CRUDE DISTILLATION

UNIT
 About Instructor …

 Current job position: CDU/KTU Process Lead

 Working
W ki experiences:
i 5 years in
i BSR,
BSR 12 years in
i Petroleum
P t l

Industry.
 EMERGENCY EVACUATION INSTRUCTION
Whenever you hear the building alarm or are informed of a
general building emergency:
 Leave the building immediately
immediately, in an orderly fashion;
 Do not use elevators;
 Follow quickest evacuation route from where you are;
 If the designated assembly point/area is unsafe or blocked due to
the emergency,
g y, p
proceed to the alternate assembly
yppoint;;
 Report to your Work Area Rep at the assembly point to be checked
off as having evacuated safely;
 Specific safety requirements for TODAY.

Today: NO testing of fire alarm systems

 COURSE OBJECTIVES

When you complete this module you will be able:

 To
T analyze
l the
th operation
ti off the
th desalter
d lt and
d th
the corrosion
i monitoring.
it i

 To be aware of fundamental process control and the impact of each

controller on the process and on the characteristics of the cuts produced.

 To learn about potential deficiencies and troubleshooting of CDU;

 COURSE OUTLINE

 Total duration: 5 days;

 Lecture:
L t 3 days
d (BSR)
(BSR);

 Practice on dynamic simulator: 2 days;

 COURSE ASSESSMENT

Lecture:
 The multiple-choice (knowledge based questions) section of the test
is scored based on the number of questions you answered correctly;
 Multi-choice test : 40 questions
 Passing grade: 36/ 40;
 No additional points are subtracted for questions answered
incorrectly;
 Even if you are uncertain about the answer to a question, it is better
t guess than
to th nott to
t respond
d att all.
ll

Dynamic simulator:
 Passing
P i d Implement
grade: I l t an extract
t t operation
ti procedure
d f 10
for
minutes and troubleshoot successfully 2 scenarios in simulator;
 OUTLINE

1. Crude Distillation
2 Operation of Crude Distillation Unit
2.
3. Crude Oil Desalting
4 The Pumparound
4.
5. Vapor Flow
6. Fractionation
7. Condenser and Tower Pressure Control
8. Air Cooler Fin-Fan Cooler
9. Vacuum Distillation
REFINERY CONFUGURATION
REFINERY CONFUGURATION
 REFINERY CONFUGURATION

LRU: LPG
Recovery Unit
 1. INTRODUCTION OF CDU
 Crude distillation unit (CDU) is the first processing unit in virtually all petroleum

refineries also known as Topping unit,

refineries, unit or atmospheric distillation unit.
unit

 Designed to handle a variety of crude oil types based on light crudes/heavy crudes

and/or
d/ sweett crudes/heavy
d /h crudes
d scenarios.
i S
Seasonal
l temperature
t t variation
i ti

should be incorporated in the design because changes in the cut point of

gasoline can vary by 20oC between summer and winter.

 The unit should run satisfactorily at about 60% of the design feed rate (turndown

capacity).

p y of the CDU: 10,000 BPSD ((1400 metric tpd)

 The capacity p ) ÷ 400,000 BPSD ((56,000

metric tpd). A good size CDU can process about 200,000 BPSD.
 1. INTRODUCTION OF CDU

What is the role of CDU in the refinery?

 Distills the incoming crude oil into various fractions of different

boiling
g ranges,
g each of which are then p
processed further in the other

refinery processing units.

 Provides removal of contaminations in crude oil (salts, solids,

metal,…) which have negative impacts on operation/performance of

downstream units.
 1. INTRODUCTION OF CDU
Typical products:

 Gases: C1
C1-C2
C1 - C2
C4

 Light straight run naphtha (also called light gasoline or light naphtha): C6-C10, 20-

90oC.
C

 Heavy gasoline (also called military jet fuel): C6-C10, 130-210oC.

 Kerosene (also called light distillate or jet fuel): C11-12, 150-270oC.

 Middle distillates called diesel or light gas oil (LGO): C13-C17, 230-320oC.

 Heavy distillates called atmospheric gas oil (AGO) or heavy gas oil (HGO): C18-C25,

320-380oC.

 Crude column bottoms called atmospheric residue or Topped crude.

 2. PROCESS DESCRIPTION
Process flow diagram of a typical CDU

Dewatering,
Sediments
settling by Typically
Remove heat,
gravity 50m, Provide external
30÷50 Diameter of the reflux
trays column varies
120÷150oC along its length
depending on
Recover heat, internal traffic
Provide internal
reflux
Stripping lighter
Salt/water/solids components by
removing by reducing partial
electric fields press.

called: Flash
drum 40÷50% of crude
will be vaporized
in Flash-zone

330÷385oC

Stripping lighter
components by
reducing partial
press.
 2. PROCESS DESCRIPTION
Typical designs of crude distillation column have the trays distribution between
products:

Typical designs off side-stripper columns off CDU

C have 4-10 trays.
Flash zone to HGO draw: 3-4 trays.
 3. OPERATION OF CDU

Fractionation:

 Operation
p of crude distillation column involves

a process of fractionating a mixture of

thousands of compounds
p into several

required fractions.

 The degree
g of fractionation in a crude

unit is determined by the gap or overlap

between two adjacent

j fractions ((side stream

products).
GAP?
OVERLAP?
 3. OPERATION OF CDU

 Gap: Difference between (the 5% ASTM D86 boiling point of the heavier product and the 95%

ASTM D86 boiling point of the lighter product) is possitive. A gap indicates good fractionation.

 Overlap: Difference between (the 5% ASTM D86 boiling point of the heavier product and the

95% ASTM D86 boiling point of the lighter product) is negative. An overlap indicates that

some of the light product is still in the heavier product and vice versa.
 3. OPERATION OF CDU

Cut points (TBP cut-points):

 Cut point is the temperature on crude oil cumulative TBP curve,

curve which defines the yields of

specific cuts

 The cut points in the CDU are controlled by the overhead vapour temperature which

determines how much vapour goes to the condensers to produce light naphtha and by the

flow rate of the various products straight from the column or the side stream

strippers.

 The amount of light naphtha is determined by the dew point of the naphtha at its partial

pressure, which is close to the overhead temperature.

 The atmospheric residue level control inside the column determines its flow rate and thus its

initial cut point.

 3. OPERATION OF CDU
 Changing the draw-off rate of any product affects the cut points of the heavier

product below it. For example, lowering the kerosene flow rate will lower its end

point, but will also modify the initial cut points of the LGO and HGO and the

initial cut point of the atmospheric residue.

residue

 The residue flow rate, the internal reflux rate, the draw-off temperatures and the

pump-arounds are also affected by changing the draw-off rate of a product.

 If the cut point of one stream is changed through a change in its withdrawal rate,

the flow rate of the heavier product next to it should be changed in the reverse

and by the same amount in order to make the changes in the desired stream

only.
 3. OPERATION OF CDU

 The side stream rate also affects the temperature at the withdrawal tray and

l
lowers th internal
the i t l reflux
fl coming
i outt off that
th t tray.
t

 The internal reflux rate affects the degree of fractionation. It can be

increased by increasing the heater outlet temperature, and by lowering the

pump-around
pump around duty in the lower section of the column.

 When less heat is removed by the lower pump-around, more vapours will be

available up the column and more internal reflux is produced as the vapours

are condensed.
 3. OPERATION OF CDU
Degree of fractionation:

 The fractionation quality

q y between two consecutive products
p is

affected by several factors such as the vapour and liquid flow rates in the

column zone between these two streams, the number of trays, and the

heat extracted by the pump-around.

 Fractionation quality is formulated in terms of gap or overlap of the

products For perfect fractionation,

products. fractionation zero gap and overlap are required.
required

This means that the EBP of the light cut would be the IBP of the heavier

cut and so on.

 3. OPERATION OF CDU
Overflash:

 In order to fractionate the crude oil into the various p

products,, it has to be

heated to a temperature between 330 and 385oC, depending on the

crude composition.

 The partially vaporized crude is transferred to the flash zone of the

column located at a point lower down the column.

