Determination of Water Content of Crude Oil by Azeotropic Distillation Karl Fischer coulometric Titration (CAT#: STEM-PPA-0134-YJL)

Introduction

Water in crude oil can increase friction in pipelines and thus increase the energy cost of transportation. It can also dissolve salts, which accelerates the corrosion of refining equipment and the scaling of pipelines. Excessive water in crude oil increases the energy required during distillation and can cause instability in the refining operation. Therefore, the excessive water must be removed prior to refining, which consumes energy and reagents. The water content of crude oil must be determined accurately to ensure operational safety and economic efficiency.
A continuous azeotropic distillation Karl Fischer coulometric titration (AD-KFCT) method was used to determine the water content of mineral and transformer oils. Extracting water from a viscous sample by azeotropic distillation prevents the sample from contaminating the electrode. The AD-KFCT method was found to be more sensitive and had a lower limit of detection than the conventional AD method.