Reactive Adjunct – New Technology in Desalting Chemistry
Dorf Ketal has invented a new class of desalter chemistry called “reactive adjunct chemistry” that offers step change improvements in desalting efficiency. For refiners that are desalting limited in selection of economically advantaged crudes or who are considering capital investment to expand desalting capacity, this new technology offers a low-cost way of expanding desalting capacity and reducing rag layer which is critical to increasing desalter efficiency.
The emulsion breaker (EB) is the heart of the desalter chemistry program. Adjunct chemistry refers to the use of a secondary chemistry to supplement the primary EB. Traditionally the classes of adjunct chemistries are 1) solids wetting, 2) reverse emulsion breaker, and 3) acid.
Reactive adjunct chemistry is a new fourth category of adjunct desalter chemistry. This patent pending technology works by reacting with contaminants that are antagonistic to emulsion breaking to improve speed of emulsion breaking and rag layer control which increases desalter efficiency without capital investment. With a tighter oil/water interface, the brine quality is dramatically improved, resulting in a reduction in slop oil generation and its associated reprocessing costs.