Influence of Electric Field Strength on the Processes of Destruction and Creation of Water-Oil Emulsions During Crude Oil Desalting

Abstract

It is shown that the use of an electric field significantly intensifies the process of destruction of water-oil emulsions, because for each droplet size there is a critical tension at which they begin to disperse. As the dispersal of the dispersed phase is coarsened, it is necessary to gradually reduce the magnitude of the electric field strength and reduce the flow rate of the emulsion. At the first stages of the destruction of an emulsion with high water content, it is advisable to conduct dehydration by other methods, and electrohydrodynamic treatment is used only in the subsequent stages. At different stages of electrohydrodynamic processing, depending on the degree of dispersion of the system, it is necessary to vary the distance between the electrodes and electric field intensity in the electrocoalescence zone. It was found that the most rational design of electrohydrodynamic coalescers and dispersers from the point of view of obtaining maximum efficiency at the optimal energy inputs are multi-stage apparatuses in which the water-oil emulsion sequentially passes stages with varying parameters of the electric field.