WATER TREATING INSIGHTS

Gas/Liquids SeparatorsPart 2
Quantifying Separation Performance
Mark Bothamley, John M. Campbell/PetroSkills

I
n this second article of a three-part series, methods for
improved quantification of operating performances of
the gas gravity separation, the mist extraction, and the Inlet device
Mist extractor
liquid gravity separation sections of gas/liquid separators
Gas gravity
are discussed. These methods can be used for the selection Feed pipe
separation
and design of new separators, as well as the rating of section
existingseparators. Liquid gravity
Part 1 of the series in August provided a general separation
discussion of separation equipment classification, as well section
as existing limitations to methods used for quantifying
separator performance.
The main parts of a typical gas/liquid separator, vertical Mist extractor
or horizontal, are shown in Fig. 1, including the feed pipe, Inlet device

inlet device, gas gravity separation section, mist extractor,

Feed pipe
and the liquid gravity separation section. Part 1 discussed Gas gravity
the feed pipe and inlet device. separation section

Gas Gravity Separation Section Liquid gravity separation section

The primary function of the gas gravity separation
sectionof a separator is to reduce the entrained liquid load
not removed by the inlet device. Available mist extractors
have limitations on the amount of entrained liquid Fig. 1Parts of a separator (vertical and horizontal).
(droplets) that can be handled. A secondary, but related,
function is the improvement/straightening of the gas maximum gas velocity to achieve the required degree of
velocity profile. dropletseparation.
In low-liquid-loading applications, such as scrubbers, Souders-Brown equation:
pre-separation of liquid droplets may not be required if the
mist extractor can handle the entrainment load. However, l g
Vmax=Ks
g
even in this scenario, a relatively uniform gas velocity ..............................................................(1)
distribution should be delivered to the mist extractor to
optimize its performance. The gas gravity separation section The Ks methodology does not readily lend itself to
then provides preconditioning of the gasand its entrained quantification of gas/liquid separation performance, so will
liquid loadahead of the mist extractor. not be discussed further.
Two approaches to sizing this part of the separator After simplifying assumptions to make the calculations
to remove liquid droplets from the gas are the Ks method manageable, the droplet settling calculations for sizing the
(Souders-Brown equation as shown in Eq. 1) and the gas gravity separation section (cross-sectional area and
droplet settling theory. length) aim at removing a target liquid-droplet size (e.g.,
The physical process is the separation of liquid 150 m) and all droplets larger than the target size. Even
droplets from the gas phase. Traditionally, the Ks method this approachis only semiquantitative in that selection of
has been most commonly used because it usually an appropriate target droplet size is an inherently ill-defined
provides reasonable results and is easy to use (Ksvalues procedure, and provides little indication as to the amount of
for vertical and horizontal separators are available from entrainment remaining.
many literature sources). The method, primarily an If we think of the gas gravity separation section
empirical approach, involves the estimation of an allowable as a preconditioning step ahead of the mist extractor,

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 WATER TREATING INSIGHTS

3.5
Vertical
F, Actual Velocity/Average (Plug Flow) Velocity

3.0

2.5

Vg
2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

Horizontal
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
L/Di Vg
No inlet device Cyclonic

Simple diverter/baffle plate Vane-type

Half-pipe

Fig. 2Effect of inlet device on downstream gas and liquid

velocity profiles (without flow-straightening devices).
Fig. 3Vertical and horizontal separators showing the gas
flowdroplet settling relationships.
then it is clear that the requirements for separation
performance of this part of the separator are dependent
on the requirementsof the selected mist extractor. Release Point of Entrained Liquids at the Entrance
Particularlyimportant are the allowable liquid loading to the Gas Gravity Separation Section
(gal/min/ft2) of the face area of the mist extractor and the Fig. 3 shows the gas flowdroplet settling relationships for
droplet removal capability of the mistextractor. vertical and horizontal separators. With the droplet size
The uniformity of the gas velocity profile through distribution and effective actual gas velocity through the gas
the mist extractor and limits on velocity to prevent gravity separation section established, the droplet settling
re-entrainment are also important factors and will be calculations are relatively straightforward for a vertical
discussedlater. separator. For a horizontal separator, the effective release
The amount of entrainment and the gas velocity point of the droplets must be established before the settling
profileexiting the inlet device were determined by the calculations can be performed.
method in Part 1 of the series in August 2013. The geometry associated with the droplet settling
Fig. 2 shows the quality of the flow distribution calculations for a horizontal separator is shown in Fig. 4.
immediately upon exit of the inlet device (L/Di=0) The worst case (most conservative) assumption for the
and the development of the flow profile with distance release point is that all droplets are released at the top
downstreamof the inlet device. The quality of the (inlet) of the gas gravity separation section, as shown by the
flow distribution is characterized by the factor F, droplet settling trajectory in Fig. 4. A release point closer to
the actualaverage velocity/ideal plug flow velocity. F the gas/liquid interface results in better calculated droplet-
valuesgreater than 1.0 imply unused cross-sectional removal performance and a lower entrainment load exiting
flow area. Useof this factor will allow estimation of the the gas gravity separation section (mist extractor inlet). The
effective actualvelocity, which can then be used in the type of inlet device and its location has a bearing on the
droplet settling calculations for the gas (and liquid) effective entrainment load release point at the inlet to the
gravitysections.Note also that the calculated effective gas gravity separation section. But because of the relatively
actual velocity for the gas gravity sectionwill be the chaotic gas flow patterns expected to be exiting from the
velocityat theentrance to the mist extractor section. inlet device, regardless of the type, attempting to specify the

