Separation of free oil following coalescence

Technical Report · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1977

OSTI ID:6924433

Wu, C C.J.; Schechter, R S; Malina, Jr, J F; Gloyna, E F

Three processes are employed in the separation of oil from water or wastewater. These oil-water separation systems are commonly referred to as gravity separation, secondary de-oiling and tertiary polishing. Because of special problems created by stable oil-in-water emulsions, it has been necessary to develop special techniques for breaking these emulsions. To accomplish this task of destabilization, coalescence has gained considerable attention, and processes employing various coalescence techniques have become an integral part of most oily water separation processes. The study was conducted to design and evaluate various devices for separating free oil from water after coalescence has been achieved. Six separators were evaluated with emphasis on oil removal efficiency and headloss. The independent variables in this laboratory-scale research were hydraulic loading and influent oil concentration. The dependent variables included oil removal efficiency and headloss. All tests were conducted for six hours. Experimental results indicated that the Model I separator effectively removed the oil from water under low flow rate conditions. Similarly, the Model VI separator was more successful under high flow rates. For these tests it was possible to reduce the oil concentration from 50 mg/l in the influent to 1 mg/l in the effluent. This represents a removal of 98%. Coalescence was accomplished using a polyester mat and a flow rate of 10 gpm/ft/sup 2/.

• Research Organization: Texas Univ., Austin (USA). Center for Research in Water Resources
• OSTI ID: 6924433
• Report Number(s): CRWR-143; EHE-77-01
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020800* -- Petroleum-- Waste Management
520200 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ACTIVATED CARBON
ADSORBENTS
ADSORPTION
CARBON
COALESCENCE
DIAGRAMS
ELEMENTS
EMULSIFICATION
FLOTATION
FLOWSHEETS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
LIQUID WASTES
NONMETALS
OILS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION CONTROL
REMOVAL
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SORPTION
WASTE OILS
WASTE WATER
WASTES
WATER
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL