Adopting a holistic approach to operational parameter optimisation, integrated with the best chemical treatment programme, enabled the refinery to consistently meet desalter performance indicators. This ensured sustained operational excellence and profitability in a dynamic refin - ery market environment. The key takeaways from this case study include: • Understand the interdependencies among factors like crude quality, operating conditions, equipment design, and chemical treatment in desalter optimisation. • Establish safe operating boundaries for critical parame- ters through data analysis, troubleshooting discrepancies, and periodic calibrations. • Optimise key parameters synergistically, considering their interdependencies (for example, temperature for viscosity and water solubility, mix valve DP for droplet size and dis - tribution, wash water for conductivity and coalescing force, interface level for residence time and emulsion control). • Implement a comprehensive chemical treatment pro - gramme, including demulsifier selection, wetting agents, and pH modifiers, based on emulsion studies and brine chemistry. • Continuously monitor performance, validate results dur - ing crude changes, and make proactive adjustments to operational and chemical factors. • Leverage basic statistical tools and benchmarking for iden - tifying and addressing influencing parameters periodically. • By following a systematic optimisation approach and integrating best practices, refineries can overcome the
challenges of crude oil desalting, minimise the associated costs, and achieve sustained operational excellence, even in dynamic market conditions. Acknowledgment The author would like to express his gratitude to the Veolia team, includ - ing Mike Dion, Sumalya Nag, Nimesh Kumar Patel, Martin Willis, Ching Yaw Lee, and Piravin Mageswaran, for their valuable contributions. Special thanks go to the Southeast Asian refinery CDU Process Manager and Specialist Distillation team, Saiful Dzulfitri, Azamuddin Jameran, Nor Atifah Binti, and Chua Wee Kheng, for their intense support and motiva - tion during the on-field troubleshooting and optimisation activities. References 1 Dion M, Desalting opportunity crude, NPRA Spring National Meeting, March 1995. 2 Desalter Training Manual, Veolia Water & Process Technologies. 3 Gutzeit J, Controlling unit overhead corrosion: rules of thumb for bet - ter crude desalting, Paper no. 07567, Corrosion 2007. 4 Shooshtari M, Karimi M, Panahi M, Modelling of an industrial mixing valve and electrostatic coalescer for crude oil dehydration and desalination, Separation Science & Technology 2023, Vol 58, No.7, pp.1,306-1,318. Venkatesan Mani is Senior Product Manager and Application Expert for Veolia Water Technologies and Solutions for Southeast Asia and Oceania region, responsible for speciality chemical solution design and application expertise in refinery and petrochemical process technolo - gies. Mani holds a BTech in chemical engineering from Anna University, Chennai, India.
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