1- Introduction

Hydrocyclones consists in a horizontal vessel provided with cyclonixx XL-40 de-oiler

hydrocylone liners that operate in parallel inside the vessel with flow distributed evenly
between each liner.

2- HSE Notes

3- Operation

a. Start-up

When water is available at the inlet valves, slowly open the inlet valve while venting off
any gas or air from inside the hydrocyclone vessel.

When all air has been purged, and the system is full of water, close all vents and open
the main inlet valve completely.

Open the water outlet isolation valves and water LCV. Keep the oily reject valve closed
to allow the system to flush out any debris that may have accumulated during the
shutdown. This will reduce the probability of plugging the reject orifice.

Check that pressure increases in the Hydrocyclones.

When the system has been in operation for 2 minutes, open the oily water reject valve
and adjust to desired oily reject flow rate.

Place the water outlet valve in automatic operation when applicable. The correct
settings will be determined by the flow rate and the appropriate reject ratio.

Check the hydrocyclones and any related pipe work for leaks.

b. Adjustment:

De-oiling hydrocyclones are pressure driven separators, and they operate on the principle of
converting pressure energy to centrifugal forces. As hydrocyclones have no moving parts, it
is important to understand that these units need to be operated within the maximum and
minimum pressure drop and flow rate limits, in order to provide optimum oil removal
performance.

Minimum flow rate: 0.66m3/hr (100bbls/day) per liner

Maximum flow rate: 1.89m3/hr (285bbls/day) per liner

The units have been designed to provide optimum separation for a given water flow rate,
there are a total of 30 XL40 hydrocyclone liners installed per vessel. Below the minimum
flow rate inefficient separation occurs and if the flow rate is excessive then the efficiency
also suffers due to excess turbulence within the liner thus allowing the reject core to
penetrate the main water stream and increase oil in water in the underflow.

When the available pressure drop is known, the maximum flow rate per liner can be
determined.

c. Flow indication

Hydrocyclones are relatively good flow rate indicators. The differential pressure from inlet to
water outlet is related to the flow rate as seen in the below figure. The total flow rate is
determined by multiplying the flow rate for each liner by the number of liners in service.

d. Oil content of reject stream:

The typical oil reject stream flow rate will be around 1.5 – 3% of water flow rate through the
hydrocyclone. This is primarily determined by the PDR settings, set around 1.7.

The reject ratio (% of liquid flowed out the reject line), and the inlet oil content will
determine the oil content of the oil reject stream.

The sum of the oil removed is effectively concentrated into the oil reject stream by the % of
the reject flow rate.
 e. Reject flow and pressure ratio

The ratio between the pressure drop from inlet oily reject and the pressure drop from inlet-
water outlet is the pressure differential ratio PDR:
𝑃𝑖𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑡−𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡
PDR= 𝑃𝑖𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑡−𝑃𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑙𝑒𝑡

It is recommended to operate the hydrocyclone with a PDR of 1.7 to 2.0, the figure is
generally determined on site after the de-oiler is commissioned. Increasing the oily reject
flow rate to >3% of the inlet flow-rate does not typically increase the hydrocyclones’ oil
removal performance unless the concentration of the oil >1.5%. For higher oil
concentrations, the PDR should be increased to suit, with a general guide being that reject
flow percentage will need to be at least twice the inlet oil concentration. If the inlet oil
concentrations are consistently >1.5%, using a larger reject orifice diameter may be
considered.

4- Maintenance

a) Vessel assembly procedure:

1- If the top reject plate was removed, re-install the gasket between the reject plate
and inlet chamber, ensuring that flange and gasket faces are clean
2- Insert the alignment screws through the inlet chamber flange into the reject plate’s
lugs. Ensure that equal tension is applied to each screw.
3- Insert one or more liners completely to ensure that the two vessel plates are
properly aligned. If the plates are not aligned, release tension on screws and adjust
alignment.
4- Install all of the liners and blanks (with O-ring fitted) completely according to the
procedure below.
5- Install the gasket between the reject plate and end cover ensuring that flange and
gasket faces are clean.
6- Close the end cover and bolt in place.
7- Re-tighten the reject plate alignment screws, which may have loosened after the end
flange main bolts were tightened.
8- Leak test the unit at the operating pressure prior to putting into service.

b) Liner assembly procedure

When moved, the liners shall be removed to avoid the risk of damage due to vibration.
Hydrocyclones shall be installed in the vessel prior to start up.
Lightly grease the 2 radial O-rings on the trunnion (smaller) and reject gallery (larger). Slide
the liner assembly, trunnion end first, through the reject plate and into the liner support
plate. Use a rubber mallet to completely insert the liner, if necessary, to ensure that the liner
assembly shoulder bottoms out on the liner support plate, and that no O-rings are visible.
Ensure that no foreign matter becomes lodged under the shoulder of the liner during this
process.

One or more Liners can be blanked-off to allow lower flow rates. A blanking liner is used to
reduce the number of liners in operation. Install blanking liners using the same method as a
regular de-oiler hydrocyclone liner outlined above.

Note: all holes in the liner support plate must have either a liner assembly or a blanking liner
in place to prevent water bypass of the liners.

c) Back-flushing procedure:

It is recommended to back flush the unit once per shift. Although the actual frequency, is
best determined by the frequency of blockages. The reject back flush procedure is as
follows:

Close the oily reject block valve,

Open the valve on the back-flush line from the de-oiler inlet line to the oily reject line. This
allows the back flush water into the de-oiler hydrocyclone liner through the reject orifice.

