Operation and
Troubleshooting
Oil and salt are found naturally together in geological deposits. Salts dissolve
in the water and the water is entrained in the oil during recovery. Additional
salt comes from transportation and handling; sea tankers often use sea water
for ballast and to wash out containers.
How do we measure the salt and water content?
Water soluble salts in the entrained brine consist mostly of Sodium, Calcium,
and Magnesium salts, generally in the form of chlorides. Sulphates are also
often found in large quantities.
Salt content in oil is normally expressed in ptb:
1 ptb = 1 lb of salt (as NaCl) per thousand barrels of oil ~ 2.85 wppm
Salt content generally ranges from 10 - 30 ptb, although higher levels are seen
in the cheaper opportunity crudes. At this level, single-stage desalting can
usually reduce the salt content of the oil to acceptable levels.
The water content of the oil is expressed as %BS&W, which is the basic or
bottoms sediment and water content recorded as volume percent.
Desalters can reduce the water content down to the 0.1 - 0.5 %BS&W range.
For heavy crudes (< 20oAPI) a BS&W range of 0.5 - 5% is more common.
Why desalt? What are the benefits?
To prevent corrosion: if salts are not removed, they react with water and
form hydrochloric acid (HCl). This reacts with iron in the carbon steel to
form ferrous chloride, which in turn reacts with hydrogen sulphide, which
generates iron sulphide and HCl, and the cycle starts over
To reduce fouling: salts are deposited as scale at high temperatures
To reduce equipment downtime / reduce cleaning frequency
To maintain unit capacity
To protect downstream catalysts: salts and metals can poison catalysts
To save energy: removing water from the oil means the furnaces heat
oil and not water!
To reduce chemical consumption: corrosion prevention chemical
consumption depends upon salt content
Desalting process steps
Add demulsifier &
solids wetting agent Mix the oil and the wash water to
to the crude oil at the ruptures the small brine droplets
charge pump to Increase the oil and form larger droplets with a
ensure good mixing inlet temperature as lower salt concentration
and a long contact far as possible
time
Crude Oil
Apply a high
voltage
electric field Settle the
to coalescence coalesced
Wash the majority water droplets
Water of the under gravity
suspended and remove
water droplets from the
Add salt-free wash water both
upstream (to minimise fouling) and desalter
downstream of the preheat train
Wash water addition
Brine droplets in the crude are too small to settle under gravity. Also, they are
often coated with particulate solids or surfactants - chemicals that stabilise
the brine-in-oil emulsion.
Wash water provides the water droplet concentration needed to contact and
rupture the protective coating surrounding the brine droplets. Larger droplets
form which have a lower salt concentration, coalesce more easily, and are
easier to separate from the oil.
0.1 % 1% 5%
Si So
Desalting Efficiency 100%
Si
where: Si = salt IN (ptb), and So = salt OUT (ptb)
Ww Wi Wo
Dehydratio n Efficiency 100 %
Ww Wi
where: Ww = wash water, Wi = water coming in with the crude oil,
and Wo = water leaving with the crude oil
The greater the efficiency, the more salt and water is removed.
Typical desalting efficiencies range from 90 - 95% for single-stage
desalting, with dehydration efficiencies ranging from 95 - 98%
Problem: causes of low desalting efficiency
Throughput or crude Desalter operating temperature is too low
oil gravity has so oil viscosity is high - this limits the
increased - desalter is ability of the wash water to get at the
handling more crude suspended brine droplets and also hinders
or a heavier crude oil water droplet settling so more brine
than design droplets are carried over
Crude Oil
Others:
Insufficient wash water addition for Insufficient or ineffective demulsifier chemical
effective brine droplet contacting
Solutions: improving desalting efficiency
Increase mix valve P in 1 - 2
Reduce feedrate or psi steps to increase mixing
blend heavy oil with energy and improve oil /
Increase desalter water contacting. Avoid
a lighter oil
operating temperature creating a stable emulsion.
- check for oil
to reduce oil viscosity
incompatibility first!
Crude Oil
Check
transformers and
bushings for
problems
Wash
Water
Others:
Increase wash water to Increase demulsifier dosage or change type
between 4% and 8.5% Consider effluent brine recycle if fresh water limited
of crude oil flow Check preheat train for opportunities to increase crude temperature
Problem: causes of low dehydration efficiency
Crude Oil
Crude Oil
Crude Oil
* See page 13 for how to distinguish between oil-in-water and water-in-oil emulsions
Problem: high solids levels in the desalted oil
Poor wetting agent Mix valve P could be too low. Wash water is needed to
performance could be contact the solids and the mixing energy imparted by the mix
to blame - increase valve helps scrub and water wet them so they can enter and
dosage or evaluate leave with the water phase. Increasing the mix valve P can
alternative chemical improve solids removal but can over-emulsify the crude.
Crude Oil
Wash
Water
Note:
Solids carry over leads to
Wash water rate could be insufficient - downstream heat exchanger and
increase wash water to between 4 - 8.5% of furnace fouling and plugging, etc.
crude oil rate
Problem: erratic Volts / Amps readings
Crude Oil
Crude Oil
Crude Oil
Check water
High conductivity level - high
crude blend being water level
processed causes high
Amps draw
Wash
Water Drop water level
whilst checking
effluent brine Check level
quality controller operation
using try-cocks