Emulsion and Oil Treating

EPR.TRM.FE.
011

OIL and GAS FACILITIES ENGINEERING

Exxon Company, U.S.A.

Production Department Training FOR COMPANY USE ONLY

Oil and Gas Facilities Engineering Emulsion and Oil Treating

Facilities Engineering OJT Module Exxon Company, U.S.A.

Production Department Training

Copyright © 1983, 1984, 1986 Reprinted 1991

by Exxon Company, U.S.A.

a division of Exxon Corporation

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form without permission from Exxon Company, U.S.A.

By receipt of this publication, the recipient agrees to abide, for the term of the copyright specified above, by the terms and conditions stated herein. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from Exxon Company, U.S.A. This publication is leased to the recipient for the life of the document, and all property rights in the publication remain with Exxon Company, U.S.A. This lease is nontransferable, and this publication may not be sold, leased, loaned, or otherwise transferred to any other party. This lease constitutes a limited license, granted by Exxon Company, U.S.A. under copyright, which specifically restricts use of this publication to the recipient. Recipient will not reexport technical data contained in the publication, or export the direct product of such data, without prior authorization by Exxon Company, U.S.A.

By receipt of this publication, the recipient who is an employee of Exxon Corporation or an affiliate of Exxon Corporation agrees upon termination of such employment, to deliver the publication to Exxon Corporation or to the affiliate of Exxon Corporation with whom recipient was last employed.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements v

Introduction . . . VI

Module Objectives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Module Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Lesson 1: Emulsion Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Emulsions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Minimization of Free Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Factors Affecting Emulsion Stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Stabilizer Characteristics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Oil Viscosity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Differential Density. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Age of Emulsion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Size of Water Droplets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Water Percentage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Agitation 10

Exercise 1 11

Lesson 2: Emulsion Treating Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Primary Crude Oil Treating Methods 14

Chemical Addition 15

Bottle Test Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Bottle Test Considerations 19

Water Drop-Out Rate 19

Sludge. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Water Turbidity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Oil Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Centrifuge 20

Chemical Selection Considerations 21

Settling Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Heat............... . 24

Electrostatic Coalescing 24

Exercise 2 25

Lesson 3: Emulsion Treating Equipment 28

Freewater Knockouts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Gunbarrels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Heaters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Indirect Heaters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Direct Heaters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Waste Heat Recovery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Heater Sizing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Flow Treaters (Heater-Treaters) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Treater Sizing 39

Estimating Heat Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Quantity of Fluid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Heating Rate . . . . . . . . . . 41

Settling Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Electrostatic Coalescers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Practical Design of an Oil Treating System 45

Exercise 3 54

Lesson 4: Other Oil Treating Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Crude Oil Stabilization and Vapor Recovery 58

Stabilizer Tray Design ... :..................... 59

Sour Crude Stabilization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Crude Oil Desalting 62

Oil Storage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Vapor Recovery for Oil Storage Tanks. . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Oil Storage Operating Considerations ; . . 68

Oil Storage Design References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Exercise 4 70

Exercise Answer Key 73

v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Special appreciation is expressed to J. T. Brumble, East Texas Division, for providing the technical content for Emulsion and Oil Treating. Thanks are also extended to Joe V. Morse, East Texas Division, and Mike Krywanio, Southeastern Division-technical validators, and Jim Seale, Western Division and Robbie Schilhab, East Texas Division-primary training project committee members.

We acknowledge, with thanks, permission of the authors, publishers, or copyright holders to reproduce the following copyrighted material:

Fundamentals of Petroleum, 2d ed., Petroleum Extension Service, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, 1981.

Smith Industries, Inc., Equipment Manual, Oil and Gas Division, Houston.

Sivalls, Richard C., Crude Oil Treating Systems Design Manual, Odessa.

Emulsion and Oil Treating

vi

INTRODUCTION

This module is organized around four lessons that should be worked in sequence.

Lesson One, Emulsion Theory, describes emulsions and discusses the basic principle of why emulsions fonn-the minimization of free energy. The lesson also discusses the factors affecting the stability of an emulsion.

Lesson Two, Emulsion Treating Methods, introduces the primary methods for treating crude oil and describes the procedure for performing a bottle test which aids in determining the most effective method to treat an emulsion.

Lesson Three, Emulsion Treating Equipment, discusses the operation of various emulsion treating equipment. This lesson presents several example problems and demonstrates the practical design of an oil treating system.

Lesson Four, Other Oil Treating Considerations, discusses crude oil stabilization, vapor recovery, desalting, and oil storage.

During the past 10-15 years, innovations in automated equipment have made it possible to measure and allocate untreated oil emulsions. This has allowed for the use of more efficient systems for centralized oil treating facilities. For example, the production from many fields is now treated in one facility, whereas, prior to net oil measurement, a treating facility was required for each lease or royalty interest. Central oil treating system designs vary in equipment from the simplest settling tank method (without adding heat) to multi-vessel complex systems which include electrostatic vessels, desalting processes, vapor recovery systems, and large storage tanks.

Language in the oil and gas industry consists of many words and phrases (some of which are slang), but their usage as applied to production of oil and gas differs from the more normal usage. The same terminology may have different meanings, varying from area to area. A list of some of the words and phrases used in crude oil treating operations can be found in the glossary of the American Petroleum Institute's Introduction to Oil and Gas Production. In order to be effective in communicating with operations personnel, manufacturers, management, and other engineers within the industry, the engineer must be familiar with terminology related to crude oil emulsions, treating, and storage equipment.


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MODULE OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Describe the bottle test procedure.

• Given flow conditions and other pertinent data, select emulsion treating processes and equipment configurations which will effectively treat crude oil emulsions to pipeline quality specifications.

• Describe the process and equipment used to accomplish crude oil stabilization, vapor recovery, desalting, sour crude treating, and crude oil storage.

MODULE INSTRUCTIONS

This module is designed as a self-paced course and reference guide on emulsion and oil treating. The module consists of four lessons. At the beginning of each lesson are objectives which identify exactly what you are expected to learn. Exercises are provided at the end of each lesson to reinforce your understanding of the subject matter and to pinpoint problem areas which may require further study. Because this module requires various calculations, a small calculator is required. You should allow approximately five hours to complete this module.

Upon completion of this module, you will be asked to take a short test to measure your overall comprehension of the course material, and to determine whether you are ready to move on to more advanced modules in the Facilities Engineering OJT series.


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LESSON 1: EMULSION THEORY

LESSON OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of Lesson 1, you will be able to:

• Describe emulsions and explain why and where they are formed.

• Describe and list the factors affecting emulsion stability.

• Define the following terms: -normal emulsion

-inverse emulsion

-stable emulsion

-unstable emulsion

• Explain the Principle of Minimization of Free Energy in a system.

Emulsion and Oil 'I'reatinz

3

EMULSION THEORY

A large amount of crude oil is produced with some quantity of water (free water, emulsified, or both) that requires chemical and/or mechanical separation (Figure 1). The primary purpose of oil treating and storage is to meet the sales requirements at the point of custody transfer between the producer and the transporter, e. g., to deliver a crude oil product with less than 1 percent BS&W (basic sediment and water) at an acceptable product temperature and vapor pressure. This lesson discusses emulsion theory which affects the efficiency and effectiveness of separating crude oil from the water phase.

-

PRODUCED FLUID

SEPARATED FLUID AFTER CHEMICAL AND/OR MECHANICAL SEPARATION

Figure 1 - Separation of Crude Oil from the Water Phase


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EMULSIONS

An emulsion is a mixture of two immiscible liquids in the presence of a stabilizer. Most oil-water emulsions occur with water droplets dispersed in the mixture as the internal phase. Figure 2 depicts a normal emulsion where the oil is the external phase. Also, note that the water droplets vary in size.

@ WATER 0 FILM

eEXTERNAL PHASE (OIL)

Figure 2 - Normal Water-in-Oil Emulsion

There are numerous theories about emulsions and their formation; but after more than a century of investigation and field testing, breaking and handling of oil field emulsions remains mostly an art rather than a science. Oilwater emulsions are sometimes formed in the producing formation by tertiary projects, downhole pumps, downhole tubular equipment, flowlines, separators, chokes, valves, pipe fittings, and surface pumping equipment. Two things are necessary to produce an emulsion of oil and water-agitation and a stabilizing (emulsifying) agent.

Stabilizers are particles which prevent the union (coalescence) of the internal phase droplets. They can come from the reservoir (asphaltines, silts, etc.), corrosion by-products (iron sulfides), oxygenated sulfur compounds, or even stabilizer compounds from within salt water. Stabilizers are preferentially adsorbed at the interface between the oil and water phases. The interface provides an environment of unbalanced molecular forces that are attracted to the dissolved stabilizers. Once these contaminants are adsorbed at the interface, they form a tough film that impedes or prevents the union of water droplets in oil when they collide with one another. Thus, the contaminants are said to


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stabilize an emulsion. Figure 3 is a photomicrograph of a water-in-oil emulsion. This figure shows two water droplets touching but unable to merge because of the film around the droplets.

Figure 3 - Photomicrograph of a Water-in-Oil Emulsion (Courtesy PETEX)

Emulsions exist predominantly in the form of water-in-oil (normal emulsion). The water droplets vary in size from large drops to small drops of about Ill- (0.000039 inch) in diameter. The physical character of the water and oil (specific gravity, surface tension, viscosity, chemical constituents, etc.) and production methods determine the size, distribution, and stability of emulsion particles.

As the ratio of water to oil increases to predominantly water, there is a tendency for inverse, or oil-in-water emulsions to form. Two different types of oil-in-water emulsions are commonly found in oil production operations, and these are distinguished from one another by the relative amounts of water and oil present in the system. Inverse emulsions contain a fairly large amount of oil (1-50 percent on a volumetric basis) and are typically encountered whenever a large amount of water is produced from an oil well. Waste oilin-water emulsions contain a very small amount of oil on a volumetric basis and are typically encountered in the waste water streams leaving a production system. These waste streams have normally undergone a settling period in the


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production system. They contain predominantly small oil droplets which are difficult to coalesce. Because of the increased emphasis on environmental conservation and governmental regulations in the treatment of waste water, these types of emulsions are of high interest to the facility engineer.

MINIMIZATION OF FREE ENERGY

The formation of emulsions is based upon the thermodynamic principleminimization of free energy (Figure 4). Free energy is the internal energy of a system minus the product of its temperature and its entropy. This principle states that, "the condition for equilibrium in any type of system is that state in which the free energy of the system is minimized." In systems having several chemically pure phases (i.e., immiscible liquids, vapors, solids, etc.), the free energy of the system is simply the sum of the free energy associated with material in the bulk phases (water and oil) plus the free energy associated with the interfaces between the phases.

