| abstract |
A compact device (50) for coalescing finely dispersed droplets of a conductive fluid emulsified in a stream of nonconductive fluid by the use of a high intensity electric field acting on the emulsion (51) as it flows through a narrow flow gap (58) under non-laminar flow conditions. The emulsion is introduced into the top (52) of a vertically mounted cylindrical vessel or shell (53), and flow through one or more narrow, annular flow gaps (58) formed between one or more electrodes (55), or an internal wall of the device. The broken emulsion is discharged from the bottom of the vessel, after having a short residence time in the high-intensity electrostatic field. The flow of the emulsion in the one or all of the narrow, annular flow gaps is non-laminar to provide substantially smaller equipment size, even with emulsions having high water content therein. |