ETAP

ENTREPRISE TUNISIENNE
DACTIVITES PETROLIERES

Ecole Nationale dIngnieurs

De Tunis
MASTER OF PETROLEUM
ENGINEERING

SEPARATOR
DESIGN & SIZING
Students:
Mohamed SAHNOUN
Yessin REBAI
Mahmoud MAKNI

MASTER OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERING

I.

INTRODUCTION:
Separators play an important role in the oil and gas industry and are critical to the success of almost

all processes. The usage of phase separators ranges from functions as diverse as ensuring that final
product quality meets often stringent standards to protecting downstream equipment from undesirable
impurities. In the oil and gas industry the most common uses include:

Separation of liquid hydrocarbon from a hydrocarbon vapor (2-phase vapor liquid separation)

Separation of a two liquids differing in their respective densities (2-phase, liquid liquid separation)

Separation of a feed stream consisting of vapor, liquid hydrocarbon and water into 3 separate
components. (3-phase separation).

Whilst theoretically, it may be important to take into consideration dynamic operating conditions of the
separation process, such as variation in fluid properties with time; and the transient start-up and shutdown characteristics of separation operation when undertaking the design, this presents a near
impossible task in reality. As such, in this design we will uses steady-state operation of the separator as
its basis according to the GPSA Standards chapter 7.

MASTER OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERING

II.

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

As is the case with the design of any vessel, the associated system properties and process requirements
must first be defined. In the case of separator design, these may include:
System Properties

Flow rates of each phase to be separated.

Physical properties of each phase (viscosity, density, etc.)

Identification of continuous phase(s) (see following table)

.
System

Continuous / discontinues phase distinction

Vapor Liquid

The vapor is the continuous light phase, with liquid being the heavy,
discontinuous phase which settles out as droplets.

HC liquid Water.

The HC liquid is the continuous phase, with water settling out as droplets

Water HC liquid

The water is the continuous, heavy phase, with HC liquid being the light
discontinuous phase rising up through the water as droplets.

Process Requirements

The required amount and composition of feed mixture to be purified will ultimately determine the
size and type of separator selected.

Degree of separation required. The minimum droplet sizes required to be separated from each phase
need to be specified. This is generally set by factors such as purity of product required for sale or
purity required to avoid upsets to downstream equipment / processes. For example:

In HC liquid vapor separation, efficient liquid separation from vapor is needed, particularly in
situations where the vapor subsequently flows downstream to a compressor. Separators for this
purpose often include mist eliminators to enhance their separation performance.

In water HC liquid separation, efficient separation of water from the HC is needed to avoid
over-loading downstream water treatment facilities. This is particularly important if the liquid
HC is then fed to a downstream distillation column.

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III.

HORIZONTAL VS VERTICAL SEPARATOR SELECTION

Before a judgement is made regarding the type of separator most suitable for use in a specific

application, there are number of factors that need to be taken into consideration. The following sections
outline the general characteristics of both horizontal and vertical separators and where they are most
useful. It is important to note, however, there are exceptions to these recommendations and each specific
case should be evaluated before any decision is made.
For ease of reading, when comparing the performances of vertical and horizontal separators in this
section, the light phase will be referred to as vapor and the heavy phase as liquid, even in the case
of liquid-liquid systems.

A.

Horizontal Separators - Advantages:

High separation efficiency due to higher vapor space volumes and vapor residence times.
Lower nozzle outlet elevations
More applicable for use as reflux accumulators, which can be more readily attached to and
supported by horizontal separators.
More suitable than vertical separators for handling large total liquid volumes.
May be used in applications requiring 3-phase separation.

B.

Horizontal Separators Disadvantages:

Larger footprint area required than for vertical separators.

Become less economical than vertical separators for high vapor / liquid ratios.

C.

