Exxon Research and Engineering Company

Exxon Chemical Patents, Inc.

Sylvia M Lacy

Philip Merchant, Jr

Edward C Hsu

Dean L Smith, Jr

Kevin P Kelly

Oil is dehydrated and/or desalted by the influence of a dewatering and desalting formulation which can be characterized as an admixture of (i) a demulsifier preferably an alkylene oxide alkyl phenol-formaldehyde condensate such as a poly ethoxylated nonylphenolformaldehyde condensate and (ii) a deoiler which is usefully a polyol such as ethylene glycol or poly (ethylene glycol) of Mw ranging from 106 to 44,000 and preferably ethylene glycol. The aqueous formulation may usefully contain a cosolvent such as isopropanol. The surface active agent composition is admixed with the salt-containing oil which has been emulsified with water, and heated whereby the formulation of surface active agents aids in breaking of the emulsion and transfer of salts to the aqueous phase preferably after passage through an electric coalescer whereby a clean oil product suitable for use in refining operations is recovered with remarkably low oil carry under with the effluent water when ethylene glycol is formulated into the system as the deoiler.

Water based demulsifier formulation and process for its use in

A process for removing suspended solids, particularly difficultly filterable inorganic solids, from an oil obtained as a refinery process fraction from steam and catalytic cracking units, shale oil retorting process fraction, or from coal conversion processes by adding to the oil an agglomerating agent which is a polyelectrolyte, usefully a water-in-oil emulsion of a water-soluble polymer whereby said solids are clustered together into readily separable agglomerates.

Process for the removal of solids from an oil

Oil is dehydrated and/or desalted by the influence of a dewatering and desalting formulation which can be characterized as an admixture of (i) a demulsifier preferably an alkylene oxide alkyl phenol-formaldehyde condensate such as a poly ethoxylated nonylphenol-formaldehyde condensate and (ii) a deoiler which is usefully a polyol such as ethylene glycol or poly (ethylene glycol) of Mw ranging from 106 to 44,000 and preferably ethylene glycol. The aqueous formulation may usefully contain a cosolvent such as isopropanol. The surface active agent composition is admixed with the salt-containing oil which has been emulsified with water, and heated whereby the formulation of surface active agents aids in breaking of the emulsion and transfer of salts to the aqueous phase preferably after passage through an electric coalescer whereby a clean oil product suitable for use in refining operations is recovered with remarkably low oil carry under with the effluent water when ethylene glycol is formulated into the system as the deoiler.

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Pearland, TX, United States of America

Sylvia M Lacy