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 WATER TREATING INSIGHTS

Gas gravity separation section

Mist extractor
Inlet device Le Drag force of gas
on droplet
Feed pipe Vg
hg
Vt

Liquid gravity separation section Liquid droplet,

Dp

Fig.4The geometry associated with the droplet settling Direction Gravitational force
calculations for a horizontal separator. of gas flow on droplet

vertical position/height of the release point as a point source

is probably not warranted. Additional investigation of this Fig. 5A schematic of a force balance on a droplet in a flowing
issue via computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling gas stream.
isrecommended.
For the purposes of this article, it will be assumed that remaining would be within the capability of the
the release of entrained droplets occurs uniformly over the mistextractor.
vertical height of the gas gravity separation section (hg) in The following discussion does not use this approach;
Fig. 4. This is a more optimistic assumption than the release instead, it is based on quantification of the entrainment
point depicted at the top of the vessel in Fig. 4, but is more loads, droplet sizes, and liquid-loading capabilities of mist
realistic. The actual release of droplets would be expected to extractors. Droplet/gravity settling theory is addressed
occur over much of the cross-sectional area of the gas space in other references, so an overview of the subject will be
at the inlet to the gas gravity separation section, which provided here.
is less conservative than the assumption used here. The Eq. 2 represents a general form of droplet settling. It is
current release point assumption does not result in a sharp, obtained by performing a force balance on the droplet in
separable droplet cutoff size, which is also more realistic. a flowing gas stream, as shown in Fig. 5. These principles
also apply to separation of gas bubbles from liquid and
Droplet Settling Calculations separation of droplets of one liquid phase from another
Droplet settling calculations have typically been based liquid phase.
on the separation of a target droplet size. The primary
4gdp (l g) 0.5
assumption is that if all droplets larger than the target Vt=
3Cd g
droplet size are removed, the amount of entrainment .................................................. (2)

TABLE 1-TERMINAL VELOCITY EQUATIONS FOR SETTLING LAW REGIONS

Settling Law Reynolds Number (Rep) Terminal Velocity Equation

gd 2p ( l g)
Stokes' Law <2 Vt=
18g
................................(4)
0.1529g0.714dp1.142( l g)0.714
Vt=
Intermediate Law 2500 g0.286g0.428
.........(5)

l g
Vmax=Ks
Newton's Law 500200,000 g
................................(6)

Note: For calculations involving separation of gas bubbles from liquid, the gas viscosity (g) in the equations is replaced with the liquid viscosity.

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WATER TREATING INSIGHTS

Cd vs Rep

100,000.00

10,000.00

1,000.00
Cd

100.00

10.00

1.00

Stokes Law Intermediate Law Newtons Law

0.10
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1,000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000

Rep

Fig. 6The relationship of the drag coefficient (Cd) to the Reynolds number (Rep) for spheres.

The drag coefficient (Cd) is a function of the droplet/ Vertical Separators

bubble Reynolds number, defined as: Using the droplet size distribution and effective actual
velocity correlations discussed in Part 1 in August, the
dpVt g
Rep= terminal velocity equation(s) mentioned earlier can be
g
.............................................................. (3) used to calculate the droplet removal efficiency of the gas
gravity separation section. The results of this calculation
The Reynolds number of the droplet includes the will be the entrainment load (gal/MMscf) and the
terminal velocity, which makes solving for Cd an iterative correspondingdroplet size distribution at the inlet to the
process, much like the solution for the friction factor in mist extractor. A sharp, separable droplet size cutoff will
fluid-flow calculations. beobtained.
Fig. 6 shows the relationship between Cd and Rep for The F factor (Fig. 2) is needed to calculate the
spherical droplets. The full range of Reynolds numbers for effective average gas velocity used in the terminal velocity
droplets can be divided into the regions associated with the equation(s) given in Table 1. Because of the relatively
laws of settlingStokes, intermediate, and Newtons. complex interrelationships between variables/parameters
Table 1 shows the derived equations for terminal used in the quantitative approach discussed in this series of
velocity for the three settling regions. articles,an optimization algorithm is used to perform the
For the gas gravity separation section, the entrained iterativecalculations.
droplet sizes of most interest will fall in the intermediate-
law settling region. The very smallest and very largest Horizontal Separators
droplets will fall into the Stokes and Newtons law The calculations for the horizontal separators are more
regions,respectively. complicated than those for a vertical separator. Referring