 The furnace outlet temperature should be enough to vaporize all

products withdrawn above the flash zone plus about 3–5 vol% of the

bottom product
 3. OPERATION OF CDU
What is Overflash?
 Overflash is the ratio of the volumetric flowrates of liquid flowing from the tray above
the flash zone down to the tray below flash zone and the feed.
feed

Flash
zone

 Wash zone: the tray section located between the flash zone and gas oil draw tray.
 3. OPERATION OF CDU

Functions of overflash:

 Providing liquid wash to the vapours going up the column from the flash zone, and improving fractionation

on the trays above the flash zone, thereby improving the quality of the HGO and reducing the overlap with

the bottom products below the flash zone. This necessitates that there must be few trays in the region

between the flash zone and the HGO draw off.

 The over-flash provides heat input to the column in excess to that needed to distill the overhead products. It

also prevents coke deposition on the trays in the wash zone.

zone
 3. OPERATION OF CDU
Controlling the quantity of overflash:
 Adjusting the gas oil drawing: higher rate of drawing, lower rate of overflash.
 Adjusting the furnace outlet temperature: at the same rate of gas oil drawing,
drawing higher
outlet temperature produces higher rate of overflash.
 Adjusting Bottom stripping steam quantity: at the same rate of gas oil drawing, higher
Bottom stripping steam quantity produces higher rate of overflash.
In some designs,overflash is drawn from a tray like an external stream and routed back
t the
to th flash
fl h zone.In
I this
thi case it is
i possible
ibl to
t directly
di tl measure the
th quantity
tit off overflash.
fl h
Factors affecting overflash:
 Switch different crude oils.
 Stripping steam quantity.
 Furnace outlet temperature.
 Distillate draw quantity.
 Unit throughput
 3. OPERATION OF CDU

 The furnace outlet temperature is controlled to keep coking inside the

furnace tubes and in the column flash zone to a minimum. However, the

composition of the crude plays a part in determining the maximum

temperature allowed.

 Paraffinic crude oils cracks more readily than an aromatic or asphalt-base

asphalt base

crude. Therefore, the furnace outlet temperature for paraffinic crude oils is

lower than that for other crude types.

 3. OPERATION OF CDU
Column pressure :

 The pressure inside the CDU column is controlled by the back pressure of the overhead

reflux drum. For design, the overhead drum pressure is estimated first. This is the bubble point

pressure of the top product at the maximum cooling water temperature. The flash zone pressure is

then
h equall to overhead
h d drum
d pressure plus
l pressure drop
d i the
in h ovhd
hd condenser,
d overhead
h d lines
li plus
l

the pressure drop in the trays.

 The Top tray pressure is 0.2–0.7

0 2 0 7 bar gauge (3–10
(3 10 psig) higher than the reflux drum.
drum

 The flash zone pressure is usually 0.34–0.54 bar (5–8 psi) higher than the top tray (0.1–0.3 psi/tray).

 Flash zone pressure should at the minimum possible level. This will maximize the crude vaporization

or, if less than maximum vaporization is desired, will minimize the operating temperature level.

 Column pressure is a operation parameter?

 Column pressure can be changed during operation?

 3. OPERATION OF CDU

Overhead temperature:

 The column top temperature is equal to the dew point of the overhead vapor.

This corresponds to the 100% point on the EFV curve (equilibrium flash

vaporization curve, giving the temperature at which a required volume of

distillate will be vaporized) of the top product at its partial pressure calculated on

the top tray.

p
 The overhead temperature must be controlled to be 10–15oC higher
g than the

dew point temperature for the water at the column overhead pressure so that no

li id water
liquid t isi condensed
d d in
i the
th column.
l Thi is
This i to
t preventt corrosion
i d
due t
to

the hydrogen chloride dissolved in liquid water (hydrochloric acid).

 3. OPERATION OF CDU
Overhead temperature:

Example:

 If the overhead stream contains 8.5 mol% water at a pressure of 34.7 psia (2.36 bars),

calculate the overhead temperature

p for safe operation.
p

Solution:

 Calculate the saturation temperature of water at the partial pressure of water in the

overhead vapour.

 Water partial pressure = 0.085

0 085 x 2.36
2 36 = 0.2
0 2 bars;

 Refer to steam table, saturated steam temperature at 0.2 bars = 61oC;

 Safe
S f overhead
h d operating
ti temperature
t t = 61 + 10 = 71oC.
C
 3. OPERATION OF CDU

Preflash column and Crude column capacity:

 A crude column is typically designed for 80-90% loading, which means that the

unit can be operated at 10-20% throughput more than the design value (margin).

 The capacity of the column is limited by the vapour flow rate with a velocity between

2.5 and 3.5 ft/s (0.76 and 1.07 m/s).

 The vapour flow rate increases as the vapours rise from the flash zone to the

overhead. To keep the vapour velocity within the limits mentioned above, the pump-

arounds, which are installed at several points along the column, extract heat from the

column. This results in condensing the rising vapours and reducing the vapour

velocity.
 3. OPERATION OF CDU
Preflash column and Crude column capacity:

 To expand crude capacity, the most used technique is to introduce a pre-flash column before

the crude heater.

 The crude oil after preheating in the hot products and pump-around heat exchangers is flashed

into a column where the lightest products are removed.

removed

 The bottoms from the pre-flash column are introduced into the crude heater and then to the crude

column.

 The amounts of the light ends in the crude are now less, and this reduces the vapour loading up the

column.

 Although the unit throughput is increased, the furnace duty is not increased, since the crude rate

going to the furnace is not affected due to the removal of the light ends.

 Pre-flash columns are also introduced in the original design of the CDU when the crude oil is light, and

when it contains a lot of light ends in the naphtha range.

 3. OPERATION OF CDU
Bottom Stripping steam:

 At the bottom of the stripping section, steam is injected into the column to strip out the atmospheric

residue of any light hydrocarbon and to lower the partial pressure of the hydrocarbon vapours in the

flash zone. This has the effect of lowering the boiling point of the hydrocarbons and causing more

hydrocarbons to boil and go up the column to be eventually condensed and withdrawn as side streams.
streams

 The steam rate used is approximately 5-10 lb/bbl (14-30 kg/m3) of stripped product.

Side Stripping steam:

 Distillate products (kerosene and diesel) are withdrawn from the column as side-streams and usually contain

material from adjacent above cuts. Thus, the kerosene cut may contain some naphtha and the light diesel

cut may contain some kerosene-range boiling material. These side cuts are steam stripped using

superheated steam, in small side-stream stripper columns, containing 4-6 trays, where lower-boiling

hydrocarbons are stripped out and the flash point of the product adjusted to the requirements.

 The flash point/initial point of the stripped product can be adjusted by varying stripping steam rate.
 3. OPERATION OF CDU
Pumparound :
 The pumparound stream is a liquid stream withdrawn at a point below a side stream tray that is
cooled by the cold crude feed as part of the preheat exchangers train. It is then returned to the
column a few trays above the draw tray.
Purpose of a Pumparound:
 First,
Fi t the
th cold
ld liquid
li id condenses
d more off the
th rising
i i vapours thus
th providing
idi more internal
i t l reflux
fl
to compensate for the withdrawal of products from the column.

