PETROLEUM REFINING &

PETROCHEMICAL PROCESSES

SEPARATION
 Contents
Introduction

Crude Oil Desalting

Crude Oil Preheating and Flashing

Ing. Prof. Nana Derkyi Oil Ref & PChem Engg 2

Refinery and petrochemical industry supply chain
 Crude Oil Desalting

Ing. Prof. Nana Derkyi Oil Ref & PChem Engg 4

 Crude Oil Desalting
 Crude oil contains water, inorganic salts,
suspended solids, and water-soluble trace metals.

 First step in the refining process is to remove salt

and solids (contaminants) to reduce corrosion,
plugging, and fouling of equipment and to prevent
poisoning of the catalysts in process units.
Contaminants are removed by desalting
If the salt content of the crude is greater than 10
lb/1000 bbl (expressed as NaCl), the crude
requires desalting to minimize fouling and
corrosion caused by salt deposition on heat
transfer surfaces and acids formed by
decomposition of chloride salts.

Ing. Prof. Nana Derkyi Oil Ref & PChem Engg 7

 Methods of Crude Oil Desalting

Chemical and Electrostatic separation:

Washing of the salt from crude oil with water, oil

and water phases are separated in a settling tank
by adding chemicals to assist in breaking up
emulsion or by the application of electrostatic
field to collapse the droplets of saltwater more
rapidly.
Ing. Prof. Nana Derkyi Oil Ref & PChem Engg 8
 Methods of Crude Oil Desalting
 Chemical desalting: Water and chemical surfactant
(demulsifiers) are added to the crude, heated so that
salts and other impurities dissolve into the water or
attach to the water, and then held in a tank where they
settle out.

 Electric desalting: Under charge condition polar

molecules get oriented and get separated. More than
90% of salt can be removed in just less than half an
hour.
Ing. Prof. Nana Derkyi Oil Ref & PChem Engg 9
 Electric Desalting
 Electrical desalting is the application of high-voltage electrostatic
charges to concentrate suspended water globules in the bottom of the
settling tank.

 Surfactants are added if the crude has a large amount of suspended

solids.

 Crude oil is heated to between 150 and 350oF to reduce viscosity

and surface tension for easier mixing and separation of the water.

 The temperature is limited by the vapor pressure of the crude-oil

feedstock.
Ing. Prof. Nana Derkyi Oil Ref & PChem Engg 10
 The dual field electrostatic process provides
efficient water separation at temperatures lower
than the other processes and as a result, higher
energy efficiencies are obtained.

 The salts are dissolved in the wash water and the

oil and water phases separated in a settling vessel
either by adding chemicals to assist in breaking
the emulsion or by developing a high-potential
electrical field across the settling vessel to
coalesce the droplets of salty water more rapidly.
Ing. Prof. Nana Derkyi Oil Ref & PChem Engg 11
 Desired pH <6, at higher pH emulsion forms.

 Ammonia is used to reduce corrosion. Caustic or acid

may be added to adjust the pH of the water wash.

 Wastewater and contaminants are discharged from the

bottom of the settling tank to the wastewater treatment
facility.

 The desalted crude is continuously drawn from the top of

the settling tanks and sent to the crude distillation
(fractionating) tower.
Oil Ref & PChem Engg 12
Electric Desalting of Crude Oil
Crude Oil Preheating and Flashing

Ing. Prof. Nana Derkyi Oil Ref & PChem Engg 16

 Preheating and Flashing
 In petrochemical industries, furnaces are used to heat
petroleum feedstock for fractionation, thermal cracking,
and high-temperature processing.

 Usually, these furnaces are fired by oil or gas.

 They have to be designed to ensure that the fluid receives

the correct amount of heat and has sufficient residence time
within hot zone, while at the same time excess
temperatures have to be avoided.

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 These excess
temperatures lead to
degeneration of the
product or damage to the
furnace.

 The balance is achieved

by appropriate
disposition of the tubes
carrying the fluid within
the furnace, and careful
control of firing rate and
fluid flow.

Ing. Prof. Nana Derkyi 18

Flow of Feed Inside a Furnace

Ing. Prof. Nana Derkyi Oil Ref & PChem Engg 19