13 Facts About Petroleum refineries

Oil Petroleum refineries are typically large, sprawling industrial complexes with extensive piping running throughout, carrying streams of fluids between large chemical processing units, such as distillation columns.

Some Petroleum refineries had vacuum distillation units as well as thermal cracking units such as visbreakers .

The driving force for that growth in technology and in the number and size of Petroleum refineries worldwide was the growing demand for automotive gasoline and aircraft fuel.

Today, national and state legislation require Petroleum refineries to meet stringent air and water cleanliness standards.

In 2009 through 2010, as revenue streams in the oil business dried up and profitability of oil Petroleum refineries fell due to lower demand for product and high reserves of supply preceding the economic recession, oil companies began to close or sell the less profitable Petroleum refineries.

Oil Petroleum refineries are large-scale plants, processing about a hundred thousand to several hundred thousand barrels of crude oil a day.

Oil Petroleum refineries produce various intermediate products such as hydrogen, light hydrocarbons, reformate and pyrolysis gasoline.

Petroleum refineries products are usually grouped into four categories: light distillates, middle distillates, heavy distillates, and residuum .

Oil Petroleum refineries, therefore, are often located nearby navigable rivers or on a seashore, nearby a port.

Environmental and safety concerns mean that oil Petroleum refineries are sometimes located some distance away from major urban areas.

In California's Contra Costa County and Solano County, a shoreline necklace of Petroleum refineries, built in the early 20th century before this area was populated, and associated chemical plants are adjacent to urban areas in Richmond, Martinez, Pacheco, Concord, Pittsburg, Vallejo and Benicia, with occasional accidental events that require "shelter in place" orders to the adjacent populations.

Interestingly, even though petroleum refineries utilize and produce chemicals that are known carcinogens, the literature on cancer rates among refinery workers is mixed.

Worker health and safety in oil Petroleum refineries is closely monitored at a national level by both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health .