Quantitative Evaluationof the Efficiency of Water-in-Crude-OilEmulsion Dehydration by Electrocoalescence in Pilot-Plant and Full-ScaleUnits.

The electrostatic dehydration of crude-oil emulsionswere investigatedusing pilot-plant and industrial data. The experimental data obtainedwith seven different crudes over a wide range of viscosities in apilot plant showed that the electric field and the residence timewere the most important operating variables. Various crude-oil propertiesinfluenced the emulsion stability, including the total acid numberand the resin, asphaltene, and metal contents, but their effects werestatistically correlated with the crude-oil viscosity and density.Using pilot-plant data, a power-law model relating the water contentin the treated oil to the dehydration operating conditions and thecrude-oil viscosity and density was developed to aid in the designand evaluation of industrial units. The model was tested against industrialdata and found to be able to predict very well the performance ofthe industrial units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]