THREE PHASE

SEPARATORS
By Muhammad Atif I
 Three Phase Separators
Introduction
Three phase separators are used to separate gas and two
liquids of different densities typically oil and water.

Theyare a combination of Liquid - Liquid and Vapor Liquid

separators.

They are typically employed in oil & gas fields in downstream

of wells.
 Three Phase Separators
Zones

Regardless of the internal configuration all liquid / liquid and

gas / liquid / liquid separators consist of three basic zones:
Inlet section
Liquid-liquid settling section
Gas- Liquid Separation zone
 Three Phase Separator
General Figure Oil
Wat
er
Ga
s
Inlet Nozzle(Three
Phase Flow)
Inlet Gas
Zone Liquid
Separatio
n
Liquid- Oil Zone
Liquid
Separation
Zone
Water
Water Oil Outlet
Outlet Nozzle
Nozzle
 Factors Affecting
Separator Efficiency

Flow Pattern at Separator Inlet

Feed Pipe Geometry
Inlet Device
Entrainment
Other Internals
 Factors
Flow Pattern at Separator Inlet
The amount of liquid entrained into
the gas phase as droplets is
generally small for most flow
conditions, but will typically begin to
increase fairly rapidly as the
transition to annular flow is
approached.

Taking into account both

entrainment/droplet sizes and
steadiness of flow, sizing the feed
pipe for stratified/wave flow is
desirable, if possible. While Annular
Flow is highly undesired.
 Factors
Feed Pipe Geometry
 Factors
Feed Pipe Geometry

Typical guidelines are:

Provide 10 diameters of straight pipe upstream of the inlet
nozzle without valves, expansions/contractions or elbows.
Path changing fittings must be avoided in the immediate
upstream of separator as it can change the flow regime and
can also cause circulation of flow.
If a valve in the feed line near the separator is required, it
should only be a full port gate or ball valve.
 Factors
Inlet Devices
Inlet devices are typically selected
and sized based on the inlet
momentum (sometimes referred to
as dynamic pressure) of the
separator feed stream.

The intent is to reduce the

energy/velocity of the feed fluids to
provide conditions favorable for
phase separation
 Inlet
Devices

Most Commonly used devices include

Diverter Plates
Half Pipe
Vane Distributor
Inlet Cyclone
 Review of Inlet Devices
Diverter Plate
It can be used for flows with little gas
load and little tendency for foaming.
Disadvantages include
Poor Bulk Separation
Liquid Droplets get shattered
Creates fine droplets which is
undesired
 Inlet Devices
Half Pipe
Half open pipes are the modified versions
of 90 elbow devices suitable for both
vertical and horizontal separators, with
slightly improved bulk liquid removal and
reasonable gas distribution.

In horizontal vessels, the last section of

the half open pipe should be horizontal;
pointing opposite to the flow direction
in the vessel and with its opening
directed upward.
In vertical vessels, the last section is
closed and its opening is directed
downward
 Inlet Devices
Vane Distributor
The inlet vane distributors work by
smoothly dividing the incoming flow
into various segments using an array of
curved vanes.
The benefits of this device compared
with simpler deflectors such as deflector
plates include
Reduced agitation and hence
Improved phase operational
performance
More stable level control
Reduced foaming.
 Inlet Devices
Inlet Cyclone
The inlet cyclonic device is used in
horizontal and some vertical
separators where there is a
requirement for

High momentum dissipation

Foam reduction
High capacity
Further comparison of inlet
devices will be discussed later
on
Comparison of
Inlet Devices
 Factors
Other Internals

Demisters

Calming Baffles/Perforated Plates

Coalescers
 Factors
Entrainment
The applicable entrainment
mechanism for a given set of
conditions is strongly dependent
on the liquid phase Reynolds
number.

For many separation applications,

the main liquid entrainment
mechanism is the shearing off of
roll-wave crests .

The onset of entrainment by this

mechanism would be expected to
coincide approximately with the
wavy/annular transition.
 Factors
Misc.

Presence of impurities (paraffin, sand, scale, etc.)

