Apparatus and method for separating water from crude oil

Claim 1

Apparatus for separating a fluid mixture of a heavy phase from a light phase in a fluid mixture, comprising, a spiral conduit in the form of a vertical coil of a plurality of turns, an inlet at one end of said conduit and an outlet at a second end of said conduit, means for moving the mixture of phases through said conduit at a velocity such that said heavy phase segregates in said conduit along the outside of said turns of said coil, skimmer ports in said conduit along the outside of at least several upper turns of said coil; a separating tank, and take-off lines connecting the skimmer ports to said tank below said ports.

Claim 16

The method of separating a heavy phase and a light phase in a fluid mixture, comprising, passing the mixture through a vertical, spiral tubular coil, at a velocity sufficiently high that the heavy phase is concentrated toward the outside of the turns of the coil as the mixture flows around the spiral and the light phase is concentrated toward the inside of the turns, withdrawing a fraction of the fluid from at least one upper turn of the coil, said fraction being withdrawn from the outside of said coil if the heavy phase is to be removed and from the inside of said coil if the light phase is to be removed, conducting the withdrawn fraction downwardly to a settling tank, permitting the withdrawn fraction to further separate into the heavy phase and the light phase, and admitting light phase from the top of said settling tank to said coil adjacent the top of the coil if the heavy phase is to be removed, and heavy phase from the bottom of said settling tank to said coil adjacent the top of said coil if the light phase is to be removed.

Claim 17

The method of separating a heavy phase and a light phase in a fluid mixture, comprising, passing the mixture through a vertical, spiral tubular coil, at a velocity sufficiently high that the heavy phase is concentrated toward the outside of the turns of the coil as the mixture flows around the spiral and the light phase is concentrated toward the inside of the turns, withdrawing a fraction of the fluid from at least one upper turn of the coil, said fraction being withdrawn from the outside of said coil if the heavy phase is to be removed and from the inside of said coil if the light phase is to be removed, conducting the withdrawn fraction downwardly to a settling tank, permitting the withdrawn fraction to further separate into the heavy phase and the light phase, and admitting light phase from the top of said settling tank to said coil adjacent the top of the coil if the heavy phase is to be removed, and heavy phase from the bottom of said settling tank to said coil adjacent the top of said coil if the light phase is to be removed.