64 Field Processing of Crude Oil
formation of gas hydrates, which may plug high-pressure In the United States, desalring is usually performed in
processing equipment or pipelines at high pressure and at
temperarures considerably higher than 32F (OC).
Gas that contains considerable amounts of liquefiable
hydrocarbons (ethane or propane and heavier) can pro-
duce condensate upon compressing or cooling. The con-
densate may cause difficulty in pipelining or subsequent
processing. Field processing [0 remove these natural-gas
liquids (NGL), sometimes referred to simply as conden-
sate, may be economical or may be required to meet a
hydrocarbon dew-point specification. In remote loca-
tions such processing is generally avoided if possible.
Recovered condensate may, in [urn. have [0 be stabilized
by removing dissolved gaseous components to obtain a
transportable product.
Final disposal of the gas stream depends on the sit-
uation. Early in the life of a remote field, before the
availability of a pipeline, the gas may simply be flared.
It is becoming more common to conserve the gas by
compression and reinjection into the formation with a
view to its eventual recovery and sales. Conservation is
often demanded by law; permits to flare are usually
temporary and granted only during the initial start-up
of production. Environmental restraints may also pre-
vent flaring especially if the gas contains any hydrogen
sulfide.
The common siw3rion is [0 flow the natural gas into
a pipeline for sales. Gas pipelines have operating pressure
levels of the order of 700-1000 psia to allow economical
rransporr in pipes of reasonably small diameter.
Compression of the gas ro pipeline inlet pressure may be
required.
Volume 1, Chapter 5 discusses field processing of nar-
ural gas in considerable detail.
Oil Processing
After free water removal, produced oil often comains
excessive residual nnulsiJied water. Trearing, also called
dehydration, is required to reduce the water content to a
value acceptable for transportation or sales. Dehydration
should be accomplished using the most economic com-
bination of four factors or techniques; namely, residence
time, chemical addition, heat, and e1ecrrostatic fields.
Chapter 7 discusses dehydration in detail. Dilution water
-,...
musr occasionally be added to reduce the salt content of
the residual emulsion (J.e., the sales crude oil) to a suit-
ably low level. Such desalting is described in Chapter 8.
the refinery; overseas, desalting is sometimes performed
in the field.
Hydrogen sulfide in crude oil is limited to reduce han-
dling and transportation difficulties because of its
eXUeme toxicity and corrosiveness. Gas stripping or heat-
ing is usually used for hydrogen sulfide removal or sweet-
ening as is discussed in Chaprer 9.
Crude oil stabilization refers to lowering the vapor
pressure to a value that will allow safe handling and
transport. Vapor pressure comrol is obtained by stage
separation, reboiled distillation, or a combination of the
two. Durhg stabilization some of the more volatile
hydrocarbons are removed as vapor and this gas phase
entrains hydrogen sulfide and other volatile sulfur com-
pounds from the sour crude oil. Additional sweetening
may not be required. Stabilization is discussed fully in
Chapter 9.
Water Processing
Produced water (usually saline) is a waste material, but
processing is often necessary to render the water suitable
for disposal to the surroundings. Often additional water,
frequently sea water, is also processed for waterflooding.
These two separate water processing schemes are both
shown in Figure 5-1.
Oil removal is the first treatment for produced. waters.
Oil-in-water emulsions are difficult to clean up due to
the small size of the particles, as well as the presence of
emulsifying agents. Suspended solids may also be present
in the water. Types of equipmenr used for removing oil
and solids include:
Oil skimmer tanks
Plate coalescers
Air flotation tanks
Hydrocyclones
Filtration units
Before reinjection, the produced water is usually fil-
tered, deaerated jf necessary, and treated with biocides.
The major goal, of course, is to prevent reservoir plugging.
Seawater is by far the most commonly used injection
water for pressure maintenance because of its obvious
abundance. Unfortunately, its poor water quality
demands extensive treatment. As shown in Figure 5-1,
seawater is first treated with shock biocides to kill all
organisms and then filtered. Dissolved oxygen is
-
Chapter 7
-
- Dehydration of Crude Oil
INTRODUCTION
The worldwide crude oil production of about 60 million
bpd is accompanied by at least as much water. In old
fields, water-oil ratios greater than 10 are not uncom-
mon. Therefore, it is nor a surprise that emulsion ftrma-
tion is the rule rather than the exception. The salt con-
tent of the produced brine may range from practically
zero to almost saturated. In particular, dilute brines form
emulsions with crude oil thar can be very difficult ro
break (j.,., resolve into separate oil and water phases).
Emulsions were a big problem in the early days of
petroleum production because field facilities for breaking
emulsions were often ineffective and the cost of trans-
porting or disposing of emulsions was prohibitive (Davis,
1967). In 1909, Cottrell applied an electrostatic precipi-
tation process to a California crude oil emulsion with suc-
cess; and, at about the same time, Barnickel began work-
ing with the addition of chemicals to resolve emulsions,
obtaining patents beginning in 1914 (Shea, 1939). These
two developments, plus continuing experience and
research, have provided the producer with the necessary
tools to break almost any emulsion in rhe field and to
deliver a salable product to the pipeline or other carrier.
The major reasons for dehydrating and desalting crude
oil are:
1. Crude oil purchasers specifY maximum permissible
contents of sediments and water, S&W, formerly
",lied basic sediment and water, BS&W. Typically,
lim irs vary from 0.1-3 wt. %: 0.1 % in cold climates,
0.5% in the Gulf coast and Texas, and 3% for low-
gtavity California crudes.
2. Crude oil is bought and sold on a 'API gravity basis
and high-gravity oils command higher prices. Water
lowers the'API graviry and reduces the selling price
of oil.
h
