The process of evaporation dehydration simply involves boiling the water out of the oil. At atmospheric pressure, water turns to vapour at 100°C, whereas the oil, except for some light ends, has a higher boiling point. During a conventional heavy oil treating process, free water and the larger droplets of water in the emulsion are removed by application of heat, chemicals and residence time. The remaining emulsion usually contains small droplets of water (up to 10% BS & W).

The UIC/Colt Flash Treater® has been designed to break that remaining emulsion (whether it is a slop feed or the outlet of a conventional treater), which may otherwise be impossible or too expensive to treat. Recovery of this untreatable heavy oil can effectively payout the UIC/Colt Flash Treater® quickly.

The UIC/Colt Flash Treater® recycles hot dry oil from its outlet to the incoming stream of wet oil. This hot oil will cause a majority of the incoming water to vaporize. The recylcing of hot oil, the large volume of oil in the vessel and the baffled heating path enable the UIC/Colt Flash Treater® to handle substantial slugs of water and emulsion without foaming and unstable operation.

Several options are available including:

• High Efficiency Low Emission (HELEx®) burner system to maintain bath temperature and ensure stable operation
• Safe, simple operation
• Ability to operate with any amount of feedstock, from "shut-in" to full capacity
• Polishes oil to below 0.5% BS & W
• Eliminates the need for demulsifiers and other expensive chemicals