Crude oil compatibility testing using pumping and filtration methods

Abstract

According to the National Bank of Poland, by the end of 2019, oil imports to Poland amounted to 26.3 million tonnes of crude oil, where the main volume came from Russia. The need to ensure greater energy security enforces the diversification of crude oil supplies, thus the largest domestic refineries are increasing the share of supplies from different sources each year. This entails the need for continuous information on the profitability of processing new types of crude oil and potential problems resulting in increased cost. Quality control of the crude oil offered on the market helps minimize the risk of purchasing incompatible oil types by ensuring that the proposed shipment meets the relevant quality requirements. Of particular importance is the fact that such tests should be performed prior to the decision to purchase a particular crude oil and introduce it to the refinery’s installation. It often happens, however, that detailed tests are performed only after the purchase. It is important to note that testing the physicochemical properties and determining the yield of individual fractions alone is not sufficient. Precipitation of sediments in the logistic chain of crude oil is a significant problem both in pipeline installations, storage depots, and refinery installations, where crude oil containing dispersed sediments is processed. In the previous stage of work, an effective filtration method was developed to determine the compatibility of crude oils and their mixtures. Now, attention was focused on developing a new method that allowed for a faster compatibility measurement capability along with reusing samples for another measurement. The developed new method of pump compatibility testing was tested for two crude oils from different supply directions. The measurements were performed for crude oils and their mixtures at 150°C under 25 bar pressure. Compatibility of crude oils with the filtration method was used for comparison, where based on the mass of sediment separated on special filters, the allowable concentrations where hydrocarbon mixtures were compatible were determined.