This work presents a novel methodology for designing two-phase dehydration/desalting units coupling experimental physical models and CFD simulations in order to improve the hydraulic design of a gun-barrel type equipment. This consisted of a two-phase separation process for heavy crude oils (HCOs) and water (W) with brine, within a framework of an in-situ thermal hydrotreating surface process. A series of experimental tests were performed in a pilot plant using a physical model then results were compared with CFD simulations, which allowed assessing distinct effects on the crude oil emulsion distribution, by means of a two-fluid model. This analysis provided relevant information about the effect of different configurations on the flow distributor behavior, for obtaining an optimal configuration that increases the mass transfer during the desalting process on line from the multiphase flow dispersion analysis.
