Macroeconomic Effects of Diesel Fuel Production

Diesel Fuel Production and Distribution

Petroleum products are refined from the crude oil pumped out of the ground (Paul 139). The crude is refined through a process of boiling and evaporative collection called fractional distillation. In this process, successively heavier elements of the crude oil are boiled off and collected. Throughout this process, gasoline, diesel fuel, and other petroleum products as well as engine oil are distilled out of the crude. The oil is further processed into different weights and unwanted elements are removed, resulting in what are called "base stocks."

The processing of crude in a refinery can be divided into four main steps·separation of crude oil, restructuring hydrocarbon molecules, treating, and blending (Emond 31). This process is presented graphically in a flow chart that may be found on page 11. A description and explanation of the refining process is as follows:

1. Separation of crude oil. Products are separated by boiling point in heated columns at atmospheric pressure or in a vacuum (atmospheric and vacuum distillation). Fractions are removed as heat brings them to the

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differs from catalytic cracking in the following five ways·fixed catalyst beds are used, hydrogen is used in the process, operating pressures are substantially higher, temperatures are somewhat lower, and a different type of catalyst is employed. Hydrocracking has an advantage over catalytic cracking in that high-sulfur feed-stocks are desulfurized in the process. It is also flexible in the products it can make. As an example, through application of this process, a refiner can produce mostly jet and diesel fuel or it can produce all gasoline components. The process also accommodates a variety of feed-stocks, including naphthas, gas oils, and heavy aromatics. Hydrogen used in this process is generated by a hydrogen plant or is a byproduct of the catalytic reformer. b. Combining/condensing. These processes use small hydrogen-deficient molecules (olefins) that are recovered from thermal and catalytic cracking to produce more valuable gasoline blending stocks. The processes are alkylation, etherification, and polymerization. (1) Alkylation. This process produces one of the highest-quality components of gasoline. The final product, alkylate, has excellent antiknock and low emission properties and excellent performance ratin
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Distribution Petroleum, Coking Coking, Polymerization Byproducts, Hydrocracking Hydrocracking, Blending Blending, Agency EPA, Earth Summit, Angeles Basin, Hydrodesulfurization Hydrodesulfurization, Conversion Conversion, diesel fuel, blending stocks, gasoline blending stocks, gasoline blending, fuel oil, los angeles, crude oil, catalytic cracking, los angeles basin, angeles basin, diesel fuel production, gas oil, fuel production, angeles basin region, vacuum gas oil,
Approximate Word count = 2302
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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