Separation modules including media for separating water-hydrocarbon emulsions having low interfacial tensions
AssigneeA. Ahlstrom Corporation
InventorsChristine M. Stanfel, Farina Diani Pangestu
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Abstract
Separation media, separation modules and methods are provided for separating water from a water and hydrocarbon emulsion and include a fibrous nonwoven coalescence layer for receiving the water and hydrocarbon emulsion and coalescing the water present therein as a discontinuous phase to achieve coalesced water droplets having a size of 1 mm or greater, and a fibrous nonwoven drop retention layer downstream of the coalescence layer having a high BET surface area of at least 90 m2/g or greater sufficient to retain the size of the coalesced water droplets to allow separation thereof from the hydrocarbon.
Claims20
A separation module for separating water from a water and hydrocarbon emulsion comprising a housing having an inlet for the emulsion and respective outlets for water and dewatered hydrocarbon, and a separation media within the housing, wherein the separation media comprises:
- a fibrous nonwoven coalescence layer for receiving the water and hydrocarbon emulsion and coalescing the water present therein as a discontinuous phase to achieve coalesced water droplets having a coalesced size of at least 1 mm or greater;
- and
- a fibrous nonwoven drop retention layer downstream of the coalescence layer having a high BET surface area of at least 90 m2/g or greater sufficient to allow the coalesced water droplets to pass through the drop retention layer at the coalesced size of at least 1 mm or greater so that the coalesced water droplets are capable of being separated from the hydrocarbon at a downstream side of the separation media.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.