Separators

Theory, Design & Operation

By
Shahsawar

1
 Introduction
• Separators are essential part of oil & gas
industry such as wellhead production, gas
plants, compressors, transmission lines etc
also called KO drums, Scrubbers, slug
catchers.
• HC from wellhead composed of mixture of
natural gas, HC liquid & water
• Main function of Separator, separation of
phases for process & transportation
• Phase separation is done in two or three
phase Separators i.e. water-gas/oil-gas or
oil-gas-water 2
Separation Principle
• Momentum
• Gravity Settling
• Coalescing
Momentum Separation

Fluid phases with diff. densities have diff.

momentum. For a 2 phase stream sharp direction
change will not change heavier particles to turn
sharply and result is separation. Usually employed
for bulk separation e.g. impingement plates

3
4
Gravity Settling:
• Liquid droplets will settle out of gas phase if gravitational
force acting on the droplet is > drag force of gas flowing
around droplet.
• Forces are combined mathematically by terminal or free
settling velocity i.e.
Vt= (2gMp(ρl- ρg)/ ρLρgApC΄)½ (Eq7.1)
Or

Vt= (4gDp(ρl- ρg)/ 3ρgC΄)½

Where C΄ is a function of particle shape & Re. No. of flowing
gas.
Re. No. is defined as: Re. No.= 1488DpVt ρg / µ

To avoid trial and error soln., C΄ values are presented in fig

7.4 as
C΄x (Re.No.)2 and this eliminates Vt i.e.

C΄x (Re.No.)2 = (0.95)(108) ρgD3p (ρl- ρg)/ µ2

5
6
Stokes Law
At Re.No. < 2 ,a linear relation exists b/w C΄ &
Re. No. Stokes law applies in this case and eq.7.1
becomes
Vt= 1488gD2p(ρl- ρg)/ 18µ
Max. droplet which can settle out by this can be
evaluated by following eq. putting KCR=0.025
» Dp= KCR(µ2 /g ρg (ρl- ρg))0.33
Stokes law is applicable at droplet size b/w 3 &
100 microns.
Intermediate Law
For Re.No. b/w 2 & 500 ,this law applies and
eq.7.1 becomes
» Vt= 3.49g0.71D1.14p(ρl- ρg)0.71/ ρ0.29g µ0.43
Max. droplet which can settle out by this can be
evaluated by above eq. putting KCR=0.334
7
Newton’s Law
For Re.No. b/w 500 & 200,000 and also for
large droplets this law applies e.g. flare
knockout drum sizing. The limiting drag
coefficient is 0.44 at Re.No. ≥500. putting
C΄ in Eq7.1
» Vt= 1.74(gDp(ρl- ρg)/ ρg)½
For Newton’s law region, upper limit to
Re.No. = 200,000 & KCR=18.13
Coalescing
Very small droplets e.g. fog or mist can’t
be separated practically by gravity. So
droplets are coalesced to form large
droplets to settle by gravity. Wire mesh
screens, vane elements,& filter cartridges
are examples of coalescing devices. 8
Simplified Equation:
This is the simplified version of aforementioned
equations i.e.
» Vt= K((ρl- ρg)/ρg)½

Where
K=(4gDp/3c’)½
This K shows the approximate equivalence of the
empirical K and the more theoretical droplet
separation sizing methods.
Typical K values are available in charts for vertical
& Horizontal separators.

9
Typical values of K for Vertical Separators are

Height, ft K, ft/sec.
5 0.12-0.24.
10 or taller 0.18-0.35
* Assumes vessel is equipped with a wire mesh
extractor

Typical values of K for Horizontal Separators are

Height, ft K, ft/sec.
10 0.40-0.50
Other k10(L/10)0.56
* Assumes vessel is equipped with a wire
mesh extractor