COALESCENCE OF WATER DROPLETS

Figure 4 - Principle of Minimization of Free Energy

G = Gbulk + Ginterface

where:

G = free energy.

Gbulk = free energy for all material in the bulk phases.

Ginterface = free energy for all material at the interface between phases.


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For a given phase distribution, the magnitude of Gbulk in the above equation is fixed so that the only way to minimize G is to minimize the interfacial contribution, Ginterface' This contribution is proportional to the interfacial tension, (J' ab» between two phases a and b and the interfacial area, Aab, between the two phases.

Ginterface = L ((J' ab Aab)

The summation includes all interfaces in the system. Thus, to minimize the total free energy of a chemically pure system, it is necessary to minimize the surface area between the distinct phases in the system.

One common example of this principle is a small raindrop falling through the air. If the viscous effects of drag are neglected, the drop will assume a spherical shape since this geometry provides the smallest surface area for a given volume of water and thus, free energy is minimized.

A second example would be a beaker containing two pure componentsliquid water and liquid hydrocarbon (e.g., hexane). The equilibrium configuration for such a system is one in which all of the water exists in a single phase at the bottom of the beaker and the hexane is in a single phase floating on top of the water. This configuration is attained even if the mixture is shaken vigorously to form an emulsion initially. After standing for some time, the above final equilibrium state will be realized because it minimizes the free energy for the composite mixture.

From this discussion, it is obvious that some additional mechanism must operate in order to form and stabilize emulsions that do not coalesce over a period of time. This mechanism is provided by impurities in the different liquid phases. These materials, called stabilizers, are usually complex, long chain organic compounds which are both polar and non-polar. The adsorption of stabilizers at the interface provides enough negative free energy to overcome the positive contributions to free energy due to the increased surface area provided by the emulsion.


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Absorption of the stabilizers at an interface takes some time to occur. The time element can have a very important bearing upon the difficulty encountered in breaking emulsions in production systems. Indeed, emulsions which are allowed to age are significantly harder to break than those which have Ilot aged. Consequently, in many production facilities the emulsion breaking or treating operations are located as close to the wellhead as possible, so that the emulsions formed during flow in the production tubing and wellhead equipment are not allowed to age before treatment.

FACTORS AFFECTING EMULSION STABILITY

A stable or tight emulsion is one which will not breakdown without some form of treating. The size of the water droplets is a good measure of stability. If the water droplets will not settle out of the oil because of their small size and surface tension, then treating is required, and the emulsion is described as stable or tight. If the water droplets vary considerably in size and if most of the water droplets are relatively large, then the emulsion is described as unstable or loose.

The stability of an emulsion is dependent upon several factors. These factors are:

• stabilizer characteristics

• oil viscosity

• differential density (oil-water)

• age of the emulsion

• size of the water droplets

• water percentage

• agitation

Stabilizer Characteristics

The type of stabilizer present is probably the most important factor in determining the stability of emulsions. Without a stabilizer, the formation of a stable emulsion would be impossible. There is no doubt that there is a considerable difference in the stabilizing effects of the various agents for different conditions, but there are too many variables to permit even simple generalizations to be made about their specific or relative activity.


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Oil Viscosity

An oil with a high viscosity, that is, an oil which flows slowly, tends to maintain much larger drops of water in suspension than one with a low viscosity. Furthermore, a high viscosity oil requires much more agitation to create water droplets as numerous or fine as a lower viscosity oil. Thicker crudes also retard the migration of stabilizer particles to the interface. In general, higher viscosity crudes form less stable emulsions in terms of numbers of small water droplets, but this is more than offset by the difficulty of water separation.

Differential Density

Differences in densities (specific gravities) between oil and water phases are used to some extent in all treating systems. If an oil is heavy (a high specific gravity), it tends to keep water droplets in suspension longer. For a light oil (low specific gravity), water will not be suspended in the oil phase so readily and will settle to the bottom of the tank. Therefore, other factors being equal, the greater the difference in density between the oil and water phases, the easier the separation .

. Age of Emulsion

Little or no emulsion exists in the oil bearing formation. The emulsion is formed during the production of the fluid and the degree of emulsification is dependent on the agitation of the two phases by pumps, chokes, valves, etc. Before an emulsion is produced, the emulsifying agents (stabilizers) are evenly dispersed in the oil. As soon as the water phase is mixed with the oil, the stabilizing agents begin to cluster around the water droplet to form a stable emulsion. The hydrophilic (water loving) groups of stabilizers are attracted by water and are extracted from the oil to produce an interfacial film around the water droplet. While the initial stabilization may occur in a matter of a few seconds, the process of film development may continue for several hours. In fact, it will continue until the film around the droplet of water is so dense that no additional stabilizer can be attracted or until there is no more stabilizer left to be extracted from the oil. At such time the emulsion has reached a state of equilibrium and is said to be an aged emulsion. The time required for this aging to occur varies from a few minutes to several hours. The older the emulsion, the more difficult it is to treat.


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Size of Water Droplets

As discussed earlier, water droplet size varies from minute to large. Since specific gravity is an important factor in the separation of oil and water, generally emulsions containing large water droplets tend to be less stable and are easier to separate.

Water Percentage

As the water percentage increases, more agitation is required to completely emulsify the 'water. Upon complete emulsification, a high water percentage emulsion has a greater number of water droplets per unit volume which increases the possibility and rate of contact between droplets. In general, large water percentages tend to form less stable emulsions.

Agitation

The type and severity of agitation applied to an oil-water mixture generally determines the water drop size. The more turbulence and shearing action present in a production system, the more the water is divided into smaller and smaller drops, and the emulsion becomes more stable.


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EXERCISE 1

1. A normal emulsion is _

a. water-in-oil

b. sand-in-oil

c. oil-in-water

d. water-in-stabilizers

e. emulsifiers-in-stabilizers

2. The factors that affect the stability of an emulsion are

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

f. g.

3. The free energy of a system is the sum of the bulk phase free energy and

the free energy of the between the phases.

4. Particles which prevent the union of two phases are _

a. immiscible agents

b. emulsifying agents

c. reverse agents

d. stabilizing agents

e. band d

5. In order for emulsions to form, and _

_____ are necessary.


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6. Match the following terms: __ inverse emulsion __ stable emulsion

__ normal emulsion __ unstable emulsion

a. water-in-oil

b. easy to separate

c. oil-in-water

d. difficult to separate and requires treating

7. (TRUE or FALSE) The greater the differential density between the oil and water phases, the easier the separation.

8. (TRUE or FALSE) The older the emulsion, the more difficult to treat.

9. (TRUE or FALSE) The more agitation induced, the more unstable the emulsion becomes.

CHECK YOUR ANSWERS AGAINST THOSE AT THE END OF THE TEXT.


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LESSON 2: EMULSION TREATING METHODS

LESSON OBJECTIVES


• List and describe the four methods for treating emulsions.

• Describe the bottle test procedure.

• Describe the difference between the tank battery concept and the central oil treating concept.


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EMULSION TREATING METHODS

Conditioning of crude oil to pipeline quality has historically been referred to as separation, treating, and storage. In recent years, various projects, such as tank battery consolidation and automation, have resulted in new terminology being used for separation, treating, and storage facilities which descnbe the changes in oil field configuration. For years, and still existing in some fields, the tank battery is the name applied to the central location where the total production from a number of individual wells is separated, individual well tests are conducted, the oil treated, and oil custody transfer takes place. In the past, at least one tank battery was used for each royalty interest or lease. If a large number of wells were drilled and/or the lease covered a large area, more than one tank battery was constructed.

By moving the treating and storage or custody transfer facilities to a location remote from the primary separation facilities, new names evolved. The location which contains the treating and custody transfer facilities is generally called a central tank battery or central treating station. In CPC (Computer Production Control) terminology, this may be referred to as the battery. The location which contains the primary separation facilities may be referred to as anyone or all of the following: a test and separation station, a separation station, a test site, a metering site, a satellite tank battery, a battery, or in CPC terminology, it may be a metering point or a sub-battery, or a combination of sub-batteries and metering points. In some fields, even though they are automated, operations personnel still continue to call these sites tank batteries.

PRIMARY CRUDE OIL TREATING METHODS

Separating water from produced oil has been performed by various ingenious schemes with varying degrees of success. The problem of removing emulsified water has grown more widespread, and oftentimes more difficult, as producers lift more water with oil from water-drive formations, waterflood zones, and wells stimulated by thermal and chemical recovery techniques.

The pipeline industry views treating as a necessity to prevent overloading their systems and as a method of reducing internal corrosion in their piping systems. Due to the large volume to be handled, the pipeline companies must set certain specifications for oil entering their systems. These specifications vary slightly among companies and among localities, but usually not more


15

than one to two percent of foreign material may be present in the oil. Aside from the extra load, foreign materials (especially sand and water) are probably the greatest contributors to wear and corrosion. Foreign materials present very serious problems in the maintenance of old pipeline systems. Pipeline companies specify and perform sampling and measurement procedures to ensure oil quality,

Normally, the responsibility of treating oil to pipeline quality belongs to the field operator (pumper) and Field Superintendent; however, the engineer is sometimes asked to help solve difficult treating problems, and certainly when new systems are designed or old systems modified, some knowledge of oil treating technology and operation of oil treating equipment is required.

The term treating refers to any procedure which is designed to separate foreign matter from crude petroleum. This foreign matter may include water, sand, sediment, or any other impurity in the oil. (Paraffin and asphalt are not generally considered impurities.) The actual treating process requires some combination of the following:

• chemical addition

• settling time

• heat

• electrostatic coalescing

Chemical Addition

An emulsion can be modified by the addition of chemical destabilizers (demulsifiers) by chemical injection pumps (Figure 5). These surface active agents are absorbed at the water-oil interface, rupture the skin and/or displace the stabilizer, and force the stabilizer back into the oil. As a result of adding these chemicals, there is a lowering of the interfacial tension of the droplet. Apparently, the destabilizer functions (at least in the early stages of the process) by adsorbing at the oil-water interface where it spreads with sufficient pressure to displace the natural stabilizing agent from the surface. This leaves an interface covered or partially covered with a very thin film which offers little resistance to coalescence.


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Figure 5 - Chemical Injection Pump

Time and turbulence aid diffusion of the treating chemical through the oil to the interface; therefore, it is more effective to add the de stabilizer to the oil at the wellhead. Since the chemical must contact each stabilized water droplet in order to destabilize it, the chemical should be thoroughly mixed with all of the emulsion. Generally, this is accomplished by adding the chemical as far upstream in the producing system as possible. This gives minimum time for the stabilizer to concentrate at the interface and provides maximum agitation and time for the chemical destabilizer to work. The ultimate treating method is to inject the chemical downhole; however, mechanical difficulties make the downhole injection method useful in only a few instances.

