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Water Content Monitoring in Water-in-Crude-Oil Emulsions Using an Ultrasonic Multiple-Backscattering Sensor.
Alberto L Durán1, Ediguer E Franco2, Carlos A B Reyna1
1Laboratory of Computational Geometry, Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-220, Brazil.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|August 10, 2021
Summary
This study introduces an ultrasonic multiple-scattering sensor for real-time monitoring of water content in petroleum emulsions. The sensor effectively measures water concentration, crucial for the oil industry.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Acoustics
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Monitoring water content in petroleum emulsions is critical for quality control and process optimization in the oil industry.
- Traditional methods for water content analysis can be time-consuming and may not provide real-time data.
- Developing efficient, on-line monitoring techniques for water-in-petroleum emulsions is essential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate an ultrasonic multiple-scattering sensor for the on-line and real-time monitoring of water content in water-in-petroleum emulsions.
- To investigate the relationship between ultrasonic signal characteristics and water concentration in these emulsions.
- To assess the feasibility of using backscattering signals for quantitative analysis.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a commercial ultrasonic transducer with an array of cylindrical metal bar scatterers in the near field.
- Analyzed backscattering signals by calculating wave energy and performing cross-correlation of signal segments.
- Determined the acoustic wave propagation velocity in water-in-petroleum emulsions with varying water concentrations (0-50%).
Main Results:
- Both signal energy and wave propagation velocity demonstrated a strong dependence on the water volume concentration in the emulsions.
- The developed sensor provided distinct and measurable changes in acoustic properties with increasing water content.
- The backscattering analysis successfully correlated ultrasonic parameters with water concentration.
Conclusions:
- The ultrasonic multiple-scattering sensor is a viable tool for on-line and real-time monitoring of water content in water-in-crude-oil emulsions.
- The sensor's ability to correlate signal energy and propagation velocity with water concentration offers a robust monitoring solution.
- This technology has the potential to improve process control and efficiency in petroleum handling.
