Interface Alarm Sensors
Oil Separators
An oil separator is a large drum designed to separate production fluids into oil, gas and water. These three components have different densities, meaning they stratify when moving slowly. Gas works it way to the top, water falls to the bottom and oil stays in the middle. The oil and water are separated by a baffle set at the height of the oil-water contact. This allows the oil to spill over the side, trapping the water on the other.
Valves on the oil and water outlets are controlled to ensure the interfaces are kept at optimum levels for separation to occur. Oil separators are used for bulk separation as droplets of water will not settle by gravity and will remain in the oil stream. To remove the last of the water the oil is routed to a coalescer. Any solids will drift to the bottom and this sludge is removed with a mechanical scraper or a sludge pump.
Water and oil separators are used throughout industry, with the oil either being further refined to develop petroleum or the water purified and pumped back into a reservoir or the sea.
Alarm Sensors
Oil separator alarm sensors indicate when the sludge deposit or layer of oil or grease needs to be emptied. The alarm is the only way to be sure when it is economically sound and environmentally safe to collect the hazardous waste.
Semrad’s Oilset 1000 and 2000 are interface level detectors for oil, water, sand, sludge and grease. They feature reset and test functions, no moving parts, high accuracy, a large display, no calibration needed, and explosion proof models. The alarm is audible, can operate in temperatures between -30° and +55°C, and the cabling between controller and sensor can reach up to 3m. They are wall mounted sensors whose internal buzzer and external alarm can be muted. The direction of the alarm can also be changed.