 Second, heat is removed from the column at higher

g temperatures.
p
This is in addition to the heat removal from the condenser which
takes place at relatively lower temperatures, thus the thermal
efficiency of the column is improved and the required furnace duty is
reduced.
 Third, pumparound streams reduce the vapour flow rate throughout
the column. Therefore, the required column is smaller than what
would otherwise be required if pumparound streams where not there.
 4. PUMPAROUNDS
Calculate Pumparound (PA) heat removal:
 Tray 10: PA drawn tray; temperature = 500 oF, flowrate =
1000 lb/h.
lb/h
 Tray 9: PA return tray; temperature = 400 oF, flowrate = 1000
lb/h.
 Cp (specific heat) of PA liquid = 0.7 Btu/[(lb)(°F)].
Heat removed in the pumparound circuit:
 Q = Ths x Cphs x Fhs = Qremoved
= (500°F − 400°F) × (0.7) × 1000 lb/h = 70,000 Btu/h
Flow of liquid on the cold side of the PA heat exchanger:
 Cp (specific heat) of cold
cold-side
side liquid = 0.5
0 5 Btu/[(lb)(
Btu/[(lb)(°F)]
F)].
 Qabsorbed = Qremoved = Tcs x Cpcs x Fcs
 Fcs = 70,000 Btu/h / [(300°F − 200°F) × (0.5) ] = 1400 lb/h.
 4. PUMPAROUNDS

Why do we wish to remove heat from the vapor flowing up

through tray 10?
 Recovering heat to a process stream that would otherwise be lost to
the cooling tower.
 Increasing the pumparound heat removal will lower the cooling-
water outlet temperature. If the cooling-water outlet temperature
from the condenser was 140°F. This is bad. The calcium carbonates
in the cooling water will begin to deposit as water
water-hardness
hardness deposits
inside the tubes. It is best to keep the cooling-water outlet
temperature below 125°F to slow down such deposits.
 Increasing pumparound heat duty will unload the overhead
condenser. This will cool off the reflux drum. A colder reflux drum will
absorb more gas into the distillate product. Less gas will be vented
from the reflux drum, and this is often desirable.
 4. PUMPAROUNDS
Why do we wish to remove heat from the vapor flowing up through tray 10?
 Another purpose of the pumparound is to suppress top-tray flooding.
 If tray 1 or 2 floods, the operator would observe the following:
 The tower-top temperature would increase.
 The distillate product would become increasingly contaminated
with heavier components.
p If this were a refineryy crude fractionator,
we would say that the endpoint of the naphtha overhead product
would increase.
 The pressure drop across the top few trays would increase.
increase
 The liquid level in the reflux drum would increase.
 If the operator increases the reflux rate to reduce the tower-top
temperature the top temperature will go up rather than down.
temperature, down
 Increase the pumparound duty >> flow of vapor through trays 1 to 8 will
decrease >> lower vapor velocity >> reduce the tray pressure drop >>
ability
bilit off the
th vapor to
t entrain
t i liquid
li id will
ill be
b reduced
d d >> the
th height
h i ht off liquid
li id
in the downcomer will be reduced >> tray flooding (entrainment flooding)
will be suppressed.
 4. PUMPAROUNDS

Does Pumparound fractionate or enhance fractionation?

 The temperature difference between tray 10 and tray 9 shows that
f ti
fractionation
ti isi taking
t ki place
l across the
th PA trays.
t
 The temperature difference is a measure of the amount of
fractionation. The bigger this temperature difference, the more the
fractionation that is taking place across the trays.
 Increases PA flow rate increases this temperature difference up to a
pointt >> e
po enhance
a ce fractionation/tray
act o at o /t ay e
efficiency.
c e cy
 However, when the PA liquid flow becomes too great. Probably, the
downcomers start to back up. Tray efficiency is impaired because of
thi downcomer
this d fl di
flooding. Th temperature
The t t diff
difference b t
between t
tray
10 and tray 9 becomes smaller. The point above which T decreases
when PA flow increases is called the “incipient flood point” for the
PA trays.
 5. TOWER VAPOR FLOW
How top reflux affects vapor flows?

 What will happen to the flow of the vapor leaving tray

3, 4, or 5 if the reflux is increased?

 When we increase the reflux rate, the OVHD

temperature decreases and the temperature of the

vapor leaving all the trays in the tower will decrease.

PA Duty
 The effect is bigger on the top tray and gradually gets constant

smaller as the extra reflux flows down the tower (Ex: if

the top-tray temperature has dropped by 60°F, then

the vapor temperature leaving tray 9 might drop by

Heat flow into
only 5°F). column constant
 5. TOWER VAPOR FLOW
How top reflux affects vapor flows?

 Decrease in vapour temperature results in

decreasing its sensible heat (Qs = F x Cp x T).

 A small portion of decreased sensible heat of vapour

PA Duty
constant
leaving a tray will be partially picked up by the

increased liquid flow leaving this tray.

 The main portion of this heat is converted to latent

heat. This means that some increment more of the Heat flow into
column constant
liquid on the tray turns into a vapor.

 The generated extra vapor adds to the vapor flow

from the tray. This increases the vapor flow from the

tray.
 5. TOWER VAPOR FLOW
How top reflux affects vapor molecular weight?

 What will happen to molecular weight of the vapor

leaving tray 3, 4, or 5 if the reflux is increased?

 The vapor leaving each tray is in equilibrium with the

PA Duty
li id This
liquid. Thi means that
h the
h vapor leaving
l i each
h tray is
i at constant

its dew point and the liquid leaving each tray is at its

bubble point.
point

 As the top reflux rate is increased, all the trays are

Heat flow into
cooled The vapors leaving trays 3,
cooled. 3 4,
4 and 5 are cooled.
cooled column constant

As a vapor at its dew point cools, the heavier

components
co po e ts in tthe
e vapor
apo co
condense
de se into
to a liquid.
qu d The
e

remaining vapors have a lower molecular weight because

they are lighter.

 5. TOWER VAPOR FLOW
How top reflux affects vapor molecular weight?

 As the heavier components in the vapor condense into a

liquid, they give off heat. This heat is called the latent

heat of condensation. This latent heat is picked up by the

PA Duty
li id flowing
liquid fl i across the
h tray (internal
(i l reflux)
fl ) promoting
i constant

extra vaporization of the internal reflux. Naturally, the

lighter lower-boiling
lighter, lower boiling point components preferentially

vaporize from the internal reflux. These lighter

Heat flow into
components have a relatively low molecular weight.
weight column constant

 The uncondensed vapors flowing from the tray below,

plus
p us tthe
e newly
e y vaporized
apo ed vapors
apo s from
o tthe
e reflux,
e u , go up to

the tray above. The combined molecular weight of vapors

is thus reduced.
 5. TOWER VAPOR FLOW

What will happen if the reflux is increased?

 Decreases OVHD temperature.

 Increases the vapor flow from the top trays. PA Duty

constant

 Decreases vapour’s molecular weight.

 Decreases OVHD Gasoline flow.

Heat flow into
column constant
 6. IMPROVING FRACTIONATION
How to improve the degree of fractionation between Diesel and GO (remove the
relatively heavy GO from the Diesel and remove the lighter Diesel from GO)?

Reduce the amount of diesel product from the tower?

 That could wash the heavier gas oil out of the diesel.

But it would also increase the amount of diesel in the

gas oil.

Increase heat removed in the PA?

 Similar effect to above: less gas oil in diesel,

diesel but more

diesel in gas oil.

Decrease heat removed in the PA?

 6. IMPROVING FRACTIONATION
How to improve the degree of fractionation between Diesel and GO (remove the
relatively heavy GO from the Diesel and remove the lighter Diesel from GO)?
D
Decrease h t removed
heat d in
i the
th PA?

 That increases the vapor flow from tray 8.

 The
Th extra
t flow
fl rates
t off vapor flow
fl up the
th tower
t and
d raise
i the
th

tower-top temperature.

 The
Th reflux
fl control
t l valve
l opens to
t cooll the
th tower-top
t t

temperature back to its temperature set point. Then the liquid

fl
flow rates,
t f
from t
trays 1 2,
1, 2 and
d 3,
3 onto
t tray
t 4 allll increase.
4, i

 If the diesel draw-off rate is maintained constant, the liquid

over-flow
fl rates
t onto
t trays
t 5 6,
5, 6 and
d 7 will
ill increase.
i Thi liquid
This li id

flow is called the internal reflux.

 6. IMPROVING FRACTIONATION
How to improve the degree of fractionation between Diesel and GO (remove the
relatively heavy GO from the Diesel and remove the lighter Diesel from GO)?
D
Decrease h t removed
heat d in
i the
th PA?

 Trays 5, 6, and 7 are the trays that fractionate between diesel and

gas oil.
oil The more efficiently they work,
work the less the contamination of

the adjacent products.

