Effect of Bio-Disc on Distillate Yield and Crude Oil Properties

Abstract

The market worth of the crude oil transported to the international market has a great influence on the crude’s physical properties, as such demands that certain desirable physical properties ought to be possessed. The distillation of crude oil is the first process in the sequence of refining operation and is key to refinery operations profitability. In this work, five crude oil samples were collected from a reservoir in the Niger Delta designated as S11A, S12A, S13A, S14A and S15A. Sample S11A was not treated with bio-disc while samples S12A-S15A were treated with bio-disc at different number of times. This was necessary to ascertain the effect of the bio-disc on crude oil physical properties and their distillate yield. After the treatment, the specific gravity, American Petroleum Institute (API), pour point, flash point and viscosity of the treated and untreated crude samples were determined and then the samples distilled with a distillation tester. From the results obtained, the bio-disc had a great influence on the physical properties of the samples as well as on the distillate yield. The specific gravities of the oil samples decreased as the number of times the samples were treated with bio-disc increases and this in turn increased the crudes’ API. The pourpoint and viscosity decreased with increase in number of treatments of crude samples with bio-disc. As the number of treatments increased, the crude samples which were originally paraffinic were tending towards being naphthenic. The flash point and distillate yield increased with increase in number of treatments of crude samples with bio-disc. Thus, treatment of crude oil with bio-dic alters the physical properties of the crude.