Effects of Water Contamination Water is one of the most common contaminants in a hydrocarbon fluid system and one of the most damaging. When water contaminates a system, it can cause serious problems such as:

• causing engine stall
• Enhancing bacterial growth
• Disturbing production processes
• Removing additives
• Corroding by etching metal
• Reducing conductivity
• Enhances abrasive wear in hydraulic components

Free water is usually seen as a cloudy appearance of the fuel or oil, or as puddles of water at the bottom of the reservoir. Water, which is absorbed into the fuel or oil, is called dissolved water. At higher temperatures, fuel and oil have the ability to hold more water in the dissolved stage due to the expansion of the hydrocarbon molecules. As the temperature drops, this ability reverses and free water will appear where not visible before. The saturation point for your system is dependant on the type of fuel or oil and the temperature.

Typical sources of water contamination are the production process, transport (emptying of piping and cleaning of tanks), the changes in temperature due to the weather, tank breathing, rainwater intrusion and leakage from for example steam.

The Hydro-Carbon F&S series vertical VFWS and horizontal HFWS two stage liquid Filter water separators are specially designed for the removal of free and emulsified water from (aviation) gasoline, jetfuel, diesel fuel, gasoil and other light hydrocarbon products. A two stage filter separator should be used where the highest degree of water removal is required. It also serves as a filter for rust particles and muck from the products, thus delivering a clean, dry fuel into the discharge line. It does so by coalescing the fine droplets of water found in the emulsified state and separating these from the product stream. The process of coalescing is accomplished by flowing the continuous phase of the product through a coalescer media, which has an infinite number of irrugular passages of very small diamters. By impingement the emulsion is broken into minute  particles of water and as these particles progress through the entire depth of the media, they are coalesced into droplet size.

The Hydro-Carbon F&S series vertical HFC single stage liquid Filter/waterseparators are specially designed for the removal of free and emulsified water from hydrocarbons or hydrocarbons from water in some applications. A single stage filter separator should be used where less efficient water and solids removal is required or where the processed fluid is not compatible with the second stage separator cartridge. Typical applications are the removal of gross water at an intermediate process stage prior to further refinement.

Series GC gascoalescers is a unique two-stage filtering concept for use on air and gas streams requiring both solids and liquids removal. By combining the principals of impingement baffling with the most efficient filtration and coalescing cartridge designs, the GC series will remove virtually all entrained water and hydrocarbons in free, fog or mist form. Any solids larger than one micrometer will be removed from the stream at the same time. The flow enters the inlet where the impingement baffle removes solids and some entrained liquids, They collect in the quiescent sump. Mist and minute solids flow up to the coalescer cartridges where the oil and water are coalesced and the solids removed. The flow through the coalescer cartridge is inside to outside. Solids remain in the coalescer cartridges and coalesced water and oil fall by gravity to the cartridge mounting plate. The stream then flows through the center pipe to the outlet of the vessel. Result: a clean and dry gas !

The Hydro-Carbon F & S liquid - liquid separators from the series HDPC are designed for the removal of water and solids from process streams with moderate to high separating efficiency. The separators are especially suitable for treatment of large amounts of hydrocarbons due to the construction of the Repack Coalescers.