Separation of oil-in-water emulsions using polymer coalescence structures

Application of polymer media for coalescence of oil droplets and separation of O/W emulsion was studied. The research was focused on the structural design of a primary coalescence layer. High efficiencies of separation were obtained for structures made of finest fibres. The increase of the average fibre diameter led to a decrease of pressure drop and reduced efficiency of oil droplets removal. Thick fibres performed well as the drainage media and enabled detachment of large droplets. In addition the influence of the material wettability and resulting saturation of coalescence structures on their operation performance was studied.