Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Gas-Liquid Separation
Gas –Liquid Separators are
pressure vessels
Spherical
Gas-Liquid Separation
Factors affecting the separator selection/design:
Can handle high GOR fluid Can handle large liquid slugs and Lowest fabrication and
stream provide better liquid surge control service coast
Reduce turbulence and foaming Liquid level control is not critical Easier to drain out
Lower fabrication cost Can handle more solid production Less floor space
Limited surge space and critical Expensive fabrication Critical liquid level control
liquid level control
Difficult to drain and sand Larger than other for same Difficult three phase
cleanout capacity separation
Lager floor space requirement
Gas-Liquid Separation
Separation Principle: Gravity Settling
π
𝐹𝑑 = 𝐶𝑑 ρ𝑔 𝑣 2 𝑑𝑝2
At equilibrium 𝐹𝑑 =𝐹𝑔 8
ρ𝑙 − ρ𝑔 4𝑔𝑑𝑝
𝑣=𝐾 𝐾= , separation coefficient
ρ𝑔 3𝐶𝑑
π 3
𝐹𝑔 = 𝑑 𝑔 ρ𝑙 − ρ𝑔
6 𝑝
Souders Brown Equation (1934)
Gas-Liquid Separation
Gas Capacity
𝑞𝑔 = 𝐴𝑣𝑔
π𝐷2 ρ𝑙 − ρ𝑔
𝑞𝑔 = 𝐾
4 ρ𝑔
At standard condition
P = operating pressure in psi
2.4𝐷2 𝐾𝑃 ρ𝑙 − ρ 𝑔 T = operating temperature in oF
𝑞𝑔𝑠𝑐 = 𝑀𝑀𝑠𝑐𝑓𝑑
𝑧(𝑇 + 460) ρ𝑔 𝑧 = Compressibilty factor at P, T
𝑉𝐿 (𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙) = 0.1399𝐷2 ℎ
𝐿
𝑉𝐿 (ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙) = 0.1399𝐷2
2
𝐷
𝑉𝐿 𝑠𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 = 0.466𝐷3
2
Gas-Liquid Separation
Separator Design/ Selection
Retention time and Gas Liquid Ratio (GLR)
𝑉𝐺 = 𝑉 − 𝑞𝐿 t 𝑡 = retention time
𝑉𝐺 = 𝑞𝑔 𝑡 = 𝐺𝐿𝑅. 𝑞𝐿 .t
Suggested retention (Sivals, 1977)
𝑉 − 𝑞𝐿 t = 𝐺𝐿𝑅. 𝑞𝐿 .t
𝑉
𝑡=
𝑞𝐿 𝐺𝐿𝑅 + 1
Gas-Liquid Separation
Separator Design/ Selection
Using Actual Separator
Performance Data/Fields
Test Data
Performance charts
(Sivalls 1977)
Gas-Liquid Separation
Separator Design/ Selection
Using Actual Separator
Performance Data/Fields
Test Data
Performance charts
(Sivalls 1977)
Gas-Liquid Separation
Separator Design/ Selection
0.00128 𝑡𝑜 Δγ𝑑𝑝2
ℎ𝑜 =
µ𝑜
𝒉𝒐
𝑫
𝐴𝑤 𝑞𝑤 𝑡𝑤
= 0.5
𝜷=
𝐴 𝑞𝑤 𝑡𝑤 + 𝑞𝑜 𝑡𝑜
𝐷
ℎ𝑜
𝑫/𝟐
𝐷=
β
′
𝑃𝐴 = ρ𝑜 𝑔ℎ𝑜 + ρ𝑤 𝑔ℎ𝑤 = ρ𝑤 𝑔ℎ𝑤
′
ρ𝑜 ℎ𝑜 + ρ𝑤 ℎ𝑤 = ρ𝑤 ℎ𝑤
′ =ℎ + 𝑜ℎ ρ
ℎ𝑤 𝑤 𝑜
ρ 𝑤
Foam breaker :
𝑃1
1/𝑛 𝑃1 = 𝑓𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒
Pressure ratio 𝑟=
𝑃𝑠 𝑃𝑠 = 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑘 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒
𝑃1 = 𝑃𝑠 𝑟 𝑛
Emulsified water
Crude Oil Treatment
Treatment Methods
Steps in dehydration process:
Coalescence:
Aggregation of separated water droplet to form larger drop
Aggregation is a function of time
Can be accelerated by application electricity, impigmentaion on
large solid surface and water washing
Gravity Settling
Aggregated water droplets separate out of oil phase due to
gravity and settled at the bottom
Crude Oil Treatment
Heat requirement
Direct and Indirect Heating
Water Emulsion
Emulsion
Flue gas
Flue gas
Fire-tube Fire-tube
Heat loss 𝑞𝑙 = 𝑙𝑞
Crude Oil Treatment
Treater sizing
The settling water encounters the flow of oil in the oil
upward direction
The settling velocity of water must overcome the oil
velocity
water
𝑉𝑡 = 𝑉𝑜
π𝐷2 𝐿
𝑉𝐿 = 0.75
4 × 144
1𝑏𝑏𝑙/𝑑𝑎𝑦 = 389.4 × 10−5 𝑓𝑡 3 /𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝑡𝑞𝑜
𝐷2 𝐿 =
1.05
Crude Oil Treatment
Treater sizing
For horizontal treater
A demulsified contains:
o Solvents
o Surface active ingredient
o Flocculants
Displacement changes
Interfacial viscosity
Film viscoelasticity
Particle wetting
Crude Oil Treatment
Crude Oil Treatment
Desalting
Oil
emulsion
Crude Oil Treatment
Amount of water required
𝑊𝑅 = % 𝐵𝑆&𝑊