The Effect on the Performance of FWKO by Changing the Configuration of Weir and the Viscosity of Oil

Oil sands are usually extracted by SAGD(Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage) process and exist as emulsion that consists of water and oil. In the early process, emulsion is devided into water and oil through FWKO(Free Water Knock Out). Many numerical studies have been conducted to increase the separation efficiency of FWKO. And the viscosity of the bitumen varies depending on the location of the oil well. In this study, the separation efficiency of FWKO was analyzed by changing the radius of upper part of weir and the viscosity of oil. The flow rate of oil and water through inlet was set to 10 BPD(barrel per day) and 18 BPD. VOF(volume of fluid) was set as multiphase flow model. The results showed that the separation efficiency of FWKO having weir plate with curved surface consistent to the flow direction increased 10.9% for radius of curvature with 30 mm and 11.59% for radius of curvature with 50 mm compared to the reference model. In other case, the separation efficiency of FWKO having weir plate opposite to the flow direction decreased 1.9% for radius of curvature with 30 mm compared to the reference model. For the case of changing the viscosity of oil, separation efficiency of FWKO decreased 10.52% for 1000 cP and decreased 41.51% for 10000 cP compared to the reference model that have viscosity of 100 cP.