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A technical and economic comparison of horizontal vs. vertical separators-

operational experience from Iceland

Conference Paper · August 2017

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 Proceedings The 5th Indonesia International Geothermal Convention & Exhibition (IIGCE) 2017
2 - 4 August 2017, Cendrawasih Hall - Jakarta Convention Center, Indonesia

A technical and economic comparison of horizontal vs. vertical separators – operational experience
from Iceland
Ari Ingimundarson, Þorsteinn Sigmarsson, Jóhann Garðar Einarsson
Mannvit hf. Ögurhvarf 6, Kópavogur, Iceland
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

Keywords: separators, horizontal separators, vertical separators, mist eliminator, demister, steam cleanness

ABSTRACT
Two solutions have been predominantly used for separation given in (Lazalde-Crabtree, 1984). In (Rivas-Cruz et al.,
of two phase geothermal fluids into steam and water. These 2015) a detail literature study is given regarding publications
are often referend to as the horizontal separator and the on vertical separators, and it is shown that a majority of them
vertical cyclone separator, see (Zarrouk et al. 2015). follow the Lazalde-Crabtree methodology, possibly with
Recently, it has been pointed out that horizontal separators modifications. The Lazalde-Crabtree methodology has
might have advantages due to liquid carryover in vertical therefore been the guiding design guideline for the majority
separators, see (Rizaldy et al. 2016). of vertical separators in the last decades.
This article compares the two separator solutions from a
technical and economic viewpoint. The whole steam field Recently the issue of liquid carryover in separators was
including separator and demister is included in the given attention, see (Rizaldy et al., 2016). There it was
comparison. Advantages and disadvantages of the two pointed out that even though design models for vertical
solutions are discussed. The technical comparison addresses separators indicate an efficiency of 99.995%, scaling and
several aspects such as space requirements, structural moisture damage continue to take place in new plants.
requirements due to locations in earthquake zones and other. Reports on actual efficiency have not been many for vertical
Often to increase holdup time of the vertical separator separators. The authors argue that liquid film entrainment is
system a brine accumulator is added beside the vertical responsible for the difference between the design efficiency
separator. This has to be taken into account in the economic and the actual efficiency. The conclusion of the author was
comparison. that it was reasonable to consider the testing and utilization
Finally, experience from operation of horizontal separators of horizontal separators in new geothermal development.
in Icelandic geothermal power plants is detailed.
Measurements of efficiency of horizontal separators and The use of horizontal separators goes back decades in
mist eliminators in terms of measurement data of Sodium Iceland. The question of horizontal vs. vertical separators
carryover is reported. This shows that very good results have has been considered in the design phase of every Icelandic
been obtained in terms of reductions of carryover using power plant built the last years and in every occasion,
horizontal separators. This experience spans decades of horizontal separators have been chosen.
operation. The main conclusion of the article is that
horizontal separators have several important advantages and This article presents a technical comparison between the two
therefore should always be considered as an option for separators times as well as operational experience from the
geothermal steam field design. Icelandic geothermal power plants where horizontal
separators have been used for 2 decades. The aim with this
1. INTRODUCTION is to show that in Iceland, the use of horizontal separators to
The purpose of this article is to compare two common reach acceptable steam cleanness is a known approach
separator solutions in geothermal power plants in terms of without special risks if done properly.
technical characteristics and cost.
This article is organized in the following way. In section 2
Separators are of fundamental importance for the efficient the geothermal steam field is treated and the two types of
operation of geothermal power plants based on flash power separators are described. In Section 3 a cost comparison is
cycles. The most expensive equipment in said plants is the performed by comparing steel weight of each vessel with the
steam turbine. Poor cleanness of steam directly influences other. In Section 4, operation experience from Iceland is
the operation and maintenance of these plants because presented based on Na measurements. Finally in Section 5,
minerals in the brine that are carried over in the separation conclusions are drawn from the previous sections.
process can deposit in the turbine and excessive wetness can
cause erosion problems. For an overview of the damage a 2. THE STEAM FIELD
poorly functioning steam field, of which the separators are Fluid from wet geothermal reservoirs are frequently in the
fundamental items, is given in (Morris and Robinson, 2015). two-phase region in terms of fluid properties when reaching
the surface in a geothermal area. For this reason, a separator
Several articles have treated horizontal and vertical device is needed on the surface to separate the phases and
separators. In (Zarrouk and Purnanto, 2015) a design make sure only steam enters the turbine. Steam cleanness
overview was presented for both horizontal and vertical entering the turbine is of paramount importance for
separators. Design guidelines were given and equations to reliability and availability of the geothermal power plant.
calculate separator efficiency presented as well. For vertical This includes not only cleanness in the sense of high steam
centrifugal separators, these are rooted in the methodology quality as it enters the turbine. Brine that is carried over into

