Guwahati Refinery was set up at
Noonmati
Noonmati is a locality located in Guwahati, Assam in North East India.
It is the place where Indian Oil Company (now the Indian Oil Corporation) commissioned its first oil refinery, the Guwahati Refinery
Guwahati Refinery was set up at No ...
in
Guwahati
Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...
on 1 January 1962. Guwahati Refinery is the first Public Sector
refinery
A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value.
Types of refineries
Different types of refineries ...
of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and belongs to
Indian Oil Corporation Limited. The refinery was inaugurated by Late
Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
*
*
*
* and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
, the first Prime Minister of independent India. The refinery was built with
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
n Collaboration and has a capacity of 1.0 million metric tonnes per annum. This refinery process
crude oil
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...
from
Upper Assam Oil Fields, India and helps cater energy need of the region.
Major Products of this refinery are
# LPG,
# Motor Spirit (Petrol),
# Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF),
# Kerosene,
# High Speed Diesel,
# Light Diesel Oil and
# Raw Petroleum Coke.
With growing environmental consciousness, Guwahati Refinery, Indian Oil Corporation Limited has also ventured into
ecologically friendly fuel and subsequently installed 3 new units: the
ISOSIV, the
Hydrotreater and the
INDMAX. The ISOSIV unit produces Lead Free Petrol by the Molecular Sieve Technology, which separates
Octane
Octane is a hydrocarbon and an alkane with the chemical formula , and the condensed structural formula . Octane has many structural isomers that differ by the amount and location of branching in the carbon chain. One of these isomers, 2,2,4-Tri ...
rich MS components from
feed naphtha. The Hydrotreater Unit (HDT) enables the Refinery to produce High Speed Diesel of very low
sulphur
Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...
and
cetane number
Cetane number (cetane rating) is an indicator of the combustion speed of diesel fuel and compression needed for ignition. It plays a similar role for diesel as octane rating does for gasoline. The CN is an important factor in determining the quali ...
conforming to BIS specifications. The HDT also produces ATF, Superior Kerosene Oil with high
smoke point
The smoke point, also referred to as the burning point, is the temperature at which an oil or fat begins to produce a continuous bluish smoke that becomes clearly visible, dependent upon specific and defined conditions. Smoke point values can va ...
and low sulphur. The Indane Maximization (INDMAX) technology developed by R&D Centre of Indian Oil installed at the Refinery is designed to achieve LPG yield as high as 44% through Fluidized Catalytic Cracking of residual
feed stocks like Reduced Crude Oil, Coker Fuel Oil and Coker Gasolene. The INDMAX unit also enables Guwahati Refinery to upgrade all its residual products to high value
distillate
Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heat ...
products and make it a zero residue Refinery.
References
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Further reading
*http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050624/asp/northeast/story_4907512.asp
*http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/22979919.cms
Energy in Assam
Oil refineries in India
Economy of Guwahati
Companies based in Assam
Indian Oil Corporation
India–Romania relations
Indian Oil Corporation buildings and structures
1962 establishments in Assam