13-06-2012, 11:47 AM
DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE OF GAS LIQUID CYLINDRICAL CYCLONE
SEPARATORS
DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE OF GAS LIQUID.pdf (Size: 245.33 KB / Downloads: 163)
ABSTRACT
Current separation technology based on the conventional vessel-type separator is several
decades old. The vessel-type separator is large, heavy and expensive to purchase and
operate. Recently, the petroleum industry has shown interest in the development of
innovative alternatives to the conventional separator that are compact and low weight, and
have low capital and operational costs. One such alternative is the Gas Liquid Cylindrical
Cyclone (GLCC) separator.
Very few studies are available on the optimum design and performance of GLCC's.
Consequently, the sizing of GLCC's and estimation of the operational envelope are based
on limited experience, without a high degree of confidence.
INTRODUCTION
The Petroleum Industry has relied heavily on the conventional vessel-type separation
technology, which has not changed substantially over the last several decades.
Conventional separators are bulky, heavy and expensive in capital and operating costs.
These limitations are felt most severely in offshore operations where platform costs are
escalating. The high costs associated with conventional separators have motivated the
Petroleum Industry to explore the development and application of alternative technologies
such as compact separator systems.
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
One of the most enthusiastically explored applications of the GLCC is for gas separation in
multiphase measurement system. Multiphase meters that measure the full stream flow
without separation suffer from size and accuracy limitations in gas dominated flows. The
size of the multiphase meter can be kept small and measurement accuracy improved by
simply pre-separating most of the gas. It was recently observed21 that many, if not most,
of the multiphase metering applications are, in fact.
MECHANISTIC MODELING
The models presented in this section represent initial mechanistic models developed for the
prediction of the hydrodynamic flow behavior in the GLCC. The models enable the
prediction of the equilibrium liquid level, bubble trajectory and onset of annular mist flow in the GLCC. The equilibrium liquid level and the onset of annular mist flow are needed
for the prediction of liquid carryover. The bubble trajectory will enable the prediction of
gas carryunder. The mechanistic models are necessary to properly scale the results from
the laboratory experiments to field conditions.
FUTURE WORK
The models presented in this study provide qualitative guidance for GLCC design.
However, enhancements of these models are underway that will enable prediction of the
GLCC performance. For example, the proposed equilibrium liquid level model can predict
the operational envelope (Fig. 5) for liquid carryover, if provided with the following: the
actual liquid holdup in the region above the GLCC inlet, and the maximum allowable liquid
holdup prior to liquid carryover.