Electrostatic heater treater

A brief explanation about electrostatic heater treaters

1. Electrostatic Heater- Treaters Srikar Perumalla 17021A2641

2. What is a heater- treater ? A heater- treater is a vessel that is used to separate oil-water emulsions in the crude before it is supplied to the refineries.

3. Electrostatic Heater- Treater Electrostatic heater- treaters in oil and gas industry are used to break the oil/water emulsions by applying electrical charges. Have the same design as horizontal heater- treater . An electric grid is placed in coalescing-settling section for coalescence of water droplets.

4. Coalescing-Settling Section The coalescing section must be sized to provide adequate retention time for coalescing to occur and to allow the coalescing water droplets to settle. Electrostatic grid is installed in coalescing section.

5. Electrostatic Grid It contains 2 or more electrodes, one is grounded to the vessel and the others are suspended by insulators. Voltage Ranges of grid: 10,000 to 35,000 VAC Power Consumption of grid: 0.05 to 0.10 KVA/ft2 (KVA- Kilo-Volt Ampere)

6. Power is supplied to the grid through a step up transformer mounted on the vessel. They supply energy to the electrodes .

7. Principle As the emulsion passes through the electrical field, the water droplets in the emulsion become electrically charged and they move about rapidly and collide with one another. As they collide the droplets grow in size forming larger droplets, until they become large enough to settle.

8. Operating Conditions: The operating temperature of the electrostatic treater is normally lower than that of the heater treater . Treating temperatures normally range between 85°F and 135°F. If fluid temperature gets below 70°F, the grids will not have the proper treating effect on the emulsion. Electrostatic treaters operate under working pressures of 5 to 50 psi.

9. Why electrostatic- treaters are preferred? Electrostatic heater- treaters are efficient at reducing water content in the crude to the 0.2 to 0.5 percent level. This makes electrostatic heater- treaters are particularly attractive for desalting operations. Can treat emulsions of any API gravity with high water content. Effective when the fluid viscosity is less than 50cp.

10. Bibliography: - Ken Arnold & Maurice Stewart, 2008 , Surface Production Operations, Design of Oil Handling Systems and Facilities, Third edition. - Park science blogspot https://park-science.blogspot.com/2016/01/electrostatic-treater-operation.html OilfieldWiki http://www.oilfieldwiki.com/wiki/Electrostatic_treater