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Please tell me the process for handling slop oil. How much is produced per barrel, what is the process to separate it back to crude, disposal, economics of this issue? What are the problems oil refineries face with this issue?
 
Answers
06/12/2007 A: Roger Haglund, Eprom, r_haglund44@hotmail.com
The amounts depends on configuration and is usually 0.1-0.5 wt% range of feed.
Some slop oil is generated from the waste water treatment, some from draining (hydrocarbon free-ing) equipment during start or shutdown. The slop oil is blended into the crude feed in a small proportion. One common problem is that the desalting of crude oil is affected, e.g. creating a wide rag layer or increases the water content in desalted oil. Slop can also contain a higher proportion of solids (rust etc) requiring more frequent cleaning of heat exchangers and vessels.
It is usually most economical to reprocess the slop oil within the refinery. Disposal, when needed, is usually very costly and cumbersome to fulfil all regulations.