Oilfield Glossary

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Note: Definitions provided on this website are for reference purposes only. Engineers and professionals should independently confirm all information using industry standards.

Desalter

A desalter is the first process unit in a crude oil refinery. It washes the crude oil with water to dissolve salts and then uses an electrostatic grid to coalesce and separate the salty water from the oil.

Removing salt is vital to prevent severe corrosion (hydrolysis to HCl) in the atmospheric distillation tower and to prevent fouling of heat exchangers.

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