API SPEC 12L:2008

General This specification covers minimum requirements for material, design, fabrication, and testing of vertical and horizontal emulsion treaters. The jurisdiction of this specification terminates with each pressure vessel as applicable: the emulsion treater with firetube(s) and, if used, the heat exchanger(s) and water siphon. Pressure vessels covered by this specification are classified as natural resource vessels by API 510, Pressure Vessel Inspection Code. An emulsion treater is a pressure vessel used in the oil producing industry for separating oil-water emulsions and gas, and for breaking or resolving emulsified well streams into water and saleable clean oil components. Emulsion treaters are usually equipped with one or more removable firetubes or heat exchange elements through which heat is applied to the water and/or emulsion to aid the emulsion breaking process. Background Emulsion treating is normally conducted on crude oil immediately after it is separated from its associated gas in a vessel referred to as a treater or sometimes as a heater treater. High gas-oil ratio wells or those produced by gas lift may require the installation of an oil and gas separator upstream of the treater to remove most of the associated gas before the emulsion enters the treater. Where the water to oil ratio is high, Freewater knockouts may be required upstream of the treater. The function of the treater is to dehydrate (or dewater) the produced crude oil to a specified level of basic sediment and water (BS&W). Oil-water separation may be enhanced by heating, emulsion breaking chemicals, coalescing media, and/or electrostatic fields in vessels sized for substantial liquid residence time. Process considerations are covered in Annex A. Refer to Figure 1, Figure 2 and Figure 3, which show general arrangements of components, piping and instrumentation. (Some of the illustrated features are considered optional.)