3. Shipping emulsified oil wastes costly transportation
"'pacities occupied by valueless water (i.e., S&W).
4. The viscosity of crude oil increases as the water con-
tent is increased. (Adding 1% more water (or S&W)
typically produces a 20/0 viscosity increase in a
30'API crude and a 4% viscosity rise in a 15'API
crude [Lucas, 1976J.)
5. Minetal salts present in oilfield waters corrode produc-
tion equipment, tank cars, pipelines and storage tanks.
6. Refining of water-bearing crude can cause severe cor-
rosion and plugging problems. Distillation of crude
containing water-borne inorganic salts contributes to
corrosion and fouling of refining equipment. Under
some circumstances chlorides can hydrolyze to He!,
which is extremely corrosive. Typical crude-oil pro-
cessing schemes are discussed in Chapter 5. Separation
of the produced fluids into natural gas, crude oil, and
free-water streams is invariably the first step prior to
subsequent treatment of the separate streams to meet
their respective specifications. ~ile this chapter dis-
cusses oil dehydrarion only, the importance of the ini-
tial gas-ail-water separation should be remembered.
To repeat, rising gas bubbles severely impede the set-
tling of water drops. Many reports have documented
in detail the benefits of degassing prior to emulsion
treating (McGhee, 1965; Gidley and Hansen, 1974;
West, 1976; and Arnold and Koszela, 1990).
Any method of temoving warer, salt, sand, sediments,
and other impurities t-rom crude oil is called oil treating.
Oil-treating methods have one common goal; namely, to
provide a suitable environment for gravity [0 separate the
brine from the crude. The following are common treat-
ing methods:
I. Settling or providing low velocity (reduced turbu-
lence and increased residence time to allow free
water to separate)
113
- 114 Dehydration of Crude Oil
2. Degassing or separating the gas from the liquid as it
is released in the production equipment
- 3. Chemical treating ot adding emulsion breakers ot
demulsifiers
-
4. Washing or providing a continuous-phase water
wash
5. Heating to reduce oil viscosity and accelerate separa-
-
[Jon
6. Electrical treating (i.e., applying AC and/or DC
electric fields)
7. Mechanical treating or providing increased surface
area to promote drop coalescence
-
In addition, field treating can accomplish mist elimi-
nation and removal of sand, sludge, and other solids. Of
course, successful treating implies that the crude oil
meets pipeline or refining specifications-usually 0.1-
1.0% S&W In addition, the treated brine or produced
water must be essentially oil-free to satisfY environmen-
tal discharge regulations (often 15-40 ppm) or ro pre-
vent reinjection problems such as scale formation and/or
reservoir plugging. Note that the oil-in-water environ-
mental regulation is far more severe than the water-in-oil
rransporrlsales specification.
The present discussion starts with a brief outline of
emulsion-treating terminology. Next, the common
methods for dehydrating crude oil (i.e., chemicals, reten-
tion time, heat, and electrostatic fields) are described.
Two unusual methods are also summarized. The design
discussion follows and includes overall considerations,
required data, recommended merhods, and detailed
design examples. Finally, operation. maintenance, and
troubleshooting are reviewed.
TERMINOLOGY
Before discussing treating, some common terms are
defined in alphabetical order. Terminology relating to
crude oil, water in-crude emulsions and fired heaters can
be found in Chapters 2, 4 and 12, respecrively, and in the
Glossary (Appendix I).
S&W content: Oil, as produced from the well and
production equipment, may contain considerable
amounts of brine, as well as solid materials. The water-
solids content is referred to as sediment and water (5& W?
or basic sediment and water (B5& W). The S&W content
of an oil is determined in the field by the ASTM D 96
test involving centrifugation of a warm, diluted sample
of the oil in a special cone-bottom tube. The S&W con-
tent is noted visually and reported as volume percent.
The main advantage of the test is its ease of performance,
A more accurate determination of water is by distillation
(ASTM D 4006) and of sediment is by solvent extraction
(ASTM D 473). However, rhe latter two tests are seldom
performed.
Collector pipe: Perforated Ot slotted pipe used to
remove treated oil as uniformly as possible at the top of
coalescing section.
Demulsifier: Demulsifiers or demulsi/Ying chemicals
ate a mixtute of chemicals used to break the emulsion by
destroying or weakening the stabilizing film around the
dispersed droplets.
Electrodes or grid: Plates or rods used to establish
the electric field in electrostatic treaters.
Electrostatic treater: Treater using electric fields in
the oiJ coalescing area.
Emulsifier: In addition to oil and water, a third sub-
stance, called an emulsifier or emulsifying agent, must be
present fot a stable emulsion to be produced. These
emulsifiers usually exist as a film on the surface of the
dispersed droplets.
Emulsion: An emulsion is a combination of two
immiscible liquids. One liquid is broken up into droplets
and is known as the discontinuous, dispersed, or internal
phase. The liquid that surrounds the drops is the contin-
uous, or externalphase.
Heating baffle, hood or shroud: A baffle that sur-
rounds the firetubes and is designed to minimize hearing
of free water.
Interface: The contact surface between the bound-
aries of the two immiscible liquids (e.g., the surface area
between water droplets and the surrounding oil or the
surface between separated crude and water in a vessel),
Interface drain: A perforated pipe or other device
used to remove any sludge accumulated ar the ojl~water
interface in an oil treater.
Oil-in-water (o/w) emulsion: An emulsion consist-
ing of oil drops dispersed in a continuous water phase.
I
This so-called reverse emulsion often occurs in waste-
waters and produced brines. The water content is gener-
ally greater than 85 volume percent.
Pipeline oil: Refers ro a crude which is acceptable for
pipeline shipment. Acceptabiliry is usually measured in
terms of 'API gravity, sulfur content, pour point, S&W
content, Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP), viscosit)" and other
contaminants.

