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Mixing Intensity
Mixing intensity refers to the degree of oil and water mixing
that is achieved in a mixing valve due to the pressure drop across
the valve. The greater the pressure drop, the greater the mixing in-
tensity. Undermixing or overmixing can occur. Undermixing (an
insufficient pressure drop) results in insufficient salt removal and
low water carryover. Overmixing (too great pressure drop) can also
occur. Too great a pressure drop at the mixer can result in a tight
water-in-oil emulsion, which cannot be broken readily by the elec- FIGURE 5: Effect of applied electric field on water droplet in oil(4).
tric field in the desalter. Indications that overmixing is occurring
include unusually low voltage at the electrode zone and a higher obtain optimum performance of the desalter. Whatever the actual
than normal carryover of water into the treated oil. mechanism of electrostatic coalescing, the electrical field causes
the droplets to move about rapidly in random directions, which
Demulsifier Type and Amount increases the collision frequency of the dispersed-phase droplets.
When droplets collide with proper velocity, coalescence occurs.
The scientific basis for chemical resolution processes has not The greater the voltage gradient, the greater the magnitude of co-
been well defined and there is no simple designation of specific alescence. However, there is a limitation to the size at which the
chemicals to treat specific emulsions. This is mainly because of droplets may coalesce for a given field strength and a maximum
the variation in crude oil composition, water phase composition, voltage that can be applied to a given system. Experimental data
phase/volume ratio of the two liquids in any emulsion, and the oc- show that at some voltage gradient, the water droplet can be pulled
casional presence of other materials such as fine silt and various apart and a tighter emulsion can be the result. A full-line drawing
formation particles. There are, however, certain types of demulsi- in Figure 5 represents the effect of an applied field upon adjacent
fier that tend to produce a consistent behaviour in many water-in- water droplets separated by a distance equal to a few radii(4). Also,
oil emulsions. The action of an emulsifier mainly depends on how the broken-line drawing and the photo in Figure 5 shows a large
effectively it is dispersed into the emulsion and how fast it can droplet dispersing toward smaller stable droplets. For this reason,
reach the individual droplet’s surface. Once it reaches the inter- electrostatic treaters normally are equipped with an adjustable
face, it works by flocculation and coalescence of the droplets and/ voltage gradient and optimum voltage can be achieved through
or by wetting the fine solid particles that usually acts as emulsion field experience.
stabilizing agents. A change in demulsifier rate or type may make
precipitation more effective for the crude being treated. Either too
little or too much demulsifier added to the untreated crude may
increase the amount of salt in the treated oil. If for any reason the New Equations for Optimum Treating
type of demulsifier chemical is changed, then chemical flow rates The dehydration system in Iranian oil fields employs chemical
must be recalculated. demulsifiers, heat, and an electrostatic field to dehydrate the crude.
Time and gravity are the two key factors involved in the process
Process Temperature and are directly related to treating rate and treating temperature.
Heating of crude oil influences the treating process in several For optimum dehydration, all the techniques must be applied in a
ways. It reduces the viscosity of the oil, resulting in greater force systematic manner that will conserve energy, minimize costs, and
during collision of water droplets; it increases the free falling ve- accomplish the task as quickly and efficiently as possible.
locity of water droplets into less viscous oil; and it enhances the In order to calculate the treating rate (cubic metres oil per day
gravity separation process by increasing the difference in densi- per square metres) and treating temperature (° C) for both de-
ties. However, it may reduce the volume and the gravity of pro- salters, the oil specific gravity is required. The best-fitting curve,
duced oil. Treating temperatures normally range from 55 to 100° with a minimal deviation from all field data, can be obtained by
C. In treating heavy crudes, the temperature may be as high as 167° the method of least squares for the two main features of electro-
C. The system operating temperature should be maintained within static desalters, the AC conventional and dual polarity electrostatic
the range for which the system is designed. A loss in desalting ef- desalters.
ficiency may be experienced outside this range. In other words, if The treating rate, q, and treating temperature, T, for the AC con-
the desalter plant experiences a higher than normal system temper- ventional electrostatic desalter are:
ature which causes “gassing” to occur in the vessel, desalting ef-
ficiency may be reduced. If the operating temperature is too low, q = 6, 277.2 γ2o − 12, 406 γo + 6,150.4 .................................................. (1)
emulsion resolution will not be as complete. Operation tempera-
ture should be above the melting point of the asphaltenes.
Treating Temperature (° C)
120
AC conventional Practical data
100 Dual polarity
40 160
20
120
0
0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00
80
Oil Specific Gravity
40
FIGURE 6: Treating temperature for AC conventional and dual
polarity electrostatic desalters.
0
0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00
Treating Temperature (° C)
100
90
60
30 80
0
0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00
60
Oil Specific Gravity
40
0
0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00
120
Practical data
Oil Specific Gravity
Equation results FIGURE 10: Dual polarity treating temperature practical data and
Treating Temperature (° C)
100
new equation results.
80
350
Practical data
60
Treating Rate (m3/day.m2)
300
Equation results
40 250
200
20
150
0
0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00 100
demonstrates the higher treating rate for dual polarity electrostatic Oil Specific Gravity
desalters compared with AC conventional electrostatic desalters. FIGURE 11: Dual polarity treating rate practical data and new
Figures 8, 9, 10, and 11 show the comparison of these new equa- equation results.
tion results with practical data in different types of desalters for dif-
ferent crude types. Now we can compare the rate of fuel gas consumption for two
main types of desalters. For example, in the case of Marun’s oil
field desalting plants, the operational conditions and the crude oil
properties are as follows:
Preheat Energy Requirement • qo = 8,745 m3/day;
Required energy to heat the wet crude oil entering the desalter is • Oil specific gravity = 0.855;
calculated by the following formula: • Water specific gravity = 1.15;
• Inlet temperature = 44.5° C;
Q = 53.09 ⎡⎣( 0.5γo qo ) + ( γw qw )⎤⎦ ∆T
• Inlet to AC conventional = 65° C; and,
......................................................... (5) • Inlet to dual polarity = 58.9° C
May 2006, Volume 44, No. 5 25
REFERENCES