ABSTRACT
Understanding refining chemistry not only allows an explanation of the means by which these products can be formed from crude oil, but also offers a chance of predictability. This is very necessary when the different types of crude oil accepted by refineries are considered. And the major processes by which these products are produced from crude oil constituents involve thermal decomposition. There have been many simplified efforts to represent refining chemistry that, under certain circumstances, are adequate to the task. However, refining is much more complicated than such representations would indicate (Speight, 2006 and references cited therein).
