinum Resistance Temperature Detectors (RTD's)
are oftentimes used for their excellent temperature response.
Thermocouples are used in locations that need a more durable
sensor.
Pressure indicators - Pressure to Current converter (P/I
converter) is used in the petrochemical industries to measure
and show the amount of pressure developed by the Liquefied
Petroleum Gas (LPG), crude oil, petrol, and varying other
petroleum products. In the P/I converter, the indicated pressure
can be in a digital or an analogue form. The main privilege is
that it can be directly shown in the control panel in the control
room. The same process is followed for temperature
measurement.

5. Conclusion
During the two semesters we visited two different Oil
Refineries, now we can say some differences and similarities
between them. Similar thing between them is that for both old
technologies are used and distillation column, control system
and compressor are almost same in both refineries. Now we
can say some main differences such as existing of separator,
creaking and reforming in the Baku Oil Refinery, and
Azerneftyag produce 2 million tone oil, but this number for
Baku oil refinery 6 million tones. Finally it is mentioned that
both Baku Oil Refinery and Azerneftyag play crucial role in oil
sector of Azerbaijan.

6.References
http://new.socar.az/socar/en/company/organization/azerneftyagh-oilrefinery
http://www.azerbaijan.az
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.caspenergy.co-az.net/28/2005_01_06_00e.htm