The PhaseSep® A/S Series coalescer is the latest member of Pall’s PhaseSep coalescer family and is a high-efficiency phase separation element. The PhaseSep A/S coalescer can help achieve critical separations at a lower cost, with better efficiencies and reduced process times than conventional centrifuges, settlers, or coalescers.
The presence of difficult to separate emulsions can be costly and problematic for fluid processing industries. Inefficient separations of liquid contaminants can cause:
- Final products to be off-specification
- Excess consumption of expensive resins or increase in wash water volumes used for purification or washing
- Costly processing delays
- Increased costs for wastewater treatment or disposal
Breaking stable emulsions can be a difficult task depending upon the process conditions. Pall has developed a highly efficient series of coalescing elements to enable the separation of stable emulsions.
Important parameters in determining the ease of separating emulsions include the interfacial tension (IFT), difference in density, and viscosity. The IFT is a good way to assess the stability of an emulsion. For very stable emulsions, the IFT can be very low (‹20 dyne/cm) and conventional separation technologies, including fuel product coalescers, can lose their efficiency when the IFT reaches below 20 dyne/cm.