Patent ID: 8414777

Claim:
A coalescing apparatus, comprising: a casing comprising an inner chamber for accommodating an electrically insulating fluid; at least one tube of electrically insulating solid material extending through the casing and through said inner chamber, each of said at least one tube comprising an intake opening at a first end for receiving an emulsion to be treated and a discharge opening at a second end for discharging the emulsion from the at least one tube, an inner space of each at least one tube being sealed from said chamber so as to prevent emulsion from penetrating into said chamber; a set of electrodes mounted in said chamber, each one of said at least one tube being allotted at least one pair of electrodes of said set; a voltage source configured to apply mutually different electric potentials to the electrodes of each electrode pair so as to form an electric field between them and thereby an electric field inside the respective tube; and a heater configured to heat the electrically insulating fluid to a temperature above a temperature of the emulsion entering said at least one tube so as to allow the electrically insulating fluid in said chamber to transfer heat to the emulsion flowing through said at least one tube and thereby raise the temperature thereof.