To improve the separation efficiency between a light and heavy

product, the vapor flow rate through the trays is increased, and the

internal reflux flowing across the trays is increased.

increased

This improvement in the degree of fractionation developed by trays

5, 6, and 7 is a result of reducing the amount of heat duty removed

by the PA flowing across trays 8, 9, and 10.

 6. IMPROVING FRACTIONATION
Potential of tray flooding by reducing heat removed in PA:

 Reducing the PA duty increases loadings on trays 1 through 7 >> the

trays operate closer to their incipient flood point. The incipient flood point

corresponds to the optimum tray performance.

 Crossing over the incipient flood point, trays 5, 6, and 7 actually start to

flood, their fractionation efficiency will be adversely affected. Then, as the

PA heat-removal duty is decreased, the mutual contamination of diesel

and gas oil will increase.

 From an operating standpoint, as the PA duty is decreased, the T

between the Diesel and GO product draws should increase. When these

t
two t
temperatures
t start
t t to
t come together,
t th it’ assume the
it’s th incipient
i i i t flood
fl d

point has been exceeded and that trays 5, 6, and 7 are beginning to flood.
 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING
Introduction of desalting:

 Crude desalting is the first processing step and an essential part of the refinery

operation. The objectives of crude desalting are the removal of salts and solids and

the formation water from unrefined crude oil before the crude is introduced in the

CDU of the refinery.

 The salt content of the crude normally measured in pounds per thousand barrels

(PTB) can be as high as 2000.

 The salt content should be lowered than 5 PTB.

 The water content of crude oil varies typically from 0.5 to 10% vol and quite

frequently as high as to 50%.

 The water content should be lowered than 0.2%.

 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING

Introduction of desalting:

 Poor desalting has the following effects:

 Salts deposit inside the tubes of furnaces and on the tube bundles

of heat exchangers creating fouling, thus reducing the heat transfer

efficiency;

 Corrosion of overhead equipment;

 Metals
M l in i the
h salts
l and
d solids
lid (Ca,
(C Na,
N Fe)
F ) carried
i d with
i h the
h products
d act

as catalyst poisons in catalytic cracking units.

 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING
Types of Salts in Crude Oil:

 Salts in the crude oil are mostly in the form of dissolved salts in fine water droplets emulsified in the crude

oil.
il This
Thi is
i called
ll d a water-in-oil
t i il emulsion,
l i where
h th continuous
the ti phase
h i the
is th oilil and
d the
th dispersed
di d phase
h i
is

the water.

 The water droplets

p are so small that they
y cannot settle by
yggravity.
y

 These fine droplets have on their surfaces the big asphaltene molecules with the fine solid particles coming

from sediments, sands or corrosion products. These molecules form a shield (film) that prevents the droplets

from uniting with each other in what is called coalescence.

 The salts can also be present in the form of salts crystals suspended in the crude oil. Salt removal requires

that these salts be ionized in the water.

Continuous Oil finely divided solid

Phase polar head
(hydrophilic) group
dispersed
(likes water)
water
phase hydrophobic tail
(likes oil)
 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING
Types of Salts in Crude Oil:

 Salts in crude oil are mostly magnesium, calcium and sodium chlorides in which, sodium

chloride has the greatest concentration.

 The breakdown of chloride salts in crude oil brine averages about 75% sodium, 15%

magnesium, and 10% calcium.

 Salts of chloride hydrolyze to evolve hydrochloric acid (HCl) when exposed to the high

temperatures used in crude distillation. This HCl along with the water condenses in the crude

tower overhead and causes severe localized or general corrosion:

 NaCl + H2O NaOH + 2HCl, ≥500oC

 MgCl2 + 2H2O Mg(OH)2 + 2HCl, 120oC

 CaCl2 + 2H2O Ca(OH)2 + 2HCl, 200-230oC

 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING
Desalting process:

 To remove the salts from the crude oil,, the water-in oil emulsion has to be

broken, thus producing a continuous water phase that can be readily

separated as a simple decanting process.

 The process is accomplished through the following steps:

 Water washing

 Heating

 Coalescence

 Settling
 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING
Desalting process:

 Water washing:

 Water
W t isi mixed
i d with
ith the
th incoming
i i crude
d oilil through
th h a mixing
i i valve.
l N
Normally
ll the
th mixing
i i valves
l are

double port type with special machined plugs offering one of the best mixing efficiency. The static mixers

are also often installed upstream

p of mixing
g valves to improve
p the contact between the salt in crude oil

and injected wash water.

 The water dissolves salt crystals and the mixing distributes the salts into the water, uniformly

producing very tiny droplets.

 Demulsifying agents are also added at this stage to aide in breaking the emulsion by removing the

asphaltenes from the surface of the droplets.

 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING
Desalting process:

 Heating: The crude oil temperature should be in the range of of 130 to 150°C (266 to

302°F) since the water–oil separation is affected by the viscosity and density of the oil.

 Coalescence:

 The water droplets are so fine in diameter in the range of 1–10 µm that they do

not settle by gravity.

 Coalescence produces larger drops that can be settled by gravity.

 This is accomplished through an electrostatic electric field between two electrodes.

 The electric field ionizes the water droplets and orients them so that they are

attracted to each other.

other
 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING
Desalting process:

 Coalescence:

ELECTRICAL FIELD
-- +
-
-- --
++ ++
+
Electrostatic
Induced Charge Attraction
--
- - ---
++ ++
 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING
Desalting process:

 Coalescence:

 The force of attraction between the water droplets is given by:

CV 02 D 6
F 
d4
F = Attractive Force
C = A Constant
V0 = Voltage Gradient, volts/inch
D=D
Droplet
l t Di
Diameter
t
d = Distance Between Drops
 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING
Desalting process:

 Coalescence:
 How to increase attractive force?
 Increase the water droplets population.
 Increase wash water rate.
 What is the risk in case of over emulsion (very small water droplets)
generated in the mixing
mi ing valves?
al es?
 Reduced attractive force.
 Water carry over.
 High salt content at the outlet.
 Emulsion accumulation at the interface.
 Short circuit in the grids.
 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING
Desalting process:

 Settling: According to Stokes’ law the settling rate of the water droplets after

coalescence is give by:

V

KD 2  w  o 


V = Settling Velocity
K = A Constant
D = Diameter of Water Droplet
w = Density of Water
o = Density of Oil
 = Viscosity
Vi it off Oil
 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING
Desalting process:

 Settling:
 What is the impact on the droplets settling velocity if the oil viscosity
change from 2 cP to 3 cP?
 The droplet settling velocity is reduced by 1/3.
 What about separation of water droplets?
 The residence time may
ma be not enough
eno gh to achieve
achie e proper separation.
separation
 What is the possible solution?
 Increase temperature to reduce the oil viscosity.
 Reduce oil flow rate.
 Increase wash water rate to compensate the bad separation.
7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING

Coalescing & Settling

H2 O H2 O H2 O H2HO2 O
H2 O
Crude Oil H2 O
H2 O
H2 O

H2 O

H2 O

H 2O

Water
 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING
Description of Desalter:
 A typical desalter contains two metal electrodes (grids).
 A high voltage is applied between these two electrodes.
 For effective desalting the electric fields are applied as follows:
 A high voltage field called the ‘‘secondary field’’ of about
1000 V/cm between the two electrodes is applied. The
ionization of the water droplets and coalescence takes
place here.
 A primary field of about 600 V/cm between the water–
crude interface and the lower electrode is applied. This
field helps the water droplets settle faster.
 The desalter of this design achieves 90% salt removal. However
99% salt
lt removall is
i possible
ibl with
ith two-stage
t t d
desalters
lt
 A second stage is also essential since desalter maintenance
requires a lengthy amount of time to remove the dirt and
sediment
di t which
hi h settle
ttl att the
th bottom.
b tt Th f
Therefore, th crude
the d unitit
can be operated with a one stage desalter while the other is
cleaned.
 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING
Desalter operating variables:

 Desalting temperature: Stokes Law (29 API Crude)

6 00
6.00 0 1500
0.1500

 The settling rate depends on the density and viscosity 5.00 0.1450

Water/Oil Density Difference,

city of Water
cosity, cSt
4.00 0.1400
of the crude. Since increasing the temperature lowers

cc
Settling Veloc
3 00
3.00 0 1350
0.1350

Crude Visc

g/c
the density and viscosity, the settling rate is increased 2.00 0.1300

1.00 0.1250
with temperature based on the crude gravity.
0 00
0.00 0 1200
0.1200
150 200 250 300
 For efficient desalting, the temperature where the Temperature, F

Water Solubility in Crude

settling velocity of water is greatest and the solubility

0.60

40 API
0.50

of water in crude is reasonable is the best operating

33 API

rude, vol%
0.40

21 API
0.30
aterinC

point. 16 API

0 20
0.20
W

 Based on industry experience, this temperature is 0.10

0.00

normally in the range of 130 to 150°C (266 to 302°F).