10
11
Design & Construction
• Usually characterized by orientation as Vertical &
Horizontal
• Further classified: 2 phase (gas-liq.) & 3
phase(gas-liq-liq)
Parts of Separator
• Regardless of shape , separators have 04 major
sections.
A. Inlet device:
To reduce momentum of inlet flow for bulk
Separation
B. Gas Gravity Separation:
This section utilizes gravitational force to
separate entrained liq., gas moves at a low
velocity to subside turbulence for separation. Some
designs, straightening vanes used to ↓ turbulence
which ↓ length.
12
C. Liquid Gravity Separation:
This section acts as a receiver for liq. from all
parts. For 2 phase this section provides residence
time for de-gasing and for 3 phase it also
provides residence time to allow for separation of
water and lighter HC/oil. Also can be equipped
with boots for special applications.
D. Mist Extraction:
This section utilizes a mist extractor ( knitted
wire mesh pad /vanes/cyclone tubes) to remove
very small droplets by coalescing before gas exit.
Vertical Separators
• Usually selected for high gas/liq. ratio or total
gas volumes are low.
• Liq. slugs capacity is ↑ by ↑ length but with L/D
ratios normally 2-4 & max. of 6.
• Typical examples are Fuel gas & compressor
suction scrubbers.
13
14
15
16
Horizontal Separators
• Generally preferred for 3 phase separation &
equally good for 2 phase.
• Most efficient when handling large volumes of
liquid.
• Advantageous because liquid droplets and gas
phase move perpendicular to each other than
directly against in vertical which makes separation
easier.
• Typical L/D ratios are in the range of 2.5 to 5.
• Typical horizontal separator designs will have the
normal liquid level at half full point.
• Typical examples Low Temperature Separator (LTS)
i.e. gas/HC/glycol separation in a refrigeration unit.
Liquid Capacity/Residence Time
• Liq. capacity is dependent on retention time of
liquid in vessel.
• Settling volume required is calculated from eq.
W=1440(V)/t
17
• Basic design criteria for liquid retention times based
on numerous field tests. These are:

Oil- gas 1 min.

HP, Oil-gas-water 2-5 mins.
LP, Oil-gas-water 5-10 mins. @100°F &
Up
10-15 mins. @90°F
15-20 mins. @80°F
20-55 mins. @70°F
25-30 mins. @60°F

18
Separator Height/Length & Diameter:

Length of vessel is calculated by assuming the time for gas

flow from inlet to outlet is same as for the liq. droplet of size
Dp to fall from top to liq surface.
Following equation relates the length of separator to
diameter as a function of settling velocity i.e.

L= 4QA/∏DVVt

The L & D of the separator is selected based on trial & error

method i.e. assume dia and then calculate length.

19
Separator Performance
• There are two main aspects to mesh pad separation
performance:
 Droplet removal efficiency
 Gas handling capacity
• Droplet removal efficiency is given by manufacturer while
• Gas capacity of mesh pad is specified by load or sizing factor
K and is determined by Sounders & Brown eq.
Vt= K((ρl- ρg)/ ρg)½

• & the required mist extractor area is calculated by eq.

At= QA/ Vt

20
Separators w/o Mist Extractor
• Not frequently utilized & most common is flare KO
drum due to potential for plugging.
• Typical droplet size design value is b/w 300 to
2000 microns.
Separators w/Mist Extractor
• Frequently employed for removal of very small
particles and overall higher %age removal of liquid.
• Typical droplet size design value is 150 microns
and removal of droplets as small as 10 microns and
lower may be possible with these pads.
• The pressure drop across pad is sufficiently low (~
1 inch of WC) and to be considered negligible.

21
Specifying Separators
• Pressure, temp., flow rates and physical properties of
streams and degree of separation required must be known.
• If known, type and amount of liquid should also be provided.
• Improper size is one of the leading causes of process and
equipment problems.
Design Approach
• Three factors should be considered in sizing i.e.
1.Vapor Capacity- determines x-sectional area for gravity
separation.
2.Liquid Capacity-typically set by determining the volume
required to provide adequate residence time to de-gas the

liquid and allow immiscible liquid phases to separate.

3.Operability-separators ability to deal with unsteady
flow/liquid slugs, turndown etc.
Finally optimal design will result in a vessel of reasonable cost.
22