Patent ID: 6165360
Filing Date: 2000-12-26
Classification: B01D

Abstract:
An apparatus for dehydrating an oil, comprising:an orimulsion supply;an emulsion breaker supply;a first stirring chamber in fluid connection with said orimulsion supply and said emulsion breaker supply and operatively positioned for mixing the orimulsion with the emulsion breaker to form a first mixture;a first two-phase separation tank in fluid connection with said first stirring chamber and operatively positioned for separating the first mixture into an oil-rich component and a first water-rich component, said first two-phase separation tank comprising an oil-rich component outlet and a water-rich component outlet;a high voltage dehydrator in fluid connection with said oil-rich component outlet of said two-phase separation tank and operatively positioned for separating the oil-rich component into a dehydrated oil of lower water content than the oil-rich component and a second water-rich component, said dehydrator comprising an oil-rich component outlet and a water-rich component outlet;a second stirring chamber in fluid connection with said water-rich component outlet of said first two-stage separation tank and said water-rich component outlet of said dehydrator and operatively positioned for mixing the first water-rich component and the second water-rich component with an emulsion breaker to form a water component mixture; anda second two-phase separation tank in fluid connection with said second stirring chamber and operatively positioned for separating the water component mixture into an oil-containing layer and a substantially oil-free water layer.