150 200 250 300 350

T emperature, F
 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING

Desalter operating variables:

 Desalting pressure:

 The oil pressure has no impact on desalting process.

 The operating pressure shall be kept in order to avoid any gas

f
formation
ti ini desalters
d lt which
hi h would
ld eventually
t ll lead
l d to
t trip
t i the
th power in
i

the electrodes.

 A typical pressure of 12 bar (176 psi) is necessary to achieve this

purpose.
 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING

Desalter operating variables:

 Wash water ratio:

 Adding water to the crude oil helps in salt removal.

 Increasing
g the wash water rate increases the coalescence rate.

 Industry Best practice, wash water ratio is typically 3 to 6% of the crude charge rate for light and

medium crudes and 6-10% for heavy crudes.

 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING
Desalter operating variables:

 Wash water quality:

 Process water in addition of fresh water is used for desalting.

 The water should be relatively soft in order to prevent scaling.

 The water should be free of oil and solids, have a pH close to neutral, and have low levels

of ammonia and chlorides.

 Presence of oxygen in the wash water to desalter can cause some additional corrosion in

the crude unit column overheads.

overheads For this reason and the presence of salts and

suspended solids, industrial water should not be used as wash water.

 High
Hi h levels
l l off chlorides
hl id i the
in th wash
h water
t limit
li it the
th water’s
t ’ effectiveness
ff ti t dissolve
to di l

additional salt, thus, desalting efficiency can be affected.

 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING
Desalter operating variables:

 Wash water quality:

 When pH of the wash water is above 8.0 there is a possibility of forming naphthenic acid

soaps (sodium naphthanates) in the desalter. These naphthenic acid soaps can be formed

by the combination of naphthenic acids and caustic (NaOH) and act to stabilize the oil-in-

water emulsion.

 When the ammonia content in wash water is more than 40 ppm, there is a high risk of

experiencing fouling on the crude column especially on the trays.

trays

 Coke fines, iron sulphide, and other solids tend to stabilize emulsions.

 Calcium
C l i h d
hardness (C b
(Carbonates)
t ) have
h abeen
b th primary
the i componentt in
i severe fouling
f li off

the effluent header, lines and exchangers.

 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING
Desalter operating variables:

 Wash water quality:

 Guidelines for Quality of Wash Water
 pH in the range of 6 to 8
 Chlorides less than 25 ppm
 Ammonia less than 40 ppm
 Solids less than 10 PTB
 Hardness (as CaSO4) less than 175 ppm
 Sulphides in the range of 10 to 20 ppm
 Phenols in the range of 100 – 200 ppm
 Temperature > 80°C (176°F), especially for paraffinic or heavy crudes
 Monitor wash water quality for pH,
pH ammonia,
ammonia sulphides,
sulphides hardness,
hardness solids and
oxygen.
 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING
Desalter operating variables:

 Guidelines for Source of water

 Stripped sour water is the most popular source of wash water in

d
desalters
lt (d
(desalter
lt removes ~95%
95% off phenol
h l from
f th water)
the t )

 Atmospheric or vacuum overhead condensates are acceptable as long

as the pH is between 6 and 8.

 Cooling tower water or blowdown,

blowdown boiler blowdown,
blowdown or industrial water

are not acceptable sources due to high solids content.

 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING
Desalter operating variables:

 Interface level:

 Raising the water level reduces the settling time for the water droplets in the crude oil, thus

improving the desalting efficiency.

 However, if the water level gets too high and reaches the lower electrode, it shorts out the desalter.

 It is possible to check manually the level of water by taking samples at various interface level by try-

cocks.

 It is possible to know where the interface level is and the quality of the emulsion in the range of

interface level control.

 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING
Desalter operating variables:

 Wash water injection point:

 Usually the washing water is injected upstream the mixing valve.

 However, if it is feared that salt/solids deposition may occur in the preheat exchangers,

part or all of the washing water (10-30%) is injected right after the crude feed pump.
 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING
Desalter operating variables:

 Pressure drop in the mixing valve:

 Mixing the washing water with crude oil is necessary in order to distribute the water and

dissolve any suspended salts crystals.

 The pressure drop across the mixing valve determines the mixing efficiency.

 However, the mixing process produces finer (smaller diameter) droplets which tend to

stabilize the emulsion and make water separation more difficult.

 There is a compromise in selection of the appropriate pressure dropacross the mixing

valve. A pressure drop between 0.5 and 1.5 bar (7.4 and 22 psi) is used.
 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING
Desalter operating variables:

 Pressure drop in the mixing valve:

 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING
Desalter operating variables:

 Demulsifier injection:

 Demulsifiers are used is injected in the crude oil to facilitate water coalescence and help

break the water-in-oil emulsion.

 Demulsifiers are basic copolymers with one end being hydrophilic (loves water and

attaches to the surface of the water droplet), and the other end being hydrophobic (loves

the oil and is directed to the oil side).

 The demulsifier is added to the crude after the feed p

pump
p or before the mixing
g valve at dosage
g

between 3 and 10 ppm of the crude (the highest injection dosage used for the most viscous or

p
the most asphaltic crude but also for some sour crudes).
)
 7. CRUDE OIL DESALTING
Desalter operating variables:

 Demulsifier Roles:
 8. AIR COOLERS FIN-FAN COOLERS
 Air coolers are twice as expensive to purchase and install as water
coolers.
 The great advantage of an air cooler is that it does not need cooling
water.
 The difficult aspect of air cooling arises from the flow of air across
the tubes.
 Most
M t air
i coolers
l are either
ith induced-draft
i d d d ft or forced-draft,
f d d ft the
th more
common arrangement being forced draft.
 The air is moved by rather large fans.
fans
 The tubes are surrounded with foil type fins, typically 1 in high.
 8. AIR COOLERS FIN-FAN COOLERS
 The surface area of the fins as compared to the surface area of the
tubes is typically 12 to 1.
 That is why we call an air cooler an extended-surface heat
exchanger.
 The heat-transfer coefficient of an air cooler (Btu, per hour, per
square foot of finned area, per degree Fahrenheit) is not particularly
good.
d It might
i ht be
b 3 to
t 4 for
f cooling
li a viscous
i li id or 10 to
liquid, t 12
for condensing a clean vapor.
 The low heat-transfer
heat transfer coefficients are offset by the large extended
surface area
 8. AIR COOLERS FIN-FAN COOLERS
Fan fouling:
 In a forced-draft air cooler, cool air is blown through the
underside off the fin
f tube bundle.
 In an induced-draft air cooler, cool air is drawn through the
underside of the fin tubes.
tubes
 8. AIR COOLERS FIN-FAN COOLERS

Fan fouling:
 Either way, road dust, dead moths, catalyst fines, and greasy dirt
accumulate along the lower row of tubes. As the tubes foul,
they offer more resistance to the airflow

Note that:
 The total airflow discharged by the fan remains constant regardless
of the fin tube fouling. The fan discharge pressure remains constant
regardless of the fin tube fouling.
 The amperage electric load on the motor driving the fan
remains constant regardless of the fin tube fouling
 8. AIR COOLERS FIN-FAN COOLERS

Fan fouling:
 8. AIR COOLERS FIN-FAN COOLERS
Fan fouling:
 Apparent contradiction: as the underside of the fins becomes
encrusted with dirt, an increasing amount off air is reflected
f back
through the screen, located below the fan.
 The air is reflected back through the screen in a predictable
pattern. The airflow in the center of the screen is always going up,
which is the desired direction of flow.
flow
 The airflow around the edge of the screen is always reversed, which
is the wrong
g direction.
 8. AIR COOLERS FIN-FAN COOLERS
Fan fouling:

 As the exterior fouling

g on the tubes worsens,, the p
portion of the screen

through which the air flows backward increases.

