FIELD OF DISCLOSURE
The present disclosure generally relates to the field of fuel treatment and conditioning. Particularly, but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for conditioning fuel and utilizing liquid coalescing techniques, to facilitate removal of dissolved and free water from variety of fuels.
TECHNICAL BACKGROUND
The information in this section merely provides background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art(s).
Generally, crude oil has to be refined in order to separate various products and/or by-products of the crude oil in the refineries. The refiners are established to facilitate treatment of the crude oil and production of different hydrocarbon streams or fuels, for example - gasoline, road diesel, LPG, pipeline compatible kerosene (PCK) and Aviation turbine fuel (ATF). The treatment of crude oil may be done in petroleum refineries, oil terminal and petrochemical complex by a process generally known as fractionation of the crude oil in a fractionating tower. During fractionation of the crude oil, it may be treated with water, steam or various aqueous solutions in order to produce hydrocarbon fuel. To meet product quality specifications, hydro-treating, caustic treating followed by water wash and amine treating are frequently used for processing of hydrocarbon fuel as conventional treating processes in the refineries. Appreciable amount of water is generated and mixed with the fuel or hydrocarbon streams during production and processing in the refinery.
The presence of water in hydrocarbon streams or fuel can corrode and plug engine parts of the vehicles, for example, fuel lines and injectors and is also a significant contributor of tank bottom corrosion and bacterial growth. Water may also contain contaminants such as chlorides which may accelerate the corrosion process of equipment such as pumps, columns etc. During winter season, the problem arises due to freezing of water and the consequently formation of ice crystals at temperatures below freezing point. It is therefore necessary to separate water from petroleum fuel and other products in order to meet various product specifications.

With implementation of BS-VI norms, the hydrocarbon fuel quality specification becomes more stringent w.r.t water to avoid problems stated above. For example, ASTM D2709 sets a 200 ppmw maximum limit on water for both PCK and high speed diesel operating at constant speed and load. Similarly, maximum limit is 150 ppmw for both motor gasoline and LPG, but still the preferred free water quantity is nil for these products.
In order to solve the above problems and to meet stringent pollution norms, coalescing and sand filters are utilized followed by salt filters or distillation under vacuum condition are methods used for separation of water. Coalescer and sand filter cannot separate dissolved water at operating temperature of 40°C and are used for bulk removal of free water. Although coalescing followed by salt filtration is used for separation of both dissolved and free or suspended water from hydrocarbon fuel, drying salts encounter temperature sensitive operation problems, addition of corrosive chloride to fuel, channelling and salt particle carry over.
For instance, document WO2009/070247A1 discloses the processes by which water is removed from hydrocarbons by contacting a feed stream of the hydrocarbon with an aqueous solution of a salt drying agent prior to passing the stream through a salt dryer to remove part of the water in the stream. The aqueous solution of the salt drying agent is generated in the salt dryer when the partly dried stream comes into contact with the drying salt and forms the solution in one or more stages. The solution is circulated in a loop from the salt dryer to the incoming feed and then through a coalescer which removes a portion of the water together with dissolved salt from the mixture before the mixture is passed on to the salt dryer where further removal of water occurs. Since the cost of the drying salt is directly proportional to the amount of water in the product, physical methods of separation have normally been preferred in refinery operations. Also problems encountered with drying salts are temperature sensitive operation problem, addition of corrosive chloride to fuel, channelling and particle carry over which may lead to variation in specification of the final product.
Another document US2009/0134068Al discloses a method wherein, dissolved water or water/ice is removed from liquid hydrocarbons by contacting the a feed stream of the hydrocarbon with a liquid treating agent having an affinity for water prior to

