raffinerie

A raffinerie (refinery) is a facility that converts raw materials into more widely usable products through processes of separation, purification and chemical transformation. While the term is most commonly associated with petroleum, refining also applies to metals and organic materials such as sugar, each with its own specialized processes.

In an oil refinery, crude oil is treated and upgraded to fuels, lubricants and petrochemical feedstocks. The typical sequence includes desalting, atmospheric and vacuum distillation to separate fractions, followed by upgrading units such as catalytic cracking, hydrocracking, reforming and desulfurization, and finally blending to produce gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other products.

Metal refining involves removing impurities from ores or scrap to obtain pure metals or alloys, using smelting, electrorefining or chemical refining. Sugar refineries purify and crystallize sugar from raw cane sugar or sugar beet, yielding white sugar and by-products such as molasses.

Refineries rely on complex, energy-intensive equipment, including columns and furnaces, reactors, separators and heat exchangers. They operate under strict environmental and safety regulations to control emissions, effluents, waste handling and workplace hazards. Efficiency improvements include energy recovery and catalyst development.

Historically, refining facilities developed with the rise of industrial chemistry in the 19th and 20th centuries and remain central to modern energy, chemical and material industries, often integrated with distribution networks and petrochemical complexes.