Separation of crude palm oil dispersion in water by coalescence media

Abstract

The separation of crude palm oil dispersions from water using coalescing media was investigated. The experiments were conducted in a batch system. An oil-in-water emulsion consisting of 1 wt % palm oil dispersed in water was allowed to flow through a glass tube packed with coalescing medium. The tube is 100 mm in length with an inner diameter of 10 mm. Natural palm fiber, synthetic fiber and pumice stone were used as coalesing media. The temperatures were 60°c, 70°c and 80°c and the flow velocities were 0.12, 0.25, 0.40 and 0.50 mm/sec. The results showed that palm fiber, synthetic fiber and pumice stone can be used as coalescing media for demulsification of palm oil. The rates of demulsification of every medium were higher than that of gravity demulsification. Palm fiber showed a significantly high rate while synthetic fiber and pumice stone showed only a slight improvement. Increasing flow velocity of emulsion through the bed resulted in an increase in the rate of demulsification for palm fiber but it had a slight effect on synthetic fiber and pumice stone. High operating temperature tended to reduce the rate of demulsification.