Produced water: Produced water is classified as
enrrained or free. Entrained water (stable emulsion) does
-
not setde out within 5 minutes when the produced flu-
ids are held quiescendy in a vessel, while free water setrles
our within 5 minutes.
Sand pans: Inverted troughs or angle baffles used ro
aid sand and sediment removal.
-
Spreaders: Perforated pipes or channels used ro inject
emulsions as uniformly as possible throughout the treater
cross section.
Stable emulsions: Require a definite treating process
to produce an acceptable amount of coalescence and sub-
sequent separation of phases. Three conditions are neces-
sary for forming a stable emulsion: (I) the liquids must
be immiscible; (2) sufficient agitation ro disperse one liq-
uid as droplets in the other; and (3) an emulsifYing
agent, or emulsifier, must be present.
Surge factor: Equipmenr is usually sized using the
maximum flow rate expected during the predicted life of
the faciliry. It is general practice ro add a surge facror
(20-50%) to the anticipated normal flow rate. Water cut
increases with time.
Water cut: Volume percent of water in crude-
oil/water mixture.
Water-in-oil (w/o) emulsion: Crude-oil emulsions
nearly always consist of water drops dispersed in a con-
tinuous oil phase. This type is also called a regular or nor-
mal emulsion.
Water siphon or water leg or grasshopper: Piping
system for removing water from treater at a controlled rate.
Wetting: Refers to the adhesion or sticking of a liq-
uid to a solid surface. If the solid surface (grain of reser-
voir rock, fines, etc.) is covered preferentially by oil, the
surface is called oil wetted. Conversely, if water is prefer-
entially attracted, the surface is luater wetted.
TREATING METHODS
Crude dehydrarion involves optimizing the synergistic
use of four techniques; namely, demulsifying chemicals,
re/f'ntion time, heat and electricity, to produce clean oil
and clean water. Providing retention time and heating
are usually less costly than injecting chemicals and creat-
ing electrostatic fields. These very important economics
-
are discussed later. Chemical addition is discussed first
because demulsifying chemicals are used in nearly every
case. Next the most common types of vessels (wash tank
Dehydration of Crude Oil 115
or gun barrel and FWKO) used to provide retention time
are described. Then heater-treaters and electrostatic
treaters are reviewed. Next, mechanical treating is cov-
ered by discussing the advantages of using baffles, plates,
coalescing media, and other internals. Each review
includes a description of rhe hardware involved, a com-
parison of relative advantages and disadvantages, and a
summary of common applications. Finally, two uncom-
mon approaches (centrifuging and evaporation) are sum-
marized.
Chemical Treating
Strange but true, demulsifying chemicals are similar to
emulsifiers (i.e., they are surface-active),
Demulsifiers have four main actions:
1. Strong attraction to the oil-water interface. They
must displace andlor neutralize the emulsifying
agents already on the droplet interface.
2. Flocculation. They must neutralize any repulsive
electrical charges berween the dispersed drops and so
allow the drops to touch.
3. Coalescence. They must permit small droplets to
combine into drops large enough to setde; this
requires that the film surrounding and stabilizing the
droplets be ruptured.
4. Solids wetring. They must prevent fines at the
dtoplet interface from physically blocking coales-
cence. Clays, drilling muds, and iron sulfide fines
can be water wet so that they leave the film interface
and migrate into the water droplet. Asphaltenes and
waxes can be dissolved or oil wet to disperse them
into the continuous crude phase.
Theories of how dem ulsifiers act are incomplete. They
fail ro explain the extreme specificiry of the various types
of chemicals on any particular crude-water mixture.
However, nvo generalizations are valid. First, effective
demulsifiers have high molecular weights that are com-
parable to those of the narural surfacrants. And secondly,
if used as emulsifying agents they tend to cause emulsions
opposite in type (i.e., o/w) to the produced wlo emulsion
(Salager, 1990).
One traditional theory abour why demulsifiers work
is that the demulsifier "neutralizes" the emulsifYing
agent; in other words, breaking a wlo emulsion requires
a chemical that would normally produce a reverse or olw
emulsion. Another explanation is that the demulsifying
-
- 118 Dehydration of Crude Oil

