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With the advent of in situ particle characterization technology such as FBRM® and PVM® engineers can quickly measure the particle phase behavior in situ without pulling samples. The application of real time, in-process particle and droplet measurement tools can help avoid processing problems in the following applications:
FBRM® (Focused Beam Reflectance Measurement) real-time measurement tracks the rate and degree of change to particles and droplets as they exist in process. FBRM® provides critical, previously unattainable information by showing how process variables (such as temperature, pressure, additive concentration or shear rate) impact particle and droplet population and dimension. In this way, petrochemical scientists and engineers use FBRM® to control the particle/droplet distribution to guarantee optimal flow and optimize separation efficiency. |
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Optimizing Oil-Water Separation
In oil-water separation, FBRM® and PVM® probes provide a direct droplet based method to monitor the demulsification process by precisely tracking changes in emulsion and help formulate optimum demulsifier to achieve faster and easier oil-water separation.
Improving Desalter Performance
Desalting is an important step prior to crude oil refining during which inorganic salts and contaminants in crude oil are transferred to water phase and removed. Poor desalter performance leads to fouling of refinery equipments due to solids carryover, corrosion of crude tower from acid formation, and increased cost of brine effluent treatment due to oil under-carry. FBRM® is highly sensitive to changes in droplet count and dimension as agitation is varied – increased agitation leads to decreased mean and increased population of small droplets (<80 μm).
Information derived from FBRM® and PVM® process tools help reduce solids carryover/oil under-carry, optimize chemical additive usage, speed up desalter operation, and subsequently prevent costly desalter upsets such as corrosion and fouling
Understanding Asphaltene Precipitation Mechanisms
FBRM® rapidly determines the onset ratio for different crude oils with no sampling required and distributions provide insight into the differences in asphaltene dimension. FBRM® can also quickly screen the most suitable additive type and concentration to inhibit aspheltene precipitation.
Stuck Particle Correction Enables Confident Decisions
FBRM® can now correct for the rare instances when particles or droplets stick to the window surface. This ensures high quality particle distributions for more confident and successful data interpretation.
METTLER TOLEDO FBRM® and PVM® enable scientists and engineers to understand, characterize and control particle droplet and particle formation in complex multiphase pipeline flow. By using METTLER TOLEDO in-process particle characterization tools:
- Mechanisms of droplet formation and deemulsification can be quickly understood and characterized under a range of process conditions.
- FBRM® measurements can be directly correlated to process parameters (rpm, pressure, surfactants) that can predict pipeline plugging.
- FBRM® was used to quickly screen the most suitable additive type and concentration to inhibit asphaltene or gas hydrate precipitation.