Specifying Separators Separator designers need to know pressure, temperature, flow rates, and physical properties of the streams

as well as the degree of separation required An improperly sized separator is one of the leading causes of process and equipment problems. Inlet separation problems upstream of absorption systems (e.g. amine and glycol) can lead to foaming problems, and upstream of adsorption systems (e.g. molecular sieve, activated alumina, and silica gel) can cause fouling, coking, and other damage to the bed. Equipment such as compressors and turbo-expanders tolerate little or no liquid in the inlet gas steam, while pumps and control valves may have significant erosion and/or cavitation when vapors are present due to improper separation. In addition, direct fired reboilers in amine and glycol service may experience tube failures due to hot spots caused by salt deposits caused by produced water carryover into the feed gas. (GPSA, 2004)

Where d is the diameter of the droplet in (ft), u is the settling velocity of the droplet (ft/s). is the density of the continuous phase (lb/ft3). g is gravitational acceleration (ft/s), and is the drag coefficient. For a low Reynolds number, , flow, the drag coefficient is given by

Where is the viscosity of the continuous phase (lb-s/ ft2), Substituting for from equation 3 into equation 1 yields:

The settling velocity u is reached when drag force = gravity force, therefore, ( )

The equation above shows that the droplet settling velocity is inversely proportional to the viscosity of the continuous phase. Oil viscosity is several magnitudes higher than the water viscosity. Therefore, the settling velocity of water droplets in oil is much smaller than the settling velocity of oil droplets in water. The time needed for a droplet to settle out of one continuous phase and reach the interface between the two phases depends on the settling velocity and the distance travelled by the droplet. In operations where the thickness of the oil pad is larger than the thickness of the water layer, water droplets would travel a longer distance to reach the wateroil interface than that travelled by the oil droplets. This, combined with the much slower settling velocity of the water droplets, makes the time needed for separation of water from oil longer than the time needed for separation of oil from water. Even in operations with a very high wateroil ratio, this might result in having a water layer that is thicker than the oil pad, the ratio of the thickness of the water layer to that of the oil pad would not offset the effect of viscosity. Therefore, the separation of water droplets from the continuous oil phase would always be taken as the design criterion for three-phase separators. The minimum size of the water droplet that must be removed from the oil and the minimum size of the oil droplet that must be removed from the water to achieve a certain oil and water quality at the separator exit depend largely on the operating conditions and fluid properties. Results obtained from laboratory tests conducted under simulated field conditions provide the best data for design. The next best source of data could be obtained from nearby fields. If such data are not available, the minimum water droplet size to be removed from the oil is taken as 500 mm. Separators design with this criterion have produced oil and emulsion containing between 5% and 10% water. Such produced oil and emulsion could be treated easily in the oil dehydration facility. Experience has also shown that three-phase separators designed based on the 500-mm water droplet removal produces water with a suspended oil content that is below 2000 mg/L. This produced water must be treated before it is disposed of. Another important aspect of separator design is the retention time, which determines the required liquid volumes within the separator. The oil phase needs to be retained within the separator for a period of time that is sufficient for the oil to reach equilibrium and liberates the dissolved gas. The retention time should also be sufficient for appreciable coalescence of the water droplets suspended in the oil to promote effective settling and separation. Similarly, the water phase needs to be retained within the separator for a period of time that is sufficient for coalescence of the suspended oil droplets. The

retention times for oil and water are best determined from laboratory tests; they usually range from 3 to 30 min, based on operating conditions and fluid properties. If such laboratory data are not available, it is a common practice to use a retention time of 10 min for both oil and water. (Abdel-Aal & Aggour, 2003)

In the separation process it is assumed that such mixtures contain essentially three main groups of hydrocarbon,

1. Light group, which consists of CH4 (methane) and C2H6 (ethane) 2. Intermediate group, which consists of two subgroups: the propane/butane (C3H8/C4H10) group and the pentane/hexane (C5H12/C6H14) group. 3. Heavy group, which is the bulk of crude oil and is identified as C7H16. In carrying out the gasoil separation process, the main target is to try to achieve the following objectives: 1. Separate the C1 and C2 light gases from oil 2. Maximize the recovery of heavy components of the intermediate group in crude oil 3. Save the heavy group components in liquid product