Conventional Separators

Processing of Hydrocarbons
Schematic of a typical production facility
Sweetening Dehydration Hydrocarbon Recovery Sales

Gas
Ex wells
Separation
water oil
Receiving Treating Sales

Tank Tank Tank
Treatment Disposal
1
Conventional Separators
Conventional Separator Internal Design
Modern separators, regardless of their shape or size, should include:
1. a primary or initial separation section
2. a secondary or gravity settling section
3. a mist extraction or coalescing section and
4. a sump or liquid collecting section.
2
Primary or Initial Separation Section
The primary section is used to collect the majority of the liquid in the
inlet stream.
It contains the inlet nozzle, which is usually tangential or a diverter

baffle to take advantage of as much of the available vessel volume
as possible.
Centrifugal force or an abrupt change of direction is used to throw

the major portion of entrained liquid outwards from the gas stream.
3
Secondary or Gravity Settling Section
This section is normally designed to utilize the force of gravity.
It consists of a portion of the vessel through which the gas moves

at a relatively low velocity with little turbulence.
In some designs, straightening vanes are employed to reduce

turbulence.
The vanes also act as droplet collectors and their use reduces the
distance a droplet must fall to be removed from the gas stream.
4
Mist Extraction or Coalescing Section
A mist extractor is used in this section and can be one of several

designs:
a series of vanes,
woven wire-mesh pad
or cyclonic passage.
Many of the more recent designs use the woven wire-mesh pad.
The mist extractor removes the very small droplets of liquid in one final
separation before the gas leaves the vessel.
5
Sump or Liquid Collecting Section
The sump section acts as a receiver for all liquid removed from the gas
in the first three sections.
Room is provided for the installation of a liquid level control device.
Depending on shape and requirements, the liquid section would have a

certain amount of surge volume over the normal level of collected liquid.
6
Separator Design Characteristics
A properly designed separator essentially cleanly separates free gases

from the free hydrocarbon liquids.
If these functions are to be accomplished, the basic separator must have

the following characteristics:
1. Be constructed with adequate strength to withstand the

required working pressure.
2. Control the well stream flow as it enters the vessel.
3. Provide adequate space for the accumulation of liquids.
4. Internals arranged so as to provide minimum pressure

drop.
7
5. Minimize turbulence in the gas section of

the separator and reduce velocity.
6. Eliminate re-entrainment of the separated

gas and liquid.
7. Provide an outlet for gases, with suitable

controls to maintain preset operating
pressure.
8. Provide outlets for liquids, with suitable

liquid-level controls.
8
9. If necessary, provide clean-out ports at points where

solids may accumulate.
10. Control the accumulation of froths and foams in the

vessel.
11. Provide relief from excessive pressures in case of

closed or plugged gas or liquid outlets.
12. Provide a ready means of disposing of excess liquids

to avoid flooding.
9
THE VERTICAL SEPARATOR
The vertical separator is the most common type of separator and is

normally used for the separation of gas from relatively large volumes of
liquid.
These vessels are normally installed near oil wells and range from 1 to 4
meters in diameter.
A typical oil and gas separator is shown below.
Other types of separators may use different types of mist extraction

equipment, but the basic operation is the same.

10
In operation, the mixture of liquids

and gases enters the inlet (A),
where it is given a swirling motion
by a spiral inlet baffle in the
separator space or chamber (B).
At this point there are two forces

tending to separate the liquids
from the gas.
The first is the effect of gravity;

the second is due to the whirling
action, which causes the heavy
liquid particles to collect on the
walls of the separator.
11
The gas, which still contains some oil in

the form of small drops and spray, rises
through the chamber (B).
As the gas enters the swirl cylinder (C), it

moves faster and is again caused to whirl
so that the oil is forced against the side of
the deflector cone (E).
This liquid drains down through tubes (F)

to the bottom of the separator.
12
After passing through the swirl cylinder, the

only condensate remaining in the gas is in
very small drops.
These drops are taken out of the gas by the

scrubber dome or mist extractor (G).
The dry gas then passes through another

chamber (H) and then leaves the separator
through the gas outlet (I).
13
Condensate leaves the separator at

the oil outlet (J).
The liquid level is regulated by a float

(L) and control valve, so that liquid
covers the drain tubes (F) and the oil
outlet (J).
The separator can be cleaned through

the drain connection (K) in order to
remove any sand, mud or other
material.
14
The pressure in the vessel and indirectly the rate of flow of

gas
from the vessel, is controlled by a back pressure valve which

is installed
on the gas outlet line.
The rate of liquid flow from the vessel is regulated by a liquid
level-controlled dump valve.
15
Advantages of vertical separators:
They are easy to clean
The liquid level control in the vessels is not as critical since they will
handle large quantities of foreign material such as sand without
plugging up or otherwise affecting the operation of the vessel.
Disadvantages:
They are expensive for their size and volume
Will not adapt readily to a skid-mounted unit
Have a lower capacity than any other type of separator when

compared on the basis of effective diameter.
16
The Horizontal Separator
The horizontal separator is most commonly used for the

separation of large volumes of gas from small volumes of liquid
This type of unit is used on gas wells, gas-condensate wells and

as inlet separating devices at gas processing plants.
Advantages of a horizontal unit
It is cheaper than a vertical unit because it has approximately

one-and-a-half times the capacity for gas flow as that of a vertical
separator of the same diameter
It is readily adaptable to skid mounting;
It is easier to hook up, due to the fact that the connections are
more accessible.
17
Disadvantages of a horizontal separator
The liquid-level control is extremely critical compared to

that of the vertical unit;
It is difficult to clean out once sand or other foreign

material has accumulated in the vessel.
Feature of horizontal separator
The horizontal separator has a much greater gas-liquid interface

