Fluid Flow and

Rotating Equipment
H. PANDYA, Saipem India Projects Pvt. Ltd.,
New Delhi, India; and A. M. FANTOLINI,
Saipem, Milan, Italy

Limit the rate of change of fuel gas properties

with mixing drum
The fuel gas mixing drum is an inte- different terminologies for this param- FIG. 1B. Assuming that the total number of
gral part of many plants, especially LNG eter, such as the Modified Wobbe Index compartments are n, for the nth compart-
plants. Any change in fuel gas composi- and Gas Index, and to include tempera- ment, if the change in fuel gas property
tion, properties or pressure can lead to ture as an additional variable; however, starts to happen at time t = t + Δt, then
operational problems in fuel-using sys- these are all derivatives of the Wobbe the property balance for the nth compart-
tems, such as gas-fired turbines. These Index. In the following discussion, the ment at time t = t + Δt can be written as:
systems are designed to accept a certain equipment is designed to limit the rate
F 
degree of change of fuel gas properties; of change of the Modified Wobbe Index MWI n,t+
t = MWI n,t + MWI n1,t  n1 
however, their burners are sensitive to (MWI), defined as:  Vn 
the rate of this change. To limit this, fuel LHV  F /n 
gas mixing drums are typically used. MWI = (1)
t + MWI New 
t  (4)
FIG. 1A shows a typical sketch of a
T.SG  Vn 
fuel gas mixing drum. It consists of two If the feed gas composition changes, F 
separate sections, with a knockout drum i.e., from heavier to lighter, the MWI at MWI n,t  n 
t
 Vn 
(KOD) in the bottom section and a cen- the outlet of the drum will change gradu-
tral riser pipe with a number of baffles in ally from value MWIOLD (heavy gas) to
the top section. Fuel gas enters from the value MWINEW (light gas). Gas outlet
bottom section and flows to the top sec-
Mixing drum
tion, or vice versa. ( MWI New  MWIOld )
The riser contains a series of holes in
MWI = 100 (2)
MWIOld
each baffle section, so gas from the riser
holes mixes with gas from the baffle sec- If the maximum allowable rate of
tions. Baffles are sloped to allow the free change of the MWI is R Allowable [%/sec]
draining of liquid. This arrangement en- as specified by the gas turbine vendor,
sures proper mixing and gradual changes the residence time in the mixing drum Riser
Baffle
in any process parameters. The KOD required to meet the rate change require-
section (FIG. 1) is designed as a normal ment will be:
two-phase separator, such as a compres- MWI
sor suction drum. Here, the mixing drum
R Allowable
 VInitial  (3)
design procedure is reviewed for opera-   Drain holes
 F 
tional optimization.
Volume, VInitial , is the initial volume of
Number of mixing stages in top the mixing drum required to meet design Feed gas in
section. The fuel gas mixing drum en- parameters, if no internals, such as riser
sures gradual change in fuel gas proper- baffles, are present. Due to the presence of Knockout drum
ties, such as the Wobbe Index, and also internals, mixing is increased and the re-
acts as a buffer vessel to limit pressure quired volume is consequently decreased. Liquid outlet
variation. The Wobbe Index is an indi- To relate the required vessel volume
cator of the interchangeability of fuel with the number of compartments, an an- FIG. 1A. Typical sketch of a fuel gas mixing
drum.
gases. Some gas turbine vendors use alytical model of equipment is shown in
Hydrocarbon Processing | MARCH 2016 67
 Fluid Flow and Rotating Equipment

Considering the maximum variation is  d ( MWI ) 

Fn=F
at the beginning of the disturbance, to cal-   = ( MWI New  MWIOld )
 dt n,t+
t
F(n-1) (F/n)
Vn
culate the initial tangent of the variation
curve for the last compartment, the differ-
F /n  (7)
(F/n)  
Vn-1 F(n-2) ential of Eq. 4 with respect to time is taken.  Vn 
 d ( MWI )  F 
  = MWI n1,t  n1  + where Vn can be written as:
 dt n,t+
t  Vn 
V4
(F/n)
F3
(5) V1+ V2+V3+………+ Vn = VFinal (8)
 F /n  F 
MWI New   MWI n,t  n  V2 = 2V1 , V3 = 3V1 , ………Vn = nV1
(F/n)
F2 V3  Vn   Vn  V1+ 2V1+ 3V1+................ + nV1 = VFinal (9)
V2
(F/n) F1 At the start of variation at time t = t,
MWIn–1,t = MWIn,t = MWIOld :  n (n+1)  VFinal
 V =V
V1 = (10)
(F/n) V1  2  1 Final
n (n+1) 
 d ( MWI )   F  ( F /n )   
  = MWIOld  n   2 
F  dt n,t+
t  Vn  V V
Vn= n Final = Final (11)
FIG. 1B. An analytical model of a fuel gas  F /n  F 
n (n+1) 
(n+1) 
+ MWI 'New  
MWIOld n  (6)    
mixing drum.  2   2 
 Vn   Vn 
From Eqs. 7 and 11 and dividing by
1.0 MWIOld:
Assumptions:
0.9 • Flow through riser in each compartment  d ( MWI )   1 
is equal (F/n).    = (12)
 dt n,t+
t  MWIOld 
Ratio, VFinal/VInitial