38 Oil and Gas Facilities October 2013

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to Fig. 4, the residence time for the gas in the gas gravity into the appropriate settling velocity equation in Table 1 to
separation section can be defined as: determine the corresponding droplet diameter (dp). This
droplet size, along with all larger droplets, will be separated
Le
tr,g= with 100% efficiency for the given conditions (dp,100).
Vg
..................................................................... (7) Because of the assumption made earlier that droplets
are released uniformly over the vertical height (hg) of the gas
A droplet of liquid is considered to be separated/ space, an additional calculation is required to determine the
removed from the gas if it falls vertically from its release separation efficiency of droplets smaller than dp,100.
point to the liquid level (h) within the time (tr,g) it takes for
the gas to traverse the horizontal length of the gas gravity Eq. 8 is rearranged to give:
section (Le).
VtLe
Equating the droplet drop time with the horizontal gas h=
Vg
transit time gives: ................................................................... (10)

h L
= e =tr,g For droplets smaller than dp,100, terminal velocities can
Vt Vg
.......................................................... (8) be calculated using the equations in Table 1. As droplet size
decreases, the terminal settling velocities will also decrease,
If h is set equal to hg, the vertical distance between the resulting in decreasing values for h, the maximum allowable
liquid level and the top of the vessel, the droplet trajectory release-point height that results in separation of the droplet.
shown in Fig. 4 is obtained. Eq. 8 can then be rearranged This leads to the following relationship between droplet
togive: size and removal efficiency for droplets smaller than the
calculated dp,100 size:
hgVg
Vt=
Le
.................................................................... (9) Separation efficiency for dp<dp,100= h
hg
................... (11)
This is the terminal (settling) velocity of the droplet
corresponding to the trajectory shown in Fig. 4. The value For the purposes of this article, the distance hg and gas
for the terminal settling velocity can then be substituted velocity Vg have been based on the liquid level at high-level

TABLE 2-MESH PAD DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PARAMETERS

Liquid Load
Wire Specific Surface Before Capacity
Description Density, lb/ft 3
Voidage, % Ks, ft/sec
Diameter, in. Area, ft2/ft3 Deteriorates,
gal/min/ft2

Standard mesh
9 98.5 0.011 85 0.35 0.75
pad

High-capacity
5 99.0 0.011 45 0.4 1.5
mesh pad
High-efficiency
0.011 83
co-knit mesh 12 96.2 0.25 0.5
x 0.0008 1100
pad
Notes:
1) Flow direction is vertical (upflow).
2) Assume mesh pad Ks values decline with pressure as shown in Table 3.
3) If liquid loads reaching the mesh pad exceed the values given in Table 2, assume capacity (Ks) decreases by 10% per
gal/min/ft2.
4) These parameters are approximate. The cyclone manufacturer should be contacted for specific information.

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The equations for calculating re-entrainment conditions

are similar to those developed by Ishii and Grolmes (1975)
Mist-free vapor andhave been adapted to apply to horizontal separators by
Mist extractor Viles (1993).
Mist-laden vapor The re-entrainment constraint, while not typically
Coalesced liquid limiting, will be determined and used in separator sizing
Inlet device Gas gravity results to be presented in the next article in this series
separation section inDecember.
Feed pipe
Captured liquid
Velocity Profile Modifiers: Perforated Plates
Quantification of droplet separation in the gas gravity
Separated
bulk liquid separation section of a vertical or horizontal separator
Liquid gravity requires an estimate of the effective actual gas velocity.
separation section
Theactual gas velocity will always be higher than the
idealplug flow velocity, making droplet separation
moredifficult. It is possible to modify the gas velocity
profile and make it closer to the ideal plug flow.
Typically,this is done by usingflow straightening
Fig. 7A mist extractor in a vertical separator. internals,often in the form of perforated plates. These
platesuse hole sizes of approximately 0.5 in. diameter
with20% to 25% open area.
shutdown, which may be conservative, but is intended to For the purposes of this article, use of a perforated
ensure liquid-removal separation performance over the plate in the gas or liquid phase is assumed to provide a 50%
entire range of potential operating conditions. improvement in the uniformity of the velocity profile, based
With these calculations applied to the entrainment on inspection of published CFD results. For example, if F =
load and its corresponding droplet size distribution, the 1.6 without a perforated plate, use of the plate would result
separation performance of the gas gravity separation section in an effective F factor of 1.60.5(0.6) = 1.3. This will reduce
can be quantified. The entrainment/droplets not separated the effective average gas velocity and improve droplet
are carried onward to the mist extraction section. separationefficiency.