subjecting the hydrocarbon/treating agent mixture to coalescence/separation to remove the water from the hydrocarbon. The treating agent is separated, together with water removed from the feed stream, from the hydrocarbon product by the coalescence/separation step and recirculated to the feed. The composition of the circulating aqueous phase comprising the treating agent and removed water is controlled to achieve the desired level of water removal to meet relevant product specifications. Here a treating agent has been utilized which may increase the cost of the entire system and the process is also temperature sensitive.
In view of above, there is an immense need in the art to provide a solution to overcome the drawbacks/problems/disadvantages associated with existing fuel conditioning systems.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
The present disclosure discloses an apparatus and method for conditioning fuel, in order to remove water content from the fuel. Additional features and advantages are realized through the technicalities of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are a part of the claimed disclosure.
The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for fuel conditioning. The apparatus comprises a primary unit configured to reduce temperature of the fuel, and a secondary unit positioned after the primary unit. The secondary unit comprises a coalescer connected to the primary unit. The coalescer is configured to receive the fuel at reduced temperature discharged by the primary unit, and a sand filter connected to the outlet of the coalescer by a fourth conduit. The coalescer is configured to remove free water from the fuel and the sand filter is configured to remove residual free water from the fuel discharged by the coalescer.
In an embodiment, the primary unit comprises a pre-cooler connected through first conduit. The first conduit is adapted to receive unconditioned fuel. The primary unit further comprises a cooler connected to the outlet of the pre-cooler. The cooler is configured to further reduce temperature of the fuel.

In an embodiment, the primary unit comprises a chiller connected to the cooler and the chiller is configured to produce chilled water which is utilized as a coolant for the cooler.
In an embodiment, the chiller is connected to the cooler by an inlet conduit and the inlet conduit comprises a control valve. The control valve is communicatively connected to a temperature controller to control actuation of the control valve based on temperature of the fuel discharged by the cooler.
In an embodiment, the cooler is connected to the chiller by an outlet conduit to facilitate circulation of the water from the cooler into the chiller.
In an embodiment, the coalescer is connected to the cooler by a third conduit to facilitate flow of the fuel at reduced temperature into the coalescer. The third conduit is fitted with the temperature controller.
In an embodiment, the sand filter is connected to the pre-cooler by a fifth conduit to utilize the conditioned fuel as coolant in the pre-cooler.
In an embodiment, the free water removed from the fuel in the coalescer is discharged through a primary discharge conduit, and the residual free water removed from the fuel in sand filter is discharged through a secondary discharge conduit.
In an embodiment, the apparatus is configured to remove water from the fuel including motor gasoline, road diesel, LPG, Pipeline Compatible Kerosene [PCK], Aviation Turbine Fuel [ATF] or other liquid hydrocarbon streams which require removal of water.
In an embodiment, the cooler is configured to utilize any cryogenic stream such as liquid propane, liquid nitrogen or likewise, as the coolant to reduce the temperature of the fuel.
In an embodiment, the cooler reduces temperature of the fuel in range of 5-25°C depending upon composition of the fuel entering the primary unit.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for conditioning fuel is disclosed. The method comprises steps of receiving of the fuel with water content in a pre-cooler and then circulating the fuel from the pre-cooler into a cooler of a primary unit of an apparatus. A step of flowing fuel into the precooler to facilitate reduction in temperature of the fuel. A step of circulating a coolant from a chiller into the cooler to facilitate further reduction in temperature of the fuel flowing through the cooler. A step of discharging the fuel at reduced temperature into a coalescer and then into a sand filter of a secondary unit of the apparatus, to facilitate removal of free water and residual free water from the fuel.
In an embodiment, the method is capable of removal of water from the fuel including motor gasoline, road diesel, LPG, Pipeline Compatible Kerosene [PCK], Aviation Turbine Fuel [ATF] or other liquid hydrocarbon streams which require removal of water.
In an embodiment, a chilled water is circulated as the coolant from the chiller into the cooler to facilitate reduction of temperature of the fuel.
The above summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects and features described above, further aspects and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING FIGURES
Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will be readily understood from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying figure(s). The figure(s) together with a detailed description below, are incorporated in and form part of the specification, and serve to further illustrate the embodiments and explain various principles and advantages, in accordance with the present invention wherein:
FIG. 1: illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus for fuel conditioning, in accordance with an embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 2: illustrates a flow of chart disclosing method steps for conditioning of fuel, in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure;
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the drawings may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING FIGURES
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in the figures and will be described in detail below. It should be understood, however that it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative falling within the spirit and the scope of the invention.
Before describing in detail embodiments, it is to be noted that a person skilled in the art can be motivated from the present disclosure and modify the various constructions of apparatus. However, such modification should be construed within the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the drawing(s) are showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.
The terms "comprises", "comprising", or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a setup, device that comprises a list of components does not include only those components but may include other components not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device. In other words, one or more elements in a system or apparatus proceeded by "comprises... a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or apparatus.
Accordingly, the present disclosure relates to an apparatus for fuel conditioning. The fuel conditioning may be defined as the treatment of the fuel to form various products

