How does superfractionation produce very pure petroleum chemicals?

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Aerial view of an oil refinery complex near New Orleans, Louisiana, with storage tanks, industrial structures, and smoke rising from the facility, surrounded by open land. — petroleum refining Aerial view of an oil refinery near New Orleans.

Superfractionation is an advanced extension of the distillation process designed to isolate specific, high-purity compounds from petroleum.

To achieve this level of precision, the process utilizes specialized equipment that differs from standard distillation columns in two primary ways:

Column Design: It employs smaller-diameter columns equipped with a significantly higher number of trays—often 100 or more—which allows for more efficient separation of components.1
Reflux Ratios: The process operates with high reflux ratios, typically exceeding 5:1, which enhances the purity of the output by repeatedly cycling the condensed vapor back through the column.1

By utilizing this configuration, refineries can isolate narrow ranges of components or individual aromatic compounds and isoparaffins for use as high-purity solvents or essential petrochemicals.1