ABSTRACT
To meet the challenges from the changing trends in current feedstocks accepted by refineries and in product slates, the refinery will adapt. In particular, given the stringent specifications imposed by environmentally complex chemical operations involving legislation, the refining industry in the near future will become increasingly flexible at producing refined products that meet specifications though innovative new processing schemes.
This chapter presents suggestions and opinions of the means by which refinery processes will evolve during the next three to five decades. The chapter addresses (1) comparisons of current conventional feedstocks with viscous feedstocks and bio-feedstocks, (2) the evolution of refineries since the 1950s, (3) the properties and refinability of viscous feedstocks and bio-feedstocks, (4) the choice between thermal processes and hydroprocesses, and (5) the evolution of products to match the environmental market, with more than passing consideration of the effects of feedstocks from coal and from oil shale on refinery operations.
