DR.

Hemdan 1


DESALTING
DR.Hemdan 2
CRUDE OIL
DESALTING
DR.Hemdan 3
Crude Oil Desalting:-
Salts are distributed in crude oil as brine (Nacl)
Defects of Salts are:
-Cause plugging of heat exchangers tubes.
-Cause deposits in pipe still tubes (furnaces)
and consequently cause .
-Decrease in heat transfer coefficient.
-Create pressure drop which affects on
pumps.
Salts may reach up to 260 PTb each 100 PTb cause
deposits of about 3 ft/day .
Salts should be removed before distillation tower where
these salts liberate HCL gas which cause many
corrosion problems .
DR.Hemdan 4
DR.Hemdan 5
Problems of oleophobics
-Corrosion due to hydrolysis of salts .
-Increase consumption of NH3 to
neutralize HCL
-Erosion .
-Plugging of Equipment and fouling .
-Trace metals in distillates which acts as
catalyst poisoning
DR.Hemdan 6


Crude desalting is the first processing step in a refinery .
The objectives of crude desalting are :

1-the removal of salts and solids

2- the formation water from unrefined crude oil before

the crude is introduced in the crude distillation unit .

3-removal of suspended solids from the crude oil.

4-Reduced equipment fouling and corrosion and

5-longer catalyst life
DR.Hemdan 7
DR.Hemdan 8
DR.Hemdan 9
SINGLE-STAGE DESALTER
..
Mix
Valve
Heat
Exchangers
Demulsifier
Water
Feed Oil
Desalter
Effluent Water
Desalted
Crude
DR.Hemdan 10
1st Stage Crude Outlet
(5.0 PTB, 0.2% BS&W)
Two-Stage Desalter Example
2nd Stage Effluent Water
is 1st Stage Wash Water
1st Stage Desalter

Mix
Valve


Crude Charge
(100 PTB, 1% BS&W)
Desalted Crude
(0.5 PTB, 0.2% BS&W)
Wash Water
Effluent Water
2nd Stage Desalter

5.0% 5.0%
5.8%
Figure 2
Mix
Valve


Counter-current flow
DR.Hemdan 11

SERIES: Maximize Desalting Efficiency
Water
Feed
Oil
Heat
Exchangers
1
st

Stage
2
nd

Stage
Mix Valve
Mix Valve
Effluent
Water
Desalted
Crude
100ppm
salt in
10ppm
salt out
1ppm
salt out
Overall Efficiency = (100 - 1) / 100 = 99%
MULTI-STAGE DESALTING
DR.Hemdan 12
PARALLEL:
Maximize Throughput
Feed Oil
Heat
Exchangers
Mix Valves
Effluent Water
Desalted
Crude
Water
MULTI-STAGE DESALTING
DR.Hemdan 13
Pure water and NaOH is added to the
desalter
Some deemulsifier may be added to break
forces between salts and the oil
In electrostatic precipitator applied voltage
up to 30KV
Salt drops coalesce together and form
larger drops which separated down to the
bottom of desalter
Salt removal reach to about 90%
DR.Hemdan 14
It is necessary to adjust the pH of the brine to
obtain a value of 7 or less.
If the pH of the brine exceeds 7, emulsions are
formed because of the presence of sodium
naphthenate and sodium sulfide.
For most crude oils, it is desirable to keep the
pH below 8.
Better dehydration is obtained in electrical
desalters when they are operated at a pH of 6.
The pH is controlled by the addition of acid to
the incoming or recycle water.
DR.Hemdan 15
The trend toward running heavier crude
oils has increased the importance of
efficient desalting of crudes. Until recently,
the criterion for desalting crude oils was 10
lb salt/1000 bbl (expressed as NaCl) or
more, but now many companies desalt all
crude oils.
DR.Hemdan 16
Salt in the crude oil is in the form of
dissolved or suspended salt crystals in
water emulsified with the crude oil.
The basic process of desalting is to wash
the salt from crude oil with water.
Problems occur are:
1-inefficient and economical water/oil mixing,
2-water wetting of suspended solids, and
3-separation of oil from wash water
DR.Hemdan 17
The separation of oil and washwater i.e
desalter performance is affected by :
1-the gravity
2-viscosity
3-pH of the crude oil
4-the ratio of water/crude used for washing.
5-temperature
6-pressure drop
7-chemicals additions
DR.Hemdan 18
Desalting is carried out by emulsifying the
crude oil with 3 to 10 vol% water at a
temperature of 200-300F. Both the ratio of
water to oil and the operating temperature
are functions of the gravity of the crude oil.
Typical operating conditions are :


DR.Hemdan 19
DR.Hemdan 20
Trouble shooting