Analysis and Research on the Automatic Control Systems of Oil–Water Baffles in Horizontal Three-Phase Separators

Abstract

The three-phase separator is one of the most important pieces of equipment in the combined station of the oilfield. The control level of the oil–water interface directly affects the energy consumption of the subsequent production of the combined station and the effect of oil, gas and water separation. In order to avoid these situations, the Siemens PLC control system, configuration software WinCC and MATLAB were used. The OPC technology is used to connect communication between WinCC and MATLAB, and the genetic algorithm in MATLAB is used to obtain the optimal separation height of the oil–water interface under the produced liquid in different periods. Subsequently, through the Siemens PLC system and WinCC configuration software, the automatic control of the three-phase separator is achieved, and finally the water content of crude oil is significantly reduced. The system provides a visual interface function. In the future, it will also provide an effective simulation platform for the theoretical research and design of an automatic control system of an oilfield combined station.