Study on Atmospheric Distillation of Some Plain and Chemically Dispersed Crude Oils: Comparison of Yields and Fuel Quality of Distillate Fractions

Abstract

This paper discusses the distillation behavior of the plain (control) and chemically dispersed crude oils. The oils used were paraffinic (denoted as P-RCP-I), naphthenic (denoted as P-RCN-II), and aromatic (denoted as P-RCA-III) crudes. The chemical dispersants used were anionic, cationic, and neutral surfactants including sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), and Triton X-100 (a branched p-octylphenol with an average of 9–10 ethylene oxide units). The effect of Dispersant-to-Oil ratio on the yields of distillate fractions (gasoline and diesel) was investigated. Looking at the results, we conclude that using chemically dispersed crudes enabled us to obtain better yields of light distillate fractions (F1 and F2) in comparison with the control. Among the dispersants used, the SDS was more effective in RCA-III crude where the yield of F1 increased significantly to 58% and that of residue decreased to 6%. The CTAB was found to be more effective in RCN-II crude, which gave a sign...