Electrical coalescence process

Claim 1

PROCESS FOR THE REMOVAL OF SALT FROM A HYDROCARBON WHICH COMPRISES ADDING WATER TO SAID HYDROCARBON, INTIMATELY MIXING THE ADDED WATER AND SAID HYDROCARBON AT AN ELEVATED TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE WHEREBY EMULSIFICATION OF THE HYDROCARBON AND ADDED WATER RESULTS, INTRODUCING THE MIXTURE INTO AN INTEGRAL SEPARATION ZONE CONSISTING OF A HIGH VOLTAGE ELECTRICAL COALESCENT SECTION AND AN IMMEDIATELY ADJOINING SETTLING SECTION, PASSING THE MIXTURE THROUGH SAID HIGH VOLTAGE COALESCENT SECTION, WHEREBY THE MIXTURE IS PARTIALLY RESOLVED, THEN PASSING THE PARTIALLY RESOLVED MIXTURE FROM SAID ELECTRICAL SECTION WITHOUT FLOW RESTRICTION TO SAID SETTLING SECTION AND ALONG A PLURALITY OF SPACED PARALLEL SURFACES THEREIN, SEGREGATING A PLURALITY OF SUPERIMPOSED PARALLEL SUBSTANTIALLY DISCRETE STREAMS IN SAID SETTLING SECTION, WHEREBY A HYDROCARBON PHASE AND AN AQUEOUS PHASE FORMS IN EACH OF SAID DISCRETE STREAMS, RECOMBINING THE HYDROCARBON PHASES AND WITHDRAWING THE COMBINED HYDROCARBON PHASES FROM THE UPPER AREA OF SAID SEPARATION ZONE, RECOMBINING THE WATER PHASES AND WITHDRAWING THE COMBINED WATER PHASES FROM THE BOTTOM OF SAID SEPARATION ZONE, SAID PROCESS BEING PARTICULARLY CHARACTERIZED BY INTERNAL RECYCLING OF THE SAID MIXTURE BETWEEN SECTIONS.