Crude fouling prediction & mitigation

CrudePLUS* is Veolia's comprehensive service combining advanced analytical testing and predictive modeling software to assess the stability, incompatibility, and fouling potential of crude oils, blends, and refinery fluids. It enables refineries to proactively mitigate fouling, optimize operations, and enhance sustainability.

Crude preheat fouling is a major refinery challenge because it reduces heat transfer efficiency, increasing furnace fuel consumption, energy costs, CO₂ emissions, and pressure drop while limiting throughput. It can also lead to production losses, higher maintenance costs, and unplanned shutdowns that, depending on refinery size and operating conditions, can cost several hundred thousand euros per day.

CrudePLUS uses three primary predictive metrics:

• RIX (Relative Instability Index): Quantifies a crude's potential to self-destabilize or destabilize blends — determined in less than 5 minutes
• CPI (Crude Precipitant Index): Measures the potential amount of asphaltene and related colloids that may precipitate upon destabilization
• FPX (Fouling Potential Index): Quantifies fouling potential, severity and mechanism, enabling identification of the most likely fouling locations— determined in approximately 1 hour.

Traditional antifoulants are effective at increasing run cycle length and preventing tube plugging, but they are applied reactively without knowledge of which crude is causing fouling or why. CrudePLUS provides the predictive intelligence to optimize chemical selection and dosing — making antifoulant treatment far more targeted and cost-effective. Veolia's hydrocarbon processing chemicals portfolio (including antifoulants, corrosion inhibitors, and phase separators) is most powerful when guided by CrudePLUS data.

Absolutely. At its Strategic level, CrudePLUS provides insights that inform crude purchasing — helping refineries assess the fouling risk of new opportunity crudes before committing to purchase, and potentially negotiating feedstock discounts based on quantified processing risk.

By mitigating fouling, CrudePLUS improves heat transfer efficiency in preheat trains, reducing the energy required to heat crude. Heat integration/recovery techniques directly result in lower emissions of CO₂, NOₓ, particulates, and SO₂. A typical medium-complexity refinery requires around 700–900 MW of thermal power** — even small improvements in heat transfer efficiency translate into thousands of tonnes of CO₂ avoided annually.

**source: https://decarbonisationtechnology.com/article/234/electrification-as-a-pathway-towards-a-green-refinery

No — it complements and enhances it. Traditional assays provide basic crude characteristics, while CrudePLUS delivers predictive insights into how crudes will behave in your specific refinery environment. No two refineries are exactly the same, and CrudePLUS accounts for your unique configuration, feedstock mix, and operating conditions.

Results vary by refinery, but documented outcomes include:

• Hundreds of tonnes of reduced fuel gas consumption
• Thousands of tonnes of CO₂ emission reductions
• Millions of euros in direct refinery savings from preventing thermal degradation and extending run lengths
• Lower maintenance costs and reduced heat exchanger cleaning frequency

CrudePLUS provides valuable insights into crude instability (RIX, CPI) that can impact desalter performance — such as stable emulsion formation and rag layer issues. It helps establish an instability threshold specific to your desalter system, enabling better management and chemical optimization. Note that overall desalter performance depends on many variables beyond crude characteristics alone.