A reference guide to hydrocarbon-related terms, acronyms and abbreviations; CB&I trademarks and licensed processes; and storage-related terminology.
ABack to top
- Acetylene
- Acetylene, recovery
- Acid gas
- Hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide contained in natural gas and refinery streams; so named because they can cause corrosion
- AFIP™
Automatic Foamed-In-Place - CB&I trade name for vessel insulation system
- Alkane
- Also known as paraffin; hydrocarbon composed of carbon and hydrogen linked together by single bonds without any cyclic structure
- AlkyClean®
Solid acid catalyst gasoline alkylation
- Alkylation
- Refinery process used to produce high-octane gasoline blending stocks
- ALMA
- Maleic anhydride
- Amine
- Chemical used as a solvent to remove hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide from hydrocarbon streams
- Amine Best Practices Group
- Industry group organized to develop best practices for hydrocarbon processing units including amine treating, sour water treating, sulfur recovery and tail gas treating units
- Aromatics
- Group of hydrocarbons of which benzene is the parent; so named because many of their derivatives have sweet or aromatic odors
- Asphalt
- Highly viscous liquid or semi-solid composed of bitumen and present in most crudes; can be separated from other crude components by fractional distillation; used primarily for road paving and roofing shingles
- Atmospheric distillation
- See fractional distillation
- Autothermal Reforming
- Process used to produce hydrogen by using a combination of partial oxidation and steam reforming in a single vessel
- Avjet
- Aviation jet fuel derived from a kerosene fraction; also known as jet
BBack to top
- Barrel of Oil Equivalent
- A unit of energy based on the approximate energy released by burning one barrel of crude oil
- BASF SELOP
- Selective hydrogenation of butadiene
- Battery Limits
- An encompassed area in a chemical plant or refinery that includes the process units with their related utilities and services
- BDE
- Butadiene extraction
- Benzene CDHydro™
Selective hydrogenation of benzene in reformate
- Bitumen
- Viscous organic liquid; asphalt and tar are the most common forms
- Bottoms
- Residue remaining in a distillation unit after the highest boiling point material to be distilled has been removed
- BTA
- Field butanes to motor fuel alkylate (BTA)
- Butane
- Four-carbon alkane, hydrocarbon used as a fuel for cooking and camping, chemical formula C4H10
- Butene-1
- Polymer grade butene-1
CBack to top
- C4/5 Hydro
- Total hydrogenation
- C4 CDHydro™
C4 selective hydrogenation
- C4 Hydro
- Total hydrogenation
- C4Ac CDHydro™
C4 acetylenes selective hydrogenation
- C5 CDHydro™
C5 selective hydrogenation
- Cat cracker
- See Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit
- CATADIENE™
Butadiene via C4 dehydrogenation; butylene via C4 dehydrogenation; isoprene via C5 dehydrogenation
- Catalyst
- A material that aids or promotes a chemical reaction between other substances but does not react itself
- Catalytic cracking
- Process of breaking up heavier hydrocarbon molecules into lighter hydrocarbon fractions by use of heat and catalysts
- Catalytic distillation
- Combines reaction and distillation in a single vessel resulting in lower investment and operating costs, as well as process benefits.
- CATOFIN™
Propylene via propane dehydro; isobutylene via isobutane dehydro
- CD DelB
- Butene-2 recovery
- CDAcrylamide™
Acrylamide production from acrylonitrile
- CDAlky
- Gasoline alkylation from refinery or steam cracking C4 feeds
- CDAlkyPlus
- Converts isobutylene and isobutane to motor fuel alkylate
- CDEtbe™
ETBE from refinery C4 feeds
- CDEtherol™
TAME from refinery C5 feeds
- CDEthers™
MTBE/TAME coproduction from refinery C4/C5 feeds
- CDHydro/CDHDS™
FCC gasoline desulfurization
- CDHydro/CDHDS™
FCC gasoline desulfurization
- CDIB™
Isobutylene from MTBE decomposition
- CDIsotame™
Increased TAME from refinery and steam cracker C5 feeds
- CDMtbe™
MTBE from steam cracker and dehydro C4 feeds
- CDMtbe™
MTBE from refinery C4 feeds
- CDOPT
- Pretreatment of C4 feed for alklyation
- CDSelect
- Low cost desulfurization of low-sulfur catalytic naphtha (FCC gasoline desulfurization)
- CDTaee™
TAEE from refinery C5 feeds
- CDTame™
TAME from refinery C5 feeds
- CDTECH EB™
Ethylbenzene via catalytic distillation
- Classic Styrene
- Styrene
- Claus Combustor™
CB&I trade name for high efficiency acid gas burner
- Claus Combustor™
CB&I trade name for high efficiency acid gas burner
- Coal-To-Liquid
- Process used to convert coal to synthetic fuels
- Composite Elevated Tank
- Elevated water storage tank consisting of a concrete support structure and steel storage tank
- Condensates
- See Natural Gas Liquids
- Continuous Catalyst Regeneration
- Refinery process that regenerates spent catalyst used in a catalytic reformer, which converts naphtha feedstock into higher octane gasoline blending stocks
- Conversion stock
- Commodity material, usually vacuum gas oil or atmospheric gas oil, that is suitable for feedstock to an FCCU or hydrocracker
- CPT
- Comonomer (butene-1, hexene-1) Production Technology
- CrossLink™
CB&I trade name for water filtration device
- Crude
- Also known as petroleum or crude oil - A mixture of naturally occurring liquid hydrocarbons before refining
- Cumene
- Cumene
DBack to top
- De-ethanizer
- A fractionating column designed to remove ethane and gases from heavier hydrocarbons
- Debutanizer
- A fractionating column used to remove butane and lighter components from liquid streams
- Decelerating-Flo™
CB&I trade name for water filtration system
- Delayed coking
- Process for thermally converting and upgrading heavy residual oil into lighter products and by-product petroleum coke
- Depentanizer
- A fractionating column used to remove pentane and lighter fractions from hydrocarbon streams
- Depropanizer
- A fractionating column for removing propane and lighter components from liquid streams
- DETOL™
Benzene via aromatics hydrodealkylation
- Diesel Hydrotreater
- Refinery process unit for clean fuels production
- Diethanol Amine (DEA)
- Solvent used in acid gas removal system
- DiGlycol Amine (DGA)
- Solvent used in acid gas removal system
- Diluted crude
- Heavy crude oil to which a diluent (thinner) has been added to reduce viscosity and facilitate pipeline flow
- Dimer8
- Iso-octene and/or iso-octane from refinery C4 feeds
- Distillate
- The products of distillation formed by condensing vapors
- Distillation
- A method of separating mixtures based on differences in their volatilities in a boiling liquid mixture
- DMC
- Dimethyl carbonate
- Downstream
- A sector of the petroleum industry that refers to the refining of crude oil, and the products derived from crude oil
- DPC
- Diphenyl carbonate
- DPG™
Dripolene pyrolysis gasoline hydrogenation
- DPG™
Dripolene pyrolysis gasoline hydrogenation
EBack to top
- E&P
- Exploration & Production; see Upstream.
