Fuel Oil Treating

The purpose of fuel oil treating is to remove water soluble sodium, potassium and calcium salts and particulate matter from the fuel oil feed. Removing these impurities from the fuel oil requires the addition of wash water to dissolve the salt. The mix is then passed to an electrostatic treating vessel (desalter)where the salt water is separated from the oil. A small quantity of chemicals may also be injected into the fuel oil/process water mixture to assist in the separation of the oil/water and assisting the breaking of any emulsions.

Vanadium Inhibitor

Most fuel oils contain vanadium which is not removed during the treatment process to remove salts, water and other contaminants. Since vanadium is detrimental to the metallurgy of gas turbine equipment, an inhibitor chemical is blended with the treated fuel oil. The inhibitor limits the formation of vanadates.

Crude Fractionation

In some cases it will be necessary to strip out the light ends of the crude oil – this increases the viscosity and so the crude oil is suitable for use in diesel generators. The light ends are then condensed and returned to storage.