Cross-Flow Scrubber
The NATCO horizontal Cross-Flow Water Scrubber provides an effective method for removing moderate amounts of free oil from produced water streams.
With performance levels equivalent to a CPI, Cross-Flow scrubbers allow processing of large flows of water in a single vessel. Other media coalescers, such as CPIs, would require multiple units to accomplish this same level of performance. The vessel has a large cross-sectional area and is designed for low liquid velocity which improves the overall separation efficiency. The scrubbers can tolerate higher levels of solids contaminants than other media coalescers. The inlet fluid is distributed through our patented Hi-Flow™ distributor. The Hi-Flow distributor provides a 90% or greater distribution efficiency down the length of the vessel. This helps to prevent flow channeling and bypassing often present in other designs. Leaving the distributor, the oily water flows through a perforated distribution baffle followed by NATCO-LESCER™ proprietary packing, and then through a second perforated distribution baffle prior to exiting through our distinctive “shrouded” collection header.
As oil droplets are coalesced and separated, a thin layer of oil forms on top of the water. Periodically, the liquid level can be raised and the oil layer is skimmed into a collection trough and removed from the vessel.
The NATCO-LESCER™ packing arrangement provides a large surface area for coalescing oil drops, and a large open area to allow solids to fall through. This design innovation allows a significantly higher level of inlet solids to be processed compared to other media coalescers … and without running the risk of plugging.
Internal components are removable and can be installed and maintained easily at site, thus reducing down-time and inherent operating costs.
Contact NATCO for fully integrated produced water systems designed to your specific application needs. We will consider your processing objectives, while weighing the risks and cost implications of each technical solution. Design studies are available from our experienced teams of engineers and advanced technology specialists in the Process Solutions Group.