- EBOne
- Ethylbenzene via fixed bed alkylation
- Enhanced Oil Recovery
- Various methods used to enhance production from an oil reservoir
- ESD™
Egg-Shaped Digester - CB&I trade name for egg-shaped anaerobic digester (waste water treatment)
- Ethane
- Two-carbon alkane, hydrocarbon that is the second principal component of natural gas, chemical formula C2H6
- Ethanol
- Flammable liquid, also known as ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol, derived from plants and often added to gasoline as an oxygenate to boost octane, enhance combustion and reduce carbon monoxide emissions
- Ethylene
- A two-carbon building block in the petrochemical industry, used to produce a variety of finished products, including plastics, fibers and resins
FBack to top
- FCC
- Fluid Catalytic Cracking
- FCCU
- Fluidized Catalytic Cracking Unit
- Feedstock
- Substance used as a raw material in a refining process
- FiltraCone™
CB&I trade name for modular water treatment plant
- Fire and Gas System
- Hardware and software to provide detection, alarms and mediation in the event of an area fire or a toxic or combustible gas release in the refinery
- Fixed-Roof Tank
- A vertical cylindrical tank with a stationary roof, which can be either a self-supporting or column-supported dome or cone roof
- Floating-Roof Tank
- A vertical cylindrical tank with a roof that floats on the liquid product surface
- Flue gas
- Gas that is emitted to the atmosphere via a flue, which is a pipe for transporting exhaust fumes
- Fluidized Catalytic Cracking
- Refinery process used to convert the heavy portion of crude oil into lighter products, including LPG and gasoline
- FPSO
- Floating Production, Storage and Offloading - Vessel used by the offshore oil and gas industry to take all of the oil or gas produced from a nearby platform, process it, and store it until the oil or gas can be offloaded
- Fraction
- A group of hydrocarbons that have similar boiling points
- Fractional distillation
- Common form of separation technology in hydrocarbon processing plants wherein a mixture (e.g., crude oil) is heated in a large, vertical cylindrical column to separate compounds (fractions) according to their boiling points
- Fractionation
- The separation of a chemical compound into its component parts
- FreshMix™
CB&I trade name for water storage mixing device
GBack to top
- Gas Oil Separation Plant
- Unit that separates natural gas from crude oil; abbreviated GOSP
- Gas Subcooled Process
- Natural gas treating process used to recover liquid hydrocarbons
- Gas-To-Liquids (GTL)
- Process to convert methane-rich gases into liquid fuels
- Gasoil
- Middle-distillate petroleum fraction; usually includes diesel, kerosene, heating oil and light fuel oil
- Gasoline
- Petroleum-derived liquid (also known as petrol) used as a transportation fuel
- Gasoline Hydrotreating Unit
- Refinery process unit for gasoline production
- GeorgeBox™
CB&I trade name for sealed liquid sulfur observation port
HBack to top
- H2DROGEN™
CB&I trade name for SMR hydrogen production technology
- HDSelect
- Selective desulfurization of mid-catalytic naphtha
- Heat Exchanger
- A device, used to transfer heat from a fluid on one side of a barrier to a fluid on the other side without bringing the fluids into direct contact.
