Use of a Mixed Solvent Thermodynamic Framework to Predict the Formation of Amine-Hydrochloride Salts in Crude Tower Overhead Systems

Ionic modeling for refinery overhead unit operations with rigorous electrolyte thermodynamics.

OLI System's Mixed Solvent Electrolyte Model (MSE) has been used to develop a framework to obtain a comprehensive understanding of physical properties, thermochemical behavior and phase equilibria of amines and their hydrochloride salts. This presentation will discuss the capabilities of this framework in an industry-standard process simulator to simulate the contributions of ionic and non-ionic species in refinery overhead units. The MSE model will be utilized to successfully identify water dew point, salt point and an ionic dew point for systems involving neutralizing amines. This simulation technology offers the possibility of understanding and eliminating the phenomena that lead to corrosion in refinery overheads and estimating optimized operating conditions for the system.