Demulsifiers & Desalters

DEMULSIFIERS & DESALTERS

BURZA Advanced Technologies Ltd. manufactures a wide variety of demulsifiers and desalters used in the oil, gas and refining industries. Our wide range of advanced and unique chemistries can improve operation, reduce corrosion and improve other key areas of performance in our clients operations and refineries.

 

Service & Technical Expertise

Frequently, demulsifiers are custom designed for the specific oil and application. This may require Bottle Testing in the clients oilfield operations to help determine the most effective and economical product. Based on this test and field simulation, we will recommend a specific product.

 

Demulsifiers & Desalters - General Discussion

BURZA Advanced Technologies Ltd. demulsifiers include a variety of components to help break the emulsion rapidly. Dosage rates depend on many factors including temperature, retention time, water cuts, tightness of the emulsion, contaminants, etc. Typical dosage rates are considered to be 10 - 50 ppm, but for some heavy oils and tight emulsions, the dosage rates can be as high as 500 ppm, whereas for light oils, the dosage rates can be as low as several ppm.

Crude oil desalting is one of the most critical steps in the refining process. Westhaven Energy Company Ltd.  desalting chemicals have been proven through experience to provide excellent desalting performance in refinery operations by removing salt and other contaminants and separating any re-emulsified water from the crude oil.

Some demulsifiers achieve their water break within a set time and then do no more. Others, achieve the bulk of their performance quickly, and then gradually continue to drop water with additional time.

 

Sample Emulsion Breaking Curve % Water Drop vs. Time

Some demulsifiers can achieve the same final water drop, but at different rates.

The remaining salt in crude levels can vary even though demulsifiers appear to have the same water drop. This “finishing” can be very important, especially in refinery operations.

Some demulsifiers will drop the water very quickly and at low dosage rates. These demulsifiers may however be very sensitive to increases in the dosage rate and may overtreat the crude oil when dosage rates are excessive.

Other demulsifiers may take higher dosage rates to achieve the desired results, but are less sensitive to overtreating.

Your BURZA representative will help to determine the product choice based on the specific types of separators and operating conditions at your facilities.

 

Applications

Most demulsifier applications utilize continuous injection of the demulsifier. Occasionally, after a plant upset or some downhole work, or acidizing, the treater or separator may have an emulsion pad and a specialized slug treating compound may be necessarily batch treated.