Re-Entrainment Mist Extractor

For horizontal separators, there are limits to the velocity The mist extractor acts as the final gas-cleaning step in
ofthe gas flowing across the surface of the liquid to a conventional separator. Its selection and design will
prevent re-entrainment of the liquid into the gas phase. determine the amount of liquid remaining in the separated
gas phase (carry-over). Historically, and certainly for many
onshore applications, mist extractor referred to a mesh
TABLE 3-MESH PAD KS DERATION pad. Mesh pads are commonly used, but higher-capacity
FACTORS AS A FUNCTION OF PRESSURE mist extractors, which include vane-type (vane packs) and
axial-flow demisting cyclones, are being increasingly used
Ks Factor, % of especially in large-flow applications.
Pressure, psig
Design Value Fig. 7 shows the location and function of a typical mist
Atmospheric 100 extractor in a vertical separator.
The purpose of the mist extractor is to remove the
100 93 droplets of liquid remaining at the outlet of the gas gravity
200 88 separation section.

400 83 Mist Extractor Performance

600 80 Mist extractor performance depends on the following:
Droplet removal efficiency. The ability to remove
800 78 smaller droplets will correspond to less droplet
1,000 76 penetration through the mist extractor and, therefore,
less carry-over of liquid into the separated gas. The
1,200 75 required removal efficiency and tolerable amount

40 Oil and Gas Facilities October 2013

 WATER TREATING INSIGHTS

of carry-over is determined by the sensitivity of the 1.2

Single-wire impaction efficiency,

downstream process or equipment to the liquid
1
content of the gas. Extremely sensitive processes,
such as molecular sieve beds and amine contactors, 0.8

Ew fraction
likely will require a well-designed and properly sized
coalescing filter, though some of the highest efficiency 0.6
mist extractor designs can approach this level of
0.4
droplet removal performance, and often with a more
robust piece of equipment. 0.2
Gas capacity. Gas capacity is usually determined
by the maximum allowable velocity before re- 0
0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0 1000.0
entrainment becomes excessive. Capacity is typically
Stokes number (inertial impaction parameter)
quantified using the Souders-Brown equation (Eq.1).
Each mist extractor type has its own Ks factor,
Fig. 8Single-wire droplet capture efficiency. (This chart
usually different from the values used to size the gas
assumes the motion of the droplets relative to the gas phase is
gravity separation section. Ideally, there should be governed by Stokes' law.)
correlations/equations that quantify Ks values for mist
extractors as a function of the mist extractor design/
construction details and the in-situ fluid properties performance is substantially degraded (usually
and flow conditions. Although some information is because of re-entrainment).
available about this, further work is required. Most Secondary considerations include turndown
mist-extractor capacity information is based on low- performance and fouling tendency.
pressure air/water tests, which do not scale up well to
real-world conditions. Mesh Pads
Liquid handling. This refers to the amount Droplet Removal Efficiency
of entrained liquid load (gal/min/ft2) that the The primary droplet capture mechanism used by wire-mesh
mistextractor can handle before separation mist extractors is inertial impaction. A methodology that

TABLE 4-VANE-PACK DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PARAMETERS

Liquid Load Before
Flow Number Vane Spacing, Bend Angle,
Vane Type Ks, ft/sec Capacity Deteriorates,
Direction of Bends in. degree
gal/min/ft2

Upflow 58 0.51 3060 0.5 2

Simple vane
Horizontal 58 0.51 3060 0.65 2

Upflow 58 0.51 3060 0.821.15 5

High-capacity
pocketed vane
Horizontal 58 0.51 3060 0.821.15 5

Notes:
1) A 45 blade angle is the most common.
2) Assume vane-pack Ks values decline with pressure as shown in Table 3.
3) If liquid loads reaching the vane pack exceed the values given in Table 4, assume capacity (Ks) decreases by 10% per gal/
min/ft2.
4) These parameters are approximate only. The cyclone manufacturer should be contacted for specific information.

October 2013 Oil and Gas Facilities 41

 WATER TREATING INSIGHTS

TABLE 5-TYPICAL DEMISTING AXIAL-FLOW CYCLONE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION

PARAMETERS
Cyclone-
Liquid Load Before Capac-
Cyclone Inside Cyclone Inlet Swirl to-Cyclone Ks, ft/sec (Based on
ity Deteriorates, gal/min/ft2
Diameter, in. Length, in. Angle, degree Spacing, Bundle Face Area)
of Bundle Face Area
diameters

2.0 10 45 1.51.75 ~0.81 10+

Notes:

1) Flow direction can be vertical or horizontal.

