It is well known that the blending of incompatible crude oils might end in asphaltene precipitation. This phase separation has been associated with fouling of equipment in refinery operations. Problems ranging from sludge formation in tanks, desalter upsets and fouling in pre-heat trains have been linked to incompatibility issues. In particular, fouling has been a concern for the energy industry since the 1880’s. Around 50 % of the total fouling-related costs for the whole refinery originates in the pre-heat trains of the crude distillation unit. In this presentation, we analyze deposits obtained from accelerated fouling testing of several crude oil blends covering a whole range of compatibility behavior. The fouling test unit utilizes a heat exchanger housing a heater tube, heated to 650 oF. The fouling deposits accumulated on the heater tube were separated, washed, dried and characterized. Our tests indicate significant differences that can be associated not only with the stability of the blends but more closely with their detailed compositional characteristics. Several relationships between compositional parameters and deposit characteristics will be presented. Temperature changes and prefiltration of the blends before fouling testing do not seem to produce relevant differences in the deposits.

Analysis of fouling deposits

255th National Meeting (2018)

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