Oil-Wetting Additives for Solids Retention in Desalting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional desalting processes in oil refineries struggle to retain solids, particularly metals and particulate matter, in the hydrocarbon phase, leading to fouling and corrosion issues, as these contaminants tend to transfer to the aqueous phase, complicating downstream processing and increasing disposal costs.
Innovation Solution
The use of oil-wetting additives, such as drilling fluid additives, surfactants, and antifoulants, is introduced to shift the wettability of solids from water-wet to oil-wet, effectively retaining at least 95% of solid contaminants in the hydrocarbon phase during desalting, utilizing surface-active agents and nanoparticles to enhance this process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional desalting processes are used without oil-wetting additives, then the process is simple and straightforward, but solids transfer to the aqueous phase causing fouling and corrosion issues
Solution Approach 1:
Oil-wetting additives are introduced as intermediary substances that modify the surface properties of solids, changing their wettability from water-wet to oil-wet. This mediator approach allows solids to be retained in the hydrocarbon phase without fundamentally changing the desalting process architecture, thereby reducing fouling and corrosion while maintaining process simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the surface energy parameters of solids by adding oil-wetting additives, transforming them from water-wet to oil-wet state. This parameter change in surface wettability enables solids to preferentially associate with the hydrocarbon phase, preventing transfer to the aqueous phase and eliminating associated fouling and corrosion problems
2Loss of substance
If solids are retained in the hydrocarbon phase using oil-wetting additives, then disposal costs are reduced and hydrocarbon quality improves, but additional chemicals and process steps are required
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of viewing solids as harmful contaminants that must be removed and disposed of, the invention converts this harm into a benefit by using oil-wetting additives to retain solids in the hydrocarbon phase. This approach transforms the disposal cost burden into a value-retention strategy, where solids become part of the separable hydrocarbon stream rather than aqueous waste
Solution Approach 2:
Conventional desalting aims to remove solids from the hydrocarbon phase by transferring them to the aqueous phase. This invention inverts the approach by using oil-wetting additives to prevent solids from leaving the hydrocarbon phase, thereby retaining them where they can be more economically managed and reducing disposal costs
3Manufacturing precision
If oil-wetting additives are used to retain solids in the hydrocarbon phase, then at least 95% of solid contaminants are retained, but the additive composition and application requirements increase process complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The invention employs composite additive compositions that combine multiple functional components to achieve superior solids retention efficiency. These composite formulations integrate oil-wetting agents, surfactants, and other functional materials that work synergistically to ensure at least 95% of solids are retained in the hydrocarbon phase while managing the complexity through optimized composition design
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach significantly reduces the transfer of solids to the aqueous phase, minimizing fouling and corrosion, while potentially lowering disposal costs by maintaining solids in the hydrocarbon phase, thus improving the quality of processed hydrocarbons and reducing operational issues.
Implementation Method 1
The oil-wetting additive comprises a surface-active additive selected from the group consisting of drilling fluid additives, surfactants, antifoulants, and combinations thereof
Implementation Method 2
These additives effectively allow small water droplets to more easily coalesce by lowering the oil/water interfacial tension
Implementation Method 3
Under this arrangement, the oil and water emulsion is exposed to the applied electrical field. An induced dipole is formed on each water droplet within the emulsion that causes electrostatic attraction and coalescence of the water droplets into larger and larger droplets
Implementation Method 4
The oil-wetting additive comprises a surface-active additive selected from the group consisting of drilling fluid additives, surfactants, antifoulants, and combinations thereof
Data Source
AI summary
It has been discovered that solid contaminants in a mixture of a hydrocarbon phase and an aqueous phase may be retained in the hydrocarbon phase by introducing to the mixture an effective amount of an oil-wetting additive to retain at least a portion of the solid contaminants in the hydrocarbon phase as contrasted with an aqueous phase. The oil-wetting additive can be a surface-active additive including, but is not necessarily limited to, drilling fluid additives, surfactants, antifoulants, nanoparticles and combinations thereof.