Gas/Liquids SeparatorsPart 2
Quantifying Separation Performance
Mark Bothamley, John M. Campbell/PetroSkills
Gas gravity
separation
section
Feed pipe
Liquid gravity
separation
section
Inlet device
Feed pipe
Mist extractor
Inlet device
Mist extractor
Gas gravity
separation section
l g
g
..............................................................(1)
35
3.5
Vertical
3.0
2.5
Vg
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
Horizontal
0
6
L/Di
10
No inlet device
Cyclonic
Vane-type
12
Vg
Half-pipe
36
Mist extractor
Le
hg
Vg
Vt
Liquid droplet,
Dp
Gravitational force
on droplet
Direction
of gas flow
4gdp (l g)
0.5
3Cd g
.................................................. (2)
Intermediate Law
Newton's Law
<2
Vt=
2500
Vt=
500200,000
gd 2p ( l g)
18g
................................(4)
0.1529g0.714dp1.142( l g)0.714
Vmax=Ks
g0.286g0.428
l g
g
.........(5)
................................(6)
Note: For calculations involving separation of gas bubbles from liquid, the gas viscosity (g) in the equations is replaced with the liquid viscosity.
37
Cd vs Rep
100,000.00
10,000.00
Cd
1,000.00
100.00
10.00
1.00
Stokes Law
0.10
0.001
0.01
0.1
Intermediate Law
1
10
Newtons Law
100
1,000
10,000
100,000
1,000,000
Rep
Fig. 6The relationship of the drag coefficient (Cd) to the Reynolds number (Rep) for spheres.
dpVt g
g
.............................................................. (3)
38
Vertical Separators
Using the droplet size distribution and effective actual
velocity correlations discussed in Part 1 in August, the
terminal velocity equation(s) mentioned earlier can be
used to calculate the droplet removal efficiency of the gas
gravity separation section. The results of this calculation
will be the entrainment load (gal/MMscf) and the
correspondingdroplet size distribution at the inlet to the
mist extractor. A sharp, separable droplet size cutoff will
beobtained.
The F factor (Fig. 2) is needed to calculate the
effective average gas velocity used in the terminal velocity
equation(s) given in Table 1. Because of the relatively
complex interrelationships between variables/parameters
used in the quantitative approach discussed in this series of
articles,an optimization algorithm is used to perform the
iterativecalculations.
Horizontal Separators
The calculations for the horizontal separators are more
complicated than those for a vertical separator. Referring
to Fig. 4, the residence time for the gas in the gas gravity
separation section can be defined as:
tr,g=
Le
Vg
..................................................................... (7)
.......................................................... (8)
hgVg
Le
VtLe
Vg
................................................................... (10)
.................................................................... (9)
................... (11)
Wire
Diameter, in.
Specific Surface
Area, ft2/ft3
Ks, ft/sec
Liquid Load
Before Capacity
Deteriorates,
gal/min/ft2
Description
Density, lb/ft
Standard mesh
pad
98.5
0.011
85
0.35
0.75
High-capacity
mesh pad
99.0
0.011
45
0.4
1.5
High-efficiency
co-knit mesh
pad
12
96.2
0.011
x 0.0008
83
1100
0.25
0.5
Notes:
1) Flow direction is vertical (upflow).
2) Assume mesh pad Ks values decline with pressure as shown in Table 3.
3) If liquid loads reaching the mesh pad exceed the values given in Table 2, assume capacity (Ks) decreases by 10% per
gal/min/ft2.
4) These parameters are approximate. The cyclone manufacturer should be contacted for specific information.
39
Mist-free vapor
Mist extractor
Mist-laden vapor
Coalesced liquid
Inlet device
Gas gravity
separation section
Feed pipe
Captured liquid
Separated
bulk liquid
Liquid gravity
separation section
Ks Factor, % of
Design Value
Atmospheric
100
100
93
200
88
400
83
600
80
800
78
1,000
76
1,200
75
40
Mist Extractor
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0.1
1.0
10.0
100.0
1000.0
Mesh Pads
Flow
Direction
Number
of Bends
Vane Spacing,
in.
