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UNIVERSITY OF ;
/ KERBALA

. Three-phase Separator

. :SUPERVISED BY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

,. Mr.Mohammed Abdulmunem

PREPARED
PETROLEUM ENGINEERING
: : BY
DEPARTMENT
Worod

. THIRD STAGE

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 Content
Content page
Three-phase Separator 3
-Abstract 3

-Introduction 4
Type of Diffusion Equations for Fluid Flow in Porous Rocks
Basic Operation of Three Phase Separators 4
-Vessel Orientation 5

COMPONENTS OF SEPRATOR 5
Basic Design Principles 6
Three phase separator design types 7

-Horizontal three phase separator 7

-Vertical three phase separator 8

three-phase separator has the following advantages 9

Separator type selection 9

Potential operating problems
10
Benefits of Three-Phase Separators 10
REFERENCES 11

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 Three-phase Separator

Abstract
Three-phase separator is a basic component of petroleum production
system, which is used to separate reservoir fluid from oil, gas and water.
Then these separated flows are transported to the downstream for
processing.

In general, a mixed fluid can be considered as a small amount of liquid A

or/and gas B dispersed in a large amount of fluid C. In this case, the
dispersed liquid A or gas B is called the dispersed phase, while the large
continuous fluid C is called the continuous phase. For gas-liquid
separation, it is sometimes necessary to remove tiny droplets of liquid A
and C from large amount of gas B, where gas B is the continuous phase,
and liquid A and C are the dispersed phases. When only one liquid and
gas is considered for separation, it is called a two-phase separator or a
liquid-gas separator.

The basic principle of separator is gravity separation. By making use of

the density difference of different phase states, the droplet can settle or
float freely under the combined force of gravity, buoyancy, fluid
resistance and intermolecular forces. It has good applicability for both
laminar and turbulent flows.

Our three-phase separator adopts advanced technologies of effective

separation,throttling ， automatic control,comprehensive anti corrosion
and skid-mounted structure,and has the characteristics of high
separating effeciency,high automation,stability,high measurement
precision and accurate data details.

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INTRODUCTION
Separators are used in oil and petro-fields. Separators are a type of
pressure vessels and their main function is to separate the different
components from crude oil. Separators can be either two phase or three
phase.

A three phase separator is designed in such a way that it separates oil,

water and gas from crude oil or well fluid. If the input in the separator
vessel is high the pressure and eventually the stress on the dish end
would be proportionally high. Hence, it wouldn’t be able to sustain the
high pressure. To overcome this problem, we need to redesign the
separator. In thin-walled cylinders which are subjected to internal
pressure, maximum stress occur at the inside portion of the radius of
cylinder.

Stress depends upon:-P = internal pressure in cylinder, D = internal

diameter of cylinder, T = wall thickness Hence, with increase in pressure
the stress also increases.

Basic Operation of Three Phase Separators

Three phase separators are commonly used in the oil and gas industry
for the separation of oil, water and hydrocarbon gases from raw product
streams.

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All crude oils contain dissolved gases that will come out of solution once
oil is brought to the surface. The amount of gas in the oil is referred to as
the gas/oil ratio (or GOR).

Vessel Orientation
Depending on the GOR of the product stream, three phase separators
may be aligned horizontally or vertically. 
Vertical separators are often used when the GOR is low and there is a
small volume of gas to be separated from the liquid constituents.
Horizontal vessels, on the other hand, are used to separate mixtures that
have a high GOR. Much of this is due to the fact that they have increased
surface area, which facilitates separation of gases from the oil.
In many raw crude oil streams, certain hydrocarbon gases cannot be
separated from solution in a primary separator.
In these instances, the gases are stripped in other unit processes
downstream.

COMPONENTS OF SEPRATOR

• INLET DEFLECTOR : It separates the gas stream from the bulk fluid

• WAVE BREAKER : It is used to limit the wave propagation

• DEFORMING PLATE : It reduces the foaming at the gas liquid .

...interface

• VORTEX BREAKER : It decreases the vortex flow when the

liquid . . .. . ,,,,.control valve is open.

• MIST EXTRATOR : It is primarily used to eliminate the mist or

smog . ..,,,from the gases

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B Basic Design Principles

Both horizontal and vertical three phase separators have three main
sections:
• A primary separation section – The primary separation section is
situated at the inlet to the vessel and is designed to separate the fluids
from any entrained gas.
• Secondary separation – The secondary separation section is designed
to facilitate the separation of the liquid constituents into light and heavy
phases according to their specific gravity.
Typically oil comprises the light phase and water the heavy phase.

