Field Operations of

Separators

Prepared by:
Ahmed J. Jaffer
Kevir N. Jamal
Akhrat M. Mohammedsaeed
Supervised by:
Nareen N. Abdulla
Mr. Yousif
Helin F. Rasheed
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 Table of Contents

Introduction
Separator Internal Design
Separator Design Characteristics
Types of Separators
Selecting Separators
Separator Instrumentation
Separator Problems and their Remedies
Conclusion
References
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 Introduction
Separators are used in almost every oil fields and gas Separator in field operations is important
processing plants to separate well-stream gas from free because:
liquids.

These free liquids include free water, free hydrocarbon

liquids, and crude oil.
Product specifications set
limits on impurities, such
They may also be designed to separate the gas from as oil cannot contain more
than 1% basic sediment
vapors, which are readily condensable to liquids, and water (BS&W).
including condensate and water.

Separators are classified as

• “Two-phase” if they separate gas from the total Gas sales contracts require
liquid stream. that gas contains no free
• “Three-phase” if they separate gas, crude oil and liquids.
water components.
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 Separator Internal Design
Modern separators, regardless of their shape or size,
should include a:

1. Primary or Initial Separation Section

2. Secondary or Gravity Settling Section
• It contains the inlet nozzle, or a diverter baffle that
abruptly changes the direction of flow. • This section is designed to use the force of gravity
• This increases momentum of the fluids and allows to increase separation of the entrained liquid
the initial “gross” separation of liquid and gas. droplets.
• In some designs, straightening vanes are employed
to reduce turbulence of the fluids.

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 Separator Internal Design
3. Mist Extraction or Coalescing
Section 4. Sump or Liquid Collecting Section
• The mist extractor removes the very small
droplets of liquid in one final separation • The sump section acts as a receiver for
before the gas leaves the vessel. all liquid removed from the gas in the
• It may contain a series of vanes, woven first three sections.
wire-mesh pad, or cyclonic passage (which • This section has a certain amount of
uses centrifugal force to aid separation). surge volume over the normal level of
collected liquid.

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 vanes woven wire-mesh pad cyclonic passage

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 Separator Design Characteristics
1- Be strong enough to withstand the required
working pressure. 6- Control the accumulation of froths and foams
in the vessel.

2- Control the well stream flow as it enters the

vessel.
7- Provide outlets for gases and liquids with
suitable controls to maintain preset operating
3- Provide adequate space for the accumulation of level and pressure.
liquids.

4- Have internals arranged to provide minimum

pressure drop.

5- Minimize turbulence in the gas section and

reduce velocity.

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 Types of Separators
There are four main types of separators, each having specific
advantages. They are:

1- Vertical Separator Two-phase vertical

separator
It is used for the separation of gas
from relatively large volumes of
liquid.
• There are two forces tending to
These vessels are installed near separate the liquids from the
oil wells and usually range from gas.
8 to 24 inches in diameter and 3 • The first is the effect of
to 13 feet in height. gravity;
• The second is due to the
It has 2-phase and 3-phase swirling action by a spiral inlet
separators: baffle.

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 Three-Phase Vertical Separator
The three-phase vertical separator separates a well
effluent into a
Liquid
Gas stream hydrocarbon Water stream
stream

Separation processes are:

1- The gas/liquid mixture enters the side of the vessel where it encounters
a bi-directional diverter.
2- The gas stream rises up the vessel and into the demister section.
3- The demisters aid in the removal of any entrained liquids.
4- The liquid stream strikes the degassing baffle plate, resulting in a
coalescence of any entrained gas.
5- The oil and water separate due to the differences in gravity of the two
liquids.

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 2- Horizontal Separator
It is used for the separation of large volumes of gas from
small volumes of liquid in the following applications:

Gas-condensate Inlet separating

Gas wells devices at gas
wells
processing plants
Two-phase
horizontal
separator
• The dried gas goes through a
mist extractor where the last
liquid particles of smallest size
are removed from the gas.

• The liquid moves along the

bottom of the tank past the
plates to the liquid outlet.

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 Double-Barrel Horizontal Separator
It is used in applications where there are high gas flow
rates and where there is a possibility of large liquid slugs.
The flow process is as follows:

The flow strikes the inlet diverter.

The gas encounters the baffle type mist

extractors to the gas outlet.

The baffles help the free liquids to fall to the

lower barrel through flow pipes.

Small amounts of gas entrained in the liquid

are liberated in through the flow pipes.

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 Three-Phase Horizontal Separators

They are designed to separate oil, water, and gas, and

has two liquid outlets.

