Crude oil Desalting

Salts existing in crude

• Chlorides

• Sulfates

• Carbonates
 CHLORIDES
• NaCl ---- 75%

• MgCl2 ---- 15%

• CaCl2 ---- 10%

 CHLORIDES
• Chlorides causes corrosion, especially,
Mg and Ca chlorides

• MgCl2 + H2O -------- Mg(OH)2 + 2HCl

• CaCl2 + H2O -------- Ca(OH)2 + 2HCl

 CHLORIDES
• NaCl is not so active as Mg and Ca
chlorides

• It is concentrated in fuel oil causing

problems in furnaces
 Sulfates and carbonates
• The main problem is deposits in heat
exchanger tubes, furnace pipes

• Main problems in heat exchanger:

– Efficiency reduction
– Reducing tube bundle life time
• Main problems in furnace:
– Hotspots, furnace tube rupture
 Solid Impurities
• Sand
• Clay
• Drilling mud
• Volcanic ash
• Metal scales
Problems
Cause plugging tubes, valves, filters,…
• Contaminates distillates, reduce tank
capacity if precipitate, stabilize emulsions
DEWATERING AND DESALTING
:Various impurities •
,gases - •
,water - •
,inorganic salts - •
suspended solids, and- •
water-soluble trace metals - •
 desalting
is a water-washing
operation performed at the
production field and at the
refinery site for additional
crude oil cleanup
Problems caused by
contaminants
- Equipment plugging
- Corrosion
Catalyst deactivation --
Overheating --
Equiment explosion --
• blend crude oils of similar characteristics

• Water is present accept a range of 0.2 to

3%

• When water forms a stable emulsion

emulsion-treating methods must be used.
 Emulsion definition

• It is a heterogeneous liquid system

consisting of two immiscible liquids with
one of the liquids intimately disposed in
the form of droplets in the second liquid

• A common method for separating water-oil

emulsion is to heat the stream.
 Benefits of heating
• 1. reduces the viscosity, a greater force
during collision

• 2. increases the droplets' movement.

• 3. enhance the action of treating chemicals,

• 4. increase the difference in density,

accelerating settling.
• Crude oil is pumped from storage to be heated
by exchange

• The temperature is limited by the vapor pressure

of the petroleum constituents.

• Desalting involves the mixing of heated crude oil

with water (approximately 3% to 10% of the
crude oil volume).

• The mixture enters a desalter drum usually

containing an electrostatic precipitator (Electrical
desalting).
 Electrical desalting

• It is the application of high-voltage

electrostatic charges to concentrate
suspended water globules in the bottom of
the settling tank
 Addition of
Demulsifying chemicals

• Examples of Demulsifying chemicals:

• fatty acids, sulfonates, and long-chain

alcohols
•
• Demulsifying chemicals may be added at one
or more of three points :

• First: to the crude oil before it is mixed with

fresh water

• Second: to the fresh water before mixing with

the crude oil.

• Third: it may be added to the mixture of crude

oil and water.

A high-potential field across the settling vessel also

aids coalescence and breaks emulsions,
• de-salting’ does not remove the organic
chlorides

• Ammonia or NaOH could be used to

reduce corrosion

• alkali or acid may be added to adjust

the pH of the water wash.
Desalting unit
A Video indicating Desalting
• wastewater may contain varying amounts of
chlorides, sulfides, bicarbonates, ammonia,
hydrocarbons, phenol, and suspended solids.

• Desalting creates an oily desalter sludge that

may be a hazardous waste and a high
temperature wastewater stream that is usually
added to other process wastewaters

• In some cases, it is possible to recycle the

desalter effluent water back into the desalting
process, depending upon the type of crude
being processed
 Metallic Constituents
• Concentrations have to be reduced to convert
the oil to transportation fuel.

• They poison catalysts used for sulfur and

nitrogen removal as well as other processes
such as catalytic cracking.

• The trace metals Ni and V are generally orders

of magnitude higher than other metals in
petroleum
 Problems caused by
Metallic Constituents
• 1- Lead to ash deposits on the turbine
rotors, reducing clearances and disturbing
balance
• 2- Corrosion may be very severe
• 3- The ash reacts with refractory
furnace linings .. lower fusion points ..
cause deterioration.
• 4- increased gas and coke formation and
reduced yields of gasoline
 ash residue Types of
• 1- inorganic water-soluble salts
chlorides and sulfates of sodium, potassium,
magnesium, and calcium
• 2-other forms such as
• oil-soluble organometallic compounds as
complexes, metallic soaps, or in the form of
colloidal suspensions

• total ash from desalted crude oils is of the order of

0.1 to 100 mg/L
 Two groups of elements appear in significant
concentrations in the original crude oil

• Zinc, titanium, calcium, and magnesium

appear in the form of organometallic
soaps …. Act as emulsion stabilizers

• vanadium , copper, nickel , and part of

the iron ….. Oil soluble compounds

• appear in the higher boiling distillates