Dewaterering Hydrocyclones

Dewaterering hydrocyclones vary in size, as they are required to perform a number of different tasks, and applications are more complex than deoilers due to the wide variability of water and oil ratios. Feasible applications can generally be classified as either water continuous (70-90% water cut) or oil continuous (10-30% water cut).

Hydraulic characteristics vary significantly and depend on water cut, fluid viscosity, and pressures. As a rule of thumb the capacity of a dewaterer is generally 30% higher than a deoiler of the same size and pressure drop.

Dewaterers must be installed as far "upstream" as possible in the process system, where the greatest level of pressure and temperature can be best utilized. Useful separation is expected at oil viscosity's of less than 10 cSt.

The feed to the dewaterer should also be substantially gas free, and the overflow and underflow streams typically require additional processing either by other hydrocyclones (deoiler / dewaterers) or other conventional separation equipment.

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