Field Evaluation of Disc-Stack Centrifuges for Separating Oil/Water Emulsions on Offshore Platforms

Separate handling of fluids following a remediation/workover job or treating of slop oil emulsions has become a good practice to reduce upsets in oil and water treating facilities and to avoid production shut-in. This paper demonstrates that the use of high-speed disc-stack centrifuges can be a cost-effective process for handling these fluids, treating difficult emulsions, and generating little or no waste. The physical operation of these centrifuges as dehydrators (purifiers) and/or as deoilers (clarifiers) and their performance in various field applications are presented.