API-Oil Field Separators

The American Petroleum Institute Manual on Disposal of Refinery Wastes provides specific design and construction standards for API-separators that are often used in oilfield waste disposal [24], 

Liquid/Liquid, Liquid/Solid Gravity Separations, Decanters, and Sedimentation Equipment 

This angle plate gravity separator removes suspensions of solids from a dilute liquid. The unit is more compact than a box-type settler due to the increased capacity achieved by the multiple parallel plates. The concept is fairly standard (U.S. Patent 1,458.805—year 1923) but there are variations in some details. For effective operation, the unit must receive the mixture with definite particles having a settling velocity. The units are not totally effective for flocculants or coagulated masses that may have a tendency to be buoyant. 

Flow through the plates must be laminar, and the critical internal areas are [25,54,61]  

Because these units are essentially open, the standard design does not fit into a closed process system without adding some enclosures, and certainly is not suitable for a pressurized condition. 

---

Low absolute pressure calculations, 129 Low pressure system, 129 American Petroleum Institute, 399 American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 399 API Codes, 399 API oil field separators, 239 API, heat absorbed from fire, 451-453 Babcock steam formula, 103, 107, 108 Back pressure, 404 Effect of, 407, 408 Baffles, lank mixing, 311 Diagrams, 330 Bag filters/separators, 270 Bag materials, 274 Cleaning, 272, 273 Heavy dust loads, 271 Specifications, 271 Temperature range, 271 Bins, silos, hoppers venting, 516 Blast pressure, 496 Blowdown, 404... 

---