Rafinerie

Rafinerie, in French, refers to an industrial facility that processes crude oil into refined products such as fuels, lubricants, and petrochemical feedstocks. Oil refineries are typically located near crude oil sources or along shipping routes and connected to pipelines, ports, or rail networks.

The core process is fractional distillation, which separates crude into fractions by boiling point. Upstream units further convert heavier fractions into lighter products through cracking (thermal or catalytic), hydrocracking, or coking. Other common processes include reforming and isomerization to produce high-octane gasoline components, alkylation to combine light streams, hydrotreating to remove sulfur and impurities, and sulfur recovery.

Output products usually include gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, heavy fuel oil, LPG, petrochemical feedstocks, asphalt, and sulfur. Modern refineries often integrate with petrochemical plants and can adjust product mix to meet demand and environmental standards. They aim to optimize yields, energy efficiency, and sulfur content, using advanced control systems and catalysts.

History-wise, the first large-scale refineries emerged in the late 19th century, expanding significantly in the 20th century. Global capacity is concentrated in regions like the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, with capacity measured in barrels per day (bpd).

Environmental and safety considerations are central to refinery operation. Refineries emit greenhouse gases, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds; they manage water, waste, and risk of accidents. Many facilities invest in emissions controls and flare minimization to reduce environmental impact.