Patent ID: 7749459

Claim:
A device, located in a vessel having an inlet and at least one outlet, through which a mixture of fluids flows, for promoting electrostatic coalescence of a first conductive fluid emulsified in a second fluid, the device comprising: a plurality of tubular electrostatic coalescer elements extending in a flow direction, each coalescer element comprising an insulating tubular channel through which the mixture of fluids is to flow, and each coalescer element further comprising a pair of interacting external electrodes arranged outside and adjacent to the insulating tubular channel, the interacting pair of electrodes have opposite polarity, are separated by a gap, extend in parallel in the length direction of said channel and are electrically insulated from fluids outside of the channel, wherein the plurality of coalescer elements are arranged in a matrix of coalescer elements over a cross sectional area of said vessel such that the tubular channels are parallel to each other, wherein the matrix of coalescer elements forms at least one molded coalescer module, wherein the plurality of coalescer elements are configured to operate simultaneously as a coalescer and a flow straightener, and wherein said at least one coalescer module comprises a complete transformer molded into the molded coalescer module, and wherein said transformer comprises a primary low voltage winding terminal accessible from outside of the coalescer module and a high voltage secondary winding insulated from the mixture of fluids.