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