Foaming tendencies of the crude oil
Corrosive tendencies of the liquids or gas.
Operating and design pressures and temperatures
Residence Time
 Configurations

There are two main configurations of three phase separators

Horizontal
a) Horizontal Three Phase Separator with Boot
b) Horizontal Three Phase Separator with Overflow weir
c) Horizontal Three Phase Separator with Bucket and Overflow weir
d) Horizontal Three Phase Separator with coalescer

Vertical
 Configurations
Horizontal Separators

Horizontal separators are almost always used for high GOR

wells, for foaming well streams and for liquid-liquid
separation.
 Configurations
Vertical Separators

A vertical separator can handle relatively

large liquid slugs without carryover into the
gas outlet.

It thus provides better surge control and is

often used on low to intermediate gas-oil
ratio (GOR) wells and wherever else large
liquid slugs and more sands are expected
 Configurations
Horizontal Three Phase Separators with Boot
A horizontal separator with a
boot is commonly used for gas-
liquid-liquid separation where a
small amount of water is
present in hydrocarbon liquid
Because the surge volume
spans the entire vessel length
this configuration handles slugs
well as long as the settling
region is sufficient for the heavy
phase to settle into the boot as
the slug is separated.
In the most common
configuration the interface is
maintained
 Configurations
Horizontal Three Phase Separators with
Overflow Weir
A settler with a single overflow
weir is a common configuration
for gas-liquid-liquid separation,
where the liquid-liquid
interface is well defined.

Where slugs are possible the

submerged weir is preferred. In
this design the overall level will
rise and liquid residence time
will increase when a slug
enters the separator
 Configurations
Horizontal Three Phase Separators with
Overflow Weir and Bucket

A settler with a bucket,

and an overflow weir, is
commonly used for
applications where a small
amount of hydrocarbon is
to be separated from
water.
 Configurations
Horizontal Three Phase Separators with
Coalescer
Coalescer internals can be
used with all of the above
horizontal three phase
separator configurations.
The design is best suited
for separation of difficult-
to-separate dispersions
and for high outlet
product quality
specifications
 Factors That Determine
Vessel Orientation

Feature Vertical Horizontal

Compact separator Yes Yes
Small footprint Yes -
Small liquid surge drum Yes -
Solid removal with liquid Yes -
Small capacity flare KO Yes -
drum
Gas dominated services Yes -
Liquid dominated - Yes
services
 Factors That Determine
Vessel Orientation
Feature Vertical Horizontal
Three phase separation - Yes
Liquid-liquid separation - Yes
High liquid degassing - Yes
residence time
Pigging and slug flow - Yes
separation
Foaming feed - Yes
High liquid surge capacity - Yes
Large capacity flare KO - Yes
drum
Solid removal through - Yes
jetting
High liquid and vapor flow Yes Yes
 Advantages of
Vertical Separators

Have good bottom-drain and clean-out facilities.

Can handle more sand, mud, paraffin, and wax without
plugging.
Fewer tendencies for entrainment.
Has full diameter for gas flow at top and oil flow at bottom.
Occupies smaller plot area..
 Advantages of
Horizontal Separators
Advantages of these separators are:
Require smaller diameter for similar gas capacity as
compared to vertical vessels.
No counter-flow (gas flow does not oppose drainage of mist
extractor).
Large liquid surface area for foam dispersion generally
reduces turbulence.
 Tidbits for
Separator Sizing
Providing sufficient time to allow the immiscible gas, oil, and
water phases to separate by gravity.
Providing sufficient volume in the gas space to accommodate
rises in the liquid level that result from the surge in the liquid
flow rate.
Allowing for variation in the flow rates of gas, oil, and water
into the separator without adversely affecting separation
efficiency.
Increasing gas flow yields improved droplet capture, but also
increases re-entrainment which results in liquid carryover and
limits separation capacity.
 Data and Information Required
to Specify and Size Separators
Separator environment: wellhead, offshore, gas plant
Service: K.O. drum, gas-liquid separator, surge, flash drum,
reflux drum, crude oil separator, solids removal
Physical space limitations
Typical sizing parameters for this service
Separator effluent requirements / separation efficiency needed:
Bulk liquid removal and/or fine mist removal.
Effect of separation efficiency on downstream equipment
Conditions of service: clean, fouling, or potentially plugging
service determines types of entrainment separation devices that
may be considered
 Data and Information Required
to Specify and Size Separators

Operating Conditions: gas and liquid flow rates, operating

temperature and pressure, gas and liquid physical properties
Design factor for sizing: Typically design factor is based on
either maximum operating flow rate alone or operating flow
rate plus a factor. This decision should be based on specific
service and project criteria
Liquid residence time requirements for de-gassing or other
needs for this service based on experience or specific project
criteria
Liquid-liquid settling time requirements
 Data and Information Required
to Specify and Size Separators

