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• How can I calculate the salt point in an atmospheric crude distillation tower to avoid the precipitation of salts, what literature recommends.

  (Cómo puedo calcular el punto de sal en una torre de destilación atmosférica de crudo para evitar la precipitación de las sales, que literaturas recomiendan)

  Nov-2024

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Answers

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• Eric Vetters, ProCorr Consulting Services, ewvetters@yahoo.com

  If you use an amine neutralizer chemistry or have tramp amines in the unit, you will need to model the salt point. OLI software has the amine thermodynamic data needed to do this modelling. Most of the chemical suppliers have their own proprietary software to do this as well, and they should be willing to use it routinely as part of the service they provide. If you are using ammonia as your neutralizer and don't have tramp amines, there are ways to estimate salt point using simple spreadsheet tools based on published data. The other modelling options mentioned previously will also calculate NH4Cl salt points (ammonium bisulphide is not a practical concern in crude units).

   

  Dec-2024

• Marcio Wagner da Silva, Petrobras, marciows@petrobras.com.br

  The salt point of crude oil distillation units it's a critical variable and is strictly related to the salt concentration in the control point. Higher salt concentrations (NH4Cl and NH4HS) will lead to lower salt point, by this reason, the efficiency of the crude oil desalting step is critical to controlling the corrosion process in the crude oil distillation unit and downstream processing units like FCC and Delayed Coking. A good reference about this topic is the article published in the Q3 2012 edition of PTQ Magazine by Mr. Brandon Payne which details the strategy to avoid deposition of salts keeping the operating temperature above the salt point, avoiding under deposit corrosion in top condensers and process lines. You can read the article HERE

  Nov-2024