Experimental Study on Emulsion Stability: Application of Static Mixers for Dispersion of Water in Crude Oil

Mixing or dispersing operation is an important section in chemical processes. Because of several advantages like: low capital cost, low operating cost, low maintenance cost and low required space; static mixers are applied in many industries. In crude oil desalting process, static mixers for dispersion of the dilution water in crude oil is proposed by this study; which conventionally a mixing valve is used. Type of the static mixer in the applied operating conditions effects on the properties and the stability of the resulted emulsion. In a pilot scale setup, three types of SMV, HMS and LPD static mixers have been investigated; for different conditions of water fraction (2-15%) and crude oil flow rate (86-144 l/h). The experimental results show that SMV outcomes the most stable emulsion which is not appropriate for desalting process. Against, LPD is the optimal choice for the said application, regarding to the emulsion properties.