Inlet diverter

Horizontal separators. Fluid enters the separator (Fig. 1) and hits an inlet diverter, causing a sudden change in mo-... 

Fig. 1— Horizontal separator employs four basic mechanisms to liberate gaa from liquid. Inlet diverter imposes a sudden direction and momentum change on the flowstrearn, causing heavier liquids to drop out. Gravity settling section provides opportunity for smaller droplets to leave gas stream, and mist extractor coalesces remaining liquids as gas exits vessel. In addition, entrained gas escapes In liquid collection section.

Vertical separator. Fig. 2 is a schematic of a vertical separator. In this configuration inlet flow enters the vessel through the side. As in the horizontal separator, the inlet diverter does the initial gross separation. Liquid flows down to the liquid collection section of the vessel, then down to the liquid outlet. As liquid reaches equilibrium, gas bubbles flow counter to the direction of liquid flow and eventually migrate to the vapor space. The level controller and liquid dump valve operate in the same manner as in a horizontal separator. 

Gas flows over the inlet diverter and then up toward the gas outlet. In the gravity settling section, the liquid drops fall... 

In a three-phase separator, the inlet diverter contains a downcomer that directs liquid flow below the gas/oil interface and to the vicinity of the oil/water interface. The liquid-collecting section of the vessel provides sufficient retention time so that oil and emulsion form a layer or "oil pad at the top. The free water settles to the bottom. 

Vertical separators. Fig. 4 shows a typical configuration for a vertical three-phase separator. As flow enters the vessel, the inlet diverter separates most of the gas. A downcomer is required to transmit the liquid through the oil/gas interface so not to disturb the oil-skimming action taking place. A chimney is needed to equalize gas pressure between the lower section and the gas section. 

Inlet diverter has many different designs. Consult vessel numufactuicr Or mechanical engineer for propez choice. For feed has little or no vapor, sometimes pipe size inlet distributor is used instead of inlet diverter. Slot area of pipe inlet distributor is usuklly twice the inlet nozzle cross secdonal area. Slot aiea is slightly above normul liquid level (MLL) lo let vapor exit. If there is no vapor in feed, slot area can be provided below the NLL to avoid Splash, or to locale the feed nozzle below NLL without using inlet distributor. 

If horizontal mist eluninator is used, use the sizing outlined in section IV.2.1a to size vessel, using va instead of vs in equations. Refer to Figure Ba for vessel length. If a vertical mist eliminator is used, allow minimum 12" space between the bottom of the mist eliminator and the inlet diverter. 

IV.2.3 Inlet diverter for vertical vapor/liquid separator using horizontal mist eliminator... 

If dynamic pressure of feed is under 0.2 1 psi (18DD pa), simple inlet diverter using baflle or pipe can be used. Otherwise a better inlet diverter is required to evenly distribute the vapor to mist eliminator. [6]... 

The most commonly used single-well treater is the vertical heater-treater, which is shown in Figure 1.7. The vertical heater-treater consists of four major sections gas separation, FWKO, heating and water-wash, and coalescing-settling sections. Incoming fluid enters the top of the treater into a gas separation section, where gas separates from the liquid and leaves through the gas line. Care must be exercised to size this section so that it has adequate dimensions to separate the gas from the inlet flow. If the treater is located downstream of a separator, the gas separation section can be very small. The gas separation section should have an inlet diverter and a mist extractor. 

It would be extremely rare to have laboratory data of droplet coalescence for a given system. Qualitatively, we would expect droplet size to increase with retention time in the coalescing section and with heat input, which excites the system, leading to more collisions of small droplets. Droplet size could be expected to decrease with oil viscosity, which inhibits the movement of the particles and decreases the force of the collision. While it may be possible to predict the droplet size at the inlet to the treater, the shearing that occurs at the inlet nozzle and inlet diverter coupled with the coalescence that occurs at the oil-water interface cannot be determined. The treater represents a dynamic process, which cannot be adequately simulated by static laboratory tests. 

The inlet nozzle is generally fitted with an inlet diverter. The diameter of the inlet diverter (h2 in Figure 3.5) is normally twice that of the inlet nozzle, as shown in Equation 3.26a ... 

The distance between the bottom of the inlet diverter and HLLSD is kept at 0.3 m (hi in Figure 3.5). 

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