{"id":"crude-refining-used-oil-rerefining-mass-balance-evidence-guide","canonicalSlug":"crude-refining-used-oil-rerefining-mass-balance-evidence-guide","url":"https://wellficent.com/en/news/crude-refining-used-oil-rerefining-mass-balance-evidence-guide","language":"en","title":"Crude Refining and Used-Oil Re-Refining: Feedstock, Mass Balance and Capacity Evidence","summary":"Distinguish crude processing, used-oil recovery and lubricant blending, then reproduce a hypothetical mass balance without turning it into a real refinery capacity or performance claim.","body":["A refinery name, a lubricant catalogue and a cluster of storage tanks answer different questions. None alone establishes what enters a plant, which transformation occurs there, or how much it can process. Energy intelligence becomes more useful when facility classification, operating status, ownership and capacity each retain their own evidence.","This engineering guide combines primary-source process definitions with an original accounting example. All example rates, water content and density are prescribed assumptions. They describe no named installation, measured production, typical industry yield or validated process design. The accompanying chart represents four assumed mass exits, not a process-flow diagram."],"keyPoints":[],"sections":[{"heading":"Start with feedstock and product, not the facility name","paragraphs":["EIA describes crude refining through separation, conversion and treatment. EPA distinguishes several destinations for used oil, including re-refining into lubricants and processing into fuel oils. These descriptions establish that different feedstocks and product objectives can sit behind similar industrial vocabulary. They do not identify the process at a particular map location.","Ask whether the incoming material is crude, a refinery intermediate, collected used lubricant or purchased base oil. Then distinguish recovering a base stock from blending an already manufactured base stock with additives. A lubricant product list does not demonstrate crude distillation or used-oil re-refining. Likewise, selling fuel does not establish that the seller manufactures it. Preserve an unknown feedstock until a plant-specific document resolves it."]},{"heading":"Read the process evidence at its actual scope","paragraphs":["Appendix B of DOE’s December 2020 report describes used-oil pretreatment, vacuum separation and finishing options, including hydrogenation, solvent extraction and clay treatment. It also distinguishes base-stock production from treatment aimed at fuel products. The report documents possible routes; it is not an equipment inventory for every used-oil business.","A filtration reference therefore cannot establish a complete re-refinery. Nor does a generic hydrotreater description prove that a named site has hydrogen supply, a particular catalyst or an operating reactor. Retain document date, plant address and the exact process wording. Design announcements, commissioned equipment and current operating evidence should remain separate records."]},{"heading":"Set a mass boundary before calculating yield","paragraphs":["For a defined control volume, total mass conservation is dM/dt = Σṁin − Σṁout. M is contained mass and ṁ is mass flow. At assumed steady inventory, accumulation is zero and total incoming mass equals total outgoing mass. Chemical reactions rearrange material; they do not remove the need to account for it.","Choose whether the boundary covers a separation step, a production train or the whole site. Hydrogen, additives, solvents, purchased intermediates and returned material belong among the inputs whenever they cross that boundary. Water, residues, gaseous streams and material sent for treatment belong among the outputs. Internal recycle is not a second external feed. Align the accounting period before comparing totals."]