Chemical injection into the flowline near the wellhead would be an ideal approach; however, with many well systems, chemical injection at each well presents problems. The initial cost of many injectors is high and maintenance and service is very time consuming.

A compromise is sometimes used in that injectors are installed on a few wells instead of all of them. Care must be exercised in selecting such wells. A good choice is a well producing a tight emulsion and high volumes of fluid continuously, or one whose flowline joins others before reaching the main header or treating plant.

Emulsion and Oil Treatin2

17

A common point of chemical injection is at the main header. Injection here ensures that the chemical will be introduced continuously into all of the production fluid. The single injector gives a low-cost initial installation and provides for minimum maintenance and servicing. Such savings may offset the cost of extra chemical which is usually required because of less agitation and time.

In-line turbulators (mixers) can be installed in the flowline downstream of the chemical injection point. These devices ensure a turbulent flow regime and a thorough mixing of the chemical and the emulsion. Equipment and installation costs are minimal, and chemical costs are also minimized by using turbulators.

The quantity of demulsifier necessary to produce the desired degree of treatment is influenced by many factors. Among these are tightness (stability), agitation, temperature, and time. The variety of such influences and their combinations makes it impossible to set a specific amount or ratio. An indication of the amount necessary for a given system may be determined from a preliminary bottle test, but the optimum amount can only be found through trial and error in the plant. As a general technique, start with one quart per 100 barrels of oil.

Experience is a very useful teacher in selecting demulsifiers. Familiarity with the history of treating in an area, the demands of the treating plants, and the performance of chemicals are all valuable aids for selection; however, this approach should not be used when changes occur in emulsion characteristics, new emulsions are encountered, or new chemicals become available.

Bottle Test Procedure

By far, the bottle test is the most successful means of selecting chemicals to break emulsions. It involves adding various chemicals to samples of the emulsion and observing the results. The bottle test (Figure 6) is not a foolproof approach, but when accomplished by a competent person, it will provide good results. There has been much criticism of the bottle test, but this stems mostly from a lack of understanding of the test. This simple test has proven to be very effective in (1) selecting the most efficient chemical, (2) providing an accurate estimate of the amount of chemical required to break the emulsions, and (3) providing an estimate of settling time for vessel sizing.


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Figure 6 - Bottle Test (Courtesy PETEX)

Chemical sales companies provide samples of various families of chemicals which can be tested on the particular emulsion. Once the most effective family of chemicals is selected, then it becomes a matter of testing 20-50 different formulations for the most efficient surfactant (surface active) chemical. Chemical sales representatives will normally conduct the bottle tests.

Three basic criteria must be followed in conducting bottle tests.

• Bottle testing should always be performed on a representative sample.

• Bottle testing should be performed as soon as the sample is obtained because of possible detrimental aging effects.

• Testing should be performed as close to field treating conditions as possible, i.e., agitation, heat, and settling time.

Results of the bottle tests can be tabulated to determine which chemical works successfully in a given equipment configuration.


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Data Collected

Use

• Freewater dropout readings versus time for various chemicals and chemical concentrations.

• Freewater knockout or three-phase separator vessels can be sized. Chemical costs can be calculated. Vessel costs can be estimated .

• Remaining emulsion, as percent saltwater can be determined.

• Treating system design can be completed. Selection of the treating vessel (electrostatic coalescers, heater-treater, etc.) can be made.

The bottle test is used to select the most efficient chemical for a new oil field; however, it should be used from time to time in existing fields to ensure that the most efficient chemical for the currently existing emulsion is being used. Many times, larger settling vessels are installed at great expense to provide adequate settling time for the chemical being used when a more efficient chemical could have reduced the settling time required. Emulsions change over the years in the same oil field as stabilizers change and as salt water percentages change.

Bottle Test Considerations

The best demulsifier is the compound which results in the most rapid and complete separation of the phases at a minimum concentration. The important characteristics in the bottle test will be dictated by the production needs and the behavior of the system.

Water Drop-Out Rate

In a high water volume system, a chemical that creates a fast water dropout is necessary to make the system function as designed. When free water knockouts are used, the speed of water drop-out may become the most important factor. Chemicals with fast water drop-out characteristics are sometimes incomplete in treatment. In low volume systems or those fields with facilities having longer than normal residence times, rate of water drop-out may be of minor significance in selecting the best demulsifier. In all cases, the rate of water dropout should be noted and recorded.


20

Sludge

When basic sediment and water collect without breaking to water and oil, the result is commonly called sludge. In some systems, non-coalesced water droplets result in a loose agglomeration which breaks to water and oil causing no problems. Depending upon the system and sludge stability, interface sludge mayor may not cause a problem. Sludge is stabilized by finely divided solids and other contaminates to form pads which cause a secondary emulsion located between the oil and water. Loose interface sludge can be detected by swirling the test bottle about its vertical axis, and if the material is loose, it will break.

Interface

The desired interface is one which has a shiny oil in contact with water.

This is commonly referred to as a mirror interface. In all instances, the interface using a new chemical should be as good as that formed by the chemical being replaced, if not better.

Water Turbidity

The turbidity (clarity) of the water is very difficult to interpret in the bottle test and correlate to plant behavior. When the chemical effects in the bottles are pronounced and reproducible, some correlation can be expected. Clear water is definitely the desired result.

Oil Color

A characteristic of emulsions is their hazy appearance in contrast to the bright color of treated oil. Consequently, as a crude oil emulsion separates, the color tends to brighten. Although brightening of the oil can be encouraging, it can also be deceptive if taken as the sole qualification for chemical selection. While bright color is no guarantee of a successful chemical, lack of it assures that the compound is not worthy of further consideration.

Centrifuge

An important quality in bottle testing is the final evaluation of the centrifuge results. It is always a good practice to make a centrifuge grind-out to accurately determine the final amount of BS&W entrained in the oil.

21

Chemical Selection Considerations

A thorough understanding of the treating plant and its contribution to the treatment are necessary before chemical selection can be made. If little agitation is available, a fast-acting chemical is necessary. If a free water knockout vessel is used, water dropout rate will be very important. If heat is unavailable, the chemical must work at ambient temperatures. Different type treating vessels require different chemical actions.

For a settling tank or gun barrel (Figure 7), speed is generally not too important since such tanks usually have a high volume-to-throughput ratio. The chemical may continue acting over a relatively long period. An interface layer often develops, but usually stabilizes at some acceptable thickness. An interface layer in a gunbarrel sometimes aids the treating process in that it acts as a filter for solids and unresolved emulsions. Fresh oil containing demulsifier passing up through the interface layer helps treat the interface and prevents an excessive buildup.

Figure 7 - Gunbarrel


22

The vertical treater (Figure 8) volume-to-throughput ratio is usually lower than a gunbarrel so the speed of chemical action becomes more important. With this higher throughput, it is harder to stabilize an interface layer, so more complete treatment is necessary in a shorter time period. Solids control rimy be important in controlling the interface.

Figure 8 - Vertical Treater (Courtesy Smith Ind., Inc.)


23

A horizontal treater (Figure 9) usually has high throughput so chemical action must be fast. The large interface area and shallow fluid depth require that the interface be fairly clean. Since this treater can tolerate only very little interface accumulation, the chemical treatment must be complete. Since solids tend to collect at the interface, the chemical must also effectively de-oil any solids so that they may settle out by gravity.

Figure 9 - Horizontal Treater (Courtesy Smith Ind., Inc.)

Settling Time

Following the addition of treating chemicals, settling time is required to promote gravity segregation of the coalescing water droplets. Anyone of a number of settling-treating vessels may be designed to provide sufficient time for free water to settle. Three-phase separators, freewater knockouts, heatertreaters, and gunbarrels are examples of settling/treating vessels. The time necessary for free water to settle is affected by the differential density of the oil and water, viscosity of the oil, size of the water droplets, and more specifically by the relative stability of the emulsion. Due to the variety of factors influencing settling time, it will vary considerably from one system to another. Experience and preliminary bottle tests will give some indication of settling time required.


24

Heat

Most treating plants use heat in the treating process, since it aids in mixing' coalescing, and settling. Heat promotes the treatment by

• reducing viscosity of oil.

• weakening or rupturing the film between the oil and water drops by expanding the water.

• altering the differential density of the fluids.

In effect, heat accelerates the treating process and is used primarily to reduce the size of the treating vessel. It must be emphasized, however, that heat vaporizes the light hydrocarbons of the oil causing shrinkage, and unless some means is provided to conserve these hydrocarbons (i.e., installation of a vapor recovery system), a reduction in API gravity and volumes will result. A gravity loss of 10 API causes a volume loss of 2.75 percent of 30.00 API crude. Excessive use of heat may result in reductions of crude prices in fields where the API gravity is the basis for crude oil price. Heating of crude emulsions is very expensive, and as heat is increased in a treating vessel, maintenance problems increase. It is generally better to use slightly more chemical and less heat so that volume and gravity losses are minimized.

Electrostatic Coalescing

Electricity is frequently used instead of heat as an aid to the treating process. It is particularly valuable where space is important since the use of electricity accelerates the settling process even more than heat and allows for use of a smaller vessel.

As an emulsion passes through an electrical field, the small water droplets are polarized and then stretched due to the polar attractions. This polarization greatly increases the speed and force of impact of the particles as they are attracted to the electrode. Because of the weakened film due to surface stretching and because of the greater collision force due to increased speed, the droplets unite more readily. The electric field works best on loose emulsions and cannot tolerate solids. Therefore, the use of chemicals is generally necessary.


25

EXERCISE 2

1. The term used to describe a procedure which is designed to separate for-

eign matter from crude oil is _

a. metering
b. dehydrating
c. treating
d. choking
e. absorption 2. The location which contains the treating and custody transfer facilities is

called a _

a. net oil detector facility

b. central treating station

c. primary separation facility

d. central tank battery

e. b or d

3. (TRUE or FALSE) The tank battery terminology is applied to a central location where the total production from individual wells is separated, tested, treated, and transferred.

4. List the four primary methods of separating water from crude oil.

a. ~-

b. ___

c. _

d. ___

5. Agents absorbed at the water-oil interface to lower the interfacial tension

are called _

a. emulsions
b. surfactants
c. coalescers
d. destabilizers
e. b or d Emulsion and Oil Treating

26

6. The most efficient method to determine the chemicals to treat an emulsion

is accomplished by _

a. the bottle test

b. electrostatic coalescence

c. heating

d. agitation

e. injection

7. The quantity of demulsifier necessary to produce the desired degree of treatment is influenced by

a.

b.

c.

d.

8. (TRUE or FALSE) Bottle testing should always simulate field conditions as close as possible.