 As the dirt accumulates on the underside of the tubes, the portion

of the screen through which the air is drawn upward decreases.

 Even though the airflow blown through the bundle is decreasing, the

total airflow delivered by the fan is constant

 8. AIR COOLERS FIN-FAN COOLERS
Fan discharge pressure:
 8. AIR COOLERS FIN-FAN COOLERS

Fan discharge pressure:

 Fan operation is indicated on a performance curve.
 The head developed by the fan is equivalent to 5 or 10 in of
water. As the fan airflow is pretty constant, the fan‘s head is also
constant. Another way of stating this is to say that as a tube
bundle fouls, the resistance to airflow increases.
 This reduces the airflow through the bundle, but the pressure
loss of the airflow through the tube bundle does not change.
 If the
th head
h d developed
d l d and
d the
th flow
fl produced
d d by
b a fan
f are both
b th
constant, then the power needed to run the fan must also be
constant
 8. AIR COOLERS FIN-FAN COOLERS

Fan discharge pressure:

 Use of Water Sprays on Air Coolers
 Spraying water on fin-fan air coolers is generally not a good idea. It
is really effective only in dry climates with low humidity.
 The evaporation of water by the dry air cools the surface of the fins;
that is, the latent heat of vaporization of the water robs sensible
heat from the tubes.
 Salts or other dissolved solids in the evaporating water will plate out
on the
th exterior
t i off the
th tubes.
t b
 8. AIR COOLERS FIN-FAN COOLERS

Fan discharge pressure:

 With time, a serious loss in heat-transfer efficiency results.
Use of steam condensate can avoid this particular difficulty.
 Water sprays should be used only as a stopgap measure
because of the swell they cause in the plant‘s effluent volume,
and also their tendency to create a safety hazard in the vicinity of
the cooler.
 One of my clients used fire water for a few hours to cool an air
cooler.
l TheTh problem
bl was the
th fire
fi water
t was seawater.
t
 It proved impossible to totally remove the salts from between the
fins The tube bundles had to be replaced to restore efficiency
fins.
 8. AIR COOLERS FIN-FAN COOLERS

Fan discharge pressure:

Tube side construction
 The mechanical construction of the tubes in an air cooler
creates some rather nasty problems.
 The small black circles are threaded steel plugs. They are not
connected to the ends of the tubes
 8. AIR COOLERS FIN-FAN COOLERS
Fan discharge pressure:
Tube side construction
 8. AIR COOLERS FIN-FAN COOLERS

Fan discharge pressure:

 Tube
T b side
id construction
t ti

 Proper cleaning of an air-cooler tube requires removing two plugs.

 A large industrial air cooler may have 2000 tubes or 4000 plugs.

 The labor involved to remove and reinstall all these plugs is

formidable. Leaking plugs due to crossthreading is a common

start-up problem.

 Hence, many air coolers are simply never cleaned.

 8. AIR COOLERS FIN-FAN COOLERS

Fan discharge pressure:

 The
Th pass partition
titi makes
k thi cooler
this l a two
t pass exchanger.
h

 These baffles are subject to failure due to corrosion. More often,

they break because of excessive tube-side pressure drop.

 The differential pressure across a two

two-pass
pass pass partition baffle

equals the tube-side ∆P

 8. AIR COOLERS FIN-FAN COOLERS
Fan discharge pressure:
Parallel air coolers
 8. AIR COOLERS FIN-FAN COOLERS

Fan discharge pressure:

 Parallel air coolers
 A large process plant air cooler may have 10, 20, 30, or
more banks of air coolers, arranged in parallel.
 Assume that the inlet header is oversized and has zero pressure
drop.
 Let‘s also assume that the outlet header is oversized and also has
no ∆P.
 The
Th pressure drop
d across the
th tube
t b side
id off allll such
h air
i coolers
l
arranged in parallel is then identical
 9. VACUUM DISTILLATION UNIT

 The purpose of VDU is to extract more distillates from the atmospheric residue of

CDU.
CDU

 The vacuum unit distillates are classified as light vacuum gas oil (LVGO), medium

vacuum gas oilil (MVGO),

(MVGO) and
d heavy
h vacuum gas oilil (HVGO).
(HVGO)

 Bottom product of VDU is called vacuum residue.

 If the distillates are feed to down stream conversion process (FCC), their the sulphur,

metal and asphaltene content should be reduced by hydrotreating or hydroprocessing

(HDS).

p
 In some refineries the whole atmospheric residue is hydroprocessed
y p before vacuum

distillation.
9. VACUUM DISTILLATION UNIT
9. VACUUM DISTILLATION UNIT
9. VACUUM DISTILLATION UNIT
9. VACUUM DISTILLATION UNIT
9. VACUUM DISTILLATION UNIT
 9. VACUUM DISTILLATION UNIT
 The atmospheric residue from CDU is sent directly to VDU. If it is sent to storage, the
temperature should not be below 150oC (300oF) to control the viscosity necessary for
proper flow.

 The residue is then preheated in several exchangers by the hot products and pump-
arounds of the VDU.

 Afterward the residue is heated to 380–415oC (716–779oF) in a fired heater before

being fed into vacuum distilation column. To minimize thermal cracking and coking,
steam is injected in the heater tube passes.

 Similar to CDU, a 3–5 vol% over-flash is maintained to provide some fractionation in

section between the HVGO draw-off tray and the flash-zone, thereby controlling
HVGO EP.
 9. VACUUM DISTILLATION UNIT
 The distillate is withdrawn as LVGO and two other cuts, MVGO and HVGO.

 The two cuts of MVGO and HVGO are necessary to extract heat from the tower at a
more advantageous level from the HVGO pump-around.

 Vacuum distillation columns are equipped with packing for fractionation and heat
exchange zones. This is in order to reduce the pressure drop in the column which is
necessary for creating a low vacuum in the lower section of the column.

 The bottom zone is equipped with conventional valve trays.

 The vapours from the flash zone go through a wash and fractionation zone where the
heavy ends are condensed with HVGO reflux.

 Further up, the column sections (consisting of a heat exchange and fractionation
zone) are separated by sprays of liquid from the pump-around or the internal reflux.
 9. VACUUM DISTILLATION UNIT
 Vacuum distillation units have a system to create the vacuum that uses either ejectors or a
combination of ejectors and vacuum pumps.

 Ejectors recompress the gases through a nozzle where vapours from the column are sucked
into the venturi section of the nozzle by a stream of medium or low pressure steam.

 The vapour phase at the ejector exit is partially condensed in an exchanger with cooling water.
The liquid phase is then sent to the overhead drum. The vapour phase goes from the condenser
to another ejector-condenser stage.
stage

 One vacuum pump can replace two or three stages of ejectors in dry or wet type vacuum
distillation They do not use steam and can significantly reduce hydrocarbon
distillation. hydrocarbon-rich
rich aqueous
condensates in a system using ejectors.

 Systems with ejectors are much more flexible and rapid to put into operation.

 The higher investments required by liquid ring pumps are offset by reduced steam consumption
and lower installation costs.
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
 The total condensation of a vapor to a liquid is best illustrated by the condensation

of steam to water.
water

 Steam flowed from the boiler in the basement.

 The
Th steam
t condensed
d d inside
i id the
th radiator,
di t andd flowed
fl d back
b k into
i t the
th boiler,
b il through
th h

the condensate drain line. This is a form of thermosyphon circulation. The driving

force for the circulation is the differential density between the water in the

condensate drain line and the steam supply line to the radiator.
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
 The bigger the radiator, the more heat is provided to a room. The bigger the

radiator,
di t th faster
the f t the
th steam
t condenses
d t water
to t inside
i id the
th radiator.
di t A

larger radiator has more heat-transfer surface area exposed to the

condensing steam.