- Heavy crude
- Crude oil with a high proportion of heavy hydrocarbon fractions and metallic content
- HeliCarb™
CB&I trade name for water recarbonation system
- Hemispheroid™
CB&I trade name for noded spherical pressure vessel
- HFIP™
Horizontal Foamed-In-Place - CB&I trade name for vessel insulation system
- High Density Polyethylene
- A plastic made from petroleum; abbreviated HDPE
- HOPS
- Heavy Oil Processing System
- Hortonsphere™
CB&I trade name for spherical pressure vessel
- Hortonspheroid™
CB&I trade name for noded spherical pressure vessel
- HotDeck™
CB&I trade name for waste heat boiler modular assembly
- HYCO
- Synthesis gas containing hydrogen (H) and carbon monoxide (CO)
- Hydrocarbon
- Chemical compound containing hydrogen and carbon used as a fuel, e.g., petroleum, methane, butane
- Hydrocracker
- The refinery process unit in which hydrocracking occurs
- Hydrocracking
- Refining process that exposes heavy fuel oil to hydrogen at high pressure and temperature in the presence of a catalyst to reduce sulfur and produce lighter oils by cracking the heavy oil molecules
- Hydrodesulfurization
- Refining process that removes sulfur from liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons
- Hydropillar™
CB&I trade name for fluted column elevated water storage tank
- Hydrotreater
- Refinery process unit that removes sulfur and other contaminants from hydrocarbon streams
- HYFORMING™
CB&I trade name for SMR hydrogen production technology
IBack to top
- I-FCC
- Indmax FCC for maximum propylene
- ISBL
- Inside Battery Limits - Physical boundary in a refinery or other process plant that contains the primary process units
- ISOCRACKING™
Hydrocracking mid distillates to light clean fuel products or lube base oils
- ISODEWAXING™
Catalytic isomerization of wax to improve base lube oil pour point
- ISOFINING™
Mild residue hydrocracking for synthetic crude oils
- ISOFINISHING™
Hydrofinishing of base lube oils to improve oxygen stability and color
- Isomerization
- Refinery process that converts normal paraffins to higher-octane isoparaffins
- ISOMPLUS™
Isoamylenes production from normal pentenes
- ISOMPLUS™
Isobutylene production from normal butenes
- ISOTREATING™
Hydrotreating of naphta and distillates for clean fuels
JBack to top
- Jet
- See avjet
LBack to top
- LB-Fining
- MAPD hydrogenation to propylene
- LC-FINING™
Residuum hydrocracking
- LCN CDHydro™
LCN selective hydrotreating
- Light crude
- Crude oil with a high proportion of light hydrocarbon fractions and low metallic compounds
- Light ends
- The more volatile products of petroleum refining, e.g., butane, propane, gasoline
- Liquefied Natural Gas
- Natural gas cooled to a liquid state; abbreviated LNG
- Liquefied Petroleum Gas
- Pressurized mixture of butane and propane used as fuel; abbreviated LPG
- LITOL™
Benzene from coke oven oil
- LPR
- LP recovery of FCC/coker offgas
MBack to top
- MAPD CDHydro™
MAPD selective hydrogenation
- Merox™
Licensed refinery process used to remove or convert mercaptans (sulfur compounds)
- Metathesis
- The exchange of bonds between two reacting chemicals to give two new chemicals. To illustrate, two chemicals, AB and CD, react to give AD and CB.
- Methane
- Simplest alkane, hydrocarbon that is the largest component of natural gas, chemical formula CH4
- Methanol-to-Olefins
- A technology used to produce olefins from methanol, an economical alternative to crude oil-derived feedstocks; abbreviated MTO
- Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether
- Additive used to increase gasoline octane rating; abbreviated MTBE
- Methyldiethanol Amine (MDEA)
- Solvent used in acid gas removal system
- Mono-Ethanol Amine (MEA)
- Solvent used in acid gas removal system
- MTO
- Methanol to Olefins (recovery section only)
- my-term
- Here is the definition of my term.
NBack to top
- Naphtha
- Volatile, colorless product of petroleum distillation, used primarily as a blending stock in gasoline production and feedstock for refining and chemical processes
- Naphthenes
- One of three basic hydrocarbon classifications found naturally in crude oil; used widely as petrochemical feedstock
- Natural Gas
A naturally occurring gas that is colorless, shapeless and odorless in its pure form. Consisting of mostly methane, it must undergo processing to remove other gases such as ethane, propane, butane, pentane, etc.
- Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs)
- Liquids, sometimes called condensates, that are found in unprocessed natural gas, e.g., ethane, propane, butane
- Novolen™
Polypropylene
- Novolen™
Metalocene (catalyst)
OBack to top
- OCR
- Counter-current moving bed technology with on-stream catalyst replacement
- OCT
- Propylene
- Octane number
- A number indicating the relative antiknock characteristics of gasoline
- Oil sands
- See tar sands
- Olefins
- Class of unsaturated double bond linear hydrocarbons recovered from petroleum; examples include ethylene, propylene and butene. Olefins are used to produce a variety of products, including plastics, fibers and rubber.
- OSBL
- Outside Battery Limits - Areas in a refinery or other process plant outside the primary process units boundary, e.g., utilities, tankage, etc.
- Oxygen Injection™
CB&I trade name for direct oxygen diffusion into a combustion chamber
- Oxygen Injector™
CB&I trade name for direct oxygen diffusion into a combustion chamber
- Oxygenate
- Fuel additive (alcohols and ethers) that contain oxygen which can boost gasoline's octane quality, enhance combustion and reduce exhaust emissions
- OxyPac™
CB&I trade name for control module for oxygen-enhanced operations
PBack to top
- Paraffins
- A group of generally saturated single bond linear hydrocarbons; alkane
- Partial Oxidation
- Exothermic process used to produce hydrogen from hydrocarbons; abbreviated POX
- PC Waterspheroid™
CB&I trade name for precast concrete elevated water storage tank
- Pentane
- Five-carbon alkane, hydrocarbon used in the production of polystyrene foam, chemical formula C5H12
- Petrochemical
- Intermediate chemical derived from petroleum, hydrocarbons liquids or natural gas
- Petroleum coke
- Also called pet coke; solid carbon fuel derived from oil refinery cracking processes such as delayed coking
- Phenol
- Phenol
- Polypropylene
- A thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications, including packaging, textiles, plastic parts and stationery.