},{"heading":"Reproduce the hypothetical four-stream ledger","paragraphs":["Assume one feed of 1000 kg/h and four grouped exits: base oil 700 kg/h, a secondary hydrocarbon stream 120 kg/h, water 100 kg/h and residue 80 kg/h. Prescribe zero accumulation and no other material crossing the example boundary. The sum is 700 + 120 + 100 + 80 = 1000 kg/h, so the accounting residual is zero.","This is a stipulated ledger, not a simulation showing that any technology achieves these splits. The grouped exits make no claim about phase, contaminant composition, discharge quality or waste classification. The zero residual follows from the chosen numbers; it does not demonstrate a zero-emission plant or prove that an actual meter closes. No hydrogen-consuming process is represented by this simplified example."]},{"heading":"Keep wet-feed and water-free yield denominators distinct","paragraphs":["On the total incoming-feed basis, the assumed base-oil mass yield is Y = 700/1000 × 100 = 70%. Now additionally prescribe that the feed contains 100 kg/h of water and that all of it exits in the water group. The water-free feed is then 1000 − 100 = 900 kg/h, giving Y* = 700/900 × 100 = 77.777…%, rounded to 77.78%.","The numerator did not increase. Only the denominator changed. Water-free does not mean pure hydrocarbon: other nonwater contaminants may remain. Neither percentage is a recovery fraction of chemically identified lubricant molecules. Such a component recovery would require feed and product composition. Report the basis beside the value rather than comparing these two percentages as different plant efficiencies."]},{"heading":"Use an imbalance to investigate the ledger","paragraphs":["In a separate fictional reporting exercise, retain 1000 kg/h incoming but suppose the reported exits total only 950 kg/h. The positive residual is 50 kg/h, or 5% of the reported feed. It is an unresolved accounting difference. Assigning the entire difference to evaporation, leakage or conversion loss would invent a physical explanation.","Check inventory movement, sampling periods, tank transfers, units, meter calibration and missing streams before interpretation. A batch inventory change cannot be compared directly with an hourly rate without a time basis. Retain original readings and corrections separately. A small arithmetic residual also cannot establish accurate individual meters: errors in different streams can offset."]},{"heading":"Separate a mass rate from volume and capacity","paragraphs":["For an additional illustration, prescribe base-oil density 0.88 kg/L at 20°C and take the 700 kg/h base-oil stream at that same reference condition. Q = ṁ/ρ = 700/0.88 = 795.4545… L/h, rounded to 795.45 L/h. This assumed density is not a measured property or a recommended value for a real product.","Without compatible density and temperature references, a reported tonnage cannot establish barrels per day. Even a valid conversion supplies only a rate on its declared basis. Capacity still needs to identify feed versus product, the particular unit or site, rated versus achieved throughput and the operating-time denominator. Storage volume is an inventory limit, not processing capacity. Leave an unsupported conversion unknown."]},{"heading":"Follow a real record while preserving the example boundary","paragraphs":["Alma Petroli’s Operations page describes atmospheric and vacuum fractionation of crude at its Ravenna plant, with bitumen among the products. This is a useful counterexample to classifying solely by the main product: bitumen specialization does not by itself exclude crude processing. The existing Refinery Atlas record osm-way-681248983 retains the corresponding classification evidence and source link.","Use the cited Atlas page and record API to examine that evidence, then follow the related mass-balance and density guides for the calculation methods. No Alma Petroli rate, yield, density or equipment performance was used in this example. The research link establishes an editorial pathway, not a used-oil feed relationship or a physical supply chain."]},{"heading":"Keep quality and environmental claims outside unsupported arithmetic","paragraphs":["DOE’s 2020 review discusses how system boundaries and assumptions affect energy and environmental comparisons. A closed mass ledger alone cannot establish energy savings, carbon intensity or economic advantage. A comparison needs an equivalent product function, material and utility inputs, residue treatment, transport and a stated allocation method.","Likewise, a base-oil yield does not establish viscosity, stability or a finished lubricant approval. Keep laboratory results, product specifications and commercial qualifications separate from throughput. Archive the exact source, access date, units, assumptions and calculation with each derived value. A later verification date updates the evidence review; it does not turn an old report into a current production measurement."]