SEPARATION
Separators designed for use in the gas industry are
mechanical devices, which remove liquids from the natural gas stream. Proper
separator design must accomplish the following:
- Dissipate
and control the energy of the inlet gas stream.
- Reduce
gas and liquid velocities so that initial gravitational separation will
occur.
- Allow
adequate liquid retention time for the separation of entrained gases from
hydrocarbon liquid streams.
- Eliminate
separated liquid re-entrainment into the outlet gas phase.
- Provide
adequately sized connections for inlet, gas outlet, liquid outlet,
pressure safety valve, level controls, level gauge, pressure gauge,
temperature gauge, drains and inspection openings.
Separators are primarily manufactured in two basic styles –
Vertical and Horizontal.
- Vertical
Separators are well suited for handling large liquid slugs, solids and
surging flow conditions, in addition, vertical separators require less
floor space. In standard vertical up-flow designs, the gas volume is
limited due to re-entrainment because of the counter current flow of gas
(up) and liquid (down). Vertical units equipped with specially designed
vane mist extractors eliminate re-entrainment and have an increased gas
capacity.
- Horizontal
Separators are best suited for streams with: high gas / liquid ratios,
constant flow and relatively low liquid surging. The gas transit time is
increased in horizontal separators thus allowing gravity more time to
capture liquid particles. If foaming is anticipated, predesigned
de-foaming sections can be added to release entrained solution gas from
the foam. Due to the large interfacial area available between phases,
horizontal units are best suited for 3 Phase (liquid, liquid gas) Separation.
GAS SCRUBBERS
QBJ gas scrubbers are basically 2-phase separators
specifically designed to handle gas streams having high gas-liquid ratios, varying
flows, and liquid surging. QBJ scrubbers are designed in both the vertical and
horizontal configuration.
3 PHASE SEPARATION
The design and construction of 3-phase separators are
different from 2-phase separators in that the liquid retention time is increased
to allow for liquid/liquid phase separation of a hydrocarbon liquid stream from
a H2O liquid stream. Depending upon the service, this time will vary from 3 to
30 minutes. The horizontal configuration is best suited for liquid-liquid-gas
or 3-phase separations because of the large interfacial area available between
the two liquid phases. A series of weirs and liquid–liquid interface points
facilitate the phase separation.
Click the link to inquire about our Scrubbers