- PowerTherm™
CB&I trade name for combustion turbine inlet air cooling system
- Pressure Swing Adsorption
- A method for purifying gas (used in hydrogen production); abbreviated PSA
- Pressure Vessel
- Container designed to hold gases or liquids at a pressure different from the ambient pressure (PV). CB&I trade name for this vessel is Hortonsphere®.
- Primary Separation Vessel
- Elevated cone bottom tank used in oil sands processing; abbreviated PSV
- Propane
- Three-carbon alkane, hydrocarbon used as a fuel for heating and cooking; chemical formula C3H8
- Propylene
- A three-carbon building block in the petrochemical industry, used to produce a variety of finished products, including plastics, fibers and resins
- PYROTOL™
Benzene from pyrolysis gasoline
RBack to top
- RCC
- Resid Catalytic Cracking
- RDS
- Residuum hydrotreating
- Reformer
- Refinery process unit that uses heat and pressure in the presence of a catalyst to convert naphtha feedstock into higher octane gasoline blending stocks; also used for hydrogen production
- Reservoir
- Flat bottom water storage tank (larger diameter than height)
- Residual Fluid Catalytic Cracking
- Refinery process used to convert residuals (heavy hydrocarbons) into lighter components, including LPG and gasoline; abbreviated RFCC
- Residuals
Heavy fuel oils produced from the non-volatile residue from the fractional distillation process; also called resids
- Resulf™
CB&I trade name for tail gas treating technology
- Resulf-10™
CB&I trade name for tail gas treating technology
- Resulf-MM™
CB&I trade name for tail gas treating technology
- Ribbon Flow™
CB&I trade name for water treatment contacting device
SBack to top
- Slug catcher
- Unit that separates "slugs" of liquids from a natural gas stream
- Slurry Optimizer™
CB&I trade name for ClariCone-related device
- SMART™
Styrene
- SoCool™
CB&I trade name for low temperature thermal stratification fluid
- Sour crude
- Crude oil with a sulfur content higher than 0.5% by weight; usually requires extra processing; generally has an unpleasant sulfur smell
- Sour gas
- See acid gas
- Stack gas
- Anything that comes out of a burner stack in gaseous form, usually consisting of mostly nitrogen and carbon dioxide
- Standpipe
- Flat bottom water storage tank (larger height than diameter)
- Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage
- Oil sands extraction process using underground wells to inject steam into oils sands deposits and collect bitumen released by the heat; abbreviated SAGD
- Steam Methane Reforming
- Endothermic process of producing hydrogen from hydrocarbons using steam and a metal-based catalyst; abbreviated SMR
- Straight-run
- A petroleum product produced by the primary distillation of crude oil, free of cracked components
- Strata-Therm™
CB&I trade name for thermal energy storage tank
- SulfSep™
CB&I trade name for sulfur entrainment separator
- Sulfur Recovery Unit (SRU)
- Refinery process unit used to convert hydrogen sulfide to elemental sulfur using the Claus process
- SunDeck™
CB&I trade name for valve and control system for TGTU systems
- Sweet crude
- Crude oil with a sulfur content less than 0.5% by weight; no sulfur smell
- Syncrude
- Synthetic crude oil produced from oil sands, primarily in Canada
- Syngas
- Synthesis Gas - A gas, generally produced from methane, consisting primarily of carbon monoxide and hydrogen; used in refinery and petrochemical applications and as an intermediary step in gas-to-liquids systems
TBack to top
- Tail gas
- The lightest hydrocarbon gas released from a refining process
- Tail Gas Treating Unit (TGTU)
- Refinery process unit used to control emissions of sulfur compounds; generally integrated with a sulfur recovery unit
- Tar
- Viscous black liquid derived from the distillation of organic matter; can be produced from petroleum, peat, wood and coal
- Tar sands
- Mixture of clay, sand, water and bitumen; also called oil sands
- Tension Leg Platform
- Vertically moored floating structure used for the offshore production of oil or gas
- Thermal Cap™
CB&I trade name for lightweight insulating deck in storage tanks
- Thermal cracking
- Conversion of heavy oil molecules into lighter fractions by the use of high temperatures without the aid of catalysts
- TLE Decoking
- Decoking of transferline exchangers
UBack to top
- UFR
- Up-flow reactor for HDT residue steam with higher contaminate levels
- Upstream
- A sector of the petroleum industry referring to the searching for, recovery and production of crude oil and natural gas. Also known as the exploration and production sector
VBack to top
- Vacuum distillation
- Distillation of petroleum under vacuum, which reduces the boiling temperature sufficiently to prevent cracking or decomposition of the feedstock
- Vacuum Gas Oil
- Product of vacuum distillation; a preferred feedstock for cracking units to produce gasoline; abbreviated VGO
- Vapormaster™
CB&I trade name for elastomeric secondary tank roof seal
- VaporSleeve™
CB&I trade name for low emission guidepole fitting
- Vertical Plate Coke Drum™
CB&I trade name for coke drum design
- Visbreaking
- Viscosity breaking - A low-temperature cracking process used to reduce the viscosity or pour point of straight-run residuum
- Viscosity
- Measure of the internal friction or resistance of an oil to flow
- VRDS
- Vacuum resid hydrotreating
WBack to top
- Watersphere™
CB&I trade name for single pedestal elevated water storage tank
- Waterspheroid™
CB&I trade name for single pedestal elevated water storage tank
- Weathermaster™
CB&I trade name for internal floating roof tank
- Wet gas
- A gas containing a relatively high proportion of hydrocarbons that are recoverable as liquids
StorageBack to top
- Composite Elevated Tank
- Elevated water storage tank consisting of a concrete support structure and steel storage tank
- Fixed-Roof Tank
- A vertical cylindrical tank with a stationary roof, which can be either a self-supporting or column-supported dome or cone roof
- Floating-Roof Tank
- A vertical cylindrical tank with a roof that floats on the liquid product surface
- Pressure Vessel
- Container designed to hold gases or liquids at a pressure different from the ambient pressure (PV). CB&I trade name for this vessel is Hortonsphere®.
