THERMOACOUSTIC ANALYZER FOR WATER CONTENT DETECTION IN HYDROCARBON EMULSION

Abstract

Water detection in hydrocarbon emulsions represents a serious challenge in petroleum production industry. In this paper, a systematic and an applicable method of water detection in hydrocarbon emulsion is achieved using thermoacoustic effect. The study focused on sensing the presence of water in kerosene using the established correlation between the content of hydrocarbon emulsion and the characteristics of the acoustic wave generated by inundation of a heated rod in the emulsion. This approach was tested experimentally and showed that the produced acoustic signal can be utilized as an informative parameter in quality control schemes of petrochemical oil products.