-- cause erroneous dara (e.g., Graham and Srockwell,

1980). Pre-mixed liquid demulsifier, idenrical ro rhat
being considered for field use, should be added using a
microliter syringe.
,Ie ." ..,
"'f',,,
:.t."
.",. "ppu 1':l ...
(.45 "<US"loO' I' .tUa.

- It is often preferable to run the bottle tests a few

degrees lower than the field temperarure. The oil in a
field heater-trearer is usually 5-lO o F cooler than the
water phase that is being heated by the fire tubes.
Evaporation of light ends also cools the oil.

-
The bottle settling time corresponds ro the quiescent
time the crude experiences in the treater. Therefore, the
bottles should not be shaken during this time.

-
Oil dehydration tests can be statistically designed so Figure 7-1 Typical Free-Water Knockout (FWKO)
(Smith and Arnold, 1987)
that the effects of the important variables (e.g., chemical
addition, treating temperature, settling time, etc.) can be

-- evaluated (Bowman, et ai, 1977). Statistical design of

the bottle test allows the interactions between the vari-
ables ro be viewed.
Chemical trearing offers the following advanrages:
I. Emulsion formation may be completely prevented
The FWKO is often used in conjunction wirh other
methods as a preliminary step or first-stage brine
removal. Crude oil leaving the FWKO may still comain
from 1 to as much as 30 or 40 percent emulsified water.
These devices mayor may not use baffles for directional

-
flow through the unit and sometimes use coalescing
by introducing demulsifiers at an early stage in rhe
plates such as Performax. Often they are only pressur-
treatment.
ized settling tanks with a water level control and dis-
2. Emulsion can be broken at significantly lower tem-

-
charge control valve. Water is removed by gravity sepa-
peratures, thus saving fuel and reducing crude oil
ration. FWKOs are of simple construction and
volume and gravity losses.
operation. Removing free water before flmving the

-
The disadvantages of chemical treating are:
I. A major disadvantage is that overdosing (i.e., addi-
tion of too much demulsifiers) can produce new
emulsions that are often more difficult to break than
the original ones.
2. It is seldom economic to break emulsions by chem-
icals alone. Usually additional energy (heat or elec-
'" tricity) is needed ro reduce the dosage and hence
cost of the chemicals.
crude-brine mixture (emulsion) into a fired heater saves
considerable fuel. It takes 350 Btu to heat 1 bbl of water
1F but only 150 Btu ro raise 1 bbl of crude 1F.
Heating unnecessary water is not only a useless waste of
heat, but also the heated water can deposit scale or
require expensive chemicals to prevent scaling. A 0.06-
in. scale build-up on firerubes can increase fuel losses
11-13% (Srewart, 1979).
FWKOs are not a panacea; they remove onlr free
water. Emulsion breaking chemicals can, of course, be

'" Gravitational Treating

Gravitational treating is usually achieved in relatively
'" large holding vessels called tanks, settlers, wash tanks, or
gun barrels, and in free-water knockouts (FWKOs).
These vessels provide the required quiescent residence
'" lime.
Free- Water Knockouts (FWKO) are usually intended
ro remove only large percentages of free water (Figure
'"
-
7-1). As stated in Chapter 5, free water is water that is
carried in the produced stream, but not emulsified in
the oil. Free water settles easily in less than 10-20 min.
added upstream of the FWKO. FWKOs are protected by
sacrificial anodes and are also often lined with expoxy
coatings or glass flake, and so forth.
Wash tanks, gun barrels, tanks or settlers are large hold-
ing vessels usually operated with produced water filbg
the bottom one-third and crude oil rhe top two-thirds.
The emulsion feed, with demulsifiers added and some-
times heated, is introduced below the oil-water interface
using a "spreader." This "washing" action provides mild
agitation and causes contact between the entrained water
drops and the retained water volume, thus coalescing and
removing water droplets from the oil srream. Further
-
- 120 Dehydrarion of Crude Oil

-
..I.
". T
.;-;I QUtIa 1\ ..........
G..

t "... ........ f
,
011 OUfllt
;:::
I }

t .~ ~
t
r~ .. -
- II ~
~~
OtI/W". InltrlXt __

- ..._)
f
..
l-
t--i...
V""I V....I

""1ldiIII --.
~
lit QIiI.W..,
JL
w, Out... I.
Figure 7-4 Degasser Installation (Hertz, 1987)