Inlet slug size and frequency

Surge time requirements
Nature of fluids being contained: hazardous properties (toxic,
flammable, lethal, etc.) and corrosively
Mechanical design conditions: design pressure and
temperature, corrosion allowance, material of construction,
minimum design metal temperature, and any project specific
requirements
 Criterion for
Horizontal Three Phase Separator
Sizing

Vapor Liquid Separation Zone

a) Without Wire mesh
b) With Wire Mesh

Liquid-Liquid Separation Zone

a) Conventional
b) With Boot
c) With Overflow Weir
 Vapor Liquid Separation Zone
Without Mesh
Check that the vapor velocity satisfies the following equation
in order to avoid entrainment. The area used for the vapor
velocity shall be the vertical cross-sectional area above high
liquid level.
L1
uh ut
H1
ut = terminal velocity of liquid droplet (m/s)
uh = horizontal vapor velocity (m/s)
L1 = distance between vapor inlet nozzle and vapor outlet
nozzle (mm)
H1 = height of vapor section(the section above the high
level
 Vapor Liquid Separation Zone
Without Mesh
The minimum vapor space above the high liquid level should
be larger than 15% of the drum diameter or 300 mm,
whichever is the greater to avoid entrainment of liquid
 Vapor Liquid Separation Zone
With Mesh
Maximum allowable velocity at DR
wiremesh
g
pad is calculated by following
formula ua K
100 g

Vapor velocity passing through wire mesh pad shall be equal to or

smaller than maximum allowable velocity. Actual pad length is larger
than required pad length by 100 mm for support plate.
L1 Qa

1000 3600 u a

L2 = L1 + 100

Height from high liquid level to underside of wire mesh (H1) shall be
0.50L1 or minimum 150 mm to avoid re-entraining from liquid surface.
 Vapor Liquid Separation Zone
With Mesh
Check that the velocity
through mesh pad is kept
high enough for good
separation.
0. 3 ua u wm 1.1 ua u wm 0.15 m / s

Qa L1
2

u wm
3600 1000

u wm = Vapor velocity at
wire mesh
 Liquid-Liquid Separation Zone
Conventional

Check the liquid velocity which is given by following equation

in order to avoid entrainment of heavier liquid. Terminal
velocity of heavier droplets shall be estimated by

gD P 2 h
ut
18

L1
uh ut
H1
 Liquid-Liquid Separation Zone
Conventional
Total liquid flow rate (sum of heavier and
lighter) shall be used for liquid velocity
(uh ). Sectional area (A1) for liquid
velocity shall be based on H1+H2.
(4) The minimum vapor space above the
high liquid level should not be less than
15% of the drum diameter or 300 mm,
whichever is the greater for avoiding
entrainment of liquid.
(5) Lighter Liquid Low Level (LLL) should
be separated at least 200 mm from
Heavier Liquid High Interface Level (HIL).
Outlet nozzle of higher liquid should be
extended above HIL by min. 100 mm.
 Liquid-Liquid Separation Zone
With Boot

Holding time of heavier liquid in boot (from low interface level

(LIL) to high interface level (HIL)) shall be minimum five (5)
minutes as a guideline. Minimum height from LIL to HIL shall
be 300 mm.
Minimum boot diameter shall be 250 mm (10") for good
operability of heavier draw off. Commercial pipe up to 24"
should be applied from economical standpoint.
Maximum boot diameter shall be 1/3 of the drum inside
diameter. When larger diameter is required, consult
mechanical engineer
 Liquid-Liquid Separation Zone
With Boot
LS (length of separation zone) should
be no less than 0.85D (diameter). A
approximate LS from inlet nozzle to
boot center can be given as follows.
L1 : nozzle nominal diameter (mm) +
200
L2 : Boot diameter (d) + outlet nozzle
nominal diameter + 0.1*drum
diameter + 350
L3 : nozzle nominal diameter (mm) +
200
Calculate and check LS
LS = L - (L1 + L2 + L3), LS0.85D
Criteria for Uh is checked
 Liquid-Liquid Separation Zone
With Overflow Weir
Check the lighter liquid velocity in this zone for heavier
droplet separation. L s
uh ut
H1
Any questions ? Hope you dont