2) Assume demisting cyclone bundle Ksvalues decline with pressure as shown in Table 3.
3) If liquid loads reaching the cyclone bundle exceed the values shown in Table 5, assume capacity (Ks) decreases by 10%
per gal/min/ft2.
4) These parameters are approximate only. The cyclone manufacturer should be contacted for specific information.

120
Standard mesh pad, An approximate curve fit of Fig. 8 is given by the
100
Removal efficiency, %

6 in. thick, Ks=0.29 ft/sec following equation:

80
Simple vane, horiz 0.105+0.995*Stk1.00493
60 flow, vane spacing=0.5 in., Ew=
0.6261+Stk1.00493 ..................................... (13)
Ks=0.53 ft/sec
40

20 2 in. cyclones, L=10 in., 3. Convert the single-wire capture efficiency into the
swirl=45 deg, Ks=0.8 ft/sec mesh-pad removal efficiency using the following
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 equation based on the work by Carpenter and
Droplet size, microns Othmer(1955).
Epad= 1e 0.238STEw
..................................................... (14)
Fig. 9An example of the calculated droplet removal efficiency
for three mist extractors for 35API oil and 0.7 SG gas at 500 psig
and 100F. Mesh Pad Capacity
Mesh pad capacity is defined by the Ks value as used in the
Souders-Brown equation. Information, including Ks values,
can be used to quantify droplet capture efficiency of a mesh- for several mesh pad designs is provided in Table 2.
type mist extractor is as follows:
Ks Deration for Pressure
1. Calculate the Stokes number (sometimes called the It has been found that the capacity of most mist extractor
inertial impaction parameter) from the following types, including mesh pads, declines with increasing
equation pressure. This behavior is believed to be mainlydue to
the increasing gas density/liquid densityratio(g/l) and
( l g)(d 2p )Vg
Stk= decreasing liquid surface tension that occurs with increasing
18gDw
................................................. (12) pressure. Table3 was originally developed for mesh pads,
but is used asanapproximationfor other mist extractor
(Note: Some literature sources define the Stokes types (Fabianet al. 1993).
number with a value of 9 in the denominator instead
of 18.) Vane-Type Mist Extractors
Droplet Removal Efficiency
2. Calculate the single-wire removal efficiency from Similar to mesh pads, the primary droplet capture
Fig. 8 (Langmuir and Blodgett 1946). mechanism used by vane-type mist extractors is inertial

42 Oil and Gas Facilities October 2013

 WATER TREATING INSIGHTS

impaction. The following equation (Monat et al.1986) of mist extractor. At high gas-flow rates, the mesh pad will
canbeused to estimate droplet separationefficiency: be operating above its capacity limit and willbe entraining
(carrying over) liquid from its downstream face. However,
(d 2p)(l g)Vgn it has been found experimentally that the re-entrained
Evane=1exp liquid exiting the mesh pad is in the form of droplets
515.7gbcos2
................................ (15) substantially larger than those at the inlet to the mesh pad.
When operated above its capacity, the mesh pad acts as a
This equation does not account for the effect of pockets, coalescer, shifting the entrainment droplet size distribution
if present. It also includes a variation of the Stokes number to larger sizes. These larger droplets are easier to remove by
defined earlier. the secondary downstream vane-pack or demisting cyclone
Table 4 provides construction and design bundle. The mesh pad provides good low-flow droplet
parameters,including Ks values, for several generic vane- removal performance, while the secondary vane-pack or
pack types. demisting cyclone bundle provides high-flow capacity with
improved droplet removal performance as a result of the
Demisting Cyclones larger droplets exiting the mesh pad.
Droplet Removal Efficiency It is possible to quantify the performance of the series
The following formula can be used for calculating mesh pad configuration by estimating how carry-over
thedroplet removal efficiency of an individual varies with Ks values above design for the primary mist
axial-flowcyclone tube (Austrheim 2006). extractor (usually a mesh pad) and how the droplet size
is shifted by the mesh pad when operating above its re-
Lcycl entrainmentpoint.
Ecycl= 1exp 8Stkcycl
Dcycltan2 Fig. 10 shows the assumed approximate relationship
between the percentages of carry-over vs. the percentages
where of design Ks. For simplicity, this article assumes an
adjustable shift factor of 2 that is applied to the droplet
(l g )d 2pVg,cycl
size distribution calculated at the inlet to the primary
Stkcycl= mistextractor.
18gDcycl
.............................................. (16)
Liquid Gravity Separation Section
Vg,cycl is the superficial gas velocity through a single The functions of the liquid gravity separation section
cyclone tube. Given the in-situ volumetric gas-flow rate, to depend on the type of separator and its application,
determine the velocity through an individual cyclone it is including thefollowing:
necessary to know the number of cyclones and their sizes 1. Degassing of the liquid.
(cross-sectional flow area/cyclone). This information should 2. Smoothing out of intermittent inlet flow surges
also correlate to the Ks value used to quantify capacity for to provide steadier liquid flow to downstream
a demisting cyclone bundle, based on bundle face area. equipment/processing.
For the purposes of this article, it is assumed that the 3. To maintain a liquid seal at the bottom of
individual cyclones are laid out on a square pitch pattern the separator, a minimum requirement for
with a centerline to centerline spacing of 1.75Dcycl (cyclone instrumentation layout and process control.
insidediameter).
Fig. 9 provides an example of the droplet removal Degassing of the Liquid
calculations using the equations given earlier. This process separates the free gas out of the liquid (oil) to
prevent excessive gas carry-under. Associated issues include
Use of Different Mist Extractor Types in Series the following:
It is often advantageous to use two different types of mist Degassing does not usually control the gas carry-
extractors in series. The most commonly used arrangements under, especially in high-pressure gas/oil separators.
are a mesh pad followed by a vane pack, and a mesh pad Degassing can be an issue for cold, high-viscosity
followed by a demisting cyclone bundle. heavyoil.
At low flow rates, the mesh pad does nearly all of the Historically, liquid residence time guidelines (for
work to remove droplets. Mesh pads have good droplet example, API 12J 1989), have been used to size the
removal efficiency and good turndown performance, liquid-holding part of the separator for degassing
generally speaking. Their main weakness is that they have purposes. A more accurate and consistent method
elatively low capacity (Ks values) compared to othertypes is to use the droplet settling theory equations

