THE DESIGN AND OPERATION oF : SALT TOWERS FOR DRYING PETROLEUM PRODUCTS E. |, DU PONT DE NEMOURS & COMPANY Petroleum Chemicals Division Operations Section Qi Propored by: R. A. Spraker Approved by: B. G. Crane Monager of Operations ington, Delaware * December, 1960 File No. 5509INTRODUCTION Although salt towers are often used ond appear to be quite effective, a brief review of engineering texts and periodicals indicoted little information was readily available cbout such equipment, This report was, therefore, prepored to summarize information on salt towers from: (1) reference books and periodicals (2) some engineering firms (3) the operating experience of several refineries (4) a solt monufacturer,TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION GENERAL DESCRIPTION PREDICTING PERFORMANCE | TOWER DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION ‘Tower Diometer ‘Tower Height Channeling Countermeasures Brine Level Gouging G INFORMATION @ * Tower Operating Temperature Prevention of Salt Bed Coking Locating Solt-Bed Surface Solt Used Solt Charging Periodic Cleanouts SAMPLE CALCULATION REFERENCES Page ee oeGENERAL DI SCRIPTION The generol arrangement of a typical salt tower is shown in Figure 1. The unit is essentially « steel tank cont ing a stationary bed of rock salt. The wet oil is pumped into the bottom of the vessel and withdrawn from the top. The salt is supported upon a suitable porous surface. Space is provided below and above the sali to foc'litaie flow actuss ti> full width of the salt bed. As the wet cil move: rough the salt bed, woter dissolves salt to form Remorciie Corer for Kerhorsing Sait brine, which fails to the bottom ef the Joey" 0:1 Our vessel and is drained off periodically. te ort —- A coveted opening is provided at the = J Lik || top of the tower for recharging the salt, eetcuest ae Many towers ate built as in Figure 1, eae with the solt supported un a layer of sand above gravel. The gravel fills the wrong [> Pen bottom of he vessel anda small wood | or metal grating is placed across the I—- bottom oxtlet. Gecasionally, the salt is _ ae _|eer* supported on a stainless steel scrcen Toa tone ‘of about 20-mesh, reinforced by a sturdy Greting _ eph Fe er Bone/0 ee perforated metal plate. The lower part of the tower may be lined with concrete to reduce corrosion. Some units have a Fig. perforated inlet pipe buried in the-gravel bed. In one case it was reported that the oil wos introduced into the side of the tower about @ foot above the bottom of the salt. In mony cases excelsior or st | wool coalescing units are used ahead of a salt dryer to remove ‘some entrained water and thus reduce salt consumption.qd PREDICTING PERFORMANCE tC) For estimating purposes, a tower may be expected to dry oil to a haze point* about 25°F below the temperature at which the oil enters the tower. Data from one refiner, on tests in which the oil feed temperoture was varied from 90 to 120°F, \dicoted that the oil was consistently dried to 0 final hoze point 25 10 30°F below the tower operating temperature. However, the drop in haze point evidently varies with individual ccaditions; reported reductions have ranged ‘rom 10 to 75°F. The absolute dissolved water content of different oils may be estimated from such a curve as in Figure 2. Entrained water wil! bo additional. I T | { i = 400 }- im} 7 t | ie = [ | i ae aa 8 tt Lt | 300 e Z mors & tT S +1 = No, 2 Oil % & ‘ > 5 ™ { Kerosine ao 8 3 8 100 Source: Reference 1 0 Ltt 80 100120140. TEMPERATURE ~ °F Figure 2 @ | Solubilities of Water in Oils at Verying Temperatures oil con be cooled before becoming haay from water comlag out of. TOWER DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION Design and construction of salt towers do not oppear to be particularly difficult or critical. Towers have often been tuilt in refinery shops by converting on idie vessel. Smaller towers have been built from large-diameter pipe. Many towers have beon designed ond built by engineering companies ‘5 port of projects for refinery construction of expansion. Solt towers are often included as sarts of systems for copper treating or sweetening. Fabricators who have built units to order include Chicago Bridge & tron Company; and Parkersburg Rig and Reel Company. ‘When a new vessel is being built, this discussion should indicate the design dimensions, and when on idle vessel isto be uti ed, should indicate the minimum dimensions which will give adequate capacity. A fow relatively simple guideposts for designing soit towers are offered below, bosed on informotion obtained from several sources. ‘Tower Diometer — Vorious designers havo reported using, as their design basis, maximum upward oil flows ronging between 30 and 50 vertical feet per hour. "Reference 2 recommends 20; however, many successful towers operate at higher flows. For gasoline, the flow rate may be roughly 75 feet per hour. Figure 3 shows tower diameters suggested at various oil throughput rates. “ 1 = ‘“ Tt ! 