New Process Effectively Recovers Oil From Refinery Waste Streams
New Process Effectively Recovers Oil From Refinery Waste Streams
New Process Effectively Recovers Oil From Refinery Waste Streams
EMULSION-TREATING PROCESS
Vent
Condenser
Heater Flash
control
Emulsion
feed
Chemical
injection
Condensate
stabilizer
Fig. 1
Flash drum
Three-phase
centrifuge
Cooler
Solids recovery
Oil recovery
Water
Water
OGJ
Background
The ``Ohsol process is
an emulsion-breaking and
separation technology that
provides a continuous, lowcost means of completely
and permanently separating
stable emulsions generated
by refinery process operations.
Specifically, the process is
designed to break the persistent affinity of solids for oil,
and keep the solids from
sticking together and forming small ``cages around
the oil droplets, says process
inventer Dr. Ernest Ohsol.
These cages resist strong
Process description
A simplified flow diagram of the Ohsol process is
shown in Fig. 1.
The process breaks strong
emulsions using a two-fold
attack:
1. The addition, under
pressure, of heat (and water,
if none exists) to the system
to raise the temperature and
pressure of the system to at
least 100 C. and 150 psig.
2. A quick pressure drop,
which flashes off part of the
aqueous phase.
Reprinted from the August 15, 1994 edition of OIL & GAS JOURNAL
Copyright 1994 by PennWell Corporation
TECHNOLOGY
Composition:
Solids, wt %
Oil, wt %
Water, wt %
1.07-1.20
0.56-0.7
0.5-0.9
49-60
29.05-32.40
99+
1,200 mg/l. TPH
23-30
69.8-65.8
0.0-0.1
99+
17-22
Feed
Recovered oil
Recovered water
Centrifuge cake
*For this test, the waste water containing a small amount of nonemulsified oil (1-2%) was discharged to the process sewer. Oil recovery can be enhanced by discharging the waste water to a tank to skim off the oil before treatment.
Slop oil emulsion.
Analyticals: solids by acetone/methylene chloride solvent extraction, oil by difference, water by ASTM D-95 (water by distillation),
TPH by EPA Method 418.1
Total petroleum hydrocarbons.
Table 2
Oil, wt %
97.04
40.00
99.62
Water, wt %
2.24
53.000
0.30
Solids, wt %
2.72
7.00
0.08
Solids, wt %
71.14
67.71
Inorganic solids, wt %
40.28
30.77
Water, wt %
18.60
14.69
Benzene, ppm
2.7
Recovered solids:
Solids 1
Solids 2
Recovered water:
Recovered water
*Modified unit
Slop oil emulsions
This mist is an ideal environment for phase transition. The surfactants promote separation of the phases, and the polymers coat the
solids before they can recombine with the oil. Once the
emulsion mixture has been
flashed, the oil, water, and
solids are separated easily
using conventional means,
such as a three-phase, Tricanter-type centrifuge. The
flashed vapors are condensed, and they separate
spontaneously into water
and light naphtha.
The process eliminates
the need to send slop oils
back to the desalter.
Small, stabilized, slop-oil
rag layers are prone to sudden expansion in the
desalter vessel, requiring
rejection with the brine to
avoid carry-over to the heat
exchangers, crude charge
heater, and fractionater.
Rejection with the brine protects these facilities, but
transfers the problem to the
process sewer system and
API separators, where emulsion formation is exacerbated.
As an added benefit, benzene and other volatiles are
flashed from the incoming
feed stream and condensed
for recovery. The oily waste
stream discharged from the
process therefore contains
only low concentrations of
benzene. The small amount
of condensed water may
contain regulated contaminants, but this stream can be
stripped of these compounds
easily, or sent to complying
sewer lines.
Because volatile organic
compounds such as benzene
are removed in the flash step
and recovered, the cost of
complying with the benzene
waste operations requirements (national emissions
standards for hazardous air
pollutants, or Neshaps) and
future hazardous organic
Nashaps regulations, is built
into the process.
The high flow capability
of the process (150 gpm)
enables it to handle all of a
refinerys slop oil and oil
sludge streams economically. This eliminates the need
TECHNOLOGY
for downstream processing,
such as in conventional emulsion treating, filter presses,
belt presses, centrifuges, and
thermal dryers. The Ohsol
unit is a modular, skidmounted process that can be
transported easily (Fig.2).
This design reduces the cost
of installing the process.
PERF study
The Petroleum Environmental Research Forum
(PERF) is a group of oil companies that conducts cooperative research under the auspices of the 1986 National
Cooperative Research Act.
Ten oil companies joined for
PERF Project 91-14 to evaluate technologies to minimize
the environmental impact of
crude oil desalter operations.
Treatment options for the
brine discharge and desalter
mud wash were evaluated.
BP Oil Co.s environmental
technology division was
selected as the prime contract researcher, and Mobil
Research & Development
Costs
UniPure Corporation
12 Greenway Plaza
Suite 1380
Houston, Texas 77046
Phone: (713) 850-0010
Facsimile: (713) 850-7776