 It rather seems that 40 percent of the surface area of the radiator is

submerged under water.

 If the water is drained out, the rate of steam condensation will increase by

the same 40 percent.

 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Effect of subcooling:

 When steam condenses at atmospheric pressure, it gives off 1000 Btu/lb of condensing

steam. This is called the latent heat of condensation of steam.

 When water cools off from 220 to 120°F, it gives off 100 Btu/lb of water. This heat

represents the sensible-heat content of water between 220 and 120°F.

 It takes less of the radiator‘s surface area to condense 1 lb of steam at 220°F than to

cool off 1 lb of water from 220 to 120°F.

 And this is true even though the condensation of steam generates 10 times as much

heat as the cooling of hot water.

water

 It is a lot easier to condense steam than to cool water.

 This also explains,

p , then,, why
y condensate backup
p reduces the rate of heat transfer and

condensation.
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Mechanics of subcooling:

 As the condensed steam flow out of the radiator is restricted,

restricted the surface area of the

radiator available to cool the hot water increases. Hence, the water temperature

l
leaving
i the
th radiator
di t decreases.
d

 To summarize, the effect of restricting the condensate flow from a radiator or

condenser is to:

 Build water level in the radiator.

 Reduce the rate of latent-heat transfer from the steam

 Increase the rate of sensible-heat transfer from the condensate

 Reduce the overall heat-transfer duty from the radiator.

 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Air lock:

p
 Vapor binding,
g, or air lock,, is another common cause of household

radiator malfunction.

 Often, the vapor accumulating in the radiator is CO2, rather than air.

 The CO2 originates from the thermal decomposition of carbonates in the

boiler. Regardless, air and CO2 form a noncondensable vapor in the

radiator.
radiator

 These noncondensables mix with the steam in the radiator. The

noncondensables then reduce the concentration ofthe steam, by dilution.

 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Air lock:

 The
Th diluted
dil t d steam
t h a lower
has l partial
ti l pressure than
th pure steam.
t

 The lower the partial pressure of the steam, the more difficult it is to

condense.

 As the rate of condensation of the steam drops, so does the heat radiated

by the radiator.
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Air lock:

 To
T restore
t th efficiency
the ffi i off a radiator
di t suffering
ff i f
from th accumulation
the l ti

of noncondensables inside its condensing coils, the noncondensable

gases have to be removed. The air vent serves this purpose.

 The two most common malfunctions of a steam condenser (or radiator) are:

Condensate backup

Noncondensable accumulation
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Condensation in S-T Heat Exchangers:

 The propane is totally condensed as it

enters the reflux drum.

 There is no vapor vented from the

reflux drum, but there is a vapor-

liquid interface in the drum.

drum

 The reflux drum is elevated by 20 ft

above the top off the condenser.

 We are dealing with pure (100 percent)

propane.
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Condensation in S-T Heat Exchangers:

 If the liquid level in the reflux drum is located 20 ft above the condenser,
condenser does this mean that

the liquid level in pipe feeding the condenser is also 20 ft above the condenser?

 If the pipe to the condenser maintained a liquid level,

level then the shell side of the

condenser would be full of propane.

 But if the shell side of the condenser were really liquid full,
full the tubes would not contact the

vapor.

 If the tubes do not contact the vapor,

vapor then the rate of condensation is zero.
zero Perhaps a small

amount of heat transfer would take place, as the liquid propane became subcooled.
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Condensation in S-T Heat Exchangers:
 But none of the propane vapor would condense.
condense
 The liquid level in the overhead condenser would have to be somewhere
in the condenser‘s shell.
 But then the liquid in the condenser would be below the reflux drum.
 How, then does the liquid get from the lower elevation of the condenser to
the higher elevation in the reflux drum?
 But for now, we can say that most reflux drums are elevated 20 or 30 ft
above grade to provide net positive suction head (NPSH) for the reflux
pump. Also, most shell-and-tube condensers are located at grade, for
easier maintenance during unit turnarounds
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Subcooling in a Shell-and-tube condenser:

 Assume that the pressure drop through the shell side is zero
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Condensation and Condenser design:

 The inlet vapor is at its dew point.

point

 That means it is saturated vapor. Under these circumstances, the

outlet liquid should be saturated liquid, or liquid at its bubble point.

 As the inlet dew-point

p temperature
p is 120°F,, the outlet bubble-

point temperature should be 120°F.

 But, the outlet shell-side liquid temperature is 90°F, not 120°F

 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Condensation and Condenser design:
The reason is condensate backup.
p

 The condensate backup causes subcooling; that is, the liquid is

cooled below its bubble point or saturated liquid temperature.

 Perhaps a rat has lodged in the condensate outlet pipe.

 The rat restricts condensate drainage from the shell side;

 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Condensation and Condenser design:
The reason is condensate backup.
p

 To force its way past the dead rat, the propane backs up in the

condenser.

 The cold tubes in the bottom of the shell are submerged in liquid

propane.

 The liquid propane is cooled below its bubble-point

bubble point temperature
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Condensation and Condenser design:

 The propane vapor is still

condensing to propane liquid at
120°F. The condensed liquid is in
intimate contact with the propane
vapor as it drips off the outside
surface of the colder condenser
tubes.
8. CONDENSER AND TOWER PRESSURE
CONTROL
Condensation and Condenser design:
Effect of condensate backup

 The saturated propane vapor condenses directly to saturated propane liquid

at 120°F.
 The saturated, or bubble-point, liquid then drips from the condensation
zone of the condenser into the subcooling zone of the condenser. This is the
zone where the tubes are submerged in liquid

 When the condensate level in an exchanger increases, the area of

the condenser devoted to subcooling the condensate increases. But

the area of the exchanger available for condensing decreases.

 When the area of the exchanger available for condensing is reduced,

reduced

the ease of condensation is also decreased.

8. CONDENSER AND TOWER PRESSURE
CONTROL
Condensation and Condenser design:
Effect of condensate backup

 Depending on circumstances, one of two unfavorable things will

now happen:

 1. If the supply pressure of the condensing vapor is fixed, the

rate of condensation of the vapor will fall.

fall

 2. If the condensing vapor flow rate is fixed, the condensation

pressure will increase

8. CONDENSER AND TOWER PRESSURE
CONTROL
Condensation and Condenser design:
Reflux drum elevation increase promotes subcooling

 A rat entered the condenser outlet

pipe. The condenser had been off line

for cleaning.

 The rat,
rat having crawled up the riser

pipe to the reflux drum, got its head

stuck in the drum‘s inlet nozzle.

 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Condensation and Condenser design:
Reflux drum elevation increase promotes subcooling
 This rat is called “a
a ―20-lb
20 lb rat
rat”.. The

20 lb refers to the pressure drop of 20

psig
i that
th t the
th liquid
li id encountered
t d as it

flowed across the rat‘s now lifeless

body.

 Before the introduction of this

pressure restriction, the butane

entering the reflux drum was at its

bubble point.
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Condensation and Condenser design:
Reflux drum elevation increase promotes subcooling

 The
Th term
t “t flash”
“to fl h” is
i used
d to
t denote
d t partial
ti l vaporization
i ti off the
th

butane.

 Before the rat became stuck, the liquid entering the reflux drum did

not flash or partly vaporize.

vaporize

 We can also be sure that at steady state the butane liquid

did not flash after the introduction of the rat because no vapor

was vented from the reflux drum

 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Condensation and Condenser design:
Common design error

 The pressure head of the liquid leaving the condenser is converted

to elevation as the liquid

q flows up
p into the reflux drum.

 This works fine as long as the liquid leaving the condenser is

sufficiently subcooled.

 The liquid leaving the condenser is subcooled. The liquid entering

the reflux drum is saturated liquid at its bubble point. Of course, the

temperature of the liquid is the same at both points.

points
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Condensation and Condenser design:
Common design error

 The subcooled liquid is “subcooled” in the sense that its

pressure is above the bubble-point pressure at the condenser

outlet temperature.