9. When selecting a chemical to treat an emulsion _

a. speed is generally not a consideration for a settling tank or gun barrel

b. speed becomes a more important consideration for a vertical treater

c. speed is not an important consideration for a horizontal treater

d. all of the above

e. a and b only

10. Settling time _

a. is usually required after chemical addition

b. is dependent upon the differential density of the oil and water

c. is the time required for free water to separate from the emulsion

d. all of the above

e. a and conly

Emulsion and Oil Treattna

27

11. Heat is generally used in most treating systems because it aids

a.

b.

c. __

12. The application of heat in the treating process __

a. reduces the size of the treating vessel

b. may vaporize the light hydrocarbons in the oil

c. is very expensive

d. all of the above

e. a and b only

13. Treating emulsions by electrostatic coalescing _

a. accelerates the settling process more than heat

b. increases the speed and force of impact between particles

c. requires a vessel larger than one that uses heat

d. all of the above

e. a and b only



28

LESSON 3: EMULSION TREATING EQUIPMENT

LESSON OBJECTIVES


• Describe the operation of emulsion treating equipment.

• Select the proper freewater knockout vessel dimensions, given the total fluid production.

• Calculate the external water leg height for a gunbarrel, given the liquid gravity, height of the oil outlet, height of interface level, and height of the water outlet.

• Determine the heating capacity required to size a treater, given the liquid production rate.

• Design an oil treating system, given the lease data, equipment costs, and operating costs.


29

EMULSION TREATING EQUIPMENT

Treating systems are some of the most expensive and troublesome of all lease surface equipment. By selecting the most efficient treating system for each location and accurately determining the exact size of equipment required, considerable expense can be saved.

FREEWATER KNOCKOUTS

Most well streams contain water droplets of varying sizes. If they collect and settle to the bottom of a sample within five to seven minutes, they are called free water. This is an arbitrary definition that is generally used in designing equipment to remove water that settles out rapidly.

One of the most effective pieces of equipment used to remove free water from crude oil streams is called a freewater knockout (Figure 10). Freewater knockouts should be located in the production stream where turbulence has been minimized. Restrictions such as chokes or line fittings create turbulence which aggravate emulsions. Free water frequently settles readily to the bottom of a freewater knockout. The separated water enters the water disposal system, and the other stream components continue on for further processing.

GAS

INLET-

- WATER OUTLET

Figure 10 - Cutaway View of a Freewater Knockout (Courtesy Smith Ind., Inc.)


30

Capacities and pressure ratings for these vessels are readily available from suppliers. Since retention time is the only governing factor, the throughput rate and the volume of the vessel are the significant design criteria. Free water fallout is greatly affected by temperature and gravity of the oil. A simple field check is often used to observe a fresh sample of wellhead emulsion to determine the time required for free water to segregate. Abnormal volumes of gas in the wellhead stream may require proportionately larger vessels as these volumes affect the throughput rate. In many field installations where abnormal volumes of gas are present, a two-phase vertical gas-oil separator is installed upstream of the freewater knockout to remove most of the gas and reduce turbulence in the settling vessel.

Because of their location in the treating process flow stream, freewater knockouts are generally 50 psig working pressure or less. They should be constructed in accordance with the ASME code when purchased. All nozzles should be flanged, and the internal shell of the vessel should be coated or otherwise protected from corrosion since salt water will contact most of the internal shell surfaces. To size the vessel for settling time, it is recommended that only the volume of the vessel occupied by the salt water be used. This provides a safety factor for high percentage salt water fluid streams.

Example 1- Freewater Knockout Vessel Sizing

Problem: After performing a bottle test, a freewater vessel is to be installed to provide a minimum of 12 minutes retention time. A maximum of 4,000 BID total fluid is required to be processed. Salt water will occupy 80 percent of the internal volume of the vessel.

Given:

Horizontal Vessel

4' x 10' 6' x 15' 8' x 20'

10' x 30'

Solution: 1. Calculate the volume (-rrr2L), in barrels (5.615 cu.ft. per barrel), for each vessel and reduce that volume by 20 percent.


31

Horizontal Maximum
Vessel Volume, Bbls. 80% of Volume, Bbls.
4' x 10' 22.4 17.9
6' x 15' 75.5 60.4
8' x 20' 178.9 143.2
10' x 3D' 419.4 335.5 2. Convert 4000 B/D to barrels per minute (2.8 B/min.) to determine the required retention time for each vessel at 80 percent of volume.

Vessel

Retention Time, Min.

4' X 10' 6' X 15' 8' x 20'

10' X 30'

17.9/2.8 = 6.4 60.4/2.8 = 21.6 143.2/2.8 = 51.1 335.5/2.8 = 119.8

Since the 6' x 15' FWKO provides more than enough retention time, it should be selected.

GUNBARRELS

Gunbarrels (Figure 11) are the oldest means used for oil treating in a conventional tank battery treating configuration. They are large tanks usually having center flumes extending 2-5 feet from the bottom of the tank to 6-12 feet above the top of the tank. The vessel is nothing more than a large atmospheric vented settling tank which is normally higher than the oil storage or stock tank. This enables gravity flow of oil into the storage tanks. The emulsion normally flowing from a separator, enters the flume where gas is liberated off the top and the oil-water mixture settles to the bottom of the tank. Exiting at the bottom of the flume, the mixture rises to the top of the surrounding layer of water. The water level is controlled by a water leg or automatic water bleeder. The emulsion passage through the water helps collect the entrained water and converts the emulsion into distinct oil and water identities which continue gravity separation. Oil accumulates at the top and flows out through the spillover line into the stock tanks. The water flows from the bottom of the tank, up through the water leg and into a surge tank or salt water gathering system. The height of the water leg regulates the amount of water retained in the gunbarrel. Settling time in the vessel for the total fluid stream is usually 12-24 hours.


32

OIL OUTLET - OIL

WATER

LEG

- WATER OUTLET

Figure 11 - Gunbarrel Cutaway

API 12 series specifications are the accepted industry standards for tanks used as gunbarrels. Gunbarrels normally vary in capacity from 250-2000 barrels and are either galvanized bolted steel or welded steel plate construction. Since final treatment to pipeline specification is the design criteria, heat may also be necessary to meet pipeline specifications. This may be accomplished by applying heat upstream of the gunbarrel or, in rare instances, installing a heating coil in the gunbarrel. It should be emphasized that excessive heat, although reducing chemical costs, results in evaporation and API gravity losses.

One of the design considerations for a gunbarrel is determining the height of the external water leg (automatic water bleeder). The external water leg controls the oil-water interface inside the gunbarrel and automatically allows clean oil and salt water to exit the vessel. The following is an example problem illustrating this design consideration.


33

Example 2- External Water Leg Height

Problem: Calculate the water leg height (H) given the following conditions (Figure 12).

Hw

H

Figure 12 - Example 2, Gunbarrel External Water Leg Freight


34

Given:

Oil gravity (at 600P) Water specific gravity Height of oil outlet Height of interface level Height of water outlet

36°API 1.05 23 ft.

10ft. (for this example) 1 ft.

141.5 141.5

Oil specific gravity = 131.5 + 0API = 131.5 + 36 = 0.845

Oil gradient* = 0.433 x 0.845 = 0.366 psi/ft

Water gradient* = 0.433 x 1.05 = 0.455 psi/ft

*Since the change in pressure with depth for fresh water is 0.433 psi/ft. of depth, the change in pressure with depth of fluid whose specific gravity is "t- would be 0.433-y.

Hydrostatic pressure inside tank = Hydrostatic pressure in the water leg.

Solution: 1. Calculate the height of the oil and the height of the water in the gunbarrel.

H; = 23' - 10' = 13' H; = 10' - I' = 9'

2. Perform a pressure balance.

13ft. x 0.366 psi/ft + 9 ft. x 0.455 psi/ft = H x 0.455 psi/ft. 13 x 0.366 + 9 x 0.455

H = ---------

0.455

= 19.5 ft.


35

HEATERS

Heaters are vessels used to raise the temperature of the liquid before it enters a settling tank. Heaters have long been one of the major pieces of equipment used to treat crude oil emulsions. There are two types of heaters that have been widely used in the oil industry, direct heaters and indirect heaters. Most heaters have two basic elements-a shell and firebox. Indirect heaters have a third element which is the process flow coil. Heaters have standard accessories such as burners, regulators, relief valves, thermometers, temperature controllers, etc.

Indirect Heaters

In the indirect heater (Figure 13), oil flows through tubes which are immersed in water which in turn is heated by a fire-tube. An indirect heater has the advantage of maintaining a constant temperature over a long period of time and is considerably safer than the direct heater. Hot spots are not as likely to occur, if the calcium content of the heating water is controlled. The indirect heater has the disadvantage of requiring several hours to reach the desired temperature after it has been out of service.

Imil HEAT OR FIRE E'3 WATER ~EMULSION

Figure 13 - Indirect Heater Cutaway (Courtesy Smith Ind., Inc.)


36

Direct Heaters

The crude oil in direct heaters (Figure 14) passes through an inlet distributor and is heated directly by a firebox. Direct heaters are quick and efficient, and the initial cost is relatively low. Direct fired heaters have a heating efficiency of 75-90 percent. If fuel gas is available, the utilization of direct fired heaters for oil treating (especially high volume oil treating) should be considered.

OIL OUTLET

CRUDE OIL -INLET

mi!l HEAT OR FIRE

~ CRUDE OIL EMULSION

Figure 14 - Direct Heater Cutaway (Courtesy Smith Ind., Inc.)

Direct heaters are hazardous and require special safety equipment. Scale may form on the oil side of the pipe coil preventing a transfer of heat from the firebox to the oil emulsion. Heat collects in steel walls under this scale, softens and buckles the metal, and eventually ruptures allowing oil to flow into the firebox. The resultant blaze, if not extinguished, will be fed by the incoming oil stream.


37

Waste Heat Recovery

Due to the rapid escalation of natural gas prices in recent years, many other methods of adding heat to crude oil emulsions have been employed. One of the most innovative is the capture of waste heat from the exhaust stacks of compressors and other large engines. Heat exchangers are used to transfer this relatively inexpensive heat source to the crude oil emulsion stream.

Heater Sizing

The material presented for Sizing Heater-Treaters in the following section is used as a guide in sizing heaters.

FLOW TREATERS (HEATER-TREATERS)

Sometimes called heater-treaters or just treaters, flow treaters entered general field use in the 1940's. The upright cylindrical design is an improvement over the gunbarrel and heater system. Many designs are offered to handle various conditions such as viscosity, oil gravity, high or low flow rates, corrositivity, cold weather, etc. Some treaters use a bundle of excelsior (filter bed) to aid coalescence of the water droplets.