area consisting of a large, long, baffled gas-separation section
which permits much higher gas velocities.
18
Sectional View of Horizontal Separator
Figure above shows a cutaway section of a single-tube horizontal

separator.
The liquid and gas mixture enters at (A) and strikes an angle baffle (B)
where the direction of flow is changed.
19
The heavier liquids fall to the bottom of the tank while the gas and
spray rise.
This wet gas passes into a chamber (C) where small drops gather into
larger drops and fall into the liquid at the bottom of the tank.
20
The partly-dried gas goes through a final element where the last liquid
particles of smallest size are removed from the gas by a mist extractor
(R), generally similar to the scrubber dome described in a vertical
separator.
The dried gas then goes through the top portion of the tank and into
the gas outlet (S).
21
The liquid from which the gas has been removed moves along the
bottom of the tank past the plates (F & G) to the oil outlet (W).
The plates act as baffles to keep waves from forming in the liquids.
22
SIZING AND SELECTING SEPARATORS
In general, when considering size and type of separation, the

following are of assistance:
• Liquid flow rate (oil and water), barrels per day at minimum
and peak instances.
• Gas flow rate, cubic feet per day.
• Specific gravities of oil, water and gas.
• Required retention time of fluids within the separator;

retention time is a function of physical properties of the fluids.
23
SIZING AND SELECTING SEPARATORS
• Temperatures and pressures at which the separator

will operate and design pressure of the vessel.
• Whether the separator is to be two-phase, such as

liquid and gas or threephase; that is, oil, water and gas.
• Whether or not there are solid impurities, such as

sand or paraffin.
• Whether or not there are foaming tendencies.
24
SEPARATOR EQUIPMENT PROBLEMS AND REMEDIES
Foaming
Foaming is one of the major problems encountered in separator

operations.
The presence of solid particles such as sand, sludge and pipeline

scale may cause severe foaming.
Liquids such as methanol, glycol and filming amines which have been
injected into the well or pipelines to control corrosion or prevent
hydrates are often responsible for foaming in separators.
Wells which produce quantities of heavier hydrocarbons are also more

likely to cause foaming in separators.
This problem is remedied by the design of suitable mist extractors,

cleaning of the unit, careful monitoring of injected fluids and/or
injection of antifoam agents.
25
Liquid Surging
This is the rapid entry of liquid slugs into the separator from the lower
portions of the pipeline.
This problem can be prevented by proper selection and design of the

unit as well as correct operation of the gathering system.
Some separators are also equipped with dump valves designed to

dispose of the excess liquids from the bottom of the vessel.
26
Corrosion
Corrosive substances in the well fluid may cause severe metal loss
on the separator walls and internal parts.
Some of the more frequently found corrosive substances are H2S

(hydrogen sulphide), CO2 (carbon dioxide) and water - either fresh or
saturated with salt (brine).
Selection of metals with high resistance to corrosion is perhaps the

best way to reduce corrosion.
It is also the most costly method.
In practical applications the use of lower cost metals, combined with

the careful application of corrosion inhibitors, is the most cost-
effective method and is the method most widely used in the gas
industry to control corrosion in separators.
27

Conventional Separators

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Conventional Separators

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Processing of Hydrocarbons

Schematic of a typical production facility

Sweetening Dehydration Hydrocarbon Recovery Sales

Receiving Treating Sales

Conventional Separator Internal Design

Modern separators, regardless of their shape or size, should include:

1. a primary or initial separation section

2. a secondary or gravity settling section

3. a mist extraction or coalescing section and

4. a sump or liquid collecting section.

Primary or Initial Separation Section

It contains the inlet nozzle, which is usually tangential or a diverter

Centrifugal force or an abrupt change of direction is used to throw

Secondary or Gravity Settling Section

This section is normally designed to utilize the force of gravity.

It consists of a portion of the vessel through which the gas moves

In some designs, straightening vanes are employed to reduce

Mist Extraction or Coalescing Section

A mist extractor is used in this section and can be one of several

Sump or Liquid Collecting Section

Room is provided for the installation of a liquid level control device.

Depending on shape and requirements, the liquid section would have a

A properly designed separator essentially cleanly separates free gases

If these functions are to be accomplished, the basic separator must have

1. Be constructed with adequate strength to withstand the

2. Control the well stream flow as it enters the vessel.

3. Provide adequate space for the accumulation of liquids.

4. Internals arranged so as to provide minimum pressure

5. Minimize turbulence in the gas section of

6. Eliminate re-entrainment of the separated

7. Provide an outlet for gases, with suitable

8. Provide outlets for liquids, with suitable

9. If necessary, provide clean-out ports at points where

10. Control the accumulation of froths and foams in the

11. Provide relief from excessive pressures in case of

12. Provide a ready means of disposing of excess liquids

THE VERTICAL SEPARATOR

The vertical separator is the most common type of separator and is

A typical oil and gas separator is shown below.

Other types of separators may use different types of mist extraction

THE VERTICAL SEPARATOR

In operation, the mixture of liquids

At this point there are two forces

The first is the effect of gravity;

THE VERTICAL SEPARATOR

The gas, which still contains some oil in

As the gas enters the swirl cylinder (C), it

This liquid drains down through tubes (F)

THE VERTICAL SEPARATOR

After passing through the swirl cylinder, the

These drops are taken out of the gas by the

The dry gas then passes through another

THE VERTICAL SEPARATOR

Condensate leaves the separator at

The liquid level is regulated by a float

The separator can be cleaned through

THE VERTICAL SEPARATOR

The pressure in the vessel and indirectly the rate of flow of

from the vessel, is controlled by a back pressure valve which

on the gas outlet line.

The rate of liquid flow from the vessel is regulated by a liquid

level-controlled dump valve.