having required specification. The fuel may comprise of any hydrocarbon stream including motor gasoline, road diesel, LPG, Pipeline Compatible Kerosene [PCK], Aviation Turbine Fuel [ATF] or other liquid hydrocarbon streams. The fuel conditioning is preferably performed in various process units in industries including refineries, generally known as crude oil refineries. The conditioned fuel discharged from said refineries has to follow certain product specifications in meeting pollution norms before transporting it to respective field of applications, where the conditioned fuel is utilized to generate energy in order to perform various operations. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the fuel conditioning may be defined as a process of removal of water content or moisture content to a great extent to form a product of high quality standard. However, the fuel conditioning may also refer to other processes for treating a fuel in order to separate impurities and other foreign particles of the fuel to provide high quality fuel products.
In accordance with an embodiment, the present disclosure provides an apparatus and method for a physical separation for conditioning fuel by virtue of coalescence technique at low temperature. The apparatus and the respective method facilitate separation of water from liquid fuel/liquid hydrocarbon fuel. The method is of particular applicability to the separation of water from the fuel in order to meet the product quality specification.
The apparatus comprises a primary unit and a secondary unit containing fuel cooling units and coalescer respectively. A chilled stream of fluid, is used in order to cool the fuel resulting in enhancement of IFT (InterFacial Tension), thereby; formation of stable large droplet of water which may be separated easily in coalescer. The secondary unit comprises of a coalescer and a sand filter. As temperature decreases, IFT increases thereby; water falls out from dissolved state to free state forming stable large droplets before entering the secondary unit comprising coalescers.
The applicant would like to mention that the examples and comparative studies are mentioned to show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the aspects of the present disclosure so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.

In an embodiment, an apparatus for fuel conditioning comprises a primary unit configured to reduce temperature of the fuel, and a secondary unit positioned after the primary unit. The secondary unit comprises a coalescer connected to the primary unit. The coalescer is configured to receive the fuel at reduced temperature discharged by the primary unit, and a sand filter connected to the outlet of the coalescer by a fourth conduit. The coalescer is configured to remove free water from the fuel and the sand filter is configured to remove residual free water from the fuel discharged by the coalescer.
In an embodiment, the primary unit comprises a pre-cooler connected to a first conduit. The first conduit is adapted to receive unconditioned fuel. The primary unit further comprises a cooler connected to an outlet of the pre-cooler. The cooler is configured to reduce temperature of the fuel.
In an embodiment, the primary unit comprises a chiller connected to the cooler and the chiller is configured to produce chilled water which is utilized as a coolant for the cooler.
In an embodiment, the chiller is connected to the cooler by an inlet conduit and the inlet conduit comprises a control valve. The control valve is communicatively connected to a temperature controller to control actuation of the control valve based on temperature of the fuel discharged by the cooler.
In an embodiment, the cooler is connected to the chiller by an outlet conduit to facilitate circulation of the water from the cooler into the chiller.
In an embodiment, the coalescer is connected to the cooler by a third conduit to facilitate flow of the fuel at reduced temperature into the coalescer. The third conduit is fitted with the temperature controller.
In an embodiment, the sand filter is connected to the pre-cooler by a fifth conduit to facilitate flowing of the conditioned fuel as coolant into the pre-cooler.