Emulsion enters the vessel (Figure 15) where entrained gas carried over from the separator is released. In some producing fields the gas-oil ratio is very low, and gas-oil separators are not required. The well stream enters the treater directly, and the inlet diverter deflects the fluid to facilitate gas and liquid separation. Off-gas may be vented, delivered into a low pressure gas system, or compressed for delivery into a higher pressure gas system. The emulsion moves through a tube (downcomer) to the lower section of the vessel and emerges in proximity to a warming coil usually called afirebox or Jiretube heater. This drastic heating, usually to a temperature ranging from 90°F to 120°F, breaks a larger part of the emulsion and water settles in the bottom of the vessel. The remaining emulsion moves upward through the relatively higher weight water bath and continues to coalesce until it attains a separated condition at the oil-water interface. Water at the bottom of the vessel is drained intermittently in response to a water level control device. Treated oil exits the treater through the oil outlet at the top of the settling section and passes through the oil valve to the storage tank.


38

GAS OUTLET

EMU L::i IlJN----fl+H+-H::

CONDUCTOR PIPE (DOWNCOMER)

GAS SEPARATING SECTION

OIL OUTLET

OIL LEVEL

INLET

9 WATER mm1, OIL

[J EMULSION

Figure 15 - Vertical Flow Treater Cutaway (Courtesy Sivalls, Inc.)

Heater-treaters have the following advantages and disadvantages as compared to gunbarrels that use heaters:

Advantages

• lower initial cost

• lower installation cost

• greater heat efficiency

• greater flexibility

• greater overall efficiency


39

Disadvantages

• more complicated

• less storage space for basic sediment

• more sensitive to chemicals

Heater treaters are sensitive to chemical usage. Since heater treaters are typically smaller than other treating vessels, such as gunbarrels, retention time is minimal. Surfactant chemicals must be used properly to help break the emulsion and minimize the retention time required.

Mechanical difficulties do occur with treaters. Problems may occur due to internal corrosion of the downcomer pipe which will allow the inlet emulsion to mix with the treated oil. Build up of sediment on the walls or bottom of the treater can cause interface levels to rise which will inevitably cause liquid carryover and/or oil exiting the treater with saltwater.

Biannual inspections should be performed on heater-treaters to include internal inspection for corrosion, sediment buildup, and scale buildup.

Treater Sizing

The two major factors controlling the selection of an emulsion treater are the heat capacity required and the maximum quiet settling time allowed a given volume of oil. Any treater can be selected for heating capacity alone, and in a majority of these installations, the unit will perform properly. In some cases, however, the emulsion may require a longer settling time than is allowed for the operating conditions of the vessel. It is advisable to check the oil-settling time in selecting a treater before the equipment is ordered.

Estimating Heat Capacity

The following information must be obtained in order to determine the heat capacity required of an emulsion treater for any specific set of conditions:

• total volume of well fluid to be treated per hour.

• composition of the well fluid in volume percentages of oil and water (consider water cut at end of field life).


40

• initial temperature of the fluid as it enters the treater, in of (use coldest temperature anticipated and consider ambient temperature conditions).

• treating temperature determined from bottle testing required to break the emulsion in of.

• maximum volume of clean oil to be treated, in barrels per hour.

• average settling time required to break the emulsion.

Quantity of Fluid

Variations in the composition of the well fluids from different fields and wells make it impossible to determine a simple formula for calculating the required heating capacity directly for all cases. If the volume of well fluid to be considered could be converted to an equivalent volume of a standard liquid, the procedure would be greatly simplified. The standard liquid chosen in this case is water.

To simplify the conversion, use Figure 16. The following procedure should be used:

70
60
eo:
::l
0 50
:I:
eo:
w
c.. 40
0
:5
-'
u..
-'
-'
w
~
u,
0
....i
co
co EQUIV. BBL. OF WATER PER HOUR

Figure 16 - Equivalent Quantity of Water to Be Heated


41

1. Determine the number of barrels of fluid to be heated per hour and locate the corresponding point on the lefthand margin.

2. Follow a horizontal line from this point to the right until it intersects the slanting line representing the percentage composition parameter (volume of the oil and water in the well fluid).

3. Follow the vertical line through this intersection downward to the bottom margin of the chart.

4. Read the equivalent barrels of water per hour.

Heating Rate

To determine the heating capacity required, refer to Figure 17. The following steps should be used:

u.
0
I
w
(/) 80
C2
w
eo::
~
~ 70
eo::
w
Cl..
:::
w
I-
50

40
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70

EQUIV. BBL. WATER HEATED PER HOUR

Figure 17 - Heat Rates Required for Various Temperature Changes in Various Quantities of Flowing Water

1. Values along the bottom margin of the chart represent equivalent barrels of water per hour. Using the equivalent barrels of water per hour found in Figure 16, draw in the corresponding vertical line on Figure 17.


42

2. The values along the lefthand margin of Figure 17 represent the required temperature rise in of. After determining the required temperature rise for the emulsion to be treated, draw in the corresponding horizontal line. The temperature rise is the difference between the initial fluid temperature and the required treating temperature.

3. Determine the point of intersection of these two lines.

4. This point of intersection will probably fall between two of the curved lines on Figure 17, representing the heating capacity required. By interpolating between the curved lines, the actual heating capacity can be determined.

The heating rate required should be compared with the manufacturer's specifications. Select a treater that meets or exceeds the heating requirements.

Settling Time

To check the available settling time, the following information is required:

1. Maximum volume of clean oil to be treated in barrels per hour.

2. Average settling time required to break the emulsion (from the bottle test).

3. Maximum oil-settling volume listed in the manufacturer's specifications for the treater selected.

The available settling time is calculated by dividing the maximum oilsettling volume by the maximum volume of emulsion produced per hour from the well. The result is the actual time available for the emulsion to settle out. If this time period is equal to or exceeds the average settling time required to break the emulsion, the treater selected is adequate.


43

If the available settling time is too short, one of the following three considerations is recommended:

1. Select a larger size treater of the same type.

2. Consider use of the same size treater in a more advanced type.

3. Consider installing excelsior (filter bed) if not already specified.

ELECTROSTATIC COALESCERS

Ionization of oil and water emulsions was known and practiced as early as 1910 and came into ordinary refinery use in the 1930's. This process increases in economic attractiveness directly with liquid volume to be handled, but it requires electricity. The advent of many tank battery consolidation projects has resulted in the need to treat larger liquid volumes. Expanding power systems also made electricity available at installations previously considered remote. In the late 1950's, the electrostatic coalescer appeared in field production operations. It still is an attractive investment when large volumes of liquids are treated.

An electrostatic coalescer (Figure 18, commonly called a chern-electric treater) is essentially a horizontal flow treater which contains an electric coalescing section. As shown in Figure 19, the emulsion enters the heating section, passes down over a baffle, up through a distributor, and in and around the firetubes. Free water accumulates in the lower section and is drained by an interface control. The oil emulsion spills over a weir into a distributor located near the bottom of the coalescing section. From here, the oil and small water particles travel up into the grid section where the water droplets become electrified or ionized, which starts them moving around in the oil until enough droplets join by coalescing to form a large enough droplet to settle to the bottom. The emulsion water is accumulated in the bottom of the coalescing section and dumped by an interface control through a separate outlet. The clean oil continues to move to the top of the coalescing section where it accumulates in a pipe and exits the oil outlet by a differential controller.


44

Figure 18 - Electrostatic Coalescer

GAS OUTLET

t

OIL OUTLET

Figure 19 - Electrostatic Coalescer Cutaway


45

Because of these forced collisions, electrostatic coalescing usually allows the treating process to operate at lower temperatures than those of conventional treaters. The use of lower temperatures is directly reflected in reduced fuel costs. For cold weather operations, it may be necessary to use the heater element provided in this unit; however, the relative heat requirements should remain lower than those for conventional treaters.

Several variations of vessel design have evolved in recent years utilizing the electric grid principle. With increasing emphasis on higher volume treating (for increased efficiency), vessels are now designed which contain only the electric grid section. Application of this type system utilizes a separate vessel or vessels for free water removal and heating. When the volume to be treated exceeds 15,000-20,000 BID, a separate electrostatic vessel system should be considered.

Design criteria for the electric grid section of the electrostatic coalescer should be closely coordinated with the manufacturer. Many manufacturers of electrostatic coalescers consider the design techniques for their vessels as proprietary information; therefore, the actual grid spacing and voltage data must be designed by the manufacturer. Normally, a sample of the crude oil and salt water is required by the supplier for design purposes.

Most electrostatic coalescers operate at 30 psig or less. These vessels should be ASME code inspected and adequately protected from overpressuring and internal electrical short circuits. All nozzles should be flanged and clean-out provisions should be included. Sizing considerations, other than those associated with the grid section, should be completed as previously discussed under heating requirements for heater-treaters and retention time for freewater knockouts.

PRACTICAL DESIGN OF AN OIL TREATING SYSTEM

As previously discussed, some emulsions can be treated successfully by relatively low temperatures with or without adding chemicals; others respond to chemicals without heat. In many cases, it is expedient to use both. In some fields, particularly those having high water percentages, quiet settling without either heat or chemicals provides satisfactory oil and water segregation. These cases are rare, however, and may require extremely long retention times.


46

Ordinarily, it is better (from the standpoint of installation, maintenance, and operating costs) to use chemicals instead of heat. Gunbarrels should be used if an isolated, single lease, high salt water percentage production is indicated (provided retention time requirements do not make gunbarrel sizing impractical). When gunbarrels are used without heating, the vessels should provide a retention time of 12-24 hours for total fluid volume and at least eight hours for the oil. This is ample settling time for ordinary temperatures and allows some storage of basic sediment during cold weather when the chemical efficiency declines. The basic sediment is cleaned from the tank during warm weather or by periodically rolling (circulating) the gunbarrel.

In cases where heat is required, the best choice is usually a heater-treater.

It is generally sound practice to install a slightly larger heater-treater than is necessary. This allows extra capacity for unforeseeable production increases and may also allow a reduction in the amount of treating chemical used. A reduction in chemical cost can easily payout the additional cost of a larger treater in a few years. A retention time of two hours for oil in the treater is a general average; however, the optimum time varies from one to four hours, depending on the characteristics of the oil and the efficiency of the chemical.

The problems of gas conservation, utilization of produced gas as fuel, and the effect of treating on oil gravities and volumes should be considered. Heater-treaters are somewhat flexible in their operation, and some control over gas-oil separation can be exercised. The gas from heater-treaters can be used for fuel, and this is important in fields where the gas supply is low. Oil treated in heater-treaters tends to retain its gravity and volume because usually, gas is separated in several stages and the oil is cooled before entering stock tanks. In the gunbarrel-heater system, the one-stage, gas-oil separation in the flume causes evaporation and gravity losses unless temperatures are carefully controlled.

