New Oil Removal Solution for Refinery Cooling Circulating Water — Pressure-Type Coalescing Oil Separator Achieves Zero-Chemical, High-Efficiency Oil-Water Separation

2026-08-21 13:13:16

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To address the pain points of refining enterprises' circulating cooling water systems—oil pollution caused by heat exchanger leakage, and the easy clogging and frequent backwashing of traditional filtration equipment—SINOKLE Technology has launchedthe pressure-type coalescing oil separator. This technology uses the physical coalescence principle to achieve efficient oil-water separation without adding chemical agents, providing a green, low-consumption solution for refinery circulating water systems.

I.Industry Pain Points: Why Traditional Equipment "Treats Symptoms, Not the Root Cause"

Refinery circulating water systems mostly adopt closed or open designs. Although the closed system theoretically loses little water, it still faces multiple pollution risks in actual operation:

Oil intrusion: Leakage of heat exchangers, maintenance errors, etc. cause oil (such as crude oil, diesel) to mix into the circulating water, with concentrations reaching above 2000 mg/L, forming multi-phase pollutants such as dissolved oil and emulsified oil.
Microbial growth: Anaerobic bacteria (such as sulfate-reducing bacteria) multiply in dead corners, producing corrosive substances such as hydrogen sulfide, accelerating pipeline corrosion.
Suspended solids accumulation: Corrosion products (such as iron oxide) and sediment deposit, reducing water flow velocity and increasing energy consumption.

These pollutants act synergistically, leading to decreased system efficiency and rising maintenance costs. In particular, oil pollutants easily adhere to equipment surfaces, forming an insulation layer that reduces the heat transfer coefficient of heat exchangers by more than 30%. Therefore, developing efficient and stable oil removal technology has become a core requirement for refinery water treatment. The pressure-type coalescing oil separator achieves deep oil removal without chemical agents through physical separation, aligning with the concept of a green circular economy.

II. Technical Principle and Design Innovation of the Pressure-Type Coalescing Oil Separator

The pressure-type coalescing oil separator is a high-efficiency device integrating cyclone centrifugation, coalescence by coarse-grained media, and shallow-pool separation. Its core technology is based onStokes' lawand fluid dynamics optimization:

Coalescence effect: Using patented fillers (specific surface area ≥ 350 m²/m³), the surface energy difference promotes the collision and coalescence of micron-scale oil droplets, increasing the particle size from <30 μm to the millimeter level, accelerating flotation separation.

Shallow-pool separation principle: Optimize the flow channel design, extend the residence time of oil droplets, and achieve rapid oil-water stratification under gravity.

CFD flow field optimization: Through computational fluid dynamics simulation, eliminate short-circuit flow and eddies, ensure laminar flow, and improve separation efficiency by more than 20%.

The equipment structure includes an inlet cyclone device, a coalescing filler zone, an oil collection package, and a backwash system. The inlet cyclone unit pre-separates large oil droplets through centrifugal force, reducing the downstream load; the coalescing filler is made of 316L stainless steel, which is corrosion-resistant and has a service life of more than 5 years; the oil collection package is equipped withan interface meterto realize automatic discharge of waste oil. This design enables the equipment to stably reduce the effluent oil concentration to ≤ 100 mg/L when the influent oil concentration is ≤ 2000 mg/L, with a removal rate exceeding 95%.

III. Process Flow and System Integration

Aiming at the characteristics of refinery circulating water, the pressure-type coalescing oil separation system adopts a four-stage treatment unit to achieve fully enclosed automated operation throughout:

Influent pre-treatment: The circulating water enters the oil separator under pressure. The inlet cyclone device preliminarily separates >50% of the dispersed oil.
Coalescing separation: The water flows through the high-efficiency filler layer; the oil droplets coalesce and then float up to the oil collection package. The design flow velocity of the filler zone is ≤ 10 m/h, ensuring sufficient contact time.
Waste oil recovery: The waste oil (water content ≤ 10%) in the oil collection package is automatically discharged to the collection tank through interface meter control, and sent out for treatment by a lift pump.
Backwash mechanism: A backwash is initiated once a month, using the system's own circulating water, without external water source; the backwash wastewater is self-pressurized and discharged into the sewage system.
The system integrates PLC control, monitoring pressure, flow, oil-water interface, and other parameters in real time, with automatic alarm for abnormal conditions.

IV. Technical Advantages and Innovation Highlights

Compared with traditionalquartz sand filteror flotation processes, the pressure-type coalescing oil separator has significant advantages:

High efficiency and energy saving: A single unit can treat up to 500 m³/h, with fewer moving equipment and supporting facilities, saving 30% electricity compared with traditional technology.
Compact footprint: Modular skid-mounted design, suitable for refineries with limited space.
Long-period operation: Filler life >5 years, backwash cycle extended to 30 days, reducing maintenance costs.
Full automation: One-click start/stop through the DCS/PLC system, no manual intervention required, reducing operational risks.

The innovation lies in the integration of cyclone pre-separation and coalescence amplification technology, overcoming the difficulty of emulsified oil treatment. The equipment adopts a "bidirectional flow" design internally, and the oil droplet removal rate is insensitive to the particle size distribution, with a removal effect of more than 90% even for emulsified oil of <10 μm.

V. Conclusion

With increasingly stringent environmental regulations, refining enterprises have put forward higher requirements for the "greening" and "resource utilization" of circulating water treatment.The pressure-type coalescing oil separator, with itspurely physical oil removal, no chemical addition, and long-period operationfeatures, not only solves the safety hazards of the cooling system but also reduces the full-life-cycle operation and maintenance costs for enterprises, making it the preferred technical solution for water conservation and emission reduction in refineries.

New Oil Removal Solution for Refinery Cooling Circulating Water — Pressure-Type Coalescing Oil Separator Achieves Zero-Chemical, High-Efficiency Oil-Water Separation

I.Industry Pain Points: Why Traditional Equipment "Treats Symptoms, Not the Root Cause"

II. Technical Principle and Design Innovation of the Pressure-Type Coalescing Oil Separator

III. Process Flow and System Integration

IV. Technical Advantages and Innovation Highlights

V. Conclusion

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