- Heat Treating

Heater-treaters are classed as direct and indirect, based

on the method of heat application. Direct heaters include
the following four genetal types:
1. Tubular heaters.
2. Fluid jacket heaters.
3. Internal firebox heaters.
4. Volume or "jug"-type heaters.
Although these heaters have different designs, heat
transfet is accomplished by ditect contacr of the fluid
with the firebox. Despite problems of sediments, hot
SpOts, and corrosion. these treaters are capable of handling
latger volumes of fluid with less fuel than indirect heaters.
Direct heaters will opetate efficiently whete there is little
or no pressure, and the fluids do not pose a severe corro-
sion problem. Typical venical and horizontal heater-
treaters are shown in Figures 7-5 and 7-6 respectively.
A well-designed, venical heater-treater accomplishes
the following functions (Figure 7-5):
1. Degassing of emulsion feed as it enters the treater.
2. Removal of sand, sediment, and free water as the
emulsion exits the downcomer and before it is heated.
4. Water drop coalescence and settling. Mechanical
coalescence can be used in this section.
The oil level in vertical heater-treaters is maintained
by using a water leg or siphon rube to drain the water.
Accordingly, this siphon rube must be kept vertical
because a I-in. change in slot height can cause the oil
level to change 6 in.
The clean, dehydrated hot oil can be used to heat the
incoming emulsion feed using a shell-and-tube (shown)
or plate-and-frame heat excha.nger. The more corrosive
and higher fouling emulsion is fed to the tube side for
easier cleaning.
If the total wellsrream is rhe feed stream, the section of
the treater below the lirerube(s) should be sized to allow
up to 5 min. retention time. Vertical heater-treaters are
not suitable for removing large amounts of free water,
and this limirarion becomes more acute in older fields
with increasing water production. Placing a FWKO
upstream is an ideal solution.
Mechanical coalescence mayor may not be used in the
oil-settling section. Proprietary plates, such as Performax
(NATCO, 1991), are superior to wood excelsior (or "hay")

-
with better separation and much less plugging. Channeling
3. Water washing and heating of the emulsion as it in the hay section can result in water drops being carried
flows over firetubes.
out with the treated oil. Scaling can Occur at the Water
-
- Dehydration of Crude Oil 121

- ,,"""------------.
SAFETY "lllEF VAlV(
G.A5OUTUT

........
EOJAUllNG lINE_

INLET--il?r~~lllJJUJj}f\
~
_

--fl::-==-:~=f~~~~~Hr-----,
101l[ rONI

FLUID

...
sePARATION
SECTION

- 0",
SETTLING
SECTION
G"""
1'("

,"U
41 Ulllt"l .'1"
'"LU
~U'
.uu

~t!: ..... U'~'OOM'

r ,....l [
Do""."'
o' ~n,'"
'00 ..
M& .... 'ocT~"ln

.....FFLQ,-----j-H::::::I, Figure 7-6 Horizontlal Heater-Treater (API Spec 12L, 1987).

Reprinted courtesy of the American Petroleum Institute.
l::.~T---+J--++
THEIlMOIIlfTER--tt-t-+-IIH=
FIRnvH-===:p:++:iIt_,~;;:IIr,
WATER LEG
HEATING AND
WATER WASH
Solid panicles, such as sand, scale, corrosion products,
THEflMOSTAT---+t-t---io.i'r't---l-'::!""
SECTION
etc., will settle out and accumulate at the bottom of ves-
"fllESSUlIf GAGE sels if larger than a few microns. If not removed sand can
IACKI'1lESSURE
cause the following process problems (NATCO, 1991):
........- - - . , -
VALVE

I'fIESSUI'E GAGE
OllDUW
VALVE
SAWLE VAl-VE
WELL FLUID IN DRAIN
Figure 7-6 Typical Vertical HeaterTreater ( Howell Training
Co., 1979)
siphon outlet and at the bottom of the hay section.
Corrosion is most likely in the downcomer and compart-
ment dividers. This is solved by using thicker pipe or plates.
The same basic functions are provided in horizontal
units, as shown in Figure 7-6. The feed enters, is partially
degassed, then directed around the firerubes by the heat-
ing baffle or shroud, and exits below the firetubes. Free
water and sand drop out before the remaining emulsion
is heated as it flows upward and over the firerubes, and is
degassed completely. Then the emulsion flows over a
weir, into the surge section, and finally fed uniformly
into the coalescing section by spreader bars. Introducing
the emulsified oil below the oil-water interface provides
washing that promotes coalescence. The emulsion breaks
and clean oil is removed from the top of the settling sec-
tion. Coalescing packs are sometimes used to aid oil-
wat~r separation in the settling section.
I. Sand can accumulate and occupy valuable volume in
the vessel and eventually block fluid flowpaths.
Treating vessels have been found to be nearly full of
sand.
2. Sand can deposit on level heating surfaces, block
heat transfer and cause hot spots and eventually
burnour.
3. Sand deposition can interfere with level controls,
anodes, valves, meters, and pumps. Such deposits
can foster and enhance bacterial growth and speed
corrosIOn.
Sand can be removed from any vessel if properly
designed. Solid particles will slide off slanted surfaces if
the surface slope is steeper than the angle of repose.
Water jets with pressures at least 30 psi higher than the
operating pressure can remove light deposits. Sand drains
and inverted angle baffles are used with the Water jets to
remove sand deposits as shown in Figure 7-7.
Strategically located manholes are also recommended.
Safety relief valve(s) should be installed in evety
treater (OCS Order No.5, 1981; API 14C, 1986; API
RP 14, 1991; ASM Pressure Vessel Code, 1993).
Indirect heaters also have different designs, but three
parts are basic to all of them: (I) body, (2) enclosed fire-
box, and (3) flow tube bundle.
The indirect heater first heats water or a heating
medium in the body. In turn, this water heats the
- 122 Dehydration of Crude Oil

