Systems and processes for separating emulsified water from a fluid stream

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10100263-B2
Application number	US-201514874501-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 5, 2015
Priority date	Oct 6, 2014
Publication date	Oct 16, 2018
Grant date	Oct 16, 2018

Abstract

Decreasing the water content of an organic phase can often be desirable, but low water levels can be difficult to achieve at high fluxes when the water is present in an emulsified form, such as in a water-in-oil emulsion. Processes for de-emulsifying a fluid stream containing emulsified water, such as water-in-crude oil emulsions, include introduction of the fluid stream into a vessel that defines a coalescence zone. The vessel is configured to provide for simultaneous application of a centrifugal force and an electric field to the fluid stream within the coalescence zone. The simultaneous application of the centrifugal force and the electric field to the fluid stream provides for the coalescence of a portion of the emulsified water into a bulk aqueous phase. A biphasic mixture comprising continuous phases of the organic component and the bulk aqueous phase is formed within the coalescence zone and subsequently removed from the vessel.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A process comprising:
introducing a fluid stream comprising an organic component and emulsified water to a vessel defining a coalescence zone, the vessel being configured to simultaneously apply a centrifugal force and an electric field to the fluid stream within the coalescence zone;
simultaneously applying the centrifugal force and the electric field to the fluid stream within the coalescence zone to coalesce a portion of the emulsified water into a bulk aqueous phase within the coalescence zone; and
removing from the vessel a biphasic mixture comprising continuous phases of the organic component and the bulk aqueous phase;
wherein the electric field is applied with an electrically insulated electrode; and
wherein the vessel has a longitudinal axis and the electrically insulated electrode is non-parallel with respect to the longitudinal axis.

2. The process of claim 1 , further comprising: separating the biphasic mixture into the organic component and the bulk aqueous phase.

3. The process of claim 2 , wherein the vessel is a hydrocyclone.

4. The process of claim 3 , wherein the electrically insulated electrode has an elongated body located within the coalescence zone of the vessel.

5. The process of claim 4 , wherein the vessel is inclined with respect to the earth's surface, thereby making an incident angle with the earth's surface in a range from 20 degrees to 60 degrees.

6. The process of claim 5 , wherein the organic component comprises a crude oil or a partially dewatered crude oil.

7. The process of claim 6 , wherein the fluid stream comprises less than 10 vol. % water.

8. The process of claim 7 , wherein the biphasic mixture is removed via an underside fluid outlet on an underside of the vessel.

9. The process of claim 8 , wherein the fluid stream is introduced to the vessel after passing through a mechanical screen, an electrified screen, an electrocoagulator, an electroprecipitator, or any combination thereof.

10. The process of claim 9 , further comprising:
adding a chemical to the fluid stream to further promote coalescence of the emulsified water into the bulk aqueous phase.

Assignees

• Shell Oil Co

Inventors

• Adamski Robert Paul
• Bethke Gregory Kent
• Kini Gautan Chandrakanth
• Shankar Santhosh Kumar

Classifications

• C10G33/02 Primary

  with electrical or magnetic means · CPC title

• B03C2201/02

  Electrostatic separation of liquids from liquids · CPC title

• C10G31/08

  by treating with water · CPC title

• C10G31/10

  with the aid of centrifugal force · CPC title

• B01D17/06

  Separation of liquids from each other by electricity · CPC title