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| Heavy oil refineries lose capacity with light crude because their equipment—designed for heavy, high-viscosity feedstock—becomes overwhelmed by the higher volume of light naphtha and gases produced, causing distillation tower flooding. Additionally, these plants lack sufficient downstream capacity (reforming/isomerization) to process the excess light materials.
Key Reasons for Capacity Loss:
Tower Flooding: Light crude produces roughly three times more light gases (methane, propane, butane) than heavy crude, exceeding the capacity of the top of the distillation tower.
Equipment Mismatch: Units designed for heavy oil (like cokers and vacuum towers) become underutilized, while units designed for light products (reformers, alkylation units) get overloaded.
Furnace Limitations: The increased volume of lighter, vaporized material can exceed the capacity of furnaces to heat the crude oil, forcing operators to lower the total feed rate. | |
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Diesel fuel