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 Proceedings The 5th Indonesia International Geothermal Convention & Exhibition (IIGCE) 2017
2 - 4 August 2017, Cendrawasih Hall - Jakarta Convention Center, Indonesia

the steam phase and reaching the turbine can have several
minerals that in turn can deposit inside the turbine causing 2.1 The horizontal separator
loss of performance and/or damage to the turbine. The horizontal separator is basically a flash vessel where
mist eliminators that remove or reduce the entrained liquid
Wash water is placed in the flow-path, close to the outlet of the vessel.
Pipeline to turbine Turbine
The mist eliminators can be of several types. Chevron vane
Pipeline

Turbine inlet
or mesh-type mist eliminator are the most common types but
Drain pots
Separator drain
the general principle is to create a tortuous flow path causing
Demister
droplets to impact the mist eliminators due to their extra
Demister drain
Two phase flow Brine momentum due to the density difference.
Figure 1. Elements in a steam field to ensure steam cleanness.
The separation mechanism is thus twofold, namely gravity
Frequent requirements for steam quality from turbine separation where by slowing down the flow sufficiency for
manufacturers is around 99,98%. Requirements on in terms the larger droplets to fall by gravity separation and secondly,
of silica concentration of the steam is <0.1 ppm. by introducing mist eliminator in the flow path. In order to
minimize liquid splatter, the separators are usually operated
Figure 1 demonstrates elements in a typical steam field. In about quarter full of liquid.
addition to the separator where the two-phase flow enters,
the pipelines have level controlled drain pots and to reach
the numbers quoted above, the steam flow line almost
always includes a moisture removal device close to the
entrance of the turbine. This device is also called “demister”,
“steam scrubber”, “mist eliminator”, “steam purifier” or
“humidity separators”, see (DiPippo, 2012).

Sometimes water is added to the steam flow path with the

aim of increase the cleanness of the steam. The steam wash
water creates a liquid surface to trap brine droplets and solids.
The steam wash water is then removed from the steam flow
before the steam enters the turbine.
Figure 2. Horizontal separators.
Figure 1 shows an entry point of steam wash water after the
main separator. This wash water can also sometimes be The most recent types of horizontal separators in Iceland
created inside the pipeline by condensation. If the layout of include double inlets from below with vane inlet device for
the area permits satellite separator stations instead of even distribution and to reduce momentum of the incoming
separator stations at each well pad, then a sufficiently long feed stream with sufficient capacity in a single separation
steam pipeline between the separator station and the power vessel to handle steam flow for a 50MW TG unit.
plant can create condensate for the sought-after cleaning
action. Note that this requires the selection of pipe diameter 2.2 The vertical separator
to ensure that pipe pressure drop, and the related boiling of The vertical separator (sometimes called the Webre
condensate causes an evaporation which is below the steam separator) has been thoroughly described in several
condensation rate within the pipeline. publications and is well known in the geothermal industry.
The leading design methodology is the one introduced in
The origin of the steam wash water must be carefully (Lazalde-Crabtree, 1984). There, design guidelines were
selected as traces of oxygen can cause corrosion problems introduced regarding sizing, design of inflow nozzles and
and Sulphur precipitation. Steam condensate is frequently a other issues. Modifications have been added with time, see
first choice. (Zarrouk and Purnanto, 2015) but the most common design
methodology for the design of vertical separators is the
The total steam flow path to the turbine from the wells is Lazalde-Crabtree one, see (Rivas-Cruz et al., 2015) and
comprised of two-phase pipelines, first stage separator, (Rivas-Cruz et al., 2015).
steam pipeline to the demister and steam pipeline to the
turbine. Figure 3 shows a vertical Bottom Outlet Cyclone (BOC)
separator. Also used are Top Outlet Cyclone (TOC)
Separator efficiency is defined by: separators where the steam leaves through an outlet in the
top.
𝑚̇𝑠
𝜂𝑠 = Vertical separators are sometimes equipped with mist
𝑚̇𝑠 + 𝑚̇𝑏
eliminators to increase separator efficiency. But usually one
of the key advantages mentioned for vertical separators is the
where 𝑚̇𝑠 is the mass of steam from the outlet of the
absence of such additions.
separator and 𝑚̇𝑏 is the brine carryover with the steam. This
definition is the same as is used in (Zarrouk and Purnanto,
2015).

