By Products of Crude Oil

By products of crude oil are useful materials derived from crude oil as it is processed in crude oil refinery. Determining which products to produce from a barrel of crude is based on daily and weekly market projections of the demand and market-clearing price for each petroleum product that a refinery could possibly make. Refineries must produce products which meet a variety of quality specifications and must respond to seasonal swings in both product demand and quality. Also, the relative quantities of petroleum products produced by a refinery (its "product slate") depend on the complexity of the refinery processes, the market demand and the properties of the crude being refined.

For example, most crude are processed into various grades of fuel oil and gasoline which can further be processed to produce jet fuel, diesel fuel, heating oil. Less volatile (Heavier) fractions can also be used to produce asphalt, tar, paraffin, wax, lubricating and other heavy oils. Chemicals used in petrochemical industries are also major by product of crude oil.

Here are different by products of crude oil:

Gaseous Fuel

Gaseous fuel includes ethane, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and refinery gas:

• Ethane is a straight-chain hydro-carbon (C₂H₆) natural gas.
•  Liquefied petroleum gasses (LPG) comprise of propane (C₃H₈) and butane (C₄H₁₀). They are the light hydrocarbon fraction of the paraffin series, derived from refinery processes, crude oil stabilization plants and natural gas processing plants. LPG is normally liquefied under pressure for transportation and storage.
•  Refinery gas is a non-condensable gas obtained during distillation of crude oil or treatment of oil products (e.g. cracking) in refineries. It consists mainly of hydrogen, methane, ethane and olefins. It also includes gases which are returned from the petrochemical industry. Refinery gas production refers to gross production.

Liquid Fuels

Liquid fuels include motor gasoline, gas diesel oil, aviation fuel, kerosene and jet fuel:

•  Motor gasoline is also known as premium motor spirit (PMS). It is light hydrocarbon oil used in internal combustion engines such as motor vehicles. Motor gasoline is distilled between 35°C and 215°C and is used as a fuel for land based spark ignition engines. It may include include additives, oxygenates and octane enhancers, including lead compounds such as TEL (Tetraethyl lead) and TML (tetramethyl lead)
• Gas diesel oil is also known as automotive gas oil (AGO) Gas oils are obtained from the lowest fraction from atmospheric distillation of crude oil, while heavy gas oils are obtained by vacuum redistillation of the residual from atmospheric distillation. Gas diesel oil distils between 180°C and 380°C. Several grades are available depending on uses: diesel oil for diesel compression ignition (cars, trucks, marine, etc.), light heating oil for industrial and commercial uses, and other gas oil including heavy gas oils which distil between 380°C and 540°C and which are used as petrochemical feedstocks.
• Aviation fuel also known as aviation gasoline is motor spirit prepared especially for aviation piston engines, with an octane number suited to the engine, a freezing point of -60°C, and a distillation range usually within the limits of 30°C and 180°C.
• Kerosene comprises refined petroleum distillate intermediate in volatility between gasoline and gas diesel oil. It is a medium oil distilling between 150°C and 300°C.
• Jet fuel comprises both gasoline and kerosene type jet fuels meeting specifications for use in aviation turbine power units.

Lubricants

Lubricants are hydrocarbons produced from distillate or residue; they are mainly used to reduce friction between bearing surfaces. This category includes all finished grades of lubricating oil, from spindle oil to cylinder oil, and those used in greases, including motor oils and all grades of lubricating oil base stocks.

Bitumen

Bitumen is obtained by vacuum distillation of oil residues from atmospheric distillation of crude oil. Bitumen is often referred to as asphalt and is primarily used for surfacing of roads and for roofing material. This category includes fluid and cut back bitumen.

Wax (Paraffin)

Waxes are saturated aliphatic hydrocarbons. They are residues extracted when dewaxing lubricant oils and they have a crystalline structure which is more or less fine according to the grade. Their main characteristics are that they are colourless, odourless and translucent, with a melting point above 45°C.

Petroleum coke

This is a black solid residue, obtained mainly by cracking and carbonizing of petroleum feedstock, vacuum bottoms, tar and pitches in processes such as delayed coking or fluid coking. It consists mainly of carbon (90 to 95 per cent) and has a low ash content. It is used as a feedstock in coke ovens for the steel industry, for heating purposes, for electrode manufacture and for production of chemicals.

Petrochemical feedstock

These are organic compounds used as ingredients for the chemical industry, ranging from polymers and pharmaceuticals.

Naphtha

Naphtha comprises material that distils between 30°C and 210°C.  They are used in petrochemical industry (e.g. ethylene manufacture or aromatics production) or for gasoline production by reforming or isomerisation within the refinery.

Here are summary of crude oil (petroleum) by products:

Crude oil by product	Blends	Usage
Gases	Still gases	Fuel gas
	Propane/butane	Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
Light/heavy naphtha	Motor fuel	Gasoline
	Aviation turbine, Jet-B	Jet fuel (naphtha type)
Kerosine	Aviation turbine, Jet-A	Jet fuel (kerosene type)
	No. 1 fuel oil	Kerosene (range oil)
Light gas oil	Diesel	Auto and tractor diesel
	No. 2 fuel oil	Home heating oil
Heavy gas oil	No. 4 fuel oil	Commercial heating oil
	No. 5 fuel oil	Industrial heating oil
	Bright stock	Lubricants
Residuals	No. 6 fuel oil	Bunker C oil
	Heavy residual	Asphalt
	Coke	Coke