Upstream Operations in the Oil Industry: Rigorous Modeling of an Electrostatic Coalescer

Francesco Rossi; Simone Colombo; Sauro Pierucci; Eliseo Ranzi; Flavio Manenti

doi:10.1016/J.ENG.2017.02.013

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Engineering ›› 2017, Vol. 3 ›› Issue (2) : 220-231. DOI: 10.1016/J.ENG.2017.02.013

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Upstream Operations in the Oil Industry: Rigorous Modeling of an Electrostatic Coalescer

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Abstract

This paper deals with a first-principle mathematical model that describes the electrostatic coalescer units devoted to the separation of water from oil in water-in-oil emulsions, which are typical of the upstream operations in oil fields. The main phenomena governing the behavior of the electrostatic coalescer are described, starting from fundamental laws. In addition, the gradual coalescence of the emulsion droplets is considered in the mathematical modeling in a dynamic fashion, as the phenomenon is identified as a key step in the overall yield of the unit operation. The resulting differential system with boundary conditions is then integrated via performing numerical libraries, and the simulation results confirm the available literature and the industrial data. A sensitivity analysis is provided with respect to the main parameters. The mathematical model results in a flexible tool that is useful for the purposes of design, unit behavior prediction, performance monitoring, and optimization.

Keywords

Upstream operations / Electrostatic coalescer / Desalter / Rigorous modeling / Water-oil emulsion

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Francesco Rossi, Simone Colombo, Sauro Pierucci, Eliseo Ranzi, Flavio Manenti. Upstream Operations in the Oil Industry: Rigorous Modeling of an Electrostatic Coalescer. Engineering, 2017, 3(2): 220‒231 https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ENG.2017.02.013

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully thank Ing. Matteo Bruni for his activities during the M.Sc. thesis project, as well as DG Impianti Industriali SpA for the industrial support.

Compliance with ethics guidelines

Francesco Rossi, Simone Colombo, Sauro Pierucci, Eliseo Ranzi, and Flavio Manenti declare that they have no conflict of interest or financial conflicts to disclose.

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2017 2017 THE AUTHORS. Published by Elsevier LTD on behalf of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Higher Education Press Limited Company. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).