Development of a New, Compact Electrostatic Coalescer Concept

Abstract

Summary The demand for more cost-effective field developments has led to a substantial focus on separation equipment that reduces weight and deck space. Of particular concern are field developments with subsea production templates and multiphase transportation to existing field installations. Additionally, environmental aspects concerning the use of large amounts of chemical demulsifiers are crucial these days. This paper presents a new compact electrostatic coalescer (CEC) that has the capability to reduce both weight and size, and to eliminate the use of chemical demulsifiers, in some cases. The basic principle of Performance of the laboratory version of the CEC is discussed with respect to emulsion properties, flow rate, applied voltage, and residence time in the electric field. Performance is quantified using both a laser-particle and droplet-size analyzer and a Hamamatsu image-analysis system. Some results from a prototype test on live crude are also given.