Total Acid Number Reduction of Acidic Petroleum Crude Oil by Using 2-Methylimidazole in Polyethylene Glycol and Ca/Al2O3 Catalyst

Abstract

The Naphthenic Acid (NA) found in the acidic crude oil is one of the main challenges that can lead to corrosion problem in oil refinery equipment and reduces the quality of the oil. In this study, catalytic neutralization reaction was investigated in order to lowering Total Acid Number (TAN) in crude oil to less than one mg KOH/g utilizing 2-Methylimidazole in Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) with aid of Ca/Al2O3 catalyst. The catalyst were supported on the alumina beads through Incipient Wetness Impregnation (IWI) methods and heated in an oven for 24 hours at 80-90°C then calcined at calcination temperatures of 800, 900 and 1000°C. The result showed that Ca/Al2O3 catalyst successfully reduced to 0.52 mg KOH/g from original TAN value 4.22 mg KOH/g by using a catalyst at calcination temperature 1000°C, 0.39 wt % (7 beads) of catalyst loading and 1000 ppm of 2-Methylimidazole in PEG. It can be concluded that catalytic deacidification method was effective method in reducing NAs from the crude oil and can lowered the TAN value to less than 1 mg KOH/g.