How JEPCO Saved A Refiner $820,000
After multiple attempts to resolve a slop oil emulsion failed, how did JEPCO turn a tank of emulsified slop oil into about 205,000 barrels of processable oil? Keep reading to find out.
The Problem
A refiner’s continuously operating slop tank had approximately 25-30 feet of unresolvable emulsion. The emulsion consisted of 31% oil, 16% water and 53% sediment. Due to the emulsion buildup, the refiner couldn’t process significant volumes of slop oil through single-stage desalters without causing significant grid overloads.
The emulsion complex and water also had approximately the same density, making the solution even more difficult for the desalters to process. As the slop tank settled, it could only yield one to two feet of usable oil before the emulsion layer became unsuitable for processing. Typical industry practices would not break the emulsion.
As the refiner’s slop oil inventory increased, they utilized other storage tanks within the facility to help manage the slop inventory. In an attempt to offload inventory, the refiner spent $2 million to ship the slop oil off-site. If the client didn’t resolve the slop oil emulsion on-site, another expenditure would be made to ship additional inventory off-site.
The refiner had worked for several years to resolve the emulsion in the slop tank so they could process slop oil as intended. They were unsuccessful in resolving the emulsion — until JEPCO found a solution.
The Solution
Our troubleshooting began with a slop tank profile to determine why the emulsion couldn’t be resolved. JEPCO’s troubleshooting found that the stable emulsion was caused by improperly injected flocculent, or polymer, in the oil recovery system. An unreacted polymer chemical stabilized the oil, water and fine solids complex. It would absorb whatever material was added to the emulsion, preventing conventional demulsifiers or reverse emulsion breakers from resolving the emulsion.
Our team determined that hydrolyzing the polymer was the best way to resolve this complex. As a result, the oil, water and fine solids could separate and produce “clean oil,” which the desalters could easily process. We added salt to the emulsion to hydrolyze the polymer that was binding the complex together and successfully resolved the emulsion. Within a few hours of salt treatment, we freed clean oil from the emulsion complex, and within a few days, 10 feet of “clean oil” was freed from the emulsion in the tank.
Using a JEPCO-developed slop oil treatment procedure, several other tanks were also treated throughout the refinery. Subsequent salt treatments have hydrolyzed the flocculant binder in the slop tank, creating a more treatable slop oil and allowing the refinery to maintain a more manageable slop oil inventory.
The Return on Investment
When JEPCO performed a salt treatment on the primary slop tank, it liberated 85,000 barrels, or $340,000, of processable oil. Subsequent slop oil salt treatments resulted in an additional 120,000 barrels of processable oil valued at approximately $480,000. By the end of the project, we saved the client about $820,000.
If your slop oil is creating an obstacle in your refinery, allow us to develop a solution. With an average of more than 30 years of experience, our engineers are some of the best in the industry and are fully committed to solving clients’ problems and saving them time and money.
