ABSTRACT
The chemistry of the refinery conversion process, although often represented by simple chemical equations, is often complex and an understanding of the chemistry involved in the conversion of crude oil to a variety of products is essential to an understanding of refinery operations. The complexity of the individual reactions occurring in an extremely complex mixture and the interference of the products with those from other components of the mixture is unpredictable as is the interference of secondary and tertiary products with the course of a reaction and, hence, with the formation of primary products may also be cause for concern.
This chapter will serve as an introduction to the chemistry involved in the refinery conversion processes to visualize and understand the conversion processes. However, a word of caution is advised here since understanding refining chemistry from the chemical reactivity of model compounds – even under refining conditions – is not as straightforward or as accurate as may be claimed.
