NEW MODEL TO ELIMINATE SALTS FROM SARIR CRUDE OIL: A CASE STUDY

Desalting technique used in the Sarir Field (in Libya) has been studied. Salt content after electric desalter is found to be high. In order to obtain the best economical solution of the problem, extensive study was carried out on various conventional desalting techniques as well as the innovative methods of crude oil desalting. On the basis of research work it is suggested to replace the existing crude oil desalting system with the new one comprising of major equipment as multiple-orifice plate mixers, hydrocyclone disaster and pressure filter using diatomaceous earth as a filter medium. The data showed that on adopting the new technology, the production operating cost was reduced significantly and the salts content in the crude oil was diminished remarkably. For instance, Sodium Chloride (NaCl) content was reduced to 0.13 1 bs/1000 bbls, Ca+2 to 18.02 ppm and Mg+2 to 10.227 ppm. Furthermore, there was a great improvement in the API of crude oil (37.8)