Abstract
In the offshore oil and gas environment, there is usually the challenge with regards to available space offshore platforms for equipment installation; hence, compact separators are more attractive due to their small footprint. Also, in subsea oil and gas production, compact separators are attractive because of their light weight and ease of installation. A good understanding of the flow regimes in the upper part of the separator is essential for a robust design and operation. The performance of gas-liquid compact separator in terms of liquid carryover (LCO) and pressure drop depends on the type of flow regime in the upper part of the separator. However, there is a lack of experimental data on flow regimes in the upper part gas-liquid cyclone separators. In this research, data on flow regimes in the upper part of a 1.5-inch horizontal-inlet gas-liquid cylindrical cyclone separator was acquired using electrical resistance Tomography (ERT), wire mesh sensor (WMS), pressure transducer and visual observation. Based on flow imagining, observations and statistical analysis, the flow regimes were classified as swirling-annular, light-mist, heavy-mist and churn flow. A flow regime map for the separator was proposed based on a modified liquid and gas-Froude number. The work would be a useful guide to process engineers during the preliminary design and sizing of separators with similar geometry configuration.
Highlights
In the petroleum industry, a separator is used in the oil field and process plant to separate a multiphase mixture into oil, gas and water
We named the upper part of the gas-liquid pipe cyclonic (GLPC) separator, where the influence of centrifugal force is strongest as a cyclonic zone and, where the influence of gravity is strongest as gravity zone
The flow regimes in the upper part of the GLPC separator were identified using electrical resistance Tomography (ERT), wire mesh sensor (WMS), pressure transducer and visual observations
Summary
A separator is used in the oil field and process plant to separate a multiphase mixture into oil, gas and water. The petroleum industry relies on gravity-based separators for phase separation. Gravitybased separators are considered mature technology [1]. Where space and weight are a constraint, a compact and efficient phase separation technologies is more attractive. Cyclonic separators are lightweight and have a small footprint, making them attractive to applications such as subsea separation, un-manned platform, flare gas scrubber, portable-well-testing skid, multiphase measurement and debottlenecking of gravity separators [2, 3]. Considering that the performance of the separator is sensitivity to inlet flow rates and inlet multiphase flow phenomena, its application is not as versatile as gravity-based separators
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