 It is
i this
thi extra
t pressure, above
b th bubble-point
the b bbl i t pressure, that
th t may

be converted to elevation
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Pressure control:
For total condensers, there are three general schemes for controlling
distillation tower pressure:
 Throttling the cooling water flow to the condenser
 Flooding the condenser
 Hot-vapor bypass around the condenser
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Pressure control:
Tower pressure control

 Regardless of the method selected,

selected the principal concept of tower
to er pressure
press re

control is the same.

 We control the pressure in the reflux drum by manipulating the temperature in

the reflux drum.

 The tower pressure then floats on the reflux drum pressure.

 To lower the tower pressure, we must first cool the reflux drum.

 This reduces the vapor pressure of the liquid in the reflux drum.

 The oldest,
oldest most direct method of pressure control is throttling on the cooling
cooling-

water supply
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Pressure control:
Hot vapor bypass: Hot vapor bypass pressure control

 A more modern way of controlling a tower

tower‘s
s pressure is the hot-vapor
hot vapor bypass

method.
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Pressure control:
Hot vapor bypass: Hot vapor bypass pressure control

 When the control valve on the vapor bypass line opens, hot vapors flow

directly into the reflux drum.

 These vapors are now bypassing the condenser.

 The hot vapors must condense in the reflux drum.

 This is because there are no vapors vented from the reflux drum.

 So,, at equilibrium,
q , the hot vapors
p mustcondense to a liquid
q on entering
g the

reflux drum. They have no other place to go

 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Pressure control:
Hot vapor bypass: Hot vapor bypass pressure control
 The tower overhead vapor, condenses to a liquid on the outside of the cold

condenser tubes.

 The
Th liquid
li id drips
d i off
ff the
th tubes.
t b Th
These d l t off liquid
droplets li id are in
i close
l contact
t t

with the saturated vapor in the condenser shell.

 This means that the liquid is in equilibrium with the vapor.

 The condensed liquid is therefore initially at its bubble-point temperature.

 8. CONDENSER AND TOWER PRESSURE
CONTROL
Pressure control:
Hot vapor bypass: Hot vapor bypass pressure control

 This liquid accumulates in the bottom of the condenser‘s shell.

 The submerged
g tubes then must subcool this liquid.
q

 Part of the surface area of the condenser is hence devoted to

subcooling liquid, and part is devoted to condensing vapor

 8. CONDENSER AND TOWER PRESSURE
CONTROL
Pressure control:
Hot vapor bypass
Leaking hot vapor bypass valve

 Hydrocarbons: For each 20°F temperature difference between the cooler

condenser outlet and the warmer reflux pump suction, 10 percent of the
t
tower‘s
‘ overhead
h d vapor flow
fl i leaking
is l ki through
th h the
th hot-vapor
h t b
bypass valve
l
 8. CONDENSER AND TOWER PRESSURE
CONTROL
Pressure control:
Hot vapor bypass
Leaking hot vapor bypass valve

 Aqueous system: For each 20°F temperature difference between the

condenser outlet and the reflux pump suction, 1 percent of the tower‘s
vapor flow
fl i leaking
is l ki through
th h thevapor
th b
bypass valve
l
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Pressure control:
Hot vapor bypass: Leaking hot vapor bypass valve

 Aqueous system: As the hot-vapor

hot vapor bypass valve opens,
opens the
condensate level in the shell side of the condenser increases to
produce cooler,
cooler subcooled liquid.
liquid
 This reduces the surface area of the condenser exposed to the
saturated vapor.
p
 To condense this vapor with a smaller heat-transfer area, the
pressure of condensation must increase.
 This, in turn, raises the tower pressure. This then is how opening the
hot-vapor bypass pressure-control valve increases the tower
pressure.
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Pressure control:
Hot vapor bypass: Leaking hot vapor bypass valve

 Aqueous system:
 Incidentally, the condenser may be located above or below the
reflux drum.
drum
 Both configurations require a subcooled liquid effluent from the
condenser.
 But if the condenser is located below the reflux drum,
additional subcooling to offset the elevation effect, described above,
will be needed
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Pressure control:
Flooded condenser pressure control
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Pressure control:
Flooded condenser pressure control
 In a flooded condenser tower pressure-control strategy, the
reflux drum is run full.
 Restricting the flow from the reflux pump increases the level in the
condenser.
 This reduces the heat-transfer surface area available for
condensation and raises the tower pressure.
 Either
Eith the
th reflux
fl or overhead
h d product
d t may be
b used
d to
t vary the
th liquid
li id
level in the condenser
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Pressure control:
Flooded condenser pressure control

 Once a liquid level reappears in the reflux drum, the condenser

capacity has been exceeded.
 The level in the condenser will continue falling until the drum empties
and the reflux pump begins to cavitate.
 In
I general,
l flooded
fl d d condenser
d pressure control
t l is
i the
th preferred
f d
method to control a tower‘s pressure.
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Pressure control:
Flooded condenser pressure control

 This is so because it is simpler and cheaper than hot-vapor bypass

pressure control.
 Also, the potential problem of a leaking hot-vapor bypass control
valve cannot occur.
 Many
M th
thousands
d off hot-vapor
h t b
bypass d i
designs h
have eventually
t ll been
b
converted—at no cost—to flooded condenser pressure control
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Pressure control:
Flooded condenser pressure control

 The function of the reflux drum in a flooded condenser design:

 Separate water from reflux when distilling hydrocarbons

 Give the operators time to respond if they have exceeded the

condenser‘s capacity

 Provide a place from which non-condensable vapors may be

vented
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Pressure control:
Flooded condenser pressure control

 One
O problem
bl with
ih fl d d
flooded condenser
d pressure controll i
is

related to the need to occasionally vent non-condensables.

 This vent valve must not leak when closed. Since the drum is

normally full of liquid,

liquid a leaking vent valve will pass liquid.
liquid

 Many pounds of product can be lost in this way.

 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Pressure control:
Flooded condenser pressure control

 A butterfly control valve with a soft, rubberized seat is a good choice

for a remotely controlled, non-condensable vent valve.

 Air-cooled condensers seem to work as well as shell-and-tube

water coolers in flooded condenser pressure control service.

 Some air coolers are sloped toward the outlet to reduce the

ratio of the delta condenser surface area to delta height

change of condensate backup

 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Pressure control:
Partial condensation
If we normallyy have a situation in which non-condensable vapors
p
appear in the reflux drum, then there is only one pressure-control
option available. This is to place the tower pressure-control valve
on the vapor off-gas. If we normally have non-condensable vapors in
the condenser effluent, then the following problems we have been
discussing do not exist:

 Condensate backup
 Subcooling
g of condenser
effluent
 Fouling due to low flow of
the cooling-water tubes
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Pressure control:
Slug flow in risers
The condenser effluent is a two-phasep mixture of vapor
p and
liquid. In the summer, the tower pressure is steady. But in the
winter when the cooling water is cold, pressure control is erratic.
The problem is phase separation in the riser line.

 The vertical velocity in this line

is too low to maintain a froth
flow up the riser
riser. Slugs of
liquid form. Periodically the
accumulating liquid is blown out
by tthe
e vapor.
apo
 This slug flow causes an erratic
back pressure on the tower but
not an erratic pressure in the
drum
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Pressure control:
Slug flow in risers
 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Pressure control:
Slug flow in risers
 This
Thi problem
bl only
l occurs when
h th drum
the d i elevated
is l t d above
b th
the

partial condenser.

 The fundamental difficulty is excessive riser pipe diameter.

 To avoid slug flow in such a riser a mixed

mixed-phase
phase velocity of at least

20 ft/s is needed.

 While the 20 ft/sec may be maintained in the summer, more

efficient condensation in the winter may reduce vapor flow.

 10. CONDENSER AND TOWER
PRESSURE CONTROL
Pressure control:
Slug flow in risers

 This can cause the riser velocity to drop below the minimum to

prevent phase separation.

separation

 Throttling the cooling water will stabilize the tower pressure, but

may result in salting up the exchanger with water hardness

deposits
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