Catalytic Neutralization Method for Naphthenic Acid Removal in Crude Oil by Alumina Supported Ca and Ba Catalysts

The presence of naphthenic acids in crude oils has caused a major corrosion problem to the production equipment, storage and transport facilities in the petroleum industry. To overcome this problem, catalytic neutralization method will be investigated on real petroleum crude oil sample with various parameters study such as the type of basic chemical used, dosing amount, type of catalyst, catalyst calcination temperature, and catalyst ratio of basic metal and dopant. Potential catalyst was characterized by XRD, NA, and TGA-DTA for its physical properties. Cu/Ca(10:90)/Al2O3 catalyst with calcination temperature of 1000 degrees C was an effective catalyst for all three types of crude oil. In the presence of catalyst, all three types of crude oil samples showed enhancement in the removal of naphthenic acid.