The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of the coalescer geometry on steady-state bed coalescence. Oil-in-water model emulsions, encompassing 14 oils of different properties, were separated using two commercial bed coalescers, marked "04" and "H". Experiments were carried out over a wide range of oil properties and fluid velocities. Operation of coalescer "04" was characterized by an extremely low working velocity, determined by its construction. For the same reason, coalescer "H" exhibited better performances. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.