- Reservoir
- Flat bottom water storage tank (larger diameter than height)
- Standpipe
- Flat bottom water storage tank (larger height than diameter)
HydrocarbonBack to top
- Acid gas
- Hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide contained in natural gas and refinery streams; so named because they can cause corrosion
- Alkane
- Also known as paraffin; hydrocarbon composed of carbon and hydrogen linked together by single bonds without any cyclic structure
- Alkylation
- Refinery process used to produce high-octane gasoline blending stocks
- Amine
- Chemical used as a solvent to remove hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide from hydrocarbon streams
- Amine Best Practices Group
- Industry group organized to develop best practices for hydrocarbon processing units including amine treating, sour water treating, sulfur recovery and tail gas treating units
- Aromatics
- Group of hydrocarbons of which benzene is the parent; so named because many of their derivatives have sweet or aromatic odors
- Asphalt
- Highly viscous liquid or semi-solid composed of bitumen and present in most crudes; can be separated from other crude components by fractional distillation; used primarily for road paving and roofing shingles
- Atmospheric distillation
- See fractional distillation
- Autothermal Reforming
- Process used to produce hydrogen by using a combination of partial oxidation and steam reforming in a single vessel
- Avjet
- Aviation jet fuel derived from a kerosene fraction; also known as jet
- Barrel of Oil Equivalent
- A unit of energy based on the approximate energy released by burning one barrel of crude oil
- Battery Limits
- An encompassed area in a chemical plant or refinery that includes the process units with their related utilities and services
- Bitumen
- Viscous organic liquid; asphalt and tar are the most common forms
- Bottoms
- Residue remaining in a distillation unit after the highest boiling point material to be distilled has been removed
- Butane
- Four-carbon alkane, hydrocarbon used as a fuel for cooking and camping, chemical formula C4H10
- Cat cracker
- See Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit
- Catalyst
- A material that aids or promotes a chemical reaction between other substances but does not react itself
- Catalytic cracking
- Process of breaking up heavier hydrocarbon molecules into lighter hydrocarbon fractions by use of heat and catalysts
- Catalytic distillation
- Combines reaction and distillation in a single vessel resulting in lower investment and operating costs, as well as process benefits.
- Coal-To-Liquid
- Process used to convert coal to synthetic fuels
- Condensates
- See Natural Gas Liquids
- Continuous Catalyst Regeneration
- Refinery process that regenerates spent catalyst used in a catalytic reformer, which converts naphtha feedstock into higher octane gasoline blending stocks
- Conversion stock
- Commodity material, usually vacuum gas oil or atmospheric gas oil, that is suitable for feedstock to an FCCU or hydrocracker
- Crude
- Also known as petroleum or crude oil - A mixture of naturally occurring liquid hydrocarbons before refining
- De-ethanizer
- A fractionating column designed to remove ethane and gases from heavier hydrocarbons
- Debutanizer
- A fractionating column used to remove butane and lighter components from liquid streams
- Delayed coking
- Process for thermally converting and upgrading heavy residual oil into lighter products and by-product petroleum coke
- Depentanizer
- A fractionating column used to remove pentane and lighter fractions from hydrocarbon streams
- Depropanizer
- A fractionating column for removing propane and lighter components from liquid streams
- Diesel Hydrotreater
- Refinery process unit for clean fuels production
- Diethanol Amine (DEA)
- Solvent used in acid gas removal system
- DiGlycol Amine (DGA)
- Solvent used in acid gas removal system
- Diluted crude
- Heavy crude oil to which a diluent (thinner) has been added to reduce viscosity and facilitate pipeline flow
- Distillate
- The products of distillation formed by condensing vapors
- Distillation
- A method of separating mixtures based on differences in their volatilities in a boiling liquid mixture
- Downstream
- A sector of the petroleum industry that refers to the refining of crude oil, and the products derived from crude oil
- E&P
- Exploration & Production; see Upstream.