}],"text":"Crude Refining and Used-Oil Re-Refining: Feedstock, Mass Balance and Capacity Evidence\n\nDistinguish crude processing, used-oil recovery and lubricant blending, then reproduce a hypothetical mass balance without turning it into a real refinery capacity or performance claim.\n\nA refinery name, a lubricant catalogue and a cluster of storage tanks answer different questions. None alone establishes what enters a plant, which transformation occurs there, or how much it can process. Energy intelligence becomes more useful when facility classification, operating status, ownership and capacity each retain their own evidence.\n\nThis engineering guide combines primary-source process definitions with an original accounting example. All example rates, water content and density are prescribed assumptions. They describe no named installation, measured production, typical industry yield or validated process design. The accompanying chart represents four assumed mass exits, not a process-flow diagram.\n\nStart with feedstock and product, not the facility name\n\nEIA describes crude refining through separation, conversion and treatment. EPA distinguishes several destinations for used oil, including re-refining into lubricants and processing into fuel oils. These descriptions establish that different feedstocks and product objectives can sit behind similar industrial vocabulary. They do not identify the process at a particular map location.\n\nAsk whether the incoming material is crude, a refinery intermediate, collected used lubricant or purchased base oil. Then distinguish recovering a base stock from blending an already manufactured base stock with additives. A lubricant product list does not demonstrate crude distillation or used-oil re-refining. Likewise, selling fuel does not establish that the seller manufactures it. Preserve an unknown feedstock until a plant-specific document resolves it.\n\nRead the process evidence at its actual scope\n\nAppendix B of DOE’s December 2020 report describes used-oil pretreatment, vacuum separation and finishing options, including hydrogenation, solvent extraction and clay treatment. It also distinguishes base-stock production from treatment aimed at fuel products. The report documents possible routes; it is not an equipment inventory for every used-oil business.\n\nA filtration reference therefore cannot establish a complete re-refinery. Nor does a generic hydrotreater description prove that a named site has hydrogen supply, a particular catalyst or an operating reactor. Retain document date, plant address and the exact process wording. Design announcements, commissioned equipment and current operating evidence should remain separate records.\n\nSet a mass boundary before calculating yield\n\nFor a defined control volume, total mass conservation is dM/dt = Σṁin − Σṁout. M is contained mass and ṁ is mass flow. At assumed steady inventory, accumulation is zero and total incoming mass equals total outgoing mass. Chemical reactions rearrange material; they do not remove the need to account for it.\n\nChoose whether the boundary covers a separation step, a production train or the whole site. Hydrogen, additives, solvents, purchased intermediates and returned material belong among the inputs whenever they cross that boundary. Water, residues, gaseous streams and material sent for treatment belong among the outputs. Internal recycle is not a second external feed. Align the accounting period before comparing totals.\n\nReproduce the hypothetical four-stream ledger\n\nAssume one feed of 1000 kg/h and four grouped exits: base oil 700 kg/h, a secondary hydrocarbon stream 120 kg/h, water 100 kg/h and residue 80 kg/h. Prescribe zero accumulation and no other material crossing the example boundary. The sum is 700 + 120 + 100 + 80 = 1000 kg/h, so the accounting residual is zero.