(103b) Calcium Removal from Heavy Crude Oil Using Aqueous Solution Containing a Calcium Removal Agent
AIChE Spring Meeting and Global Congress on Process Safety
2016
2016 AIChE Spring Meeting and 12th Global Congress on Process Safety
19th Topical Conference on Refinery Processing
Processing of Unconventional Heavy Crudes
Tuesday, April 12, 2016 - 10:45am to 11:15am
Ca is one of the major impurities in heavy oils, occurring several problems during the refining processes such as fouling in pipe systems and heat exchangers and the deactivation of catalyst. Calcium naphthenate (CaNA), combined with the Ca cation and the anion of naphthenic acids, is difficult to remove because of complex and various molecular structures of naphthenic acids.
In this study, calcium removal from heavy crude oil was conducted using aqueous solution containing a calcium removal agent. The effect of operating variables on the Ca removal efficiency was experimentally studied. Batch type of electric coalescer was employed for the demulsification of the oil samples. The Ca concentration in the oil samples were analysed using inductively coupled plasma (ICP).