Water Content Monitoring in Water-in-Oil Emulsions Using a Piezoceramic Sensor

Carlos A B Reyna,Ediguer E Franco,Flávio Buiochi,Luiz O V Pereira,Marcos S G Tsuzuki,Alberto L Durán

doi:10.3390/machines9120335

Carlos A B Reyna, Ediguer E Franco + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/machines9120335

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Abstract

This work deals with a transmission-reception ultrasonic technique for the real-time estimation of the water content in water-in-crude oil emulsions. The working principle is the measurement of the propagation velocity, using two in-house manufactured transducers designed for water coupling, with a central frequency of about 3 MHz. Water-in-crude oil emulsions with a water volume concentration from 0% to 40% were generated by mechanical emulsification. Tests were carried out at three temperatures. The results showed that the propagation velocity is a sensitive parameter that is able to determine the water content, allowing for differentiating the concentrations of up to 40% of water. The main motivation is the development of techniques for non-invasive and real-time monitoring of the water content of emulsions in petrochemical processes.

Highlights

Petroleum is a mixture of organic compounds formed by the anaerobic decomposition of organic sediments in natural geological cavities or wells
This paper presents an ultrasonic technique to estimate water concentration in waterin-crude oil emulsions
The results show that, in the static case, the propagation velocity curves are almost identical for both sensor positions, whereas in the case of the emulsion under stirring, the curves were different

Summary

Introduction

Petroleum is a mixture of organic compounds formed by the anaerobic decomposition of organic sediments in natural geological cavities or wells. Water is a contaminant in all oil derivatives, decreasing the quality of the resulting fuels [2], implying higher pollution, which is a hindrance to the processes of transport, storage, and distillation. The water is withdrawn from the raw oil, inducing coalescence, a process that consists of merging two or more droplets during contact to form a larger droplet [3,4]. This process may be enhanced by chemical substances. The final water content is a critical parameter in the subsequent petrochemical processing

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