Savvy Separator

The sources and magnitude of shear and the effects on oil droplet size can have significant consequences for downstream separation equipment performance.

Lessons learned by the members of the SPE Separations Technology Technical Section, representing more than 250 years' experience, are presented so that the same mistakes are not repeated in the future.

An underperforming scrubber that was suffering from too much oil carry-over is described along with options for debottlenecking and improving performance.

Efficient separation assumes uniform flow, but the reality of inlet geometries can invalidate this assumption, leading to separation problems and loss of separation efficiency.

Some internals components affect a separator's gas- and liquid-handling capability because of their effects on the liquid level. In this article, the interdependency of cyclonic inlets, cyclonic mist eliminators, and liquid level is highlighted.