Experimental Study of Ultrasonic Wave Application  to Increase the Efficiency of Desalination Units in South Oilfields

Ghazvinian, Taybeh; Ghaemi, Ahad; Sobati, Mohammad Amin

Experimental Study of Ultrasonic Wave Application to Increase the Efficiency of Desalination Units in South Oilfields

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Oil & Gas, Iran University of Science and Technology, I.R. IRAN

Abstract

In this research, the process of desalting and water removal from crude oil by ultrasonic laboratory scale has been investigated. The effect of main parameters including ultrasonic radiation parameters, the input power of radiation, and radiation time, as well as functional parameters such as temperature and injection rate of emulsion breaker, have been investigated on the removal efficiency of salt and water. The results showed that using ultrasonic waves, the amount of Ahwaz crude oil decreased by 40 ppm emulsion breaker from 471 mg/L to 76.18 mg / l, and water content decreased from 9.19% to 1.1%. The rate of desalinization was 83.38% and the rate of dehydration was 88.03%. The amount of Ahwaz 4 crude oil was reduced by injection of 30 ppm emulsion breaker from 353 mg/L to 49.2 mg/L, and water content decreased from 11.36% to 2%, with a desalting rate of 86.06% and a water abstraction of 82.4% have been. These results were obtained at the highest test temperature of 80 °C and 10 KHz, which, with a near approximation to unit efficiency, reduced the use of the demulsifier. In optimal operating conditions, the results show that ultrasonic radiation can be effective in reducing the desalination of crude oil by reducing the amount of emulsion breaker and increasing process efficiency. Also, the results of the research show that the combination method of ultrasound and emulsion breaker is the best way to use emulsion breaker.

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