Crude oil

GEA centrifuges are not confined to oils of low and medium densities and viscosities. They also efficiently dewater and desalinate heavy crudes (20° API down to 13° API, or specific gravities of 0.93–0.98), which experience has shown are hard to treat using conventional gravity and electrostatic methods.

The small density difference between oil and water at these API gravities can only be exploited efficiently using high g forces created through centrifugal acceleration, which is precisely the advantage of GEA centrifuges. Centrifugal technology also minimizes operational requirements for heating, dilution, wash water and chemical additives. All this means a significant reduction in operating costs.

Key features of GEA centrifuges for dewatering crude oil are:

• Efficient and reliable drives, either direct-drive or belt-drive.
• High centrifugal forces and large clarification areas reliably separate entrained water and particles.
• High throughputs.
• Robust, compact, weight-saving and energy-efficient designs.
• Ease of installation and operation means effective and user-friendly systems. 
• Comprehensive monitoring of process conditions.
• Insensitive to motion, for instance on floating facilities.
• Flexible in terms of oil/water ratio.

GEA centrifuges are manufactured from high-quality materials, including duplex and super duplex steels, to withstand the harsh process conditions found in oil production and the high stresses experienced in operation. This allows them to meet our customers’ demands for long and efficient operating lives. GEA’s optimized designs cope easily with variations in both feed conditions and oil characteristics. With their combination of high separation efficiency and small footprint GEA separators are ideal for use offshore, where space is always key, though they are equally effective in onshore applications.