• Inlet flow (F) to vessel does not change

0.8 with time.
• All compartments have equal residence time


(Vn/Fn = constant).  
0.7 
• Area of individual hole is small compared to
the cross-sectional area of the riser pipe.
( MWI New  MWIOld )  F /n 
0.6 • Turbulent flow of gas in riser up to last section MWIOld  VFinal 
of riser (i.e., Reynolds number > 5,000). 
(n+1)  
0.5  
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
 2 
Number of compartments
 d ( MWI )   1 
FIG. 2. The number of compartments vs. volume ratio.    =
 dt n,t+
t  MWIOld 

MWI
  2n   (13)
Example 1  VFinal  
n+1  

 F 
In a plant, fuel gas is changed from a light gas (MWI = 44 MJ/m3) to a heavier  
gas (50.2 MJ/m3). Fuel gas flow is 0.5 m3/sec. Design a fuel gas mixing drum top
section to ensure maximum rate of change in MWI of 0.3 %/sec. Comparing Eq. 3 with Eq. 13,
Solution:  2n  V   n+1 
VInitial =  V
 Final  =  
Change in MWI = (50.2-44)/44 × 100 = 14.1%  n+1  Final  VInitial   2n  (14)
VInitial From Eq. 3, 23.5 m3
Number of compartments assumed: 7 Eq. 14 shows that VFinal depends upon
Riser diameter = 12 in. = 0.3 m the number of compartments. For n = 1,
VFinal: (7 + 1)/(2 × 7) × 23.5 = 13.4 m3 the ratio of VFinal to VInitial is equal to 1. How-
Assume for vessel: Length/diameter ratio: 2.2 ever for n = infinite, it is 0.5, which infers
π/4 × D2 × (2.2 × D) = 13.4 that in no case can VFinal be less than 50%
D = 1.7 m, assumed D = 1.7 + 0.3 = 2.0 m of VInitial. FIG. 2 shows that the ratio initially
L = 2.2 × 2.0 = 4.4 m falls steeply up to n = 5 and then falls gradu-
Length of first compartment, from Eq. 10 ally. Hence, it is preferred to have the num-
L1 = 4.4/(7 × (7 + 1)/ 2) = 157 mm ber of compartments be between five and
However, to enable a manhole at first and last compartment, L1 assumed = 800 mm 10. The calculated volume excludes riser
Hence, overall length of top section = 5.1 m. volume; therefore, the diameter of the ves-
Bottom KOD length = 3.6 m (from standard 2-phase vessel calculation) sel must be increased to adjust for riser vol-
Height of bottom head (elliptical assumed) = D/4 = 0.5 m ume. Increased diameter can be calculated
Total height = 9.2 m as the square root of the sum of the square
of vessel diameter and riser diameter. As a
68 MARCH 2016 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com
 Fluid Flow and Rotating Equipment