October 2013 Oil and Gas Facilities 43

WATER TREATING INSIGHTS

120 the removal of a target bubble size, such as 200 to 300 m,

with the assumption being that the resulting liquid would
100 contain less than, say 1%, free gas by volume.
There has been little work done to estimate the amount
Carry-over, % of inlet liquid load

of entrained gas in the liquid at feedpipe conditions,and

80 even less research on the effect of the inlet device on
gas entrainment in the liquid. There has, however, been
60 research performed on the amount of gas entrained into a
pool of liquid caused by a plunging liquid jet (the waterfall
effect, as shown in Fig. 7), which can besignificant.
40
Less work has been performed on quantification of
the bubble size distribution associated with the entrained
20 gas, but there is some guidance in this area. (The equations
associated with these calculations are not included in this
0 article. Bin (1993) provides the details.)
100 110 120 130 140

% of design Ks Quantification of gas entrainment into liquid

by a plunging jet
Fig. 10The approximate relationship between carry-over and With some simplifications, the plunging-jet equations can
design Ks for mesh pads when operating above the floodpoint.
be adapted to separator applications by doing the following:
1. Estimate the effective liquid-jet nozzle diameter.
presentedearlier to design the dimensions of 2. Establish the length of the jet, which is typically the
thevessel to achieve removal of entrained gas distance from the inlet device outlet to the separator
bubbles.As with liquid droplets in the gas phase, liquid level.
thedifficulty is estimating how much gas is 3. Calculate the effective jet velocity at the point where
entrainedin the liquid and the size distribution of the jet enters the liquid pool.
thebubbles. 4. Calculate the jet Froude number.
5. Calculate the amount of gas entrained into the liquid
Many, if not most, separator applications will be pool by the jet.
dumping their recovered liquid to a lower pressure 6. Calculate the depth of penetration of bubbles by the
separator/process system via a level-control valve. By plunging jet (the release point of the bubbles).
definition, the liquid in the separator upstream of the 7. Estimate the bubble size distribution.
level-control valve is at its bubblepoint and, therefore, a 8. Perform the bubble size separation calculations
significant amount of dissolved gas will flash out of the based on the separator geometry, including whether
liquid as the liquid takes the pressure drop across vertical or horizontal, the flow rates, and fluid
the valve. properties. The calculations are analogous to those
The volume of this flash gas will typically make the used for liquid droplet settling in the gas gravity
volume of entrained gas bubbles look small in comparison. separation section (Fig. 11).
For this reason, sizing of the liquid handling section
of a two-phase separator to remove tiny gas bubbles is The type of separator inlet device has an effect on
usually not warranted. It should be noted, however, that the characteristics of the plunging liquid jet and, thus, the
there are separator applications where degassing is the amount of gas entrained into the liquid in the bottom of
controllingcriterion. the vessel. Inlet devices like the simple diverter plate and
If degassing of the liquid phase is the controlling half-open pipe that do not distribute the bulk liquid phase
criterion with respect to liquid handling, residence time and over a large area, and which also direct the liquid downward,
droplet (bubble) settling calculations are commonly used should be expected to entrain more gas into the liquid phase.
approaches. The approach using droplet settling calculations In a vertical separator, adjusting the liquid residence
is discussed because it lends itself better to a quantitative time by varying the vertical shell height containing the
analysis methodology. liquid will have a minimal effect on gas bubble separation
performance, because height has a limited effect on liquid
Droplet (bubble) settling calculations velocity in a vertical separator. Onthe other hand,varying
Droplet (bubble) settling calculations for the gas gravity the diameter will affect thevertical liquid velocity
separation section have historically been based on sizing for and, therefore, also will impactgas bubble separation