- Enhanced Oil Recovery
- Various methods used to enhance production from an oil reservoir
- Ethane
- Two-carbon alkane, hydrocarbon that is the second principal component of natural gas, chemical formula C2H6
- Ethanol
- Flammable liquid, also known as ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol, derived from plants and often added to gasoline as an oxygenate to boost octane, enhance combustion and reduce carbon monoxide emissions
- Ethylene
- A two-carbon building block in the petrochemical industry, used to produce a variety of finished products, including plastics, fibers and resins
- FCCU
- Fluidized Catalytic Cracking Unit
- Feedstock
- Substance used as a raw material in a refining process
- Fire and Gas System
- Hardware and software to provide detection, alarms and mediation in the event of an area fire or a toxic or combustible gas release in the refinery
- Flue gas
- Gas that is emitted to the atmosphere via a flue, which is a pipe for transporting exhaust fumes
- Fluidized Catalytic Cracking
- Refinery process used to convert the heavy portion of crude oil into lighter products, including LPG and gasoline
- FPSO
- Floating Production, Storage and Offloading - Vessel used by the offshore oil and gas industry to take all of the oil or gas produced from a nearby platform, process it, and store it until the oil or gas can be offloaded
- Fraction
- A group of hydrocarbons that have similar boiling points
- Fractional distillation
- Common form of separation technology in hydrocarbon processing plants wherein a mixture (e.g., crude oil) is heated in a large, vertical cylindrical column to separate compounds (fractions) according to their boiling points
- Fractionation
- The separation of a chemical compound into its component parts
- Gas Oil Separation Plant
- Unit that separates natural gas from crude oil; abbreviated GOSP
- Gas Subcooled Process
- Natural gas treating process used to recover liquid hydrocarbons
- Gas-To-Liquids (GTL)
- Process to convert methane-rich gases into liquid fuels
- Gasoil
- Middle-distillate petroleum fraction; usually includes diesel, kerosene, heating oil and light fuel oil
- Gasoline
- Petroleum-derived liquid (also known as petrol) used as a transportation fuel
- Gasoline Hydrotreating Unit
- Refinery process unit for gasoline production
- Heat Exchanger
- A device, used to transfer heat from a fluid on one side of a barrier to a fluid on the other side without bringing the fluids into direct contact.
- Heavy crude
- Crude oil with a high proportion of heavy hydrocarbon fractions and metallic content
- High Density Polyethylene
- A plastic made from petroleum; abbreviated HDPE
- HYCO
- Synthesis gas containing hydrogen (H) and carbon monoxide (CO)
- Hydrocarbon
- Chemical compound containing hydrogen and carbon used as a fuel, e.g., petroleum, methane, butane
- Hydrocracker
- The refinery process unit in which hydrocracking occurs
- Hydrocracking
- Refining process that exposes heavy fuel oil to hydrogen at high pressure and temperature in the presence of a catalyst to reduce sulfur and produce lighter oils by cracking the heavy oil molecules
- Hydrodesulfurization
- Refining process that removes sulfur from liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons
- Hydrotreater
- Refinery process unit that removes sulfur and other contaminants from hydrocarbon streams
- ISBL
- Inside Battery Limits - Physical boundary in a refinery or other process plant that contains the primary process units
- Isomerization
- Refinery process that converts normal paraffins to higher-octane isoparaffins
- Jet
- See avjet
- Light crude
- Crude oil with a high proportion of light hydrocarbon fractions and low metallic compounds
- Light ends
- The more volatile products of petroleum refining, e.g., butane, propane, gasoline
- Liquefied Natural Gas
- Natural gas cooled to a liquid state; abbreviated LNG
- Liquefied Petroleum Gas
- Pressurized mixture of butane and propane used as fuel; abbreviated LPG
- Merox™
Licensed refinery process used to remove or convert mercaptans (sulfur compounds)
- Metathesis
- The exchange of bonds between two reacting chemicals to give two new chemicals. To illustrate, two chemicals, AB and CD, react to give AD and CB.
- Methane
- Simplest alkane, hydrocarbon that is the largest component of natural gas, chemical formula CH4
- Methanol-to-Olefins
- A technology used to produce olefins from methanol, an economical alternative to crude oil-derived feedstocks; abbreviated MTO
- Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether
- Additive used to increase gasoline octane rating; abbreviated MTBE
- Methyldiethanol Amine (MDEA)
- Solvent used in acid gas removal system
- Mono-Ethanol Amine (MEA)
- Solvent used in acid gas removal system
- Naphtha
- Volatile, colorless product of petroleum distillation, used primarily as a blending stock in gasoline production and feedstock for refining and chemical processes
- Naphthenes
- One of three basic hydrocarbon classifications found naturally in crude oil; used widely as petrochemical feedstock
- Natural Gas
A naturally occurring gas that is colorless, shapeless and odorless in its pure form. Consisting of mostly methane, it must undergo processing to remove other gases such as ethane, propane, butane, pentane, etc.
- Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs)
- Liquids, sometimes called condensates, that are found in unprocessed natural gas, e.g., ethane, propane, butane
- Octane number
- A number indicating the relative antiknock characteristics of gasoline
- Oil sands
- See tar sands
- Olefins
- Class of unsaturated double bond linear hydrocarbons recovered from petroleum; examples include ethylene, propylene and butene. Olefins are used to produce a variety of products, including plastics, fibers and rubber.
- OSBL
- Outside Battery Limits - Areas in a refinery or other process plant outside the primary process units boundary, e.g., utilities, tankage, etc.
- Oxygenate
- Fuel additive (alcohols and ethers) that contain oxygen which can boost gasoline's octane quality, enhance combustion and reduce exhaust emissions
- Paraffins
- A group of generally saturated single bond linear hydrocarbons; alkane
- Partial Oxidation
- Exothermic process used to produce hydrogen from hydrocarbons; abbreviated POX
- Pentane
- Five-carbon alkane, hydrocarbon used in the production of polystyrene foam, chemical formula C5H12
- Petrochemical
- Intermediate chemical derived from petroleum, hydrocarbons liquids or natural gas
- Petroleum coke
- Also called pet coke; solid carbon fuel derived from oil refinery cracking processes such as delayed coking
- Polypropylene
- A thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications, including packaging, textiles, plastic parts and stationery.