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 Proceedings The 5th Indonesia International Geothermal Convention & Exhibition (IIGCE) 2017
2 - 4 August 2017, Cendrawasih Hall - Jakarta Convention Center, Indonesia

important advantage regarding access is again the height

difference of the two structures. Inspection and maintenance
is easier in lower structures. Instrumentation on the
separators is at a much lower position on the horizontal
separator and stairs and other access structure is simpler
around a horizontal vessel.

• Separation at right angles and not counter flow

In the horizontal separator, the gravitational separation of
droplets occurs at right angles to the steam flow. In the
vertical separator, the gravity separation of the water film at
the wall of the separator is in the opposite direction to the
steam flow, increasing the risk of liquid entrainment with the
steam flow.

• Operating range
The horizontal separator is usually considered to have a
superior operating range than the vertical separator. The
Figure 3. Vertical Bottom Outlet Cyclone (BOC) separator. efficiency of the vertical separators is highly dependent on
the inlet speed. If this is either too high or too low, efficiency
The vertical separator is based on centrifugal action which can sharply fall.
forces the liquid to the vessel walls, letting the steam rise in
the middle while the liquid falls, due to gravity, to the bottom • Brine tank
after hitting the wall. For efficient centrifugal separation Separators need to have a volume to be able to absorb
action, the design of the vessel, guaranteeing the correct variations in the brine flow and effectively serve as a buffer
speed which in effect creates the centrifugal action alongside to moderate changes in the brine flow. The horizontal
the curvature of the separator vessel wall is of fundamental separator has an integrated brine storage in the bottom.
importance. Volume can be increased or decreased with a larger vessel
without building a separate vessel. The vertical separator
Equations describing separator efficient have been published does not have this advantage and frequently there is a need
in the literature for vertical separators. Recently in (Rizaldy to build a separate brine accumulator tank beside the vertical
et al., 2016) doubt was cast over whether the theoretical separator to serve as a buffer tank.
separator efficiency is correct when compared to actual
separator efficiency as measure in the field. The brine tank also serves to increase the liquid surface
allowing proper degassing of the liquid. Brine tanks with
2.3 Technical comparison for separators vertical separators are most often connected from the top to
Several design criteria for separators are now discussed but the vertical separator to equalize the pressure.
it is only possible to give qualitative remarks when this topic
is treated generally. • Drainage of solids
It is said that it is easier to drain solids from vertical
• Experience of design separators than from horizontal ones. Drain pots need to be
In the geothermal industry, the dominant design has been the placed on several places along the bottom of horizontal
vertical cyclone separator. On the other hand, horizontal separators to drain solids properly.
separators are more or less the separator of choice in Iceland
and have also been chosen in other geothermal projects. • Capital cost
Operation experience is of course greater for the vertical This is treated separately in the next section.
separator but the experience from 2 decades of operation in
Iceland is demonstrated in a later section for horizontal • Area requirement
separators. In general, if only the separator is considered, the horizontal
separator does occupy a larger area than the vertical
• Seismic and wind design separator. If the brine storage tank is needed to increase the
Because the vertical separator is an upright structure, it is brine holdup time, the combined area of the vertical
known that it needs a more complex and more expensive separator and the brine tank have a larger surface area than
seismic and wind design than the vertical separator. The the horizontal separator.
difference in this aspect between the two separator solutions
has been an important factor in choosing horizontal • Economy of size – possibility of having larger sizes
separators in Iceland. Currently in the Þeistareykir project in the north of Iceland,
separator units are being built for 45 MW units with inlet
• Ease of maintenance, inside and out pressure of around 8 bara. The unit rating is for considerably
The horizontal separator has mist eliminator elements inside larger steam flow or up to 55MW. In the Reykjanes power
itself but with careful design of manholes it is easy to make plant, horizontal separators are operated serving steam for
the maintenance of these manageable and trouble free. An 50 MW steam turbines but at a higher inlet pressure.