• Coalescing section – The coalescing section includes a vapor coalescer

or mist extractor to remove liquid droplets from the gas. A wire mesh
eliminator is often used for this purpose.
In a vertical tank, the heavy liquids are pumped out of the bottom of the
vessel and the light phase is drawn off the side of the tank. Horizontal
vessels use a sump arrangement to separate light and heavy liquids.
They are then both drawn off via separate outlets from the bottom of the
tank.

Three phase separator design

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 Three phase separator design types

Three phase separators may be designed in either vertical or horizontal

configurations.

Horizontal three phase separator

In a horizontal separator, fluid enters the vessel and hits an inlet
diverter. The resulting sudden change in momentum provides the initial
gross separator of liquid and vapor.
The liquid collection section of the vessel must provide sufficient for the
oil and emulsion to form a layer or pad above the water.

A weir maintains the oil level while an interface controller maintains the
water level. The oil spills over the top of the weir, and then a level
controller which operates the oil dump valve controls its level.

An interface level controller senses the height of oil/water interface.

This controller signals the water dump valve to release as much water
from the vessel as it is needed to maintain interface at designed height.
The gas flows horizontally and exits through a mist extractor to a
pressure control valve which maintains constant vessel pressure.

.A typical horizontal three phase separator

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Vertical three phase separator
In a vertical three phase separator, flow enters the vessel through the
side. As in the horizontal separator, the inlet diverter separates the bulk
of the gas. A downcomer is used to transmit the liquid through the oil/gas
interface to keep from disturbing the oil skimming action.
A chimney equalizes gas pressure between the lower section and the gas
section. The spreader, or the downcomer outlet, is located at the
oil/water interface.
From this point, as the oil rises, any free water separates out from the
oil phase. The water droplets flow counter current to the oil.
Similarly, the water flows downward and the oil droplets trapped in the
water phase rise counter current to the water flow.

.A typical vertical three phase separator

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 three-phase separator has the following advantages

1. Compact and reasonable structure design, integration of a variety of

measuring instruments and control equipment;
2. Compatible with multiple control modes (direct + PLC + computer +
DCS);
3. Multilevel security measures to ensure safe and reliable operation of
the device;
4. In addition to standard products, we can also customize the most
suitable design for customers according to their needs;
5. Reliable quality, which can be matched with components according to
the customer's designated brand, such as instruments and valves;
6. It can meet GB, ASME, API and other national and industrial
specifications at the same time.

Separator type selection

Selection of a separator type is based primarily on gas handling

requirements and space availability.

A horizontal separator is normally more efficient at handling large

volumes of gas and because of its large interfacial areas, it has better
phase separation capability. It does not handle solids as well as a

vertical separator and it requires more space.

A vertical separator on the other hand has good solid handling
capability. requires far less space than a horizontal separator, and has
much better liquid surge capacity, but it is more difficult to service.

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 Potential operating problems

Potential operating problems in three phase separators include foaming

crude, paraffin build up, sand accumulation, liquid carry over, gas
blowby, and formation of emulsions.
Separators must be sized properly in order to avoid such problems.
Design procedures require a thorough understanding of the separator
operating principles and relation to such variables as settling of the oil
droplets, retention time, and droplet size.

Benefits of Three-Phase Separators

A Three-phase separator is a wise decision for all the companies that

maintains field production facilities in the petroleum industry.
Without a high-performance separator, your team will be left to
guesswork to determine the volume and composition of outflowing
resources, which can lead to errant decisions that may compromise your
bottom line.
A 3-phase separators can be used in environments with high levels of
hydrogen sulphide.
These oil & gas separators are also environmentally friendly and help
reduce potentially devastating and costly accidents while increasing the
lifespan of supplementary extraction and testing equipment.

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 REFERENCES

1- https://www.hcpetroleum.hk/product-detail/three-phase-
separator?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIia_zj-
DH6gIVjdd3Ch0jygbrEAAYASABEgIsjPD_BwE
2-
2 https://www.honiron.com/basic-operation-three-phase-
separators/
3
3- https://www.forain.net/products/filtration-separations/three-
phase-separators
4-
4- http://www.oilfieldwiki.com/wiki/Three_phase_separator
5-
5- PDH Online Course ,ASME Section I and Section VIII
Fundamentals, PDHonline Course M398 (3 PDH),pp.13-24,2012
6-
6- Håvard Devold , Facilities and processesAn Introduction to Oil and
Gas Production Handbook, pp.4-16,2013
7-
7- Intergraph,PV Elite Quick Start Guide, pp.6-28,2013
8-
8- Saied Rahimi ,Three Phase Separator-Inlet Devices ,pp.2-8,2013

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