PROCESSING LOWER COST CRUDES WITH GREATER CONFIDENCE AND IMPROVED RELIABILITY

摘要

For more than 100 years, it has been understood in the petroleum refining industry that certain crude oils--or, more accurately, crude oil fractions--contain sulfur (S) species and levels of organic acids that may be very corrosive to equipment and piping in crude distillation and downstream units. Economic pressures on the refining industry are forcing many refiners to look at lower-priced high acid or opportunity crudes to improve margins. The challenge for the integrity management community is how to evaluate the effects of a crude on the equipment metallurgy installed and subsequent impact on equipment reliability The benefits of having a more accurate crude corrosion model are large in that it allows a refinery to potentially process cheaper crudes for increased profitability with greater confidence and better anticipation and understanding of the potential damage to the equipment/piping.