Patent ID: 8568515

Claim:
A water separation system for treating multiphase hydrocarbon production streams, the system comprising: (a) a gas/liquid separator to separate the multiphase hydrocarbon production stream into a gas stream and a liquid stream, the liquid stream comprised of droplets within a continuous phase; (b) a flow conditioner in fluid communication with and positioned downstream from the gas/liquid separator, the flow conditioner being configured for increasing the average droplet size, the flow conditioner being configured to carry the liquid stream, the liquid stream being comprised of a water fraction and an oil fraction, the flow conditioner comprising a first section and a second section, the first section comprising a coalescer having a first pipe, further wherein the flow conditioner additionally comprises an inline coalescing element comprising substantially horizontally oriented plates or slots effective for separating the heavier water fraction from the lighter oil fraction; (c) a liquid cyclone separator in fluid communication with and positioned downstream from the flow conditioner, the liquid cyclone separator being capable of dividing the liquid stream into an oil dominated portion and a water dominated portion; and (d) a control system adapted for adjusting the efficiency of separation in the gas/liquid separator, the control system further comprising a water quality sensor in communication with a control valve, wherein the control system is configured for activating, a control valve to redirect a portion of the flow of the liquid stream to achieve a desired oil/water ratio.