A Novel Approach to Measuring Separation Process of Oil-Saline Using Differential Electromagnetic Inductive Sensor and FPGA-Based Impedance Analyzer

Abstract

Liquid-liquid separation is an important process in many chemical engineering applications. The ability to monitor this process, in particular with a non-contact method, is of high value. This paper proposes and implements a novel sensing system adopting a differential electromagnetic inductive sensor and a field-programmable gate array-based impedance analyzer to monitor the separation processes of an oil-in-saline liquid system. The inductive sensor has a concentric cylinder structure with its coils arranged differentially. It is optimized to achieve a homogeneous sensitivity distribution in the sensing region. Electrical models of the oil-saline separation processes are established. Experiments under different oil and saline fractions, different agitation speeds, and durations are conducted to validate the capability of the system.