44 Oil and Gas Facilities October 2013

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Inlet to separator
Gas
Vertical

Oil
Flow

Time

Outlet to separator

Vl Gas

Oil
Flow

Time
Hortizontal

Fig. 12The smoothing out of intermittent feed flow.

Liquid flow surges are accommodated by allowing the

Vl liquid level in the separator to rise and fall while holding
the liquid outflow relatively constant. This requires level
controllers that are tuned to allow the level to move up and
down within the alarm setpoints. To smooth out gas flow
Fig. 11Vertical and horizontal separators showing liquid flow/ rate surges, it is necessary to let the separator pressure rise
gas bubble separation. and fall while holding the gas outflow relatively constant. If
the swings in gas/liquid flow are large, as in cases where the
performance. This is an example of a limitation of the fluids are received from a long, large-diameter multiphase
residence time methodology and why it is necessary to pipeline, a dedicated slug catcher should be installed to
understand the physical principlesinvolved. attenuate the flow variations.
In the gas gravity separation section, perforated plates If the slug/surge volumes cannot be quantified in
can be used to straighten out the velocity profile of the advance with a multiphase flow simulator, for example, the
liquid. This is beneficial for those separator applications following approaches provide allowance for intermittent
where degassing of the liquid is important. Otherwise, feed flow behavior:
perforated plates in the liquid phase are normally used for 1. Inflate the steady-state flow rates, and size the vessel
liquid-liquid separation applications. using standard procedures. Table 6 provides typical
flow-rate multipliers based on the upstream feed
Handling Intermittent Flow supply configuration.
For many separator applicationsin particular, the first 2. Estimate the slug/surge volumes. This requires an
separator at the outlet of a pipeline/gathering system, or a understanding of the various mechanisms that
wellsite separatorthe handling of intermittent flow should cause slugging and quantification of the slug/
be the controlling criterion for sizing the liquid handling surge volumesinvolved. In the absence of better
section of the separator. Unfortunately, liquid residence information, the slug size can be assumed to be
times of as low as 1 to 2 minutes are often used instead, from 3 to 5 seconds of liquid-full flow at feedpipe
which provides little chance for a separator to accommodate velocity. In-plant separators downstream of the inlet
intermittent/slugging feed flow. The result is a separator that separation equipment would not be expected to
is constantly hitting high- and low-level alarm points, with see large slugs. A slug size based on 1 sec of liquid-
occasional high- and low-levelshutdowns. full pipe at feed-flow velocity seems reasonable for
The difficulty lies in the characterization of the inlet theseseparators.
flow (the determination of gas and liquid flow rates vs. time
on an hour-to-hour, if not minute-to-minute, timescale). It is not possible to make generalized recommendations
The inlet flow characteristics are a function of the design for separator performance quantification in relation to the
and operation of the upstream feed system (Fig. 12). handling of intermittent feed flow because there are too

October 2013 Oil and Gas Facilities 45

WATER TREATING INSIGHTS

HLSD
TABLE 6-DESIGN FACTORS TO ACCOUNT Hold-up for 30 sec1 min for operator intervention
6 in. or 0.15 m minimum
operator
FOR UNSTEADY FLOW HLA
intervention + foaming allowance