The use of a freewater knockout instead of a gunbarrel, the use of a threephase separator instead of a freewater knockout or gunbarrel, or the use of an electrostatic coalescer instead of a heater-treater, are all configuration considerations which a facilities engineer may be required to determine. In the example problem which follows, the recommended approach to equipment configuration selection is developed.


47

Example 3- Treating System Design

Problem: Design a conventional tank battery treating system for the following single lease Exxon will operate in a competitive oil field.

Given:

1. Exxon's lease is 320 acres; all productive.

2. Field spacing for each well is 40 acres.

3. Top well allowable is 100 barrels of oil per day; all wells will be top allowable for 12 years.

4. Strong water drive reservoir, initially wells will flow, water-free, but within 1-3 years will begin to produce water, increasing to +99% at abandonment after 20-year producing life. Gas-oil ratio will not exceed 200 fr' lB.

5. Bottle tests indicate one quart of Exxon Breaxit 8150 per 100 barrels of oil will remove saltwater down to 6% emulsion after 9 minutes; one quart per 50 barrels, down to 3% in 9 minutes; one quart per 150 barrels, down to 8% in 9 minutes. Cost of chemical is $8 I gallon. Pipeline requirement is less than 1 % BS&W.

6. Maximum liquid production for each well will not exceed 1000 BID.

7. Pumper coverage will be 7 days per week, twice each day, early morning and late afternoon.

8. Assume the same pipeline oil storage tanks and emergency storage tank will be required with any treating system selected.

9. If gunbarrel system is selected, a freewater knockout must be used to remove free water and a 350,000 Btu/hr heater must be used to raise temperature of fluid from 55°F to 120°F.


48

Equipment available, including installed costs:

Vertical Two-Phase Separator (will handle 10,000 barrels of liquid per day and 160 kcf/D, assume no retention time)-$20,000. -

Freewater Knockouts: (Use 90% of volume for settling time).

10' x 30'-$45,000 8' x 20'-$35,000 8' x 15'-$30,000 6' x 20'-$22,500 6' x 15'-$20,000

Three-Phase Separators: (Use 67% of volume for settling, each vessel will handle gas adequately).

10' x 30'-$55,000 8' x 20'-$45,000 8' x 15'-$40,000 6' x 20'-$35,000 5' x 15'-$30,000

Vertical Flow Treaters: (will handle up to 875 B/D, treating below 0.5% BS&W, the following emulsions).

A. 3% Emulsion-$45,OOO plus $30,000/yr fuel cost

B. 6% Emulsion-$50,000 plus $30,000/yr fuel cost

C. 8% Emulsion-$60,000 plus $30,000/yr fuel cost

Electrostatic Coalescer: (will handle up to 875 BF /D, treating below 0.5% BS&W, the following emulsions).

A. 3% Emulsion-$70,000 plus $20,000/yr fuel cost

B. 6% Emulsion-$80,000 plus $20,000/yr fuel cost

C. 8% Emulsion-$100,000 plus $20,000/yr fuel cost


49

Gunbarrels: (12 hour retention time)

750 Barrel-$60,000 500 Barrel-$50,000

Heaters: 350,000 Btu/hr.-$20,000 plus $25,000/yr fuel cost

Solution: 1. Select all possible configurations of equipment which will produce pipeline quality oil.

The treating system design should include the following considerations:

• chemical injection is the most effective and inexpensive method to treat an emulsion.

• some method of primary separation to remove the gas should be provided.

• a vessel is required for retention time and removal of free water.

• a vessel capable of providing pipeline quality oil is required.

Possible equipment configurations:
CHEMICAL THREE-PHASE ELECTROSTATIC
PUMP SEPARATOR COALESCER
-, ~ n
a. ~ )
a
CHEMICAL GAS-LIQUID SEPARATION PIPELINE
INJECTION RETENTION TIME QUALITY OIL
FREE WATER REMOVAL
CHEMICAL TWO-PHASE FREEWATER HEATER GUNBARREL
PUMP SEPARATOR KNOCKOUT
b. ~ 0 Q ~ 0

CHEMICAL GAS-LIQUID RETENTION TIME REQUIRED WITH PIPELINE
INJECTION SEPARATION FREE WATER GUNBARREL QUALITY
REMOVAL OIL Emulsion and Oil Treating

50

CHEMICAL THREE-PHASE HEATER-TREATER
PUMP SEPARATOR
c. -, a:;;=;;r> U

CHEMICAL GAS-LIQUID SEPARATION PIPELINE
INJECTION RETENTION TIME QUALITY OIL
FREE WATER REMOVAL
CHEMICAL TWO-PHASE FREEWATER HEATER-TREATER
PUMP SEPARATOR KNOCKOUT
d. ~ 0 Q U

CHEMICAL GAS-LIQUID RETENTION TIME PIPELINE
INJECTION SEPARATION FREE WATER QUALITY
REMOVAL OIL 2. Size and select the vessels for the equipment configuration.

a.

-~~-- ~a:;;=;;r> ~--~n)

3%,6%,8% EMULSION

6' X 20'

A,B,C COALESCER

The three-phase separator must be able to handle 8,000 barrels of fluid per day.

Separator volume per day (9 minutes retention time = 160 dumps per day):

V = 'TTr2L(0.67)(160) 5' x 15'

V = 'TTr2L(0.67)(160)

71'(2.5 ft.i(15 ft.)(0.67)(160)

-

5.615 ft.3lB

= 5,623 BID

6' x 20'

V = 71'r2L(0.67)(160)

71'(3 ft.)2(20 ft.)(0.67)(160)

=

5.615 ft.3lB

= 10,796 BID


51

b.

8% EMULSION

6' x 15'

5006

The freewater knockout must be able to handle 8,000 barrels of fluid per day.

V = 1ir2L(0.90)(160) 6' x 15'

1i(3 ft.?(15 ft.)(0.90)(160)

V= ----------~-------

5.615 ft.3lB

= 10,877 BID

The gunbarrel must be able to handle 800 barrels of oil per day (100 barrels per day top well allowable for each well).

Retention time 12 hours for each gunbarrel

24 hr/D x 500 B = 1,000 BID

12 hr

c.

3%,6%, 8% EMULSION

6' x20'

A,6,C TREATER

All treaters will handle the top well allowables.

d.

-~----IOI----(

3%,6%, 8% EMULSION

6' x 15'

Emulsion and Oil Treatina

52

3. Assign installation and operating cost values and total the associated costs. For this example, use the undiscounted cash flow (before income taxes) to select the most economical treating configuration. For further information, refer to Net Cash Flow Principles and Net Cash Flow Yardsticks modules.

3% - $11 ,680/YR 6% - $ 5,840/YR 8% - $ 3,893/YR

<, 6' x20' n

_-=~ ~------~~~~u==~n_)

$35,000 $35,000 $35,000

+ + +

+ + +

$ 70,000 + $20,000/YR $ 80,000 + $20,000/YR $100,000 + $20,000/YR

$738,600 $631,800 $612,860

a.

b.

~ 6'x15'

--------------~[J~----------~~~-----

8% - $3,893/YR

+

$20,000

+

$20,000

+

$20,000 + $25,000/YR

+

$50,000

$687,860

c.

-, 6'x20' n

~~---------~~--------\J

3% - $11,680/YR 6% - $ 5,840/YR 8% - $ 3,893/YR

+ + +

$35,000 $35,000 $35,000

+ $45,000 + $30,000/YR

+ $50,000 + $30,000/YR

+ $60,000 + $30,000/YR

$913,600 $801,800 $772,860

d. ~ 0 6' X 15'

3% - $11,680/YR + $20,000 + $20,000 + $45,000 + $30,000/YR $918,600
6% - $ 5,840/YR + $20,000 + $20,000 + $50,000 + $30,000/YR $806,800
8% - $ 3,893/YR + $20,000 + $20,000 + $60,000 + $30,000/YR $777,860 Emulsion and Oil Treatinz

53

Based on the 20-year, undiscounted cash flow, configuration A (8% emulsion) results in the lowest total cost over the life of the project, although its initial investment costs exceed the other four configurations. This example problem emphasizes the importance of heating values to total project cost.

The equipment configuration selected can be influenced by many considerations if several configurations are economically near-equal. The fewer number of vessels for maintenance should be a strong consideration. Very often, long delivery lead times on one type of equipment may require selection of another configuration, if that lead time will significantly delay the start-up of oil sales from a new field. All of these and other factors should be considered prior to configuration selection and equipment requisitioning.


54

EXERCISE 3

1. A treating vessel that resembles a large tank having a center flume is

called a _

a. freewater knockout

b. separator

c. electrostatic treater

d. gunbarrel

e. flow treater

2. One of the most effective pieces of treating equipment to remove only

freewater from the well stream is a _

a. external leg

b. freewater knockout

c. heater-treater

d. electrostatic coalescer

e. gunbarrel

3. Given the following data, determine the height of the external leg for a gunbarrel.

Oil gravity

Water gravity

Oil outlet height Interface height Water outlet height

45°API 1.05 30 ft. 18 ft. 1.5 ft.

a. 5.36 ft.
b. 10.50 ft.
c. 15.75 ft.
d. 19.25 ft.
e. 25.62 ft. 4. The indirect heater differs from the direct heater in that the indirect heater

a. is less expensive

b. is more efficient

c. has a process flow coil

d. all of the above

e. b and conly


55

5. The prime consideration for direct heaters is _

a. efficiency

b. safety

c. capacity

d. ease of installation

e. heat recovery

6. The primary disadvantage(s) of a flow treater is (are)

a. more sensitive to chemicals

b. less storage space for basic sediment

c. more complicated

d. all of the above

e. a and b only

7. Given the following data, determine the required heat duty for a flow heater.

Flow conditions - 40 barrels of liquid (40 percent crude, 60 percent brine)

Temperature rise - lOO°F

a. 250,000 Btu/hr

b. 575,000 Btu/hr

c. 650,000 Btu/hr

d. 1,020,000 Btu/hr

e. 1,225,000 Btu/hr

8. (TRUE or FALSE) Because of forced collisions, electrostatic coalescing usually allows the treating process to operate at lower temperatures than those of conventional heaters.


56

9. Given the dimensions of the freewater knockouts below, determine the proper vessel size to handle 6,500 barrels of liquid per day. Assume 75 percent of the internal volume will be occupied by salt water and a 10 minute retention time.

a. 4' x 12'
b. 5' x IS'
c. 6' X 18'
d. 8' x 20'
e. 10' x 20' 10. Identify the missing oil treating equipment in the following systems.

b.

---u

n n

,----ec'lrU -..."..)

a.

c.