Bend Angle,
degree
Ks, ft/sec
Upflow
58
0.51
3060
0.5
Horizontal
58
0.51
3060
0.65
Upflow
58
0.51
3060
0.821.15
Horizontal
58
0.51
3060
0.821.15
Simple vane
High-capacity
pocketed vane
Notes:
1) A 45 blade angle is the most common.
2) Assume vane-pack Ks values decline with pressure as shown in Table 3.
3) I f liquid loads reaching the vane pack exceed the values given in Table 4, assume capacity (Ks) decreases by 10% per gal/
min/ft2.
4) Th
ese parameters are approximate only. The cyclone manufacturer should be contacted for specific information.
41
Cyclone
Length, in.
Inlet Swirl
Angle, degree
Cycloneto-Cyclone
Spacing,
diameters
2.0
10
45
1.51.75
~0.81
10+
Notes:
1) F
low direction can be vertical or horizontal.
2) A
ssume demisting cyclone bundle Ksvalues decline with pressure as shown in Table 3.
3) If liquid loads reaching the cyclone bundle exceed the values shown in Table 5, assume capacity (Ks) decreases by 10%
per gal/min/ft2.
4) These parameters are approximate only. The cyclone manufacturer should be contacted for specific information.
Removal efficiency, %
120
Standard mesh pad,
6 in. thick, Ks=0.29 ft/sec
100
80
60
40
20
0
10
20
30
40
Droplet size, microns
50
can be used to quantify droplet capture efficiency of a meshtype mist extractor is as follows:
1. Calculate the Stokes number (sometimes called the
inertial impaction parameter) from the following
equation
Stk=
( l g)(d 2p )Vg
18gDw
................................................. (12)
42
Ew=
0.105+0.995*Stk1.00493
0.6261+Stk1.00493
..................................... (13)
..................................................... (14)
(d 2p)(l g)Vgn
515.7gbcos2
................................ (15)
Demisting Cyclones
Lcycl
Dcycltan2
where
Stkcycl=
(l g )d 2pVg,cycl
18gDcycl
.............................................. (16)
43
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
100
110
120
130
140
% of design Ks
44
Gas
Vertical
Flow
Inlet to separator
Oil
Time
Outlet to separator
Vl
Gas
Flow
Oil
Time
Hortizontal
Vl
45
1.2
1.4
1.2
NLL
Hold-up for
control
24 min
14 in. or 0.35 m minimum
+ slug allowance
LLA
Hold-up for
operator
intervention
LLSD
1.3
1.15
1.3
46
HLA
Hold-up for
operator
intervention
Factor
Nomenclature
b
= vane spacing, ft
HLSD
Fig. 13Layout guidelines for a liquid handling section of a twophase (gas/liquid) separator.
Cd = drag coefficient,
Dcycl = cyclone inside diameter, ft
Dp = droplet diameter, ft
Dp,100 = droplet removed with 100% efficiency, ft
Dw = wire or fiber diameter, ft
Epad = mesh pad removal efficiency, Fraction
Ew = single-wire capture efficiency, Fraction
g
= acceleration due to gravity, ft/sec2
h
= release point height above liquid surface, ft
hg = gas space height for a horizontal separator, ft
Ks = Souders-Brown coefficient, ft/sec
Lcycl = cyclone length, ft
Le = effective separation, ft
n
= number of bends,
S
= pad-specific surface area, ft2/ft3
Stk
= Stokes number,
Stkcycl = cyclone Stokes number,
T
= pad thickness, ft
tr,g = residence time of the gas, sec
Vg = gas velocity, ft/sec
Vg,cycl = superficial gas velocity through cyclone tube,
ft/sec
Vmax = maximum allowable gas velocity, ft/sec
Vt = terminal settling velocity, ft/sec
Greek Letters
= cyclone inlet swirl angle, degrees
g = gas viscosity, lb/ft-sec
l = liquid density, lb/ft3
g = gas density, lb/ft3
g = gas viscosity, lb/ft-sec
= bend angle, degrees