A new laboratory method for extracting chloride from crude oils, using a microwave oven (MW), has been developed as an alternative for the arduous ASTM D6470 (Standard Test Method for Salt in Crude Oils). This paper will show that the MW approach is equivalent to D6470 in extracting salt from crude oil. Desalting of raw crude oils is a critical step in the refining process to prevent corrosion. Exhaustive extraction via ASTM D6470 is a time consuming operation and thus deviations from the procedure are often made to reduce analysis time. This approach can sometimes underdetermine the chloride concentration in the crude oil. The MW extraction process can extract the same amount of salt in a fraction of the time yet yield a reliable chloride number to monitor desalting effectiveness.

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