- Pressure Swing Adsorption
- A method for purifying gas (used in hydrogen production); abbreviated PSA
- Primary Separation Vessel
- Elevated cone bottom tank used in oil sands processing; abbreviated PSV
- Propane
- Three-carbon alkane, hydrocarbon used as a fuel for heating and cooking; chemical formula C3H8
- Propylene
- A three-carbon building block in the petrochemical industry, used to produce a variety of finished products, including plastics, fibers and resins
- Reformer
- Refinery process unit that uses heat and pressure in the presence of a catalyst to convert naphtha feedstock into higher octane gasoline blending stocks; also used for hydrogen production
- Residual Fluid Catalytic Cracking
- Refinery process used to convert residuals (heavy hydrocarbons) into lighter components, including LPG and gasoline; abbreviated RFCC
- Residuals
Heavy fuel oils produced from the non-volatile residue from the fractional distillation process; also called resids
- Slug catcher
- Unit that separates "slugs" of liquids from a natural gas stream
- Sour crude
- Crude oil with a sulfur content higher than 0.5% by weight; usually requires extra processing; generally has an unpleasant sulfur smell
- Sour gas
- See acid gas
- Stack gas
- Anything that comes out of a burner stack in gaseous form, usually consisting of mostly nitrogen and carbon dioxide
- Steam Methane Reforming
- Endothermic process of producing hydrogen from hydrocarbons using steam and a metal-based catalyst; abbreviated SMR
- Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage
- Oil sands extraction process using underground wells to inject steam into oils sands deposits and collect bitumen released by the heat; abbreviated SAGD
- Straight-run
- A petroleum product produced by the primary distillation of crude oil, free of cracked components
- Sulfur Recovery Unit (SRU)
- Refinery process unit used to convert hydrogen sulfide to elemental sulfur using the Claus process
- Sweet crude
- Crude oil with a sulfur content less than 0.5% by weight; no sulfur smell
- Syncrude
- Synthetic crude oil produced from oil sands, primarily in Canada
- Syngas
- Synthesis Gas - A gas, generally produced from methane, consisting primarily of carbon monoxide and hydrogen; used in refinery and petrochemical applications and as an intermediary step in gas-to-liquids systems
- Tail gas
- The lightest hydrocarbon gas released from a refining process
- Tail Gas Treating Unit (TGTU)
- Refinery process unit used to control emissions of sulfur compounds; generally integrated with a sulfur recovery unit
- Tar
- Viscous black liquid derived from the distillation of organic matter; can be produced from petroleum, peat, wood and coal
- Tar sands
- Mixture of clay, sand, water and bitumen; also called oil sands
- Tension Leg Platform
- Vertically moored floating structure used for the offshore production of oil or gas
- Thermal cracking
- Conversion of heavy oil molecules into lighter fractions by the use of high temperatures without the aid of catalysts
- Upstream
- A sector of the petroleum industry referring to the searching for, recovery and production of crude oil and natural gas. Also known as the exploration and production sector
- Vacuum distillation
- Distillation of petroleum under vacuum, which reduces the boiling temperature sufficiently to prevent cracking or decomposition of the feedstock
- Vacuum Gas Oil
- Product of vacuum distillation; a preferred feedstock for cracking units to produce gasoline; abbreviated VGO
- Visbreaking
- Viscosity breaking - A low-temperature cracking process used to reduce the viscosity or pour point of straight-run residuum
- Viscosity
- Measure of the internal friction or resistance of an oil to flow
- Wet gas
- A gas containing a relatively high proportion of hydrocarbons that are recoverable as liquids
CB&I TrademarksBack to top
- AFIP™
Automatic Foamed-In-Place - CB&I trade name for vessel insulation system
- Claus Combustor™
CB&I trade name for high efficiency acid gas burner
- CrossLink™
CB&I trade name for water filtration device
- Decelerating-Flo™
CB&I trade name for water filtration system
- ESD™
Egg-Shaped Digester - CB&I trade name for egg-shaped anaerobic digester (waste water treatment)
- FiltraCone™
CB&I trade name for modular water treatment plant
- FreshMix™
CB&I trade name for water storage mixing device
- GeorgeBox™
CB&I trade name for sealed liquid sulfur observation port
- H2DROGEN™
CB&I trade name for SMR hydrogen production technology
- HeliCarb™
CB&I trade name for water recarbonation system
- Hemispheroid™
CB&I trade name for noded spherical pressure vessel
- HFIP™
Horizontal Foamed-In-Place - CB&I trade name for vessel insulation system
- Hortonsphere™
CB&I trade name for spherical pressure vessel
- Hortonspheroid™
CB&I trade name for noded spherical pressure vessel
- HotDeck™
CB&I trade name for waste heat boiler modular assembly
- Hydropillar™
CB&I trade name for fluted column elevated water storage tank
- HYFORMING™
CB&I trade name for SMR hydrogen production technology
- Oxygen Injection™
CB&I trade name for direct oxygen diffusion into a combustion chamber
- Oxygen Injector™
CB&I trade name for direct oxygen diffusion into a combustion chamber
- OxyPac™
CB&I trade name for control module for oxygen-enhanced operations
- PC Waterspheroid™
CB&I trade name for precast concrete elevated water storage tank
- PowerTherm™
CB&I trade name for combustion turbine inlet air cooling system
- Resulf-10™
CB&I trade name for tail gas treating technology
- Resulf-MM™
CB&I trade name for tail gas treating technology
- Resulf™
CB&I trade name for tail gas treating technology
- Ribbon Flow™
CB&I trade name for water treatment contacting device
- Slurry Optimizer™
CB&I trade name for ClariCone-related device
- SoCool™
CB&I trade name for low temperature thermal stratification fluid
- Strata-Therm™
CB&I trade name for thermal energy storage tank
- SulfSep™
CB&I trade name for sulfur entrainment separator
- SunDeck™
CB&I trade name for valve and control system for TGTU systems
- Thermal Cap™
CB&I trade name for lightweight insulating deck in storage tanks
- Vapormaster™
CB&I trade name for elastomeric secondary tank roof seal
- VaporSleeve™
CB&I trade name for low emission guidepole fitting
- Vertical Plate Coke Drum™
CB&I trade name for coke drum design
- Watersphere™
CB&I trade name for single pedestal elevated water storage tank
- Waterspheroid™
CB&I trade name for single pedestal elevated water storage tank
- Weathermaster™
CB&I trade name for internal floating roof tank
Licensed ProcessesBack to top
- Acetylene
- Acetylene, recovery
- AlkyClean®
Solid acid catalyst gasoline alkylation
- ALMA
- Maleic anhydride
- BASF SELOP
- Selective hydrogenation of butadiene
- BDE
- Butadiene extraction
- Benzene CDHydro™
Selective hydrogenation of benzene in reformate
- BTA
- Field butanes to motor fuel alkylate (BTA)
- Butene-1
- Polymer grade butene-1
- C4 CDHydro™
C4 selective hydrogenation
- C4 Hydro
- Total hydrogenation
- C4/5 Hydro
- Total hydrogenation
- C4Ac CDHydro™
C4 acetylenes selective hydrogenation
- C5 CDHydro™
C5 selective hydrogenation
- CATADIENE™
Butadiene via C4 dehydrogenation; butylene via C4 dehydrogenation; isoprene via C5 dehydrogenation
- CATOFIN™
Propylene via propane dehydro; isobutylene via isobutane dehydro
- CD DelB
- Butene-2 recovery
- CDAcrylamide™
Acrylamide production from acrylonitrile
- CDAlky
- Gasoline alkylation from refinery or steam cracking C4 feeds
- CDAlkyPlus
- Converts isobutylene and isobutane to motor fuel alkylate
- CDEtbe™
ETBE from refinery C4 feeds
- CDEtherol™
TAME from refinery C5 feeds
- CDEthers™
MTBE/TAME coproduction from refinery C4/C5 feeds
- CDHydro/CDHDS™
FCC gasoline desulfurization
- CDHydro/CDHDS™
FCC gasoline desulfurization
- CDIB™
Isobutylene from MTBE decomposition
- CDIsotame™
Increased TAME from refinery and steam cracker C5 feeds
- CDMtbe™
MTBE from refinery C4 feeds
- CDMtbe™
MTBE from steam cracker and dehydro C4 feeds
- CDOPT
- Pretreatment of C4 feed for alklyation
- CDSelect
- Low cost desulfurization of low-sulfur catalytic naphtha (FCC gasoline desulfurization)
- CDTaee™
TAEE from refinery C5 feeds
- CDTame™
TAME from refinery C5 feeds
- CDTECH EB™
Ethylbenzene via catalytic distillation
- Classic Styrene
- Styrene
- CPT
- Comonomer (butene-1, hexene-1) Production Technology
- Cumene
- Cumene
- DETOL™
Benzene via aromatics hydrodealkylation
- Dimer8
- Iso-octene and/or iso-octane from refinery C4 feeds
- DMC
- Dimethyl carbonate
- DPC
- Diphenyl carbonate
- DPG™
Dripolene pyrolysis gasoline hydrogenation
- DPG™
Dripolene pyrolysis gasoline hydrogenation
- EBOne
- Ethylbenzene via fixed bed alkylation
- FCC
- Fluid Catalytic Cracking
- HDSelect
- Selective desulfurization of mid-catalytic naphtha
- HOPS
- Heavy Oil Processing System
- I-FCC
- Indmax FCC for maximum propylene
- ISOCRACKING™
Hydrocracking mid distillates to light clean fuel products or lube base oils
- ISODEWAXING™
Catalytic isomerization of wax to improve base lube oil pour point
- ISOFINING™
Mild residue hydrocracking for synthetic crude oils
- ISOFINISHING™
Hydrofinishing of base lube oils to improve oxygen stability and color
- ISOMPLUS™
Isobutylene production from normal butenes
- ISOMPLUS™
Isoamylenes production from normal pentenes
- ISOTREATING™
Hydrotreating of naphta and distillates for clean fuels
- LB-Fining
- MAPD hydrogenation to propylene
- LC-FINING™
Residuum hydrocracking
- LCN CDHydro™
LCN selective hydrotreating
- LITOL™
Benzene from coke oven oil
- LPR
- LP recovery of FCC/coker offgas
- MAPD CDHydro™
MAPD selective hydrogenation
- MTO
- Methanol to Olefins (recovery section only)
- Novolen™
Polypropylene
- Novolen™
Metalocene (catalyst)
- OCR
- Counter-current moving bed technology with on-stream catalyst replacement
- OCT
- Propylene
- Phenol
- Phenol
- PYROTOL™
Benzene from pyrolysis gasoline
- RCC
- Resid Catalytic Cracking
- RDS
- Residuum hydrotreating
- SMART™
Styrene
- TLE Decoking
- Decoking of transferline exchangers
- UFR
- Up-flow reactor for HDT residue steam with higher contaminate levels
- VRDS
- Vacuum resid hydrotreating