In an embodiment, the free water removed from the fuel in the coalescer is discharged through a primary discharge conduit, and the residual free water removed from the fuel in sand filter is discharged through a secondary discharge conduit.
In an embodiment, the apparatus is configured to remove water from the fuel including motor gasoline, road diesel, LPG, Pipeline Compatible Kerosene [PCK], Aviation Turbine Fuel [ATF] or other liquid hydrocarbon streams which require removal of water.
In an embodiment, the cooler is configured to utilize any cryogenic stream such as liquid propane, liquid nitrogen or likewise, as the coolant to reduce the temperature of the fuel.
In an embodiment, the cooler reduces temperature of the fuel in range of 5-25°C depending upon composition of the fuel entering the primary unit.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for conditioning fuel is disclosed. The method comprises steps of: receiving of the fuel with water content in a pre-cooler and then circulating the fuel from the pre-cooler into a cooler of a primary unit of an apparatus. A step of flowing fuel into the precooler to facilitate reduction in temperature of the fuel. A step of circulating a coolant from a chiller into the cooler to facilitate further reduction in temperature of the fuel flowing through the cooler. A step of discharging the fuel at reduced temperature into a coalescer and then into a sand filter of a secondary unit of the apparatus, to facilitate removal of free water and residual free water from the fuel.
In an embodiment, the method is capable of removal of water from the fuel including motor gasoline, road diesel, LPG, Pipeline Compatible Kerosene [PCK], Aviation Turbine Fuel [ATF] or other liquid hydrocarbon streams which require removal of water.
In an embodiment, a chilled water is circulated as the coolant from the chiller into the cooler to facilitate reduction of temperature of the fuel.

Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible same numerals will be used to refer to the same or like parts.
Embodiments of the disclosure are described in the following paragraphs with reference to FIGS. 1 to 2.
As shown in FIG. l,an apparatus (100) for fuel conditioning is depicted. The apparatus (100) comprises a primary unit (10) and a secondary unit (20) being positioned after the primary unit (10). The primary unit (10) consists of a plurality of components and sub-components to facilitate reduction in temperature of the fuel entering the apparatus (100). The primary unit (10) may also be defined as a cooling unit as it facilitates reduction in temperature of the fuel. The fuel which is conditioned in the apparatus (100) may be formed from any hydrocarbon stream, for example -motor gasoline, road diesel, LPG, Pipeline Compatible Kerosene [PCK], Aviation Turbine Fuel [ATF] or other liquid hydrocarbon streams. The conditioning of fuel described in the disclosure, may refer to a process for removal of water content from the fuel in order to prevent corrosion of fuel tank, blockage of pumps etc that are caused due to the presence of water content or moisture content in the fuel.
The primary unit (10) comprises a pre-cooler (11) having an inlet connected to a first conduit (1) and the first conduit (1) is adapted to receive unconditioned fuel or the fuel which is required to be conditioned in the apparatus (100).The pre-cooler (11) is configured to reduce the temperature of the fuel to a certain limit before allowing the flow of fuel into a cooler (12) of the primary unit (10). The cooler (12) is connected to an outlet of the pre-cooler (11) through a second conduit (2). The pre-cooler (11) and the cooler (12) are fluidly connected to each other through the second conduit (2). The pre-cooler (11) is utilized before the cooler (12) in order to reduce load on the cooler (12) and hence to reduce power consumption for operating the cooler (12) in order to reduce temperature of the fuel. The cooler (12) is configured to utilize any cryogenic stream such as liquid propane, liquid nitrogen or likewise, as the coolant to reduce the temperature of the fuel entering the primary unit (10).

