The 7th Petroleum Technology Congress,2014

Meaning of Compatibility

2014. 10. 29
Fouling Common in Crude Processing

Lemke, 1999: 2/3 Fouling Cost in Crude Unit

2
The Reason of Organic-Fouling: Asphaltene Precipitation

Incompatible Oil makes Asphaltene Precipitation and Fouling

DEPOSIT

ABSORBED
(Heated Wall)

3
Refinery Troubles From Compatibility

Incompatible of oil cause many problems

2) Desalter Efficency

1) Tank Sludge
3) Fouling in Process

4) Product Bleding

4
Incompatibility of Oil Mixture

Incompatibility Tendency of a Liquid Material to Form Deposit upon

Mixing with Another Liquid

Instability Tendency of a Liquid Material to Form (or Initially Contain)

Deposit upon Storage or Heating
Mechanism could be Asphaltene Precipitation or Oxidation and Polymerization
Reactions

Light Tight Oil + Heavy Crude Crude A+B: Asphaltene Precipitation

CRUDE A CRUDE CRUDE B

A+B

5
Diversification of Oil in Refinery

Diversification of Feed Oil increase Compatibility Issue in Oil Blending

for Process or Production.

Distillation Unit Feedstocks Heavy Oil Products

Condensate Crude Cracked Oil
Light Tight Oil Straight Run Heavy Oil
Conventional Light/ Medium/ Imported Fuel Oil
Heavy Crude Thermal Converted Heavy Oil
Opportunity Crude Other Low Price Oil
Imported Fuel Oil
Processed Oil from Refinery

6
What Causes Incompatible Liquids ?

Attractive Force Difference between Like and Unlike

Molecules (Enthalpy Effects)
Specific Interactions
Hydrogen Bonding
Electron Donor-Acceptor
Field Interactions
Dispersion Forces
Dipole-Dipole
Randomness Constraints (Entropy Effects)
Size: Linear Chain is Larger than Compact
Shape
Pure Component Properties
Crystalline Melting Point (Wax is example)
Equation of State (Expansion Near Critical Point)

Process Chemistry of Petroleum Macromolecules, Irwin A. Wiehe

7
Deposit

Deposit Measured during Stability and Compatibility Testing

are:
Precipitated Asphaltenes

Fines Particulates (Catalyst, Scale) and Wax Deposit Possibly Ac

ting as Precursor of Sediment and Aggregating the Asphaltenes

Asphaltene Precipitation
(Microscope 100X) 8
 Asphaltene Precipitation

Theory of Asphaltene Precipitation

Colloidal Theory: The colloidal theory approach assumes that asphaltenes
exist as solid articles in oil and are stabilized by the presence of resins.
Solubility Theory: The solubility theory assumes asphaltenes to be a part of
the oil blend and models the precipitation process either as a liquidliquid or
solidliquid equilibria.

Colloidal Theory Solubility Theory

9
Refinery Oil Compatibility Test

Method Tech. Test

Solubility Parameter s
Shell Stability
*Peptizing Power, Po Titration
Modeling Reserve Test
**Flocculation Ration, Frmax Optical
Shell (P-Value)
Formula: P=Po/FRmax

Modified
Test SMS 2712 Shell Modified Spot Test
Spot

Solubility Parameter
Oil Compatibility Titration
Modeling *Insolubility Number, IN
Model Spot
**Solubility Blending Number, SBN
Exxon
Configuration change of Asphaltene in
Mobil Small Angle
Blended Oil SANS
Test Neutron
(ex. Asphaltene Deposit: Nanoscale Optical
Scattering (SANS)
Microscale)

Solubility Solubility Parameter (i) Spot

Petrobras Modeling
Parameter Formula: imixture=(ii) Photometric

BP North Critical Solvent Solvent Power of Crude, Blended Oil

Test Titration
America Power (ex. Solvent Power: Heptan=0 / Toluene=100)

10
Feed (Crude/AR) Compatibility Test

NO. Test Criteria Reference

SARA Asphaltene/Resin > 0.35 Hydrocarbon Processing

1
Composition Very Unstable 2010. 9. Pages 67-73

2 Spot Test Spot > 3 Unstable

HFT > 0.10 wt.%

3 Hot Filtration ISO8217 MFO
Unstable
Turbiscan < 5.0 Stable
5.0 < Turbiscan < 10.0
4 Turbiscan Normal ASTM Method
10.0 < Turbiscan
Unstable

5 P-Value ASTM Method

11
P-value

FR = Varom / (Varom + Vpara)

FR
1.0 TE = FR5/1*100%
X = (Varom + Vpara) / Moil
Pa = 1 - FRmax
FRmax
Po = (Frmax)*P or Po = (Frmax)*(1 + Xmin)
0.5
++
+ Xmin
FR5/1 P = 1 + Xmin

Pa = peptizability aspheltenes
Po = peptizing power of the oil matrix
FRmax = maximum flocculation ratio (at 1/X=0)

12
Oil Compatibility Model

Blend Oil with Test Liquid (Toluene and n-Heptane)

Determine Flocculation Points for Oil / Test Liquid Ratios

Measures Degree of Asphaltene Insolubility

Insolubility Number IN

Measures Ability of Oil to Dissolve Asphaltenes

Solubility Blending Number SBN

Criterion of Compatibility: SBN > IN

I. A. Wiehe and R. J. Kennedy, Energy & Fuels, 14, 56 63 (2000)

13
Oil Compatibility Model

Insolubility Number
Solubility Blending Number

Process Chemistry of Petroleum

Macromolecules, Irwin A. Wiehe 14
Compatibility Criteria

Blends are compatible when the volumetric average solubility

blending number is greater than the insolubility number of any
component of the blend

Process Chemistry of Petroleum

Macromolecules, Irwin A. Wiehe 15
Range of Numbers

Process Chemistry of Petroleum

Macromolecules, Irwin A. Wiehe 16
 Do Not Blend Wrong Order

Compatibility Predictive Model

AFPM Annual Meeting March 23-24, 2014

Challenges and Solutions for Processing Opportunity Crudes, GE Water & Process

17
Conclusion

Monitoring of processes and compatibility of crude oil blends in

industrial plants is important to prevent plugging trouble and unit
shut downs.
Heavy and crude oil compatibility model is powerful tool in marine
fuel and crude oil blending.
Right Blending Order can solve many of blending problems
The oil compatibility model still have limitation for dynamic
dispersing ability of resins and wax deposit issue.

18
End of Document

19