Determination of crude oil incompatibility regions by ellipsometry

Crude oil incompatibility is a common problem in the oil industry and may lead to severe fouling of process units, such as the pre-distillation heat exchanger train. This work investigates the use of ellipsometry to evaluate the compatibility of crude oil blends. Two crude oils with predicted region...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Fuel processing technology Vol. 96; pp. 16 - 21
Main Authors:	Álvarez, P., Menendez, J.L., Berrueco, C., Rostani, K., Millan, M.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01-04-2012 Elsevier
Subjects:	Applied sciences Blends Crude oil Density Devices using thermal energy Ellipsometry Energy Energy. Thermal use of fuels Exact sciences and technology Fouling Fuels Heat exchangers (included heat transformers, condensers, cooling towers) Incompatibility Mathematical models Polymer blends Trains Crude oil Fouling Ellipsometry Distillation Measurement Evaluation Refraction index Solubility Density Oil industry Heat exchanger Deposit formation Effective medium model
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Summary:	Crude oil incompatibility is a common problem in the oil industry and may lead to severe fouling of process units, such as the pre-distillation heat exchanger train. This work investigates the use of ellipsometry to evaluate the compatibility of crude oil blends. Two crude oils with predicted regions of compatibility and incompatibility were blended in several ratios and the formation of a denser phase was examined by ellipsometry. The procedure implies the evaluation of the real part of the refractive index of the crude oils and their mixtures, which can be linked to the density of the mixture. The ellipsometric measurements fit well theoretical predictions obtained using a Cauchy dielectric function for the pure crudes and the Maxwell-Garnett effective medium model for the mixtures. The regions of compatibility and incompatibility between the two crudes were checked against independent measurements of deposit formation by weight and predictions based on the insolubility and solubility blending numbers, showing good agreement. ► Evaluation of compatibility of two crude oils with different paraffinic content. ► Determination of crude oil incompatible blends by weight and ellipsometry. ► Both methods determined similar fouling formation threshold. ► Ellipsometric measurements of crudes fitted theoretical models. ► Divergences from models in mixtures suggest formation of fouling precursors.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0378-3820 1873-7188
DOI:	10.1016/j.fuproc.2011.12.007