Application experiment and numerical simulation analysis of oil–water separator with two-oriented corrugated coalescence plate

ABSTRACT

The new structure of two-oriented corrugated plate is developed in an oil–water separator. The surface of the corrugated plate is modified so that one side is provided with a hydrophobic property and the other side is provided with a hydrophilic property. The effect of feed flow rate and composition on the separation efficiency of the separator is analyzed by experiments. A three-dimensional model of the separator is established for simulation by using the fluent software. The separation effect is characterized by the maximum concentration and thickness of the two constituents. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental results. The feed composition and feed flow rate can be worked together in the coalescence process. Both in the experiment and in the simulation, the concentration of the outlet of this polynode separator can reach more than 99% in the treatment of oil-bearing rate from 30% to 60% and inlet flow rate at 800 L/h∼2000 L/h, which confirms the high separation efficiency of the device structure. At the same time, it also can be concluded that the lower oil phase concentration is suitable for larger inlet flow, while higher oil phase concentration is more applicable for lower flow rate in the appropriate range.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Corrugated coalescence plate
• numerical simulation
• oil–water separator