After back-flushing for 1 or 2 minutes, close the valve on the short-circuit line and re-open
the oily reject valve. This completes the back flushing procedure.

The objective of back-flushing is to use process water to dislodge any debris that has become
wedged into the reject orifice or nozzle by applying pressure from the opposite direction.
Any dislodged debris will be flushed out of the liner with the water stream.

During back flushing, it is obvious that the oil removal capability will be zero as no oil is being
removed.

CAUTION: Do not use an external high pressure water source to back flush the
hydrocyclones. To ensure that pressure limitations across the internal reject plate are not
exceeded, the unit should be back flushed while on line with the same pressure as the
current inlet stream by following the procedure.

d) Performance check:

Oil in water analysis of both the inlet and outlet samples from the hydrocyclone unit should
be performed on a weekly basis. This allows a base-line of performance to be established so
that the outlet water quality can be effectively monitored and allow problems to be quickly
identified should they occur. This allows corrective action to be decided quickly to establish
the cause of the poor water quality so that it can be rectified.

e) Dismantling procedure - de-oiler liner assembly

The following steps should be followed to remove and dismantle hydrocyclone Liner:

- Remove the flange stud bolts and the end cover. This will expose the top ends of the
liners housed in the oily reject section. Note that the liners are not bolted in place
rather they are held in by the end cover. Once the end cover has been removed, the
liners are free to be removed from the vessel.
- Use a liner removal tool or other similar device to remove each liner assembly. Insert
the hook on the removal tool into one of the holes in the reject gallery. Pulling the
tool should release the O-ring seals so that the liner can be withdrawn by hand.
f) Dismantling Procedure – Pressure vessel

Prior to dismantling the vessel, first ensure that the liners have been dismantled as per the
preceding liner assembly dismantling procedure.

- Any built-up sand in the inlet chamber can be flushed out via the drain nozzle.
- Remove the reject piping from the vessel cover plate and reject mounting plate.
- Remove the reject mounting plate alignment bolts. The mounting plate can now be
lifted off or swung clear.
Note: if the reject plate is not to be removed, do not remove the four alignment bolts as
they retain some tension on the mounting plate to shell gasket.

g) Component inspection

Inspection of the de-oiler hydrocyclones liners is to be performed on a yearly basis to check

for wear or failure. These inspections are listed below

i. Liner assembly inspection

- Check the reject orifice for erosion and corrosion and clear any blockages (an
appropriate sized 1.2mm de-blocking tool or similar device is suitable). Examine all O-
rings for deterioration and swelling and replace accordingly.
- Check the inlet ports of the liner inlet for blockage from foreign matter, or erosion.
Note that surfaces in the inlet are exposed to high fluid velocities. If significant wear
or deterioration occurs, liner assembly should be refurbished or replaced.
- Inspect all liner assemblies for corrosion, erosion, and accumulation of foreign
matter. Check the liner assemblies for internal erosion. If the wall thickness is less
than or approaching 1mm, replacement is recommended.
CAUTION: when handling liner assemblies, care must be taken to prevent damage to the
Liner O-rings and critical sealing face.
 ii. Vessel shell inspection

Check the vessel interior for accumulated foreign matter and remove any debris. Check all internal
surfaces and welds for corrosion.

iii. Liner support plate inspection

Check all sealing bores for corrosion, contamination and other damages.

5- Troubleshooting:
A decline in the de-oiler hydrocyclone’s oil removal performance is most likely attributable
to:

- -units operating outside the recommended range: De-oiler hydrocyclones systems

need to be operated within their recommended range by changing the number of
liners in operation to accommodate the existing flow rate.

- Internal blockage: The reject orifice may become blocked with debris (e.g. Teflon
tape, pieces of O-ring…) that has a density lower than the water stream. Sand and
solids rarely block the reject orifice as they do not flow into the oily core section due
to their relatively high density. Chemical and/or scale deposits in the reject gallery
can also occur over time in some installations. Blockage restricts or stops the oily
reject flow, directly causing poor oil-removal performance. Follow the back flushing
procedure to remove blockage, if back-flushing is unsuccessful, the particular de-oiler
cyclone unit will require inspection and manual clearance of the blockage.

- Excessive worn or failed component: to determine if there is a failure in one or more

of the O-ring seals, a simple check can be done, close the oily reject valve during
normal operation, and observe that the oily reject pressure should stabilize at around
95% of the water outlet pressure. If the oily reject pressure is higher, internal leaks
(O-rings) or component failure is likely.

- High inlet concentration to hydrocyclone: check the function of level controller of 1st
stage separator and adjust/repair as required. Check chemical injection system and
adjust as well.
- High outlet concentration from hydrocyclone: check inlet, underflow and overflow
pressures to ensure units operate within their nominal flow rate with correct
pressure ratio. Inlet to underflow pressure drop should be between 1Bar and 4.2Bar.
Bring units online or take units offline to remedy. Inlet to overflow pressure drop
should be at least 1.7 times than inlet to underflow pressure drop. Check function of
overflow control system and adjust/repair as required. Check outlet to see whether
the problem lies in one or all units. Back flush the overflow on units with higher oil-
in-water concentration. Inspect unit exhibiting problem following the procedure.