Numerical Analysis of a Two-Phase Flow (Oil and Gas) in a Horizontal
                        Separator used in Petroleum Projects

Yayla, Sedat; Kamal, Karwan; Bayraktar, Seyfettin

doi:10.29252/jafm.12.04.29318

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Yayla et al 15 investigated the effects of the inlet velocity of the gas−liquid mixture and the distance between the inlet of the gas−liquid mixture into the separator and the diverter plate on the separation efficiency using two-phase CFD simulations. They found an inverse correlation between the inlet velocity and the efficiency of the separator.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interplay of Residence Time Distribution and Electric Chaining Tendency due to Distributor Design Determine Electrocoalescer Performance

Kothmire,

Naik,

Thaokar

2024

Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

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An electrocoalescer is a piece of equipment wherein an electric field is applied across a water-in-oil emulsion to enhance the separation of its constituent phases. The equipment is employed in all petroleum refineries, almost without exception, to produce dehydrated, desalted crude oil, which is safe and suitable for further processing in the downstream equipment. The performance of an electrocoalescer critically depends upon the electrohydrodynamics and hydrodynamics in the equipment vessel, which acts at two levels. First the droplet−droplet interaction, fundamental to the microphysics of separation of a water-in-oil emulsion, is affected by electrohydrodynamics of coalescence and noncoalescence. Second, at a more macroscopic level, the electrohydrodynamics and hydrodynamics in the equipment vessel jointly influence the local water volume fraction of the emulsion and the probability of formation/disruption of water droplet chains across electrodes, which if formed, can result in electrical short-circuiting in the electrocoalescer. In this work, we present some avenues to intervene in the electrohydrodynamics and hydrodynamics at the second level to improve the performance