The cooler (12) is also fluidly connected to a chiller (13) of the primary unit (10). The chiller (12) is configured to produce chilled fluid or liquid which is utilized as a coolant for the cooler (12). In an exemplary embodiment, the chiller (13) is configured to produce chilled water which is utilized as a coolant for the cooler (12). The chiller (13) is connected to the cooler (12) by an inlet conduit (6) and an outlet conduit (7). The inlet conduit (6) is adapted to allow flow of chilled water from the chiller (13) into the cooler (12) and the outlet conduit (7) is adapted to re-circulate the water at high temperature from the cooler (12) into the chiller (13) to reuse the water as a cooling agent in next cycle. The inlet conduit (6) comprises a control valve (15) to control the flow of chilled water from the chiller (13) to the cooler (12). The control valve (15) may be defined as a butterfly valve, ball valve, flap valve, electromagnetic valve or any other electromechanical valve, that actuates automatically based on temperature of the fuel discharged by the cooler (12).
The control valve (15) is communicatively connected to a controller, and the controller may be connected to a temperature sensor to detect temperature of the fuel discharged by the cooler (12). The temperature sensor may transmit data values with respect to temperature of the fuel discharged by the cooler (12) to the controller. The controller may receive said values and transmits signals instructing an actuation of the control valve (15) to facilitate required amount of flow of chilled water from the chiller (13) into the cooler (12). In an exemplary embodiment, the control valve (15) is communicatively connected to a temperature controller (14) to control actuation of the control valve (15) based on temperature of the fuel discharged by the cooler (12). The temperature controller (14) may comprise of temperature sensors and a processing unit which detects and analyze the temperature of the fuel and transmits the signals to the control valve (15) to govern actuation of the control valve (15). The temperature sensors may include, thermal sensors, thermostat or other temperature sensing probes to detect temperature of the fuel. The cooler (12) is configured to reduce temperature of the fuel up to a predefined value or a user input value of the fuel temperature. The temperature of the fuel is reduced in a range of 5-25°Cdepending upon composition of the fuel entering the primary unit (10). Reduction of temperature of the fuel in the range of 5-25°C marginally affects the relative density, and viscosity. The marginal effect on relative density and viscosity on coalescence technique has been effectively considered in the apparatus (100). The

reduction in temperature of the fuel results in increase in IFT (InterFacial Tension) of the molecules present in the fuel. As temperature decreases, IFT increases thereby; water falls out from a dissolved state to a free state forming stable large droplets.
The primary unit (10) is connected toa secondary unit (20) through a third conduit (3) connecting the cooler (12) of the primary unit (10)to a coalescer (21) of the secondary unit (20). The third conduit (3) is fitted with the temperature controller (14) to detect temperature of the fuel discharged by the cooler (12) and passing through the third conduit (3) to enter the coalescer (21). The coalescer (21) may be defined as a liquid coalescer to facilitate removal of water content from the fuel at reduced temperature, discharged by the cooler (12). The fuel at reduced temperature or cold fuel enters the coalescer (21) where bulk removal of free water occurs and removed water comes out from boot or bottom of the coalescer (21) through a primary discharge conduit (8). The cold fuel treated in the coalescer (21) is further allowed to enter a sand filter (22) through a fourth conduit (4).
The liquid coalescer (21) consists of a coalescing element (211) and a water collection boot (212) housed in a horizontal vessel. The coalescing element (211) may have a wire mesh plate type arrangement. The material of element (211) is hydrophilic as well as oleophobic in nature. The fuel containing water discharged by the cooler (12) of the primary unit (10) enters the coalescing element (211) and dispersed phase droplets suspended in the continuous phase merge together in the coalescing element (211) due to its hydrophilic nature. The large coalesced droplets of the dispersed phase leave the coalescing element (211) and are separated by the difference in density between the two phases. The separated water is collected in the water collection boot (212) and gets discharged through conduit (8).
The sand filter (22) fluidly connected to an outlet of the coalescer (21) by the fourth conduit (4), is configured to remove residual free water from the fuel discharged by the coalescer (21). The sand filter (22) is fluidly connected to the pre-cooler (11) to facilitate recirculation of the conditioned fuel at low temperature into the pre-cooler (11) through a fifth conduit (5) before discharging the conditioned fuel into a storage tank (not shown in FIGS.). The recirculated fuel entering the pre-cooler (11) acts as a cooling agent for the pre-cooler (11) to reduce temperature of the unconditioned fuel

entering the pre-cooler (11). The residual free water separated by the sand filter (22) is discharged into the atmosphere through a secondary discharge conduit (9), disposed at bottom surface of the sand filter (22).The apparatus (100) is configured to remove water from the fuel including motor gasoline, road diesel, LPG, Pipeline Compatible Kerosene [PCK], Aviation Turbine Fuel [ATF] or other liquid hydrocarbon streams which require removal of water.

