CRUDE OIL DESALTING

HOTEL AVENIDA PALACE

BARCELONA, SPAIN
SEPTEMBER 15, 16, 2005
INTRODUCTION -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -Over the past twenty years Refining Process Services has been continually developing new technical seminar
programs to meet the training needs of petroleum refining industry personnel. This two-day seminar program, entitled
"Crude Oil Desalting," was designed in cooperation with Nalco Energy Services to provide program participants with a
comprehensive review of this challenging and critical processing operation in the petroleum refinery.
PROGRAM -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -The desalting of crude oil is a process that does not have a high profile, but is vital to the operation of the
modern-day petroleum refinery. Desalters provide more protection to costly refinery equipment than any other single
piece of process hardware. Refining Process Services and Nalco Energy Services have developed this program to
provide an in-depth yet practical review of both the art and science of crude oil desalting. Maintaining smooth operation
of crude oil desalting units is both critically important and quite difficult. Since there are so many significant variables to
control, desalter operation must constantly be adjusted to maintain optimum performance with the ever-changing
sources of crude oil.
The program's content is both comprehensive and wide-ranging. Sessions begin with a discussion of the
fundamentals of the desalting process including crude oil quality impact, the operating variables, key equipment, various
design options and major process variables. Once the fundamentals are established, discussion moves into the topics
of unit operations, monitoring, and process troubleshooting. An experienced group of industry professionals has been
assembled for the presentation of this program. The speakers are Mr. Maury Goode of Howe-Baker Engineers, Ltd., Mr.
Tony Potter, an industry expert, and Ms. Sandra Garcia-Swofford of Nalco Energy Services.
Program participants will have the opportunity to obtain a broad working knowledge of desalter operations, to
gain insight into advancements in the field, and to interact with others working in this area. The program is ideal for
personnel involved in refinery process engineering, plant operations, and technical service. Engineers from design and
construction companies as well as those providing services to the refining industry will also find this program beneficial.
PROGRAM OUTLINE -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

BENEFITS OF CRUDE OIL DESALTING

Economic Impact on Downstream Units

Desalting Performance Benchmarks

IMPACT OF CRUDE OIL QUALITY ON

DESALTER PERFORMANCE
Impact of Crude Oil Density, Viscosity, and Asphaltenes
Crude Oil Impurities: Water, Salt and Solids
Impact of Organic Acids
Desalting Heavy and Opportunity Crudes
FUNDAMENTALS OF ELECTRICAL DESALTING
Wash Water Addition
+ Rate and Wash Water Quality
Mixing/Contact
+ Mix Valves
+ Static Mixer
Coalescence
+ Stoke's Law and Electrical Voltage
Performance Control Variables
Dehydration Efficiency vs. Salt Removal Efficiency
TYPES OF APPLICATIONS
Single-Stage Dehydrator
Single-Stage Desalter
Two-Stage Desalter
Three-Stage Desalter
Typical Operating Conditions and Performance
DESALTER COMPONENTS
Process Vessel
Distribution System

6.

7.

8.

9.
10.

Electrodes
Transactor
Special Headers

DESALTER DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

Factors Determining Vessel Size
Factors Determining Number of Stages
Factors Determining Transactor Size
Power Consumption
COMMERCIAL DESALTER DESIGNS
Howe-Baker
Petreco
Other
FACTORS THAT AFFECT DESALTER OPERATION
AND PERFORMANCE
Crude Oil Feed Rate and Quality
Temperature/Viscosity/Density Relationships
Electrical Field Intensity
Wash Water Rate, Quality and Flow Configuration
Emulsion Formation (Pumps, Exchangers, Valves, Mixers)
Control of Water Level and Emulsion Layers
Demulsifier Technology and Addition Rate
Mud Washing and Brine Recycle
TROUBLESHOOTING THE DESALTER
Oily Effluent
Poor Dehydration and/or Desalting
OTHER ELECTROSTATIC TREATING APPLICATIONS
FCC Feed Desalting
Distillate Treating

PROGRAM SPEAKERS

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Maury Goode, P.E., is Manager of Separation Technology for Howe-Baker Engineers, Ltd., Tyler,
Texas. He is responsible for the process and equipment design for Howe-Baker's Separation
Technologies Division, which includes crude oil dehydration and desalting equipment. He has held a
variety of engineering positions in the areas of oil and gas exploration and production, control systems
engineering, project management, process design, technical sales, and system troubleshooting. Mr.
Goode recently authored a paper on crude oil desalting. He holds a BS degree in Petroleum Engineering
from Texas A&M University and has over 20 years of experience in the hydrocarbon processing industry.
Tony Potter is a Senior Technology Specialist for Nalco Energy Services, L.P., Sugar Land,
Texas. For 25 years he has worked in the field of desalting, providing technical training, program
evaluation, customer presentations, start-up assistance and ongoing desalter system troubleshooting and
optimization. He has assisted refineries around the world in improving desalter system performance.
His expertise is specifically in crude oil desalting operations and product development. He holds a BS
degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University.
Sandra Garcia-Swofford is the Worldwide Desalting Industry Development Manager for Nalco
Energy Services, L.P., Sugar Land, Texas. She is responsible for marketing and strategic planning for the
companys refinery process chemical programs used in crude management. Ms. Garcia-Swofford holds a
BS degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Houston and has over 14 years of experience
in the hydrocarbon processing industry.
ACCOMMODATIONS / FACILITIES / REGISTRATION -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -The program will be presented at the Hotel Avenida Palace in Barcelona, Spain.

To register or to obtain more information regarding this program, please

contact Ms. Sandra Garcia-Swofford by e-mail at sgarciaswofford@nalco.com, or
by phone at 281-263-7645 (USA phone number).