Fouling Diagnosis of Pennsylvania Grade Crude Blended with Opportunity Crude Oils in a Refinery Crude Unit’s Hot Heat Exchanger Train

Patil, Prafulla D.; Kozminski, Michael A.; Peterson, J. R.; Kumar, Sailesh B.

doi:10.1021/acs.iecr.9b03921

Cited by 7 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 14 publications

(31 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The fouling mechanism of LTOs is a widely argued question in the industry with a few strong and sometimes contradicting theories. ,− The fractions of LTOs were separated to study their contributions to the fouling potential. LTO-2 was a crude oil with high fouling potential as exhibited in Figure .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Increased fouling has been observed across refineries processing a significant amount of LTO. , The reason for such an increase in fouling is a lively debated topic. Mechanisms, such as solids and unstable asphaltenes, have been mentioned. Upstream additives have been thoroughly evaluated by NACE International for their downstream impact on fouling and corrosion.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Impact of Centrifuge-Separated Fractions from Light Tight Oils on the Propensity and Mechanisms of Fouling, and Improved Crude Oil Fouling Potential Prediction Model

Terán

Patel

et al. 2020

Energy Fuels

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Processing of light tight oils (LTOs) and their blends is challenged with their high fouling propensity. In this study, their fouling potential was attributed to fractions from centrifuge-accelerated settling. A small solid fraction comprising lower than 0.5% of the volume was found to bear a majority of the fouling potential of a set of LTOs. The chemical analysis of these centrifugeseparated solids from an LTO blend resembled that of the field deposits from the crude unit furnace tubes processing the same blend, further validating their impact in crude unit fouling. The liquid fraction of the LTOs affected the fouling potential in two aspects. First, the same solid fraction separated form an LTO presented varying fouling potency when mixed with different liquid fractions from different crude oils. Second, paraffin crystals led to a flocculated structure and impaired solid settling. Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry analysis of lab-generated thin fouling films unmasked the complex and intertwined fouling mechanisms of different LTO blends, which explained the unsatisfactory prediction quality of crude oil fouling potential based on solid volume fraction alone and emphasized the importance to evolve from the conventional fouling management approach focusing solely or heavily on asphaltene stability. Finally, a nonlinear model considering the two-class solids loading input and the Fourier transform infrared fingerprint of the crude oil was developed to predict the fouling potential of crude oils. The predictive power of the model was corroborated in the field at various refinery sites processing crudes with fouling potentials ranging from low to severe. As an integral component of our field-deployable predictive modeling platform, the fouling potential model helped refineries quickly and reliably predict crude oil instability and fouling severity, the associated processing issues, the likely locations where they may be manifested, and the recommended actions for mitigation. Hence, feed-forward optimization and reliability improvement of the crude fractionation unit process were made possible.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Centrifuge-Separated Fractions from Light Tight Oils on the Propensity and Mechanisms of Fouling, and Improved Crude Oil Fouling Potential Prediction Model

Terán

Patel

et al. 2020

Energy Fuels

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The ratio S BN /I N (solubility blending number/insolubility number) was estimated using the information obtained from the n-heptane dilution test [10] and employing Equation (5) [55].…”

Section: Compatibility Indices Based On Petroleum Sara Analysis Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is well-known that the sediment recovered during the crude oil centrifuging process can be classified as inorganic and organic. Inorganic sediment is represented by suspended impurities, such as sand, dirt, clay, or rust coming from the crude oil production process [13,55]. Organic sediments include asphaltenes, and high molecular waxes [13,55,58].…”

Section: Relations Between Compatibility Indices and Crude Oil Proper...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the Different Compatibility Indices to Model and Predict Oil Colloidal Stability and Its Relation to Crude Oil Desalting

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Thirty crude oils, belonging to light, medium, heavy, and extra heavy, light sulfur, and high sulfur have been characterized and compatibility indices defined. Nine crude oil compatibility indices have been employed to evaluate the compatibility of crude blends from the thirty individual crude oils. Intercriteria analysis revealed the relations between the different compatibility indices, and the different petroleum properties. Tetra-plot was employed to model crude blend compatibility. The ratio of solubility blending number to insolubility number was found to best describe the desalting efficiency, and therefore could be considered as the compatible index that best models the crude oil blend compatibility. Density of crude oil and the n-heptane dilution test seem to be sufficient to model, and predict the compatibility of crude blends.

show abstract

“…Ho studied five crude oils and found that the fouling propensity depends on compatibility parameters as well as on asphaltene content, total base number (TBN), and metal (Ni and V) contents. More recently, this correlation was used to evaluate fouling propensity of opportunity crude oils in a refinery setting although TBN was replaced by total acid number (TAN) in the correlation. In another study, the fouling of 13 blends of crude oils with different characteristics was studied using a modified ALCOR unit.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation on Crude Oil Fouling Behavior

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this work, the effect of blending crude oils on fouling propensity was investigated to determine the extent to which the compatibility of crude oils influences fouling. Fouling testing was performed on a series of crude oil blends with diverse compatibility profiles, as measured using a titration method. For the studied blends, the results show the main driving force behind fouling seems to be related to the compatibility of the components. As the blends approached the threshold of incompatibility, higher fouling propensities were observed. After testing, spent fluids and fouling deposits were recovered and analyzed. Stability changes in the fluids after the fouling tests were evaluated using titration measurements. These results showed that the stability of the blends increased after the runs, indicating a decrease in the solubility of the asphaltenes during fouling testing. These changes in the fluid are associated with thermal degradation of the fluid and are also evident in the deposits' characteristics. Although compatibility seems to dominate fouling in these blends, results also revealed that there is an underlying complex behavior that requires further investigation based on detailed analysis of the samples.

show abstract

Fouling Diagnosis of Pennsylvania Grade Crude Blended with Opportunity Crude Oils in a Refinery Crude Unit’s Hot Heat Exchanger Train

Cited by 7 publications

References 14 publications

Impact of Centrifuge-Separated Fractions from Light Tight Oils on the Propensity and Mechanisms of Fouling, and Improved Crude Oil Fouling Potential Prediction Model

Impact of Centrifuge-Separated Fractions from Light Tight Oils on the Propensity and Mechanisms of Fouling, and Improved Crude Oil Fouling Potential Prediction Model

Evaluation of the Different Compatibility Indices to Model and Predict Oil Colloidal Stability and Its Relation to Crude Oil Desalting

Investigation on Crude Oil Fouling Behavior

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About