2. Increasing the Brownian motion and natural coo-

vecrjon currents within the emulsion thus simulta-
neously increasing and intensifying drop collisions.
3. Increasing the density difference between the brine
and crude. at least up to 175'F. This increase is very
significant with heavy (lO'API) California crudes

-
Cone Bottom Pe.ked Top Surface. (Figure 4-11).
OIl V. . . .
4. Generating thermal currents which. with the
reduced oil viscosity, promote more uniform distri-
bution of demulsifying chemicals and more freguent
drop collisions.
5. Melting and/or dissolving paraffin solids that may
be stabilizing the emulsion. This is done by keeping
the oil above its cloud point.
6. Weakening the stabilizing film surrounding the
water drops.

However, hearing suffers from these disadvantages:

1. Heating drives some of the more volatile hydrocarbons
out of the crude oil into the gas phase. This "loss" of
light hydrocarbons results in appreciable volume
shrinkage and API gravity reduction in the heated
crude. Typical volume and gravity losses are presented
in Figures 7-8. Figure 7-9 attempts to correlate 'API
. loss and volume shrinkage; obviously this correlation is
very approximate and should not be used for design.
2. Hearing becomes increasingly cosdy as fuel costs rise.
3. Fired heatets are a hazard even with the standard
safety devices.
Figure 7-7 Sand Removal DeVices (NATCO, 1991)
'ii
4. Fired heaters reguire fuel-gas regulators and temper-
ature controls in addition to dump valves, backpres-
sure valves, and emergency relief valves common to
flow-tube bundle, which transfers heat to rhe emulsion all vessels.
passing through the tube bundle. Preventing direct con-
5. Coke deposits on fire tubes can pose occasional
tact of the emulsion with the firebox reduces corrosion
problems. The cardinal rule of heat treating is do not
and scale deposition. The dangers of fire and explosion
ate also teduced. overheat-thus minimizing volume shrinkage and
API gravity loss of the crude. Treating temperatures
Indirect heating can also be provided by passing a
vary from 90-250'F depending on the crude gravity
heating medium through tubes in the trearer. The
and the type of emulsion. Usually, no heating is
medium is circulated by pumps through a fired heater,
reguired for Saudi Arabian and North Dakota
which can be placed some distance away for safety.
crudes (36-38API) while Louisiana and Permean
Indirect heating is often used with waste heat recovery
Basin crudes (32-33'API) are generally dewatered at
(e.g., exhaust from gas turbines).
100-11OF. Heavy California crudes (12'API) are
Heating provides the following advantages:
often heated to 240'F when electrostatic and chem-
1. Reducing the viscosity of the continuous oil phase, ical treatments are also used.

-
thus intensifYing drop collisions and increasing set-
The cost of thermal treating depends, of course,
tling tates. This reduction is dramatic. A IO'F rise
directly on the ptice of fuel. Wallace (1979) emphasizes
can lower the viscosity by a facror of two.
the cost of heating by considering the dehydration of

-
 Dehydration of Crude Oil 123

(1) 38./t AI I MidContinent Crud.

(21 34.~ API Wilt Tn. Composit.
131 32.0- API Southtm Okla"oma
{4J 31.S- API Wyomin9 (1) 38.0'" API MidContinent Cl'\ld.
181 2U' API Su9l"and. T.... (21 34.~ API Wen Ttxu Ccmpositt
lei 24.4' API Talco. T.x. ()I 32.0' API Soultltm Oklahom.
(4) 31.5' API Wyomint
17I 33.r APt Southem Louisi.na
181 37.2' API $proybotrt. WISt T.... 181 21.8' API Sup"..... T....
(ll 24.4' API T.lco, Tex.
m 33S 1 Soultltm L.Ol.Iisi.,.
181 37.2' Sprayberry. WISt Tox..
'.0
10

PER CENT LOSS 8Y VOLUME API GRAVITY LOSS

VS. vs.
TEMPERATURE TEMPERATURE
10
'.'
i
I

~
.J 1.a
!
f
c3

50 70 10 110 130 1$0 170 '10 50 70 to 110 1:S0 ISO 110 Ito
Tff\'lPtuftltl F TtmClll'ft\ltl . ,

