Removal of Emulsified Water from Diesel Fuel Using Polypropylene Fibrous Media Modified by Ionization during Meltblow Process

Separation of emulsified water from a low sulfur diesel fuel using coalescence filtration was studied in this work. Multilayer coalescence elements were manufactured in-house using the meltblow technique with or without an electric field applied directly to jets of molten polypropylene. The results were compared with coalescence elements made of fiberglass. Hydrophobic media are usually not recommended for coalescence filters applied in dewatering applications. However, experimental results presented in this work show that a properly designed and prepared nanofibrous structure performs with good separation efficiency, while maintaining the pressure drop on a relatively low level.