Vertical Separators Advantages

Less potential for entrainment of liquid in vapor stream. Unlike a horizontal separator, the area
available for vapor flow is not reduced when the liquid level rises during operation.
Less footprint area required.
Easier installation and operation of level alarms and shutdown control systems.
Generally a lower cost option than horizontal separators.
More efficient than horizontal separators for high vapor / liquid ratios.

D.

Vertical Separators Disadvantages

Not generally recommended for three-phase separation unless the total liquid fraction present
in the feed stream is very low (10 20% by weight).
Less suitable for a feed with a high liquid/vapor ratio.
Based on the previous remarks, we chosen to design a horizontal separator.

MASTER OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERING

IV.

HORIZONTAL SEPARATOR SIZING

A.

Inputs Required

The following lists outline the input data required. Many such inputs are highly sensitive on
the precise process requirements of the separator, and include:
Physical properties of both phases Maximum flowrates
Actual Densities
Viscosities
B.

Final Outputs Provided

Separator vessel dimensions

Vessel diameter
Vessel length (T/T)
Liquid level heights
C.

Separator Sizing:

INPUTS
Oil flow rate
Gas flow rate
Gas relative density
MW
Pressure
T
T
Z
Gas Viscosity
Liquid relative density
Dp
R
GOR

2 385,00
238 500,00
0,80
21,72
3 500,00
40,00
313,00
0,90
0,01
0,83
100,00
8,31
100,00

m3
m3/d
g/mol
kPa
C
K
cp
g/cm3
microns
m3/m3

1st step: Calculate the gas density to determine the gas flow rate, using the following equation:

Gas density

33,41

kg/m3

Liquid density

825,00

kg/m3

Mass flow

2,53

kg/s

Gas density

0,0757

kg/m3

MASTER OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERING

nd

2 Step: Calculate Vt:

From the FIG 7-9 of GPSA Chapter 7, we determine the value of the K factor (empirical
constant for separator sizing, m/s)

The K factor is needed to calculate the critical or terminal gas velocity necessary for particles
of size D to drop or settle out of gas Vt through the next equation:

With K taken equal to 0,12 m/s:

Vt = 0,0280 m/s
3rd Step: Determine the separator dimensions:
Regarding the results calculated previously, we assume a value of the separator diameter and
extract the length L. We should keep a ratio between the length and the diameter between 2 and
4.

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With an assumed diameter Dv= 1200mm, the length of the separator is about 2900mm.
Separator dimensions for gas liquid separation
D
1200
mm
L
2900
mm

Now, we will need to recalculate the dimensions with liquid/liquid separation equations.
Imputs
Oil flow rate

2385

m3

Water flow rate

238,5

m3

Oil Relative density

0,825

Water relative density

1,01

Operation temperature

40

Oil viscsity

0,55

cp

C*

1880

The value of C* is taken from the FIG7-17

4th Step: Calculate LlHl: the interface area

To measure the interface area, we will use the next equation:

Where:
Shl = relative density of heavy liquid
Sll = relative density of light liquid
Wcl= flow rate of light liquid, m3/day
Outputs
LlHl

3,77

5th Step: Calculate the volume of settling section, m3

Based on the following equation and the FIG7-18 (retention time of 3 minutes), we can
determine U, the volume of settling section:

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Volume of settling section

4,969

m3

Regarding the values of U and HlLl, we can estimate the minimum diameter of the vessel:
=

= 1,4

Now we assume a value for Ll and figure out the corresponding height Hl:
Assumed Ll

4,8

Calculated Hl

0,8

The results of Dmin and Hl are acceptable (acceptable ratio between Hl and Dmin) so we will
compare them to those of the Gas/Liq separation and chose the right dimensions.
V.

CONCLUSION:

As a conclusion and after all this work, we obtain two designs of separator:
The first with a diameter D=1,2m and length L=2,9m for gas liquid separation
The second with diameter D=1,4m and a length L=4,8m for liquid liquid separation.
In order to get the best separation between gas/liquid and liquid/liquid, we have to choose the
biggest one which is the second design.