Rmnl!;:inn smd Oil Treating

57

LESSON 4: OTHER OIL TREATING CONSIDERATIONS

LESSON OBJECTIVES


• Describe the purpose of crude oil stabilization and vapor recovery in a production facility.

• Briefly describe the crude oil desalting process.

• Explain why stabilizing is necessary for sour crude treating and describe the process.

• State the major publication used for oil storage tank design.


58

OTHER OIL TREATING CONSIDERATIONS

In certain areas, crude oil may contain hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and salt. These contaminants must be removed and the oil must be stabilized (atmospherically safe) before it is stored for eventual transfer to the pipeline for refining.

CRUDE OIL STABILIZATION AND VAPOR RECOVERY

A process currently gaining in popularity involves stabilization of the treated crude oil in a stabilizer. If the central oil treating facility is located near a low pressure gas gathering system and Exxon enjoys a favorable gas plant products position, the economics of stabilization should be evaluated. In fields where pricing of crude oil is based on API gravity, the installation of a stabilization system, and the resulting decrease in API gravity must be thoroughly evaluated by comparing the economics of gravity and volume loss versus vapor gains.

The stabilization process uses low pressure vapor recovery to remove the light hydrocarbons contained in the crude oil following the treating process. Through the use of a vertical tower equipped with horizontal trays (Figure 20), the heated, clean crude oil relinquishes gas vapors to the top of the vessel. Because the vessel operates under low pressure conditions, crude stabilization is very efficient. In some systems, a dry gas stream is injected into the stabilizer to enhance stripping the light hydrocarbons from the crude. The stripping gas is used to transfer one or more components in a liquid solution to the stripping gas stream. The gas must have a greater attraction for the component than the liquid in order for the transfer to take place. Since the stabilizer vessel operates under low pressure conditions, pumps are usually required to transport the stabilized crude oil from the bottom of the stabilizer or reboiler to oil storage.


59

STABILIZER

.-----~ GAS TO GAS PLANT FOR PROCESSING

DE-MIST SECTION

MEDIUM

1-----,)- TO STORAGE TANKS

Figure 20 - Crude Oil Stabilization

Stabilizer Tray Design

Although detailed stabilizer tray design is beyond the scope of this training module, the following reference material may be helpful if you are required to design a low pressure stabilizer or trouble-shoot an existing operational stabilizer .

• Sieve Tray Design Program 1133 (Computer and Communication Sciences Library Number) is a computer tool for the design and rating of new or existing sieve trays. The purpose of Program 1133 is to:

-design single or double pass sieve trays for new or existing towers.

-check tray hydraulic performance and limitations for new or existing

trays at design and turndown conditions.

-predict tray efficiencies at design and turndown conditions.

A summary of Program 1133, along with a sample problem calculation, program limitations, and other descriptions are included in Exxon Research and Engineering's June 15, 1983 Computer Information Memorandum, EXXON ENGINEERING, Technology Department bulletin. A hand calculated sieve tray design is included in the ER&E Design Practices, Section ill-B.


60

• TRIDAB, a calculation block in Exxon Production Research Company's Gas Process Simulator computer program, performs a rigorous simulation of the counter-current, equilibrium stage separation which occurs in the stabilizer column. Sufficient flexibility in the program is provided so that most column configurations encountered in gas processing can be simulated. For further information, refer to Gas Process Simulator User's Manual, EPR. 5MA.78.

Sour Crude Stabilization

Sour crude oil and condensate stabilization serve two basic functions:

• strip the light hydrocarbons from the oil and produce an atmospherically stable (non-volatile) crude oil.

• strip the H2S and CO2 from the oil.

From previous discussions, the bulk of gas-oil separation is accomplished by primary separation. If the crude oil is sour, it contains a considerable quantity of sour gas which must be removed upstream of the stock tanks. The use of a heater-treater instead of a crude oil stabilizer is not a justifiable alternative. With the application of heat at a reduced pressure (approximately 50 psig) , all the light ends would evolve in the heater-treater. The resulting oil would be non-volatile (stable) at atmospheric pressure; however, there are two major disadvantages to this application:

• the oil would be sour because all the H2S would not be removed from the oil.

• oil recovery would not be optimized because some of the heavy hydrocarbons would evolve with the light hydrocarbons.

How does a stabilizer tower remove H2S and CO2 (sweeten) and optimize oil recovery? A stabilizer is equipped with approximately 30 trays. The trays perform two basic functions:

• the light hydrocarbons which evolve in the reb oiler move from tray to tray up through the column. As they bubble through the liquid on each tray, they strip the dissolved H2S and CO2 from the oil. Therefore, light hydrocarbons are removed from the oil by heat generated in the reboiler. These light ends in tum strip the H2S and CO2 from the oil. The conventional heater-treater is incapable of removing H2S dissolved in the oil because it lacks the trays necessary for stripping.

Rmnlsinn ~nfl Oil Treating

61

• some heavy hydrocarbons (butanes and gasolines) evolve in the reboiler just as in the heater-treater; however, as the vapors rise in the tower, the liquid on the trays absorbs the heavy hydrocarbons and carries them to the bottom of the tower with the crude oil to optimize oil recovery. The heater-treater allows the heavy hydrocarbons to flash with the gas.

Figure 21 illustrates a flow schematic of an actual stabilizer installation (Jay Field) for sour crude, including operating temperatures and pressures.

r----------------------------r~SOURGAS

SOUR CRUDE----'

150 STABILIZER

REBOILER

L.--------___,~~t__-- ....... STABILIZED CRUDE

Figure 21 - Sour Crude Stabilizer Installation

There are three general criteria which affect stabilizer design:

• a large number of trays provides efficient stripping action for removing H2S and for obtaining effective separation between light and heavy hydrocarbons. The optimum number of trays is approximately 30.

• lower temperature decreases the required reboiler heat input. Higher temperature improves the separation of the light and heavy hydrocarbons thereby maximizing oil recovery.

• higher pressure, with correspondingly higher reboiler heat duty input, provides better stripping efficiency in the tower. Adequate stripping efficiency is essential to remove H2S from the oil. Optimum stabilizer pressure is usually between 100 psig and 150 psig.


62

Most of the operating problems associated with stabilizers occur from one or more of the following:

• the stabilizer is operating far in excess of design throughput.

• the stabilizer is operating underloaded.

• water carries over into the stabilizer.

• foaming occurs on the trays.

If the stabilizer is operating in excess of design throughput, a common problem known as downcomer filling may occur. In this case, the downcomer is too small to handle the volume of liquid working its way down the tower. The liquid backs up the tower and out the overhead line. This will usually result in a high level shutdown in the inlet scrubber.

If water is carried over into the stabilizer, it will flash back up the tower resulting in a situation known as jet flooding. In this case the vapor rate up the tower is so great that it physically blows the liquids from one tray to the next out the top of the tower.

If the tower is underloaded a situation known as weeping may occur. The vapor rate is so slow that the liquid runs down through the slots to the tray below. As mentioned before, the desired path of the liquids is across the tray and down the downcomer. Only gas should bubble up through the tray slots.

Foaming is sometimes caused by well treating chemicals entering the tower from the inlet separators. If this becomes a problem, these chemicals can sometimes be dumped from the trays by lowering the reboiler temperature 50 to lOO°F for a short period. This creates a sudden reduction in vapor rates in the tower, and the trays will unload. This condition is similar to weeping, but is much more severe. Dumping is used in this case to unload the trays of the well treating chemicals which are present in the column.

CRUDE OIL DESALTING

Although not in widespread use by oil industry producers (most refineries perform this function), desalting of crude oil in field treating processes may be required. Refineries cannot accept crude oils that contain salt above a certain level (usually above 30 pounds per 1,000 barrels). Salt breaks out during the refining process and causes corrosion, equipment fouling (heat exchangers), etc.

1? ... lIIl"inn ~nll Oil Trp~tinlJ'

63

Desalting, in its basic form, is a process whereby fresh water is mixed with the crude oil after primary separation to dissolve crystalline salt contained in the oil or to dilute the entrained produced salt water. In the second case, the average salinity (saltiness) of the entrained salt water is lowered by adding fresh water. When the fresh water is removed the second time, any entrained water left in the oil will be less salty. This is the basic approach used by all field and refinery desalting systems.

The complete desalting procedure is similar to conventional oil treating in which the water phase is separated from the continuous or oil phase. Similar principles used in both processes are:

• the addition of a chemical of the proper type and in the right amount to reduce interfacial tension between the continuous (oil) phase and the dispersed (water) phase to workable levels.

• the addition of heat to ensure that temperature of the total stream is at or above the viscosity break temperature of the oil.

• the allowance of adequate settling time for the larger, more easily separable water particles to collect and settle out.

• the employment of an efficient medium to aid in coalescing the smaller particles of water that have not settled out in the settling section of the vessel.

Since the water to be separated in the desalting equipment is less saline than that of the first emulsion, its separation from the oil phase is more difficult than the initial separation accomplished in an oil field treater or gravity settling tank. Ease of separation between oil and water phases varies directly with the difference in gravities of the two phases; so, the greater the gravity difference, the easier the separation. Since the gravity difference between fresh water and oil is less than salt water and the oil, separation of the emulsion in the desalting process is more difficult than in other conventional oil treating process.


64

Electrostatic coalescer vessels are usually used to break the diluted emulsion and thus perform the desalting operation. This unit is favored for two reasons: (1) it is somewhat more effective on emulsions containing very small droplets than are other treaters, and (2) the electrostatic charges on the droplets that cause collision contribute to more complete dilution of the salt water. The latter point is very important in desalting operations. If the mixing device does not achieve adequate mixing, the forces causing water drop collisions to form larger water drops assist in the mixing and the subsequent dilution of the salt water droplets by the fresh water droplets.

A typical installation for desalting oil from a treater or other primary separation processes is shown in Figure 22. A specific installation may vary somewhat depending on the complexity of the desalting problem.

FRESHWATER INJECTION

~O~IL~FR=O~M~~~H~TER~\T-~~~C=~) TR~TERS

TRANSFER PUMP

FRESH WATER H~TER

FRESH WATER STORAGE TANK

TRANSFER PUMP

FILTER

BACKWASH PUMP

FRESHWATER SOURCE

Figure 22 - Oil Desalting System


65

OIL STORAGE

Tanks made of various materials, primarily wood or steel, were the first equipment utilized for oil treating. In the early years of the oil industry, wooden tanks were the freewater knockouts, the gunbarrels, the treaters, the emergency storage tanks, and the good oil storage tanks. As the industry developed and became more complex and efficient, the use of steel tanks gradually evolved into lease storage. In today's central treating stations, the storage tank is used primarily for treated oil storage for delivery to the pipeline sales outlet and for emergency storage of untreated crude oil. Welded or bolted steel tanks are used almost exclusively in today's operations.

