Based on the process flow, the equipment can be categorized into six major groups:
Fluid transport equipment: Includes piping, pumps, and compressors, responsible for transporting raw materials and products.
Heating equipment: Primarily tubular heating furnaces, providing the thermal energy required for crude oil cracking.
Heat exchange equipment: Includes recuperative heat exchangers and air coolers, used for heat energy recovery.
Reaction equipment: Catalytic cracking reactors and hydrogenation reactors serve as the core units.
Mass transfer equipment: Distillation towers and absorption towers perform component separation functions.
Storage equipment: Includes oil storage tanks and buffer tanks, ensuring production continuity.
In addition, oil refining equipment can be classified according to other criteria. Based on feedstock, categories include equipment for processing waste tires, waste plastics, oilfield sludge, and coal tar residue. Classification by functional components includes specific internals designed to optimize reactor performance, such as high-efficiency distribution trays (HD trays), ultra-flat quench trays (UFQ), and internals for fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) units.