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Historically, desalting has been used to reduce fouling in the crude distillation unit and to reduce corrosion in the crude distillation tower overhead. For this service, desalting requirements have been moderate and have focused on the removal of inorganic chlorides. Now emphasis is being placed on the use of less desirable crude oils and on the conversion of low quality crude oils with new catalyst systems. These changes have resulted in more stringent desalting requirements including not only a reduction in permissible inorganic chlorides, but also in the reduction of alkali metal cations to very low concentrations. Improvements in the design and operation of desalters have been required to meet these new requirements. These improvements include modifications of the electrostatic field configuration and intensity, modulation of the electrostatic field, alteration of the flow patterns within the desalter, and new ways of contacting the crude oil and the wash water. Also important are new chemical treatment programs which reduce suspended solids entrainment in the oil. All of these changes have been made in conjunction with environmentally mandated improvements in water discharge quality.