Perceptive Sensing Technology (PST) for Monitoring "Rag Layer" in Desalters

It is said that Desalters at the refinery are the number one inefficiency at the refinery. The ability to remove salt from crude oil at a faster rate increases the amounts of fuels that can be produced.

The PST Fluid ID technology can identify the water, the oil, and the rag layer.

The PST Fluid ID was developed by Pacific Northwest National Labs to monitor artillery for chemical weapons. Nobody was going to poke a hole into the artillery shell to see if it was Sarin gas or other banned chemical weapons. So PNNL came up with an "Acoustic Fingerprint" technology that can see through the metal wall and accurately identify what chemical is on the other side with a 99.86% accuracy (FBI studies on over 18,000 samples).

The Acoustic Fingerprint of the Oil and the Water are very different. The Fluid ID can be set up to monitor for the oil and the balance of water. It will tell the operator that he has 100% oil at the top of the desalter. And it will see if water is getting into the oil near the electrostatic grid.

By using six (6) PST Fluid ID units, you can monitor from the bottom of the desalter where water will be at 100%. And you can watch the rag layer expand and contract in the middle of the desalter. Finally, you can see if the oil is at or near 100% at the top of the desalter. Operators will also see if water in any % is encroaching on the grid.

The entire system is non-intrusive. No flanges or penetrations are necessary. Power can be supplied by AC, DC, Battery, Solar, etc. Commnications can be done by 4-20mA, Modbus, WiFi, Ethernet, etc.

Simply strap the units onto the desalter and watch the rag layer expand and contract.

This same unit has MANY potential functions on the refinery:

HF/ASO on the Hf Alky unit

Gasoline Blending & Diesel Blending

Transmix

API Gravity in Crude

Water in storage tanks

Tank Level Monitoring (easily moves from one location to another)

Solvent Extraction/Solvent Recovery

Sulfuric Acid purity

KOH and Amine Purity

For more information on the PST Fluid ID please contact:

Greg Brumfield - Kaizen Controls & Automation, 713-724-8970, [email protected]

Bobby Singh - Kaizen Controls & Automation, 225-200-5105, [email protected]