2 > t : Cet 4 fsaesd on verieaD velaciver Te mpi Took Fudd oils = 40 tu/ir. Hf line = 75H. ‘ToweR DIAMETER - FT. Belerence Oar ro a ee “THOUSANDS OF BARRELS / DAY Figue 3 tect of Ol Throughput on Tower Diameter -3Stafting from the bottom, the tower heigh the sum of the distances allowed for the following: (1) brine layer (2) oil entrance chamber (3) minimum’ salt bed (4) “replacement” salt bed (5) oil exit chamber Selection of these heights appears to be subject to considerable latitude. The following comments may be helpful. Brine storage volume is based on the amount of water expected to be removed before biino is drained. For each 100 Ibs. of woter io be eccunwlated, at least 14 gallons (1.7 eu. ft.) of brine space should be. provided (per ieference 3 or 4). The water to be removed may be estimated by centrifuging somples from the stream to be troated. Brine drainage periods appear 10 vaty from once an hour to once a doy. If gravel is used to support the salt it may be ussumed thut it has 33-40 per cent voids, Qil entrance chamber should be large enough'to assure separation ef the oi! ond br In one refinery it was found that oil was introduced cbove the bottom of the salt bed. inimum’" salt bed height appears to be in the order of six feet. To prevent troubles. from channeling in larger towers, salt bed height is made ot least equal to tower diometer. Severol salt beds over sixteen feet high ore reported with diometers of 8 to 12 feet. Replacement" salt bed height is determined by providing space for ot leost 0.55 cu. ft. (40 pounds) of salt for each 100 pounds of water to be removed in the time interval between refills of the salt tower. Oil exit chamber should be sufficient to allow oil to flow uniformly from all parts of the bed. In one successful 12-foot diameter tower only 114 feet is allowed for this purpose.Channeling Countermeasures ~ Measures which have been used to prevent channeling include: Mw ra 3. 4 5. 6. Brine Level Gougin: Ample depth of salt bed. Upiiow instead of downfiow. Ample chambers above and below the salt bed. Oil inlet distributor piping. 2affies nea: the oil in!et and oui'et ports. iultiple towers operaied in porailel, thus reducing the width of salt beds used. This has the added advantage of keeping part of capacity availoble during selt recharging ~ Sompling taps oi soverol levels are suggested a3 « practice! method ef gauging the brine level. Brine should be drawn off frequently enough to prevent mixing of the incoming oil end brine.a OPERATING INFORMATION Tower Operating Temperature ~ High ‘operating temperatures are undesirable not only because they reduce drying action, but also beesuse they encourage brine carryover, due fo the greater solubility of water in oil and decreased diff rence in density between water and oil at higher temperatures. Prevention of Sal ~ Coking and consequent ‘righ pressure drop in the salt bed can bo ovoided by always maintaining at least a slight oil flow, recycling if necessory, Care should also be taken thot the oil level does not fall below the surface of the wet salt bed during salt recharging. Locating Salt-Bed Surface ~ To provide on indication of the height of the solt bed, one refiner uses © vertical rod entering the top of the vessel through a stuffing box, with a 6" disc on the bottom of the rod with which it is easy to feel the salt surfece. Salt Used—"CC" grade solt, consisting of crystals approximately 1/8 to 1/4 inch width, is gonerolly used. Its bulk density is approximately 72 pounds per cubie foct. Salt-Charging - Smoller towers can be charged by dumping bags of salt through the top hetch. A refiner operating large units uses a coment-type bucket which is hoisted by portable crane to the top of the tower. In some cases salt may be delivered in bulk from trucks equipped with automatic unloading devices. . Periodic Cleanouts ~ Complete clecnout of the vessels to remove sludges, sediments and compacted fines is apparently carried out every year or two. NOTE: Information in this bulletin is offered os part of our service to customers. It is intended for use by porsons having technical skill, ot thoir own discretion. We can not guarantee favorable results, and we assume no liability. Our suggestions are not intended as a license to operate under, or recommendation to infringe, any existing patents.‘ SAMPLE CALCULATION FOR A SALT TOW! Assumptions (1) No. 2 Fuel Oil: (2) 10,000 bbl /doy (3) Woter content 1002/1000 bbI.* (4) Brine ‘0 be dratusd once pe: doy (5) Gravel to be used has 40% voids {6) Salt to be replenished every 60 days A Tonk meter = From Figure 3, page 3, diameter = 9 ft. From (2) (3) (4) above, brine Ibs. of water amounting to 17 cubic saturated brine (p. 4). Allowing space fer gravel, 17 +0.40 gives 42.5 cubic feet of brine space which for a 9 diameter tank gives 0,7 feet of brine storage height ~ so B could be set at about 3 feet tc allow for possible excess water at some timo, lo Oil Entrance Height — Perhaps 1 foot would be a fecsonable allowance using o distributor pipe set below the bottom of the salt bed. lo Im Replacement Salt Amount and Bed salt/100+ water = 24,000 Ibs. of salt divided by 72s salt/cu. ft 333 “tower eross sectional oreo = 51 feet ~ Soy 6 fect In Oil Exit Height - allow 2 feet SUMMARY Diameter 9 feet Height 21 feet Salt Consumption 24,000 Ibs./60 days Initial Salt Fill 69,000 Ibs. ‘Minimum"* Solt Bed Height ~ should be set at 9 feet from page 4. ~ 60 doys x 1000# woter/day x 40x Ibs.** 333 cu. ft, *Determined by centrifuge test on sample of stream to be treated. “*Reference 3 or 4. ee. HK. Phipps, “Use of Dehydration in Combating Internal Corr 3. D. Wi. Kaufman, "Sodium Chi REFERENCES ion in Products Pipe Lines", Oil & Gas Journal, Nov. 23, 1946, pp. 67-69, 101-102. . G. Ls Mann, “Technology, Operation, and Results irom Linde Copper Sweetening Process", Oil & Gas Journal, March 22, 1947, pp. 195-202. je"", American Chomical Society honograph Series No. 145, Reinhatd Publishing Co., p. 612. - International Critical Tables, Vol. 3, p. 105.