Figure 7-8 Volume & 'API Loss vs. Temperature

1000 bbl of 31 API crude containing 150 bbl of water as Electrostatic Treating
emulsion. Assuming that 150 Btu ate required to heat 1
Gravity alone results in very slow settling velocities as has
bbl of ctude 1F and that heating 1 bbl of water a like
been previously demonstrated using Stokes Law. For exam-
amount tequires 350 Btu, Wallace calculated that 1 bblof
ple, a water drop, 20 flm in diameter, settles at 0.07 ftJhr
crude is required to heat the 1,150 bbl of emulsified crude
in a 33API crude at 110'F; fl = 6.5 cP (Burris, 1977).
30F if the fired heater is 80% efficient. Using these fig-
The water molecule is polar (Figure 7-lOa); therefore,
ures the annual cost of treating 1,000 BPD of ctude is
an electric field enhances the coalescence of water
730 bbl of crude if the treating temperature is 150F.
droplets dispersed in crude oil by two mechanISms that
The net fuel cost can be dramatically reduced if the heat
act simultaneously.
In the treated crude is recovered. A plate-and-frame or

shell-and-tube heat exchanger is otten "added" to Figure
7-6 (as shown in Figure 7-5); the incoming cold, dirty
emulsion (tube side) is heated by the hot, dewatered, efflu-
ent ctude oil (shell side). Waste heat recovery from electri-
cal generators is also very practical.
1. Water droplets rna\' acquire a net charge by direct con-
tact with a charged electrode or by convective charge
transfer from an electrode by the organic phase.
2. Electrical gradients polarize' the water droplets by
aligning the originally randomly oriented (Figure
- 128 Dehydration of Crude Oil
- I. Preferential adsorption of particulate solids on the
-
- Figure 7-14 Composite Electrodes (Sublette and
Prestridge, 1988)
2, The conducrivity of the continuous phase.
3. Grounding of top edge forces charge to drop to zero.
As the emulsion flows between the electrodes, it is first
subjected to an increasingly strong DC electric field.
This "pretreatment" coalesces and removes the larger
drops, thus preventing drop shearing in the next high
intensity section. The second zone provides the homoge-
neous, high electric field required to coalesce small
droplets. Finally, the third section provides a progres-
sively weaker field that promotes furrher coalescence of
the drops leaving the second zone. When large enough
the watet dtops fallout of the crude oil phase. The ini-
tial nonconducting electrode section can handle emul-
sions containing up to 25% water. Fiberglass-graphite
electrodes can be used up to 290F.
Another recem improvement is the Load Responsive
Controller (IRe). This automatic volrage controller pro-
vides maximum power to rhe electrodes. When the LRC
detects arcing between the electrodes (either by low volt-
age or excessive current) it cuts power to the transformer.
After the conductive paths have dissipated in a fraction
of a second, power is re-esrablished but at 1-10% lower
level. If arcing continues, the process is repeated until
arcing stops. If no arcs occur, power is gradually
increased until the current limit or maximum power is
reached. LRC maximizes the electric fIeld applied.
Solid particles are not susceptible to growth analogous
to coalescence of water droplets in an electric field.
However, practical experience shows that solids are
removed during electrostatic dehydration. Solids are
removed by the following mechanisms:
drop oil-water interface.
2. Watet wetting of the solids and removal with rhe
water phase.
Two general types of elecrrical dehydrators commer-
cially available are:
1. The low-capacity type used for low-gravity oils or
tight emulsions.
2. The high-capacity type used for high-gravity oils
and relatively loose emulsions.
An electrical dehydrator can be frequently used
instead of both a heater-treater and coalescer or precipi-
tator. Electrical dehydrators are generally used where one
or more of the following situations exist:
I. When fuel gas is not readily available to heat the
emulsion, or it is expensive.
2. When loss of oil graviry is economically important.
3. W'hen large volumes of crude must be treated at a
central location through a minimum number of
treating vessels.
Electrostatic coalescers often prove economical and
efficient for saltwater removal from crude oil because
they are so effective at removing small water droplets.
Desalting is discussed in detail in Chapter 9.
The advantages of electrostatic treating are:
1. The emulsion can be broken at a significantly lower
temperature than with heat alone. This reduction,
which often approaches 20--40F, saves fuel and low-
ers crude shrinkage and gravity loss.
2. The increased treating rate allows a smaller vessel.
This is ideal for offshore and housed arctic opera-
tions.
3. More complete water removal is attained. This and
the lower treating temperature result in decreased
corrosion and less scaling.
The major disadvantage is the use of electrodes involves
additional capital expense, controls, and maintenance.
Use of e1ecttostatic grids inherently involves additional
equipment and increased maintenance. These increased
costs must be outweighed by improved dehydration.
Two rules of thumb are:
1. A given size electrostatic treater will process about
twice as much crude oil as the same size mechanical
treater.
 Dehydration of Crude Oil 129