Storage tanks constructed according to API specifications are normally circular, with a steel bottom, vertical walls, and usually a cone-shaped roof. In special applications, a floating roof is used to prevent highly volatile liquids from vaporizing and escaping to the atmosphere. Steel sheets or plates 1/8- inch, 3/16-inch, 1/4-inch, and in some cases 3/8-inch thick are used for construction. Galvanized bolted tanks are also popular in sizes less than 1000 barrels. The plates are usually shop-rolled and, in the case of large tanks, are field welded at the construction site. Tanks of less than 500-1000 barrels are usually galvanized or shop-welded and transported intact to the location by truck or barge.

The design and sizing of oil storage tanks depends on numerous considerations and anticipated operating conditions. In some central treating applications, the emergency storage tank may also be used as a freewater knockout vessel. A great amount of settling time can be gained using this concept. In general, for central treating stations, the emergency storage tank should be sized to store greater than 24 hours of emulsion. If this vessel is utilized for free water removal, allowance should be made for the normal volume occupied by free water in the tank. Sizing of the treated (pipeline quality) oil tankage depends primarily on pipeline company pump-out capability, associated standby capacity and the emergency storage volume. Normally the treated oil tankage should handle 5-7 hours of treating capacity.

Pressure-vacuum vent relief systems are very important accessories for oil storage tanks. Since tanks can withstand only a few ounces per square inch of pressure or vacuum, the pressure-vacuum relief valve selection and backup relief system are very important considerations. In oil storage service, gas almost always comes out of solution and with level changes in the tank, cause varying pressure and vacuum conditions. The relief valve must protect the tank from these changing conditions to prevent over/under pressure.


66

For small tanks which can withstand a few ounces per square inch of pressure, thief hatch covers are designed to relieve excessive internal pressure and vacuum. Larger tanks require specially designed pressure-vacuum vent relief valves (refer to API Std 2000). Vent lines from the relief valves generally extend away from the tank and are equipped with a flame arrestor.

Nozzles are normally described by API or ANSI flange specifications.

Figure 23 illustrates the common nozzle connections required for liquid hydrocarbon storage tanks. The number and location of nozzles are probably the most important consideration when designing a storage tank. As in the case of designing other surface oil producing equipment or systems, the process to be performed and the controls to be incorporated will dictate each nozzle configuration. For example, very few nozzles would be required on a 500 barrel treated oil storage tank (inlet, outlet, manway, thief hatch and, usually, a vent line); whereas, a 10,000 barrel combination emergency storage free water breakout tank may require inlet, outlet, several manways, vapor recovery outlet, numerous sensing nozzles (liquid levels, temperature, pressure, etc.), gas blanket make-up, two or more secondary relief lines, pressure-vacuum vent relief valve, controls, oil draw-off, water draw-off, and clean out nozzles.

COMMON TANK NOZZLE CONNECTIONS
P"RTt-P- DESCRIPTION
I INLE.T
2- WATER DRAIN
!I OIL OUTLET I
4 GA':. OR VAPOR Racov. OUTLET
~ VARIOUS I='LOATS vCONTROLSi
G MANWAY'S
7 THIEF HATCH :1
B PRESSURE·VAC.vENT RELle. VAL.l
I
':l LIGUID LEVEL GAUGE I
10 GAt.:. BLANKET I
I I
I VARIOUS <:'A.MPLE

i Figure 23 - Oil Storage Tank Plan


67

Vapor Recovery for Oil Storage Tanks

Vapor (flash gas) recovered from the larger storage tanks located at central oil treating stations have resulted in very economical investments. Vapor recovery provides additional gas volumes which increases gas plant product recovery and aids in compliance with state and federal air pollution statutes.

Generally, vapor recovery systems are constructed utilizing one of two basic gas recovery devices: the small rotary or reciprocating compressor located very near the storage tanks or any low pressure gathering line in the field connected to a gas plant. The choice of one of the two devices mentioned above, if both are available, should be based on the comparative reliability of the devices, proximity to the low pressure source, line sizing required, elevation difference between the site and the gas plant, etc.

Since tanks can withstand only very limited pressure variations, vapor recovery systems require very sensitive and highly reliable control systems. These control systems contain fast acting control valves, primary and backup fail-safe sensing devices, as well as primary, secondary, and in some cases tertiary, relief systems.

The small gas compressor is popular in relatively small isolated installations that are inaccessible to gas plant low pressure lines. The compressor should be capable of handling the required volume of gas (including peak surges) from atmospheric pressure to the field gathering system pressure. Proper lubrication and mist extraction are two items which must be adequately handled in successfully operating a vapor recovery system with a gas compressor. The possibility of electrical power outages arid compressor downtime require fail-safe gas handling of vapors from the tank.

When a low pressure gas line is available, it usually is the best choice.

Usually, operating reliability of gas plant compression exceeds that of a small compressor; however, before selecting the gas plant source for compression requirements, the line conditions at the site should be determined with maximum and minimum variations firmly established. Hourly variations in the low pressure line may preclude the use of the gas plant line.


68

Oil Storage Operating Considerations

The following is a list of the most common operating problems associated with oil storage tanks:

• Overpressuring and collapsing-These problems can only be controlled by adequate primary and secondary relief systems.

• Lightning, fire, and explosion-Lightning striking the top of a tank with escaping hydrocarbon vapors can cause fire and/or explosion. Tanks should be properly grounded and flame arrestor type pressure-vacuum relief valves should be used.

• Corrosion-Internal corrosion can be a problem, especially on the bottom portion of the tank. Generally, long service tank installations should be coated with an adequate multi-layer epoxy to protect against salt water corrosion. Gas blankets may also be installed to minimize corrosion.

• Overflow-High level divert float equipment should be used, if possible. If incoming fluids cannot be diverted by the high level float signal, an alarm should be relayed to the surveillance location for quick corrective action.

Emulsion ~nli Oil Treating

69

Oil Storage Design References

As mentioned previously, oil storage tanks, like other equipment used in emulsion treating, must be designed for a specific application. The design bases for oil storage tanks used by Exxon are the American Petroleum Institute's (API) Specifications and Standards (API 12 Series). The following is a list of specifications and standards for oil storage tank design:

• API Spec. 12B: Specification for Bolted Tanks for Storage of Production Liquids, 12th ed., 1977.

• API Spec. 12D: Specification for Field Welded Tanks for Storage of Production Liquids, 9th ed., 1982.

• API Spec. 12F: Specification for Shop Welded Tanks for Storage of Production Liquids, 8th ed., 1982.

• API Standard 2000: Venting Atmospheric and Low-Pressure Storage Tanks, 2nd ed., 1973.

• API Standard 620: Recommended Rules for Design and Construction of Large, Welded, Low-Pressure Storage Tanks, 6th ed., 1978.

Compliance with the above standards and specifications should be followed for any new tank installation and for modifications to existing tanks.


70

EXERCISE 4

1. The stabilization process removes from the

crude oil.

a. water

b. light hydrocarbons

c. sand

d. paraffin

e. scale

2. In sour crude stabilization, the light hydrocarbons serve to remove _________ from crude oil.

a. H2S

b. salt

c. methane

d. CO2

e. a and d

3. The general criteria which affect stabilizer design are:

a. _

b. _

c. _

4. (TRUE or FALSE) Jet flooding is caused by water being carried over into the stabilizer and filling the downcomers.

5. If the vapor rate in the stabilization tower is so slow that the liquid runs

through the slots, may occur.

a. overpressure situation

b. downcoming

c. weeping

d. jet flooding

e. leaching

Emulsion and Oil Treatina

71

6. Desalting is a process whereby is injected and

mixed with crude oil to dissolve crystalline salt.

a. chlorine

b. stripping gas

c. fresh water

d. glycol

e. methanol

7. For desalting crude oil, the vessel commonly used to break the diluted

emulsion is a _

a. electrostatic coalescer

b. separator

c. gunbarrel

d. flow heater

e. free water knockout

8. The primary use of tanks in today's lease production facilities is for

a. emulsion breakout

b. storage

c. stabilization

d. measurements

e. sampling

9. Devices that protect storage tanks from changing pressure conditions are

a. level controllers

b. relief valves

c. manways

d. clean out nozzles

e. gas blankets


72

10. The vapor recovery system for oil storage may use:

a. _

b. _

11. (TRUE or FALSE) For fire and explosion protection, storage tanks should be grounded and flame arrestor type pressure-vacuum relief valves should be used.

12. Exxon's design basis for oil storage tanks is _

a. GPSA Engineering Data Book

b. API 12 series

c. Crane Technical Paper 410

d. Exxon Engineering Handbook

e. ERE Basic Practices


Emulsion anti Oil Treatinz

73

EXERCISE ANSWER KEY

Exercise 1

1. a

2. a. stabilizer characteristics

b. oil viscosity

c. differential density

d. age

e. water droplet size

f. water percentage

g. agitation

3. interface

4. e

5. stabilizer or emulsifying agents and agitation

6. c inverse emulsion d stable emulsion

a normal emulsion b unstable emulsion

7. True

8. True

9. False

Exercise 2

1. c

2. e

3. True

4. a. chemical addition

b. settling time

c. heat

d. electrostatic coalescence

5. e

6. a

7. a. tightness or stability

b. agitation

c. temperature

d. time

8. True

9. e

10. d

11. a. mixing

b. coalescing

c. settling

12. d

13. e


74

Exercise 3

1. d

2. b

3. e

141.5

'Yo = 131.5 + 45 'Yo = 0.80

H; = 30' - 18' = 12'

H; = 18' - 1.5' = 16.5'

Oil gradient = 0.433 x 0.80 = 0.346 psi/ft.

Water gradient = 0.433 x 1.05 = 0.455 psi/ft.

12 ft. x 0.346 psi/ft. + 16.5 ft. x 0.455 psi/ft. = H x 0.455 psi/ft. H = 25.6 ft.

4. c

5. b

6. d

7. d

8. True

9. c

Vessel

Maximum 75% of Retention
Volume, B Volume, B Time, Min.
26.86 20.15 4.46
52.45 39.34 8.72
90.64 67.98 15.06
179.04 134.28 29.75
279.75 209.81 46.48 4' x 12' 5' x 15' 6' x 18' 8' x 20'

!O' x 20'

10. a. three-phase separator

b. two-phase separator, freewater knockout

c. chemical injection pump, gunbarrel

1?lnnh:inn ~nd Oil T .. ",~tino

75

Exercise 4

1. b

2. e

3. a. number of trays

b. stabilizer operating pressure

c. stabilizer operating temperature

4. False

5. c

6. c

7. a

8. b

9. b

10. a. a compressor located near the storage tanks

b. a low pressure gas line connected to the gas plant

11. True

12. b


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