Final report on development and testing of the microwave oil-water monitor

Technical Report · Sat Jun 15 00:00:00 EDT 1991

OSTI ID:5441337

Swanson, C

The oil-water monitor is a device invented by Dr. Claude Swanson of Applied Physics Technology to respond to the petroleum-loss problem in crude oil transfers. It is a device which measures water content in crude oil and other petroleum products, in a flowing pipe such as a pipeline or tanker manifold. It is capable of accurately measuring the water contamination levels in crude oil shipments, in real time as the crude oil flows through the loading manifold into the tanker, or at the receiving point as the oil is off-loaded. The oil-water monitor has application in the verification of oil volumes and concentration of contaminants at petroleum transfer points. The industry-estimated level of water loss at transfer points due to inadequate monitoring technology amounts to several billion dollars per year, so there is a definite perceived need within the petroleum community for this type of accurate water monitoring technology. News articles indicating the importance of this problem are shown. The microwave oil-water monitor measures the water content in the oil, whether in the form of small droplets or large globules. Therefore it can be applied to the crude oil as it flows through crude oil pipes into the ship, or at transfer points in a crude oil distribution system. 4 refs., 18 figs.

• Research Organization: Applied Physics Technology, Inc., McLean, VA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: FG01-89CE15444
• OSTI ID: 5441337
• Report Number(s): DOE/CE/15444-T3; ON: DE91016879
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION
MONITORS
DESIGN
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
MONITORING
ATTENUATION
COMPUTERIZED CONTROL SYSTEMS
MICROWAVE EQUIPMENT
PIPELINES
PROGRESS REPORT
TANKS
WATER
CONTAINERS
CONTROL SYSTEMS
DOCUMENT TYPES
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
EQUIPMENT
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
022000* - Petroleum- Transport
Handling
& Storage
023000 - Petroleum- Properties & Composition
440800 - Miscellaneous Instrumentation- (1990-)