Effect and optimization of bed properties on water-in-oil emulsion separation

Water-in-oil emulsion separation through a fibrous media bed is a complex process in industries. In this article, in order to select the optimal fibrous material for the separation of water-oil emulsion, three types of commercial fibers as fibrous beds were used to separate water from diesel oil. Based on the principle of orthogonal experimental design, a series of experiments were performed to investigate the effect of such parameters as bed porosity (0.77-0.89), bed length (100-400?mm) and settlement length (120-480?mm) on the separation efficiency and the superficial velocity, and then three parameters were optimized to achieve good separation performance. The experiment showed that the separation efficiency could reach 77% and the flow velocity could reach 30?m/h under the optimal bed structure and stable working conditions. The results of this paper could provide basic designing reference for the industrial application of fibrous bed coalescer.