Simulation and Optimization of Electrostatic Desalter Performance using CFD-PBM

This research aims to simulate an industrial electrostatic desalter unit using a coupled method of Computational Fluid Dynamics and Population Balance Model (CFD-PBM) in Ansys Fluent software. The effective parameters in separating of water from oil are investigated to optimize the desalter performance. The two-phase system is modeled with the mixed approach, and the population balance equation is used to simulate the behavior of the dispersed phase of water. Finally, sensitivity analysis was performed on the Azadegan oil field model for two parameters of temperature and percentage of wash water to find the optimal point. The results showed that the temperature of ۹۰°C and ۱۰% wash water, and the temperature of ۱۰۰°C and ۸.۳% wash water are the best choices that meet the standard specifications.