Deoiling Hydrocyclones

Hydrocyclones use centrifugal force to separate dispersed oil from water in a compact, robust device with no moving parts. The tangential inlet spins the water; lighter oil migrates to the core and reports to the reject, while clean water exits the underflow — making them a favourite for weight- and space-critical offshore platforms.

Deoiling hydrocyclones — compact, no-moving-part centrifugal devices that spin produced water to separate dispersed oil, ideal offshore.

Emulsions are the hard case — chemically or mechanically stabilised oil-in-water that will not separate by gravity — and need demulsifier chemistry, pH adjustment or thermal/electrostatic treatment to break before the physical stages can work. For reinjection, the spec flips toward solids and particle-size control to protect formation permeability, so the train is tuned to the disposal route rather than a generic standard.

Reynolds & Bauhm designs produced-water trains stage by stage against the governing discharge or reinjection spec — selecting separators, hydrocyclones, flotation and polishing media, and the demulsification chemistry that makes the physical stages perform.

Produced water is the largest waste stream in oil and gas, and its treatment is a staged de-oiling problem: free oil, dispersed oil and emulsified oil are removed in sequence because no single device handles all three economically. The target — whether for overboard discharge, reinjection or reuse — is set by regulation such as the OSPAR 30 mg/l dispersed-oil limit offshore or the US EPA effluent limitation guidelines.