2. The use of electricity will permit dehydrarion at a
lower temperature.
With heavy low-gravity crudes, this temperature
reduction can be as large as 30F k.g. 120F instead of
150F for a 33API crude). Such a temperature lowering
could reduce volume shrinkage by 1% (Figure 7-15) and
gravity loss by OSAPI (Figure 7-16). The previous
example is typical; in some cases the benefits are less. In
other situations, the emulsions are almost unbreakable
without electricity.
The oil-water interface is an ideal coUection area for
sludges such as iron sulfide, paraffin, silt, asphaltenes,
corrosion inhibitor chemicals, and so forth. Paraffinic
crudes (tog., Seminole, TX, 120F cloud point) and
3.0 Typical 330 API Gravity Oil
heavy-asphaltene crudes (t,g., Canada, California, and
Wyoming) are especially troublesome. These sludges are
becoming more common with the increasing use of
enhanced recovery methods. Needless to say, this sludge
layer cannot be allowed to accumulate in the treater
because it will produce electrical shorts in the electrical
grid if allowed to float upward. Electrical shorts also
occur if gas breaks out from the oil as it rises between the
electrodes. Alternatively, if the sludge layer settles, it will
contaminate the brine and render it unfit for reinjection
or environmentally unsuitable for discharge.
There are three procedures for preventing the inter-
face accumulation of these sludges. First, a circular, slot-
ted collection ring (sometimes called a toadstool) can be
used to withdraw or dump the sludge intermittently at
suitable regular intervals such as once a shift, or da;, or
week. Alternatively, a small slip stream, (1-2% of the
total flow) can be continuously withdrawn. This side-
stream containing the sludge is then treated separately.
Bottom drains can be operated in a similar manner to
remove bottom settlings.
Second, the treating temperature can be raised. Third,
different or additional demulsifiers may be added.
Electrostatic fields disturb the interface sludge and so
reduce the build-up rate.

Mechanical Treating
50 70 90 110 130 150 Well-designed separators should include (see Chapter 6):
Temperature Of
1. Inlet baffles-to aid in separating gas and liquid
Figure 7-15 Volume Loss VS. Temperature near the inlet and to dissipate the feed velocity.
2. Parallel plates-to reduce turbulence in the main
1.5 Typical 330 API Gravity 011 body.
3. A mist eliminator-to remove liquid droplets from
vapor.
v- 4. Vortex breaker-to prevent gas aspiration in liquid
a
0 1.0 outlets.
i:
<C
5. Adequate liquid capacity-to handle liquid surges.
6. Proper backpressure and liquid-level controls.
.s

aO.s Oil-treating vessels exploit many of these same inter-
...I
nals.
.f~ Proprietary internal elements-such as bames, wave
a breakers, etc.-are often provided in vessels sold for field
separation of oil, brine, and gas. These elements affect
50 70 90 110 130 150
Temperature Of
sizing in a manner not generally known to the buyer.
Vendors, often with justification, claim that these inter-
Figure 7-16 "API Loss vs. Temperature nals improve separation efficiency dramatically.

130 Dehydrarion of Crude Oil
The success of proprierary internals merely c nfirms
rhe extreme importance of fluid flow patterns th any
treating device in general. The distribution (or va iation)
of residence time has been measured by tagg g the
inflowing crude with radioactive iodine (Ze I and
Bowman, 1977, 1978). These studies included di persed-
gas and pressured flotation cells, 2,000- and 15 oo-bbl
wash tanks, and a horizontal FWKO. Figures 7 17 and
7-18 summarize the results for the 15,000-bbl ash tank
and the FWKO, respectively. The principal co c1usion is
that, with few exceptions, rhe hydraulic beha lor of ves-
sels used in the field is poor. Many vessels a subject to
hydraulic short-circuiting so that most of t e vessel vol-
ume is not used effectively. '/
Break-through times as short as 200/0'of the average
residence time are not uncommon. Other vessels are sub-
jected to high mixing forces so that much of rhe marer-
ial is transported through the tank by mixing forces in
too short a time for adequate treatment. Shear forces that
could increase emulsion formation are present in some
vessels. Wash tanks and skim ranks have the poorest flow
characteristics, despite considerable effort in most cases
to install barnes and spreaders. Plugging of the flume by
paraffin cakes, corroded spreaders, and sand deposits
have also been documented (Hausler, 1978).
Mechanical coalescers are somewhat more sophisti-
cated than either of the preceding; the most familiar is
I
i
the excelsior-packed coalescer. These units may also
employ directional flow control, a large water-holding
volume, packed excelsior just above the water area,
and finally an oil-settling volume above the excelsior
packed section. The wood (gum-free poplar is best)
excelsior or "hay" is preferentially water wet and is
tightly packed ro create an obstruction to the flow of
the small water droplets and promote random colli-
sion of these droplets for coalescence, as well as pro-
vide surface for coalescence. When the droplets
become large enough, they will fall out of the flow
stream by gravity. The oil-settling area above the excel-
sior depends on gravity separation only for the remain-
ing water particles.
The chief advantage of mechanical coalescence is that
no fuel is required and no crude volume or gravity losses
occur. However, dirty crudes do plug the coalescing
medium and cause operating problems that are especially
severe with dirty or waxy crudes. These well-publicized
plugging problems limit the use of excelsior. Precipirators
are essentially heater-treaters without the heater and with
a hay or excelsior-coalescing medium. A preeipitaror usu-
ally is found where water-entrained oil is encountered
with water-wet solids. The operation of a precipitator is
similar to that of a baffled-and-f1umed type of FWKO
with the addition of an excelsior section and sometimes
a graded sand filter section.

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0 .. e 12 1& 20 2" 21
ELLRPSD ~l~ IMINUTESl
Tracer response curve for 15.0Q0.W wash tiM..
15.~bb1 wash-tank spreader detal.

Figure 7-17 RTD for Wash Tank (Zemel and Bowman, 1978)