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 Proceedings The 5th Indonesia International Geothermal Convention & Exhibition (IIGCE) 2017
2 - 4 August 2017, Cendrawasih Hall - Jakarta Convention Center, Indonesia

designing larger horizontal separators. Support structures are

3. ECONOMICAL COMPARISON more expensive for vertical separators. Finally, considering
A simple economical comparison was made between separator efficiency, cost of maintenance due to turbine
horizontal and vertical separators based on weight of the stops should lower for systems with better separator
vessels. The design equations for vertical separators were the efficiency.
ones presented in (Lazalde-Crabtree, 1984). The following
assumptions were used for the comparison. 4. OPERATIONAL EXPERINCE
Reykjavik Energy has been sampling Na concentrations
• Inlet steam velocity was 35 m/s into the vertical since 1998 in the Nesjavellir power plant. In the Hellisheiði
separator. power plant, Na sampling has been performed on the steam
• A brine holdup tank was added as the horizontal towards each turbine unit since they were started up. The
separator have integrated brine storage in the vessel. first measurements are from 2007.
• The brine holdup tank was dimensioned to hold
2 minutes of brine flow. Note that Na sampling of geothermal steam is not trouble
• The enthalpy of the fluid was assumed to be 1100 kJ/kg. free. The sampling should be representative of both the
steam and brine carryover. If proportionally more brine
The weight of the horizontal separator was based on real carryover ends in the sample, for example due to liquid film
design cases from Iceland. Interpolation was used to transport on the walls of the pipes, then Na concentration
calculate for the MW shown below. In calculating the will be higher than it should be. Na sampling can in this way
capacity in MW, it was assumed that 1,8 kg/s of steam was give false positive test results regarding too much brine
needed for each MW. carryover. This has been known to be an important issue in
the sampling at Nesjavellir and Hellisheidi.
The comparison was performed for 5,10,20 and 40 MW. The
results can be seen in Figure 4. Both the Nesjavellir power plant and the Hellisheidi power
plant have separators, pipelines of several hundreds of
meters and a demister before steam entrance to the turbine.

To relate the concentrations of Na in the separated water

with concentrations of Na in the steam, the following
equation is presented:
𝑁
𝑚̇𝑁𝑎,𝑠 = 𝐶𝑠𝑏𝑎 𝑚̇𝑏
𝑁
= 𝐶𝑠 𝑎 (𝑚̇𝑠 + 𝑚̇𝑏 )
Here, 𝑚̇𝑁𝑎,𝑠 is the mass flow of natrium in the steam
pipeline from the separator. This is carried in the brine
carryover within the steam phase. Note that it is assumed all
𝑁
of it is dissolved in the carryover brine. 𝐶𝑠𝑏𝑎 is the
𝑁
concentration in the separated brine from the separator. 𝐶𝑠 𝑎
is the Na concentration in the condensed steam, once it is
Figure 4. Weight of separator vessels. sampled. By considering this equation, it is easy to see that
separator efficiency or steam quality can be expressed as
As can be seen in the figure, the horizontal separator is
𝑁
heavier than only the vertical separator but lighter in weight 𝑚̇𝑠 𝐶𝑠 𝑎
than the combined vertical separator and brine tank. 𝜂𝑠 = = (1 − 𝑁𝑎 )
𝑚̇𝑠 + 𝑚̇𝑏 𝐶 𝑠𝑏
Not counted in this comparison is the more complicated
structure to support vertical separators in earthquake prone 𝑁 𝑁
areas. In Iceland, by taking into account needed structures Figure 5 shows the concentration ratio 𝐶𝑠 𝑎 /𝐶𝑠𝑏𝑎 for a
and in some cases housing for the vertical separates, detailed number of horizontal separators in the Nesjavellir power
𝑁
cost comparisons have shown the vertical separator to be plant in Iceland. 𝐶𝑠𝑏𝑎 is considered to be equal to 165 mg/kg.
more expensive than the horizontal, even when omitting the The graph shows average numbers based on several samples
brine tank. during the year. The number of samples each year varied
from 5 to 22. A great variance can be seen between each
The mist eliminators installed in the horizontal separators are separators. Values are not strictly below 0.001 but taking out
not taken into account in this comparison since they do not values that are known to be high due to sampling conditions
impact the comparison greatly. as well as special operating conditions of the separators, the
average is around 0.002.
This simple cost comparison shows that horizontal
separators should always be considered when designing A separator efficiency of 99,9% or better would mean that
separation systems for geothermal power plants. Important the concentration ratio should be below 0.001. Figure 6
aspects not treated in this comparison which favor the shows similar numbers from the Hellisheidi power plant
horizontal separator. Economy of size is possible by which was designed and commissioned approximately 10