conservative approach, the riser diameter is

often simply added to the vessel diameter.
Computational fluid dynamics simu-
Example 2
lations are used to support and verify the In continuation of Example 1, gas density – 17.1 kg/m3, gas viscosity: 0.01
sizing of such critical items, leading to cP. Calculate the pressure drop in the riser section of the mixing drum and the
the optimization of the mixing inside the percentage of maldistribution.
drum (FIG. 3), the identification of the tra- Solution: Riser diameter = 12 in.
jectories of flow from the holes, and the Over length of riser pipe, (4f L/3d)
definition of the velocity vectors in differ- v1 = 7.1 m/s, Re1 = 3637221, f1 = 0.0034
ent points of the drum. v7 = 1 m/s, Re7 = 519603, f7 = 0.0038,
taking FAvrg = 0.0036, (4f L/3d) = 0.081
Pressure drop calculation. The mix- As (4f L/3d) << 1, DP pipe from Eq. 16 = 429 Pa
ing drum pressure drop includes the inlet/ Assumed number of holes/compartments = 6,
outlet nozzle pressure drop, KOD pressure Hole diameter = 30 mm. Assume Co = 0.62
drop, baffle section pressure drop, riser DP hole from Eq. 17 = 6324 Pa
pipe and holes pressure drop. Inlet/outlet Total pressure drop = 6753 Pa
nozzle pressure drop and KOD pressure Percentage of maldistribution from Eq. 18 = 3.4%.
drop are calculated as standard vessel pres- Typical value of parameters:
sure drop. Baffle section pressure drop is • Number of compartments: 5–10
negligible and so can be ignored. The • Pressure drop through equipment: 0.3 bar–0.5 bar
combined total of all these pressure drops • Allowable rate of change for the MWI: 0.15%/sec–0.5%/sec
are in the range of 5 kPa–10 kPa (exclud- • Orifice discharge coefficient, Co: 0.62
ing riser pipe and holes pressure drop). • Length/diameter ratio for equipment: 1.5–3.5
Finally, the riser diameter and the di- • Pressure drop in the riser (pipe and hole): 40% to 60% of total pressure drop
ameter of holes can be selected through • Hole diameter: 8 mm–30 mm
using iterative calculations. At first, the • Minimum distance between holes: hole diameter
riser diameter is set the same as the feed • Percentage of maldistribution: < 5%
gas inlet diameter, and the holes size is • Baffle cut: 25%.
set at 30 mm. The number of holes are
adjusted based on mechanical consider-
ations: holes mus be placed for turbulent
conditions at the exit while maintaining
mechanical resistance in the riser, and to
satisfy the pressure drop requirement.
If the velocity is sufficiently high (i.e.,
turbulent conditions are reached in the
hole), and the number of holes is still low,
the first trial calculation may be accept-
able. If the velocity is low and no turbu-
lent conditions are observed at the exit
(max. allowable 100 m/s), or the number
of holes is too high, a recalculation has to
be made with a different number of holes
to verify the velocity, the Reynolds num-
ber and pressure drops across the holes.
Riser pressure drop calculation.
Pressure drop in a perforated pipe dis-
tributor for turbulent flow with roughly
uniform flow distribution:1
 4 fL  v 2

p =   2K i (15)
 3d  2
 4 fL 
if
<< 1 and
 3d 
(16)
v 2
K = 0.5 
p =  i
2
For turbulent flow, Δp is negative. To
FIG. 3. The distribution of the mass fraction on the symmetry plane.
obtain the desired uniform flow distribu-
Hydrocarbon Processing | MARCH 2016 69
 Fluid Flow and Rotating Equipment

tion, the average pressure drop across the The number and arrangement of the V Volume, m3
F Feed flow, m3/s
holes will be large compared to the pres- holes are selected to have minimum mal- t Time, sec
sure variation over the length of pipe. The distribution. n Number of compartments
total pressure drop in the riser should be Δp, Δpo Pressure drop, Pa
vi Riser inlet gas velocity, m/s
less than 10% of the pressure drop across Bottom section—KOD design. Once vo Gas velocity through hole, m/s
the holes. This will cause a relatively small- the diameter of the mixing section is cal- ρ Gas density, kg/m3
er variation in the pressure drop across the culated, the design of the bottom section f Fanning friction factor
holes and, hence, smaller flow variation. can be performed by using the same diam- Co Orifice discharge coefficient
Re Reynolds number
The pressure drop through the hole is: eter as the top section. L Length of section of riser pipe, m
1 vo2 The estimated diameter for the mix- d Diameter of riser pipe, m

po = (17) ing drum is generally sufficient for the D Diameter of vessel, m
C02 2 separation of droplets less than 200 μm, LITERATURE CITED
1
The riser pipe size is normally the although it is necessary to verify if this D. W. Green and R. H. Perry, Perry’s Chemical
Engineers Handbook, 8th Edition, 2008, McGraw-Hill.
same as the feed nozzle size. Holes are ar- condition is respected. Other process de-
ranged in multiple rows and the number sign details, such as the distance between HITESH PANDYA, a senior principal
of holes in a row may vary between vari- bottom tangent line and inlet nozzle, the engineer at Saipem India Projects
ous compartments. The hole diameter holdup volume, the height of the liquid Pvt. Ltd, has over 12 years of
experience in the oil and gas
and number of holes are assumed, and the levels (alarms), etc., can be followed as per industries in the fields of
pressure drops in the riser and holes are best engineering practices in the industry. engineering design and operation.
calculated using Eqs. 15, 16 and 17. The last step is to optimize the L/D He holds a BTech degree in
chemical engineering from Banaras Hindu University.
The percentage of maldistribution in ratio to have vessel dimensions acceptable
the riser pipe is calculated as follows: for the mechanical design. ANTON MARCO FANTOLINI is
the LNG technology projects
Percent maldistribution =100  ABBREVIATIONS manager at Saipem Corporate.
 LHV Lower heating value of fuel, Btu/SCF After graduating with a degree
1 (
po 
p )  (18) T Absolute temperature, °R in chemical engineering, he
 SG Specific gravity of fuel relative to air gained 18 years of experience

po  at ISO conditions in the oil and gas industry,
R Rate of change, %/sec along with specific knowledge of LNG plant design.

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