Industrial Consumption of Energy (ICE) Survey – Summary Report of Energy Use in the Canadian Manufacturing Sector, 1995-2005 – March 2008

Figure 4.4.2 illustrates the basic distillation process. For demonstration purposes, only some of the products that can result from the distillation process are included in this figure. In the first step, the crude petroleum is boiled and the vapour that is formed goes into a distillation column. The temperature is very high at the bottom of the column and cool as it reaches the top of the column. By going through the distillation column, hydrocarbons contained in the vapour condense and form a liquid when they reach a height where the temperature is equal to their boiling point. The liquid products are collected separately. Some gases are collected at the top of the distillation column, and the residual is collected in solid form at the bottom of the distillation column.

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