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 Proceedings The 5th Indonesia International Geothermal Convention & Exhibition (IIGCE) 2017
2 - 4 August 2017, Cendrawasih Hall - Jakarta Convention Center, Indonesia

years later than the Nesjavellir plant. Most of the graphs are includes the degree that performance can drop before
well below the 0.001 point, pointing towards excellent maintenance is scheduled.
cleaning efficiency in the first stage of cleaning. One
separator is consistently higher due to special operating 5. CONCLUSIONS
conditions of that separator. This article demonstrates that in development of geothermal
power plants were steam cleanness is of paramount
importance, horizontal separators should be considered as a
preferable option to vertical separators or at least always be
considered for comparison to vertical separators.

The cost comparison showed that though vertical separators

are less expensive if the vessel is only considered, as soon as
a brine tank is needed to increase brine holdup time, the
horizontal separator is less expensive. There are reasons to
believe that the cost comparison performed in detail would
tilt the balance further in favor of horizontal separators.
Furthermore, cost due to extra maintenance and down time
of turbine due to steam cleanness problems related to the use
of vertical separators would tilt the cost comparison even
further in favor of the horizontal separator.

One of the key reasons vertical separators are popular in the

geothermal industry is the image of risks related to the use
Figure 5. Ratio of Na concentration in separator steam at the of horizontal separators. Operation data from power plants
Nesjavellir power plant. in Iceland demonstrate the efficiency of the horizontal
separators.

REFERENCES
DiPippo, R., 2012. Geothermal Power Plants: Principles,
Applications, Case Studies and Environmental
Impact, Third Edition. Butterworth-Heinemann.
Lazalde-Crabtree, H., 1984. Design Approach of Steam-
Water Separators and Steam Dryers for
Geothermal Applications. Geothermal Resources
Council Bulletin 11–20.
Morris, C., Robinson, A., 2015. Geothermal turbines—A
maintainers perspective. Proc World Geotherm.
Congr 19–25.
Rivas-Cruz, F., García-Gutiérrez, A., Martínez-Estrella,
J.I., Ortiz-Bolaños, Á.A., 2015a. Design and
Evaluation of Geothermal Steam Separators: A
Review of the State of Art.
Figure 6. Ratio of Na concentration in separator steam at the Rivas-Cruz, F., García-Gutierrez, A., Ortiz-Bolaños, A.A.,
Hellisheidi power plant. Martínez-Estrella, J.I., Izquierdo-Montalvo, G.,
Portugal-Marín, E., Hurtado-Jiménez, R.,
Further work will be devoted to analyzing the variability in Ventura-Salazar, I.A., 2015b. Review of the State
the data. Note that this comparison does not include the of Art in the Design and Evaluation of
horizontal demister vessels that are used to at both power Geothermal Steam Separators.
plants to reach the desired steam cleanness just before the Rizaldy, R., Zarrouk, S.J., Morris, C., 2016. LIQUID
turbine entrance. Na sampling from the steam entering the CARRYOVER IN GEOTHERMAL STEAM-
turbine can give false negative test results regarding brine WATER SEPARATORS. Presented at the
carryover because condensation in the pipeline between the Proceedings 38th New Zealand Geothermal
separator and the demister dilutes the Na content and is Workshop, Auckland, New Zealand.
sometimes drained out in drain pots on the way. Zarrouk, S.J., Purnanto, M.H., 2015. Geothermal steam-
water separators: Design overview. Geothermics
The turbine maintenance interval at the mentioned plants is 53, 236–254.
5 years. In between, during short stops, the turbines are doi:10.1016/j.geothermics.2014.05.009
visually inspected through holes in the turbine shell to
monitor scaling and erosion. Note that maintenance of
geothermal steam turbines varies greatly in the world. This

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 Proceedings The 5th Indonesia International Geothermal Convention & Exhibition (IIGCE) 2017
2 - 4 August 2017, Cendrawasih Hall - Jakarta Convention Center, Indonesia

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