\n\nThis is a stipulated ledger, not a simulation showing that any technology achieves these splits. The grouped exits make no claim about phase, contaminant composition, discharge quality or waste classification. The zero residual follows from the chosen numbers; it does not demonstrate a zero-emission plant or prove that an actual meter closes. No hydrogen-consuming process is represented by this simplified example.\n\nKeep wet-feed and water-free yield denominators distinct\n\nOn the total incoming-feed basis, the assumed base-oil mass yield is Y = 700/1000 × 100 = 70%. Now additionally prescribe that the feed contains 100 kg/h of water and that all of it exits in the water group. The water-free feed is then 1000 − 100 = 900 kg/h, giving Y* = 700/900 × 100 = 77.777…%, rounded to 77.78%.\n\nThe numerator did not increase. Only the denominator changed. Water-free does not mean pure hydrocarbon: other nonwater contaminants may remain. Neither percentage is a recovery fraction of chemically identified lubricant molecules. Such a component recovery would require feed and product composition. Report the basis beside the value rather than comparing these two percentages as different plant efficiencies.\n\nUse an imbalance to investigate the ledger\n\nIn a separate fictional reporting exercise, retain 1000 kg/h incoming but suppose the reported exits total only 950 kg/h. The positive residual is 50 kg/h, or 5% of the reported feed. It is an unresolved accounting difference. Assigning the entire difference to evaporation, leakage or conversion loss would invent a physical explanation.\n\nCheck inventory movement, sampling periods, tank transfers, units, meter calibration and missing streams before interpretation. A batch inventory change cannot be compared directly with an hourly rate without a time basis. Retain original readings and corrections separately. A small arithmetic residual also cannot establish accurate individual meters: errors in different streams can offset.\n\nSeparate a mass rate from volume and capacity\n\nFor an additional illustration, prescribe base-oil density 0.88 kg/L at 20°C and take the 700 kg/h base-oil stream at that same reference condition. Q = ṁ/ρ = 700/0.88 = 795.4545… L/h, rounded to 795.45 L/h. This assumed density is not a measured property or a recommended value for a real product.\n\nWithout compatible density and temperature references, a reported tonnage cannot establish barrels per day. Even a valid conversion supplies only a rate on its declared basis. Capacity still needs to identify feed versus product, the particular unit or site, rated versus achieved throughput and the operating-time denominator. Storage volume is an inventory limit, not processing capacity. Leave an unsupported conversion unknown.\n\nFollow a real record while preserving the example boundary\n\nAlma Petroli’s Operations page describes atmospheric and vacuum fractionation of crude at its Ravenna plant, with bitumen among the products. This is a useful counterexample to classifying solely by the main product: bitumen specialization does not by itself exclude crude processing. The existing Refinery Atlas record osm-way-681248983 retains the corresponding classification evidence and source link.\n\nUse the cited Atlas page and record API to examine that evidence, then follow the related mass-balance and density guides for the calculation methods. No Alma Petroli rate, yield, density or equipment performance was used in this example. The research link establishes an editorial pathway, not a used-oil feed relationship or a physical supply chain.\n\nKeep quality and environmental claims outside unsupported arithmetic\n\nDOE’s 2020 review discusses how system boundaries and assumptions affect energy and environmental comparisons. A closed mass ledger alone cannot establish energy savings, carbon intensity or economic advantage. A comparison needs an equivalent product function, material and utility inputs, residue treatment, transport and a stated allocation method.\n\nLikewise, a base-oil yield does not establish viscosity, stability or a finished lubricant approval. Keep laboratory results, product specifications and commercial qualifications separate from throughput. Archive the exact source, access date, units, assumptions and calculation with each derived value. A later verification date updates the evidence review; it does not turn an old report into a current production measurement.