A new demulsifier device for oil-water separation in oil tanks

In this paper, a new innovative closed-loop and autonomous electronic device for oil-water separation in the emulsion layer is presented. The device is designed for crude oil separation tanks and is sought to replace other traditional methods such as the ones using chemicals. It is modular and comprises three subsystems: sensing subsystem, actuating subsystem, and data communication/interfacing subsystem. The sensing subsystem is intrinsically safe and consists of a one dimensional level array of non intrusive ultrasonic transducers that monitor in real-time the low and high levels of the emulsion layer in a tank with a vertical resolution of 15 cm. The actuating system includes a microwave generator which stimulates the emulsion at a predefined position to breaks it out. A built-in feedback PID-based controller determines the optimal position of this generator based on the oil-water content which is provided by the sensor array and moves the generator accordingly. The data communication/interfacing system is responsible to transfer to the control room real-time data (e.g. the actual position of the emulsion layer and the actual temperature inside the tank) using field bus network protocol (RS485 protocol). This would help a continuous and effective monitoring by the operator using a dedicated GUI. In addition of being safe and environmentally friendly, the device provides faster and more efficient separation than the traditional techniques.