ABSTRACT
Oil in or on water is measured in applications relating to both industrial and environmental pollution. The most common applications involve interface measurements between oil and water layers in tanks or pipelines. The capacitance of water is much higher than that of oil, and therefore measuring the dielectric constant is a convenient way to tell them apart. The way that the water-in-oil sensor is used is to set the maximum amount of water that is allowed to be present in the oil, and when that concentration is reached, either divert the flow or take other corrective action. The radio-wave oil-in-water sensors are available as probe-type sensors for the control of water-oil interface control. The capacitance approach for monitoring oil film thickness on water appears to require less maintenance but is limited to detection of floating oil. The sensing head, in an explosion-proof housing supported on pontoons, floats on the body of water.