\n\nTechnical and economic analysis\n\nAnalysis as of: 2026-11-15\n\nEvidence cutoff: 2026-11-15\n\nOutlook horizon: Hypothetical steady-inventory accounting example; no forecast\n\nIllustrative sensitivity\n\nAssumed mass exits from a fictional 1000 kg/h feed\n\nPrescribed assumptions, not measurements: 700 + 120 + 100 + 80 = 1000 kg/h. Zero accumulation and no other crossings are imposed. Base-oil yield is 70% of total feed and 77.78% of the assumed 900 kg/h water-free feed. This chart is a mass ledger, not a process diagram or a typical-yield claim.\n\nThese calculations illustrate stated assumptions; they are not observations or a calibrated forecast.\n\nAssumed base oil: 700 kilograms per hour\n\nAssumed secondary hydrocarbon stream: 120 kilograms per hour\n\nAssumed water: 100 kilograms per hour\n\nAssumed residue: 80 kilograms per hour","category":"energy","region":"world","topics":["oil"],"eventDate":"2026-11-15","eventDateBasis":"analysis-as-of","publishedAt":"2026-11-15T20:51:37Z","modifiedAt":"2026-11-15T20:51:37Z","publicationBasis":"first-publication","preparedAt":"2026-11-15T20:50:46Z","sourcePublishedAt":null,"translatedAt":null,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/oil-and-petroleum-products/refining-crude-oil-the-refining-process.php","name":"EIA — Refining crude oil: the refining process","checkedAt":"2026-11-15"},{"url":"https://www.epa.gov/recycle/managing-reusing-and-recycling-used-oil","name":"US EPA — Managing, Reusing, and Recycling Used Oil (page updated 25 June 2026)","checkedAt":"2026-11-15"},{"url":"https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2020/12/f81/Used%20Oil%20Management%20and%20Beneficial%20Reuse%20Options%20to%20Address%20Section%201.%20E....pdf","name":"US DOE — Used Oil Management and Beneficial Reuse Options, December 2020; Appendix B, printed pp. 124–126, and environmental comparison pp. 74–76","checkedAt":"2026-11-15"},{"url":"https://www.almapetroli.com/operations/","name":"Alma Petroli — Operations: Ravenna crude fractionation; primary operator process description","checkedAt":"2026-11-15"},{"url":"https://wellficent.com/en/refineries/osm-way-681248983","name":"Wellficent Refinery Atlas — Alma Petroli osm-way-681248983; internal research pathway, not an independent primary source","checkedAt":"2026-11-15"},{"url":"https://wellficent.com/api/v1/refineries/osm-way-681248983","name":"Wellficent record API — osm-way-681248983; internal provenance inspection, not example input data","checkedAt":"2026-11-15"}],"translations":{"en":"https://wellficent.com/en/news/crude-refining-used-oil-rerefining-mass-balance-evidence-guide","tr":"https://wellficent.com/tr/news/crude-refining-used-oil-rerefining-mass-balance-evidence-guide","ar":"https://wellficent.com/ar/news/crude-refining-used-oil-rerefining-mass-balance-evidence-guide","fr":"https://wellficent.com/fr/news/crude-refining-used-oil-rerefining-mass-balance-evidence-guide","es":"https://wellficent.com/es/news/crude-refining-used-oil-rerefining-mass-balance-evidence-guide","ru":"https://wellficent.com/ru/news/crude-refining-used-oil-rerefining-mass-balance-evidence-guide","pt":"https://wellficent.com/pt/news/crude-refining-used-oil-rerefining-mass-balance-evidence-guide"},"corrections":[],"locations":[],"type":"analysis","analysis":{"asOf":"2026-11-15","kind":"technical-economic","chart":{"kind":"illustrative","note":{"ar":"افتراضات مفروضة لا قياسات: 700 + 120 + 100 + 80 = 1000 kg/h. يفرض تراكم صفري ولا عبور آخر. مردود زيت الأساس 70% من اللقيم الكلي و77.78% من اللقيم المفترض الخالي من الماء البالغ 900 kg/h. الرسم سجل كتلة وليس مخطط عملية أو ادعاء مردود نموذجي.","en":"Prescribed assumptions, not measurements: 700 + 120 + 100 + 80 = 1000 kg/h. Zero accumulation and no other crossings are imposed. Base-oil yield is 70% of total feed and 77.78% of the assumed 900 kg/h water-free feed. This chart is a mass ledger, not a process diagram or a typical-yield claim.","es":"Supuestos prescritos, no mediciones: 700 + 120 + 100 + 80 = 1000 kg/h. Acumulación cero y ningún otro cruce impuestos. Rendimiento de base: 70 % del total y 77,78 % de los 900 kg/h supuestos sin agua. Registro másico, no diagrama de proceso ni rendimiento típico.","fr":"Hypothèses imposées, pas des mesures : 700 + 120 + 100 + 80 = 1000 kg/h. Accumulation nulle et aucune autre traversée imposées. Rendement de base : 70 % de la charge totale et 77,78 % des 900 kg/h supposés sans eau. Bilan massique, pas schéma de procédé ni rendement typique.","pt":"Hipóteses prescritas, não medições: 700 + 120 + 100 + 80 = 1000 kg/h. Acumulação zero e nenhuma outra travessia impostas. Rendimento de base: 70% do total e 77,78% dos 900 kg/h supostos sem água. Balanço de massa, não fluxograma ou rendimento típico.","ru":"Заданные допущения, не измерения: 700 + 120 + 100 + 80 = 1000 kg/h. Заданы нулевое накопление и отсутствие других пересечений. Выход базы — 70% всего сырья и 77,78% условных 900 kg/h без воды. Это массовый учёт, не схема процесса и не типичный выход.","tr":"Ölçüm değil verilmiş varsayımlar: 700 + 120 + 100 + 80 = 1000 kg/h. Birikim sıfır, diğer madde geçişleri yok kabul edilir. Baz yağ verimi toplam beslemede %70, varsayılan 900 kg/h susuz beslemede %77,78’dir. Grafik proses şeması veya tipik verim iddiası değil, kütle hesabıdır."},"rows":[{"label":{"ar":"زيت أساس مفترض","en":"Assumed base oil","es":"Aceite base supuesto","fr":"Huile de base supposée","pt":"Óleo básico suposto","ru":"Условное базовое масло","tr":"Varsayılan baz yağ"},"value":700},{"label":{"ar":"تيار هيدروكربوني ثانوي مفترض","en":"Assumed secondary hydrocarbon stream","es":"Corriente secundaria de hidrocarburos supuesta","fr":"Courant hydrocarboné secondaire supposé","pt":"Corrente secundária de hidrocarbonetos suposta","ru":"Условный вторичный углеводородный поток","tr":"Varsayılan ikincil hidrokarbon akımı"},"value":120},{"label":{"ar":"ماء مفترض","en":"Assumed water","es":"Agua supuesta","fr":"Eau supposée","pt":"Água suposta","ru":"Условная вода","tr":"Varsayılan su"},"value":100},{"label":{"ar":"متبقيات مفترضة","en":"Assumed residue","es":"Residuo supuesto","fr":"Résidu supposé","pt":"Resíduo suposto","ru":"Условный остаток","tr":"Varsayılan kalıntı"},"value":80}],"unit":"kg/h","title":{"ar":"مخارج كتلية مفترضة من لقيم خيالي 1000 kg/h","en":"Assumed mass exits from a fictional 1000 kg/h feed","es":"Salidas másicas supuestas de una alimentación ficticia de 1000 kg/h","fr":"Sorties massiques supposées pour une charge fictive de 1000 kg/h","pt":"Saídas de massa supostas de uma alimentação fictícia de 1000 kg/h","ru":"Условные массовые выходы при вымышленном входе 1000 kg/h","tr":"Kurmaca 1000 kg/h beslemeden varsayılan kütle çıkışları"},"unitLabel":{"ar":"كيلوغرام في الساعة","en":"kilograms per hour","es":"kilogramos por hora","fr":"kilogrammes par heure","pt":"quilogramas por hora","ru":"килограммы в час","tr":"kilogram/saat"}},"horizon":"Hypothetical steady-inventory accounting example; no forecast","horizonLabel":{"ar":"مثال حسابي افتراضي بمخزون ثابت؛ ليس تنبؤاً","en":"Hypothetical steady-inventory accounting example; no forecast","es":"Ejemplo contable hipotético con inventario constante; sin pronóstico","fr":"Exemple comptable fictif à inventaire constant ; aucune prévision","pt":"Exemplo contábil hipotético com inventário constante; sem previsão","ru":"Условный расчёт при постоянном запасе; без прогноза","tr":"Varsayımsal sabit envanter hesabı; tahmin değildir"},"evidenceCutoff":"2026-11-15"},"relatedArticles":[{"canonicalSlug":"refinery-mass-balance-processing-gain-engineering-guide","url":"https://wellficent.com/en/news/refinery-mass-balance-processing-gain-engineering-guide","title":"Refinery Mass Balance and Processing Gain: Why More Volume Does Not Mean More Mass","language":"en"},{"canonicalSlug":"api-gravity-density-mass-volume-engineering-guide","url":"https://wellficent.com/en/news/api-gravity-density-mass-volume-engineering-guide","title":"API Gravity, Density and Mass–Volume Conversion: A Petroleum Engineering Guide","language":"en"}],"image":{"url":"https://wellficent.com/media/8f1e0a8ea6594502fd88d747e770b30372dad95db5ea2cd889447c344f50965a.webp","width":1536,"height":1024,"alt":"Conceptual refinery process area with two distillation towers, supported pipes and a separate heater; no named facility or engineered process design.","credit":"Wellficent / Codex imagegen — AI-generated conceptual illustration; not an authentic project photograph, site survey or process schematic.","licenseUrl":"https://openai.com/policies/terms-of-use/"}}