Service Factor

Hold-up for 24 min

1.2 NLL control 14 in. or 0.35 m minimum
Offshore separator handling production from + slug allowance
a) own platform
b) another platform in shallow water 1.3
c) another platform in deep water
1.4 LLA
Hold-up for
operator 30 sec1 min for operator intervention
6 in. or 0.15 m minimum
Offshore separator handling production from 1.2 intervention
a) flat or rolling country LLSD

b) hilly country 1.3 12 in. or 0.30 m minimum

BTL (vertical vessel) or
General BV (horizontal vessel)
Separator recieving feed from other in-facility
equipment 1.15
Fig. 13Layout guidelines for a liquid handling section of a two-
phase (gas/liquid) separator.
many variables involved. However, for specific applications,
where many of the variables can be determined to some
degree, more effort needs to be made than has typically Cd = drag coefficient,
occurred in the past. Dcycl = cyclone inside diameter, ft
Dp = droplet diameter, ft
Maintaining a Liquid Seal and Layout Dp,100 = droplet removed with 100% efficiency, ft
of Instrumentation and Control Dw = wire or fiber diameter, ft
For scrubber applications, which are characterized by Epad = mesh pad removal efficiency, Fraction
low liquid flow and mostly steady flow, removing liquid Ew = single-wire capture efficiency, Fraction
from the gas is the primary concern and liquid handling is g = acceleration due to gravity, ft/sec2
usually a minor consideration. In these cases, the previous h = release point height above liquid surface, ft
two criteria generally are not applicable. hg = gas space height for a horizontal separator, ft
The following criteria are typically used for layout/ Ks = Souders-Brown coefficient, ft/sec
spacing of level-control instrumentation (Fig. 13): Lcycl = cyclone length, ft
Minimum distances between alarm and shutdown Le = effective separation, ft
settings for instrument connections/spacing. n = number of bends,
Minimum distances (volume) for stable level- S = pad-specific surface area, ft2/ft3
controlleraction. Stk = Stokes number,
Minimum distances (volume) to allow time for Stkcycl = cyclone Stokes number,
operator intervention. T = pad thickness, ft
tr,g = residence time of the gas, sec
The times between alarm and shutdown shown in Vg = gas velocity, ft/sec
Fig. 13 are on the aggressive side compared to historical, Vg,cycl = superficial gas velocity through cyclone tube,
and mostly onshore, guidelines. Intervention time ft/sec
requirements depend on a variety of factors, including Vmax = maximum allowable gas velocity, ft/sec
the cause of the deviation, the facilitys control system, Vt = terminal settling velocity, ft/sec
the operator staffing arrangement, and facility layout.
If the separator has been designed properly, alarms Greek Letters
should be infrequent. Longer times between alarm and = cyclone inlet swirl angle, degrees
shutdown mean bigger, more expensive vessels, and larger g = gas viscosity, lb/ft-sec
hydrocarbon inventories. OGF l = liquid density, lb/ft3
g = gas density, lb/ft3
Nomenclature g = gas viscosity, lb/ft-sec
b = vane spacing, ft = bend angle, degrees

46 Oil and Gas Facilities October 2013

 WATER TREATING INSIGHTS

For Further Reading Monat, J.P., McNulty, K.J., Michelson, I.S., Hansen, O.V.
1986. Accurate Evaluation of Chevron Mist Eliminators.
API 12J, Specification for Oil and Gas Separators. 7th Chem. Eng. Prog. December: 3239.
edition. 1989. Washington, DC: American Petroleum Viles, J.C. 1993. Predicting Liquid Re-Entrainmen in
Institute. Horizontal Separators. J Pet Tech 45 (5): 405409.
Austrheim, T. 2006. Experimental Characterization of
High-Pressure Natural Gas Scrubbers. PhD thesis, Univer-
sity of Bergen, Norway (September 2006). Mark Bothamley is the technical director and chief engineer
Bin, A.K. 1993. Gas Entrainment by Plunging Liquid Jets. of John M. Campbell Training and a consultant at John
Chem. Eng. Sci. 48 (21): 35853630. M. Campbell Consulting. His experience covers the areas
Carpenter, C.L. and Othmer, D.F. 1955. Entrainment of design, operation, troubleshooting, and optimization of
Removal by a Wire-Mesh Separator. AIChE J. 1 (4): offshore and onshore oil and gas production and treating
549557. facilities. Before joining the company, he served with BP/
Fabian, P., Cusack, R., Hennessey, P., Neuman, M. 1993. Amoco for 24 years in several locations around the world.
Demystifying the Selection of Mist Eliminators, Part 1: He is a member of the SPE Separations Technology Technical
The Basics. Chem. Eng. 11 (11): 148156. Section, past specialty coordinator/chairman of the SPE
Ishii, M. and Grolmes, M.A. 1975. Inception Criteria for Facilities and Construction Subcommittee, and a former
Droplet Entrainment in Two-Phase Concurrent Film member of the GPSA Data Book Editorial Review Board. He
Flow. AIChE J. 21 (2): 308318. holds a BS in chemical engineering from Lakehead University
Langmuir, I. and Blodgett, K.B. 1946. A Mathematical in Canada and a diploma in natural gas and petroleum
Investigation of Water Droplet Trajectories. Technical technology from the British Columbia Institute of Technology
Report No. 5418, US Army Air Forces, Washington, DC. inCanada.

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