These separators are mostly used They are identical to two-phase

for well testing and in instances vessels, except for the water
where free water readily separates compartment and an extra level
from the oil or condensate. control and dump valve.

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 3- Spherical Separators
This type of separator is a spherical ball mounted
on a conventional skirt. They are used for the
separation of large volume of gas from extremely
small volume of liquid. The separation process is
as follows:
The fluids from the wells enter the vessel through the
tangential inlet diverter. This diverter forces the fluids against
the wall with centrifugal force to increase the gas-oil interface
area, which promotes separation.

The gas emerges and moves toward the center of the sphere
and upward toward the mist extractor. This extractor provides
a large surface area for adsorption of liquid, droplets from the
gas.

The liquid moves to the inlet of the fluid accumulator. This

inlet eliminates agitation inside the accumulator and provides a
foam-free oil surface.

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 4- Cyclone Separators
This separator uses centrifugal force, almost entirely, to
separate gas and liquid. It is able to separate small
quantities of liquids from large quantities of gas. The
separation process is:

Fluids are introduced tangentially into the

separator via an inclined feed pipe.

The high-velocity swirling flow creates a radial

acceleration field that causes the gas to flow to the
axial core region due to differences in gas and
liquid density.

The gas exits through an axial outlet located at the

top of the separator, and the liquid leaves through a
tangential outlet at the bottom.

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 Selecting Separators
Choosing the correct separator for an installation can
be a complicated decision. The following information is
required:

1- Liquid flow rate (oil and water) and gas flow rate at 5. The separator is two-phase (liquid and gas) or three-phase
minimum and peak instances. (oil, water and gas).

2. Specific gravities of oil, water, and gas. 6. The presence of solid impurities, such as sand or paraffin.

3. Retention time of fluids within the separator. 7. Conditions that could cause foaming.

4. Temperatures and pressures at which the separator 8. Corrosive impurities in the well fluids (, , etc.).
will operate.

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 Separator Instrumentation
Instrumentation on separators is used to control the following:

1- Liquid Levels
2- Pressure 3- Temperatures
• Liquid levels in the separator must
be maintained within reasonable • The temperature in the separator is
limits, to assure proper stream the same as the fluid temperature
• The pressure is maintained within entering the separator (ambient
flow and internal functioning.
a specific range, with a temperature).
backpressure controller and control
• This level maintaining also
valve.
prevents carrying liquids • In low-temperature processing, the
overhead, through gas exit nozzles temperature is maintained
• Safety and protection against according to the process design.
or gases going out through the
liquid outlets. over-pressurizing is provided by
pressure relief valves

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 Separator Problems and their Remedies
The following problems can be encountered in
working with separators:

Foaming Liquid Surging

Corrosion
• Liquids such as methanol, glycol, and • This is the rapid entry of liquid • Corrosive substances such as , , and
filming amines injected to control slugs into the separator from the water may cause severe metal loss
corrosion or prevent hydrates cause lower portions of the pipeline or on the separator walls and internal
foaming. intermittent well production. parts.
• Also, wells that produce heavy
hydrocarbons are responsible for
foaming in separators.

Foaming can be remedied by mist

extractors, cleaning the unit, monitoring
injected fluids, and injecting anti-foam
agents.
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 Conclusion

• Are used to separate well-stream gas from free liquids.

• Have four main types:

• Vertical separator
• Horizontal separator
• Spherical separator
• Cyclone separators
Separators
• Are chosen based on:
• Flow rate of fluids
• Specific gravities of fluids
• Retention time of fluids
• Temperature and pressure of the fluids
• The presence of solid and corrosive impurities and
foaming

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 References

1- Chilingarian, G.V., Robertson, J.O. and Kumar, S., 1987. Surface operations in

petroleum production, I. Elsevier.
2- Changhong Gao, 2017. Petroleum Production Technology. Science Press.

3- Arnold, K. and Stewart, M., 2008. Surface Production Operations: Design of Oil
Handling Systems and Facilities. Elsevier.
4- Guo, Boyun, 2011. Petroleum production engineering, a computer-assisted approach.
Elsevier.
5- Book one of the vocational training series fifth edition, june 1996. Introduction to oil
and gas production. American Petroleum Institute.
6- Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, 2013. Field operations – conventional
separators. Saint Polytechnic.
7- Davies, D., 2001. Production technology II. Tech. rep., Department of Petroleum
Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland.
8- Lyons, W., 2009. Working guide to petroleum and natural gas production engineering.
Gulf Professional Publishing.
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