We Claim:

1. An apparatus (100) for conditioning fuel, the apparatus (100) comprising:
a primary unit (10) configured to reduce temperature of the fuel, and a secondary unit (20) positioned after the primary unit (10), wherein the secondary unit (20) comprising:
a coalescer (21) connected to the primary unit (10), wherein the coalescer (21) is configured to receive the fuel at reduced temperature discharged by the primary unit (10), and
a sand filter (22) connected to an outlet of the coalescer (21) by a fourth conduit (4), wherein
the coalescer (21) is configured to remove free water from the fuel and the sand filter (22) is configured to remove residual free water from the fuel discharged by the coalescer (21).
2. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the primary unit (10)
comprising:
a pre-cooler (11) connected through a first conduit (1), wherein the first conduit (1) is adapted to receive unconditioned fuel;
a cooler (12) connected to an outlet of the pre-cooler (11), wherein the cooler (12) is configured to further reduce temperature of the fuel.
3. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the primary unit (10) comprises
a chiller (13) connected to the cooler (12);
the chiller (13) is configured to produce chilled water which is utilized as a coolant for the cooler (12).
4. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 3, wherein the chiller (13) is connected to
the cooler (12) by an inlet conduit (6), wherein the inlet conduit (6) comprises a
control valve (15), and
the control valve (15) is communicatively connected to a temperature controller (14) to control actuation of the control valve (15) based on temperature of the fuel discharged by the cooler (12).

5. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the cooler (12) is connected to the chiller (13) by an outlet conduit (7) to facilitate circulation of the water from the cooler (12) into the chiller (13).
6. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coalescer (21) is connected to the cooler (12) by a third conduit (3) to facilitate flow of the fuel at reduced temperature into the coalescer (21), wherein:
the third conduit (3) is fitted with the temperature controller (14).
7. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the sand filter (22) is connected to the pre-cooler (11) by a fifth conduit (5) to utilize the conditioned fuel as coolant in the pre-cooler (11).
8. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the free water removed from the fuel in the coalescer (21) is discharged through a primary discharge conduit (8), and the residual free water removed from the fuel in sand filter (22) is discharged through a secondary discharge conduit (9).
9. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the apparatus (100) is
configured to remove water from the fuel including motor gasoline, road diesel, LPG,
Pipeline Compatible Kerosene [PCK], Aviation Turbine Fuel [ATF] or other liquid
hydrocarbon streams which require removal of water.
10. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the cooler (12) is configured to utilize any cryogenic stream such as liquid propane, liquid nitrogen or likewise, as the coolant to reduce the temperature of the fuel.
11. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the cooler (12) reduces temperature of the fuel in range of 5-25°C depending upon composition of the fuel entering the primary unit (10).
12. A method for conditioning fuel comprising following steps of:

receiving of the fuel with water content in a pre-cooler (11) and then circulating
the fuel from the pre-cooler (11) into a cooler (12) of a primary unit (10) of an apparatus (100);
flowing conditioned fuel into the pre-cooler (11) to facilitate reduction in temperature of the fuel;
circulating a coolant from a chiller (13) into the cooler (12) to facilitate further reduction in temperature of the fuel flowing through the cooler (12);
discharging the fuel at reduced temperature into a coalescer (21) and then into a sand filter (22) of a secondary unit (20) of the apparatus (100), to facilitate removal of free water and residual free water from the fuel.
13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the method is capable of removal of water from the fuel including motor gasoline, road diesel, LPG, Pipeline Compatible Kerosene [PCK], Aviation Turbine Fuel [ATF] or other liquid hydrocarbon streams which require removal of water.
14. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein a chilled water is circulated as the coolant from the chiller (13) into the cooler (12) to facilitate reduction of temperature of the fuel.