Refining Chemistry

Refining chemistry is (in the current context) the chemistry that is involved in the conversion of refinery feedstocks to useful products, which also involves the removal of any impurities from a product to obtain a purer form of the product that will enhance the purity (commercial value) of the product without changing its chemical composition, other than the removal of undesirable constituents. The impurities are removed from unrefined petroleum or from crude products by various methods based on the properties of the petroleum or the product and the properties of impurities. As examples, the three basic steps in the refining process are (1) separation, which involves separating petroleum into different fractions based on their boiling points, (2) conversion, which involves the transformation of the feedstock into desired products, and (3) treatment, which involves the removal of any impurities that interfere with the quality of the final products (Chapter 26).