DESALTING

By Engr Bharat Kumar Harani

Department of Petroleum & Gas Engineering
Dawood University of Engineering & Technology
Removal of salts from crude is called Desalting
The equipment used for the removal of salts,
suspended solids and water soluble trace
metals/slits, iron oxides, sand etc.
 PRETREATMENT OF CRUDE OILS

Crude oil comes from the ground, which contains variety of

substances like gases, water, dirt (minerals) etc. Pretreatment
of the crude oil is important if the crude oil is to be transported
effectively and to be processed without causing fouling and
corrosion in the subsequent operation starting from
distillation, catalytic reforming and secondary conversion
processes.
 IMPURITIES

■ Impurities in the crude oil are either oleophobic or oleophilic.

■ OLEOPHOBIC IMPURITIES:
Oleophobic impurities include salt, mainly chloride & impurities of Na, K,
Ca & Mg, sediments such as salt, sand, mud, iron oxide, iron sulphide
etc. and water present as soluble emulsified and /or finely dispersed
water.
■ OLEOPHILIC IMPURITIES:
■ Oleophilic impurities are soluble and are Sulphur compounds,
organometallic compounds, Ni, V, Fe and As etc, naphthenic acids and
nitrogen compounds.
■ Pretreatment of the crude oil removes the oleophobic impurities.
PRETREATMENT TAKES PLACE IN TWO WAYS:

■ Field separation
■ Crude desalting
■ Field separation is the first step to remove the gases, water and dirt that
accompany crude oil coming from the ground and is located in the field
near the site of the oil wells.
■ The field separator is often no more than a large vessel, which gives a
quieting zone to permit gravity separation of three phases: gases, crude
oil and water (with entrained dirt).
 To reduce fouling and plugging of crude oil
fractionators and exchangers due to salt
deposition.

 To reduce rate of corrosion of crude oil

fractionators.

 To avoid lengthy and expensive plant shut downs.

 To reduce consumption of Neutralizers.

 To remove Metals which may poison
Reformer Catalyst.

 To achieve more then average Plant Life.

 To obtain high degree of operating

flexibility due to slug or high tank bottom
abnormalities.
 These salts are mainly chlorides and sulfates of
Calcium and Magnesium like NaCl, MgCl2, CaCl2
and MgCl2.

 Chlorides hydrolyzed to hydrochloric acid cause

severe corrosion.
CaCl2 + H2O → Ca(OH)2 +HCl

 Salts act as catalyst to Plugging of Exchangers and

formation of coke (hot spots) in heater tubes.

 Salts in residue contain high ash content causing

degradation of product.
 Slats are generally measured in PTB (parts per thousands
barrels).

 Salts concentration in crude depends upon the Source of

Crude.

 Salts are inorganic in nature and are soluble in water

(inorganic) and insoluble in crude (organic).
■ Desalting process is used for removal of the salts, like chlorides of
calcium, magnesium and sodium and other impurities as these are
corrosive in nature. The crude oil coming from field separator will
continue to have some water/brine and dirt entrained with it. Water
washing removes much of the water-soluble minerals and entrained
solids (impurities).
■ Desalting are carried out by two stages: single & multistage desalting.
■ Commercial crudes, salt contents 10-200 ppb,
■ earlier 10-20 ppb were considered satisfactorily low. However, many
refiners now aim at 5 ppb
■ or less (1-2 ppb) which is not possible through single stage desalting,
hence two stage desalting is required.
■ Desalting process consists of three main stage: heating, mixing and
settling
 Natural Desalter

 Chemical Desalter

 Electro Chemical Desalter

Desalter in which Settling time is given to salts,
sediments, water and sludge which under gravity
settled down in the bottom of Vessel and then
drained.
 Desalter in which chemical is added to the crude
in order to remove salts, sediments, water and
sludge.

 Chemicals reduce the surface tension for making

removal of salts and water easy.

 Both Natural and Chemical Desalter are useful for

crude having low salts or for Batch Process.
• Desalting process by use of chemical along with electric field.

• 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 only when the crude has a large amount of
suspended solids.
■ 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.

■ Either AC or DC fields may be used and potentials from 12,000 to

35,000 volts are used to promote coalescence.

■ For single-stage desalting units 90 to 95% efficiencies are obtained and

two-stage processes achieve 99% or better efficiency.

■ If the pH of the brine exceeds 7, emulsions can be formed because of

the sodium naphthenate and sodium sulfide Present
■ For most crude oils it is desirable to keep the pH below 8.0. Better dehydration
is obtained in electrical desalters when they are operated in the pH range of 6
to 8 with the best dehydration obtained at a pH near 6.
■ The pH value is controlled by using another water source or by the addition of
acid to the inlet or recycled water.

■ The crude oil feedstock is heated to 65-180°C to reduce viscosity and surface
tension for easier mixing and separation of the water.

■ In both methods other chemicals may be added. Ammonia is often 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.

 Preheated crude, fresh water along with small
amount of chemical injected to Desalter through
mixing valve to form Emulsion.

 Small water droplets containing salts converted to

form big and heavy drops through Electric Field
(Emulsion Breaking) and settle in the bottom.
Single stage electrostatic desalting
systems
Two-stage electrostatic desalting
systems
pH 5.5 – 7.5
Total Hardness <50ppm
Total CO -1/ HCO -2
3 3
<50ppm
Ammonia <100ppm
Chlorides <2000ppm
Sulfates <200ppm
Oxygen <1ppm
• Under design Desalter for current crude
oil and through put.
• Insufficient attention by operating person
• Improper operating conditions.
• Improper chemical dosage.
• Inadequate water wash supply , rate and
quality.
Desalter efficiency can be calculated as:

SE = (Si – So ) * 100 / Si
Where:
SE salt removal efficiency (%)
Si salt content of raw crude oil (ptb) So
salt content of desalted oil (ptb).
Ptb stands for Pounds per Thousand
Barrels
Desalter efficiency should be 90-95 %
 Operating Variables in Desalter

Some of the variables in the desalter operation are crude charge rate, temperature,
pressure, mixing valve pressure drop and wash water rate, temperature, and quality,
desalting voltage.
 Decrease in temperature increase the viscosity making
settling of salts and water difficult and vice versa.

 High Desalter Temperature cause increase in

solubility of water, formation of tight emulsion and
carry over of Salts and Water.

 Temperate limit is from 90oC to 150oC varying from

crude to crude.
 High pressure keeps system from boiling.

 Pressure in the vessel must be maintained at a high value to

avoid vaporization of crude oil pressure which result in
hazardous condition, erratic operation and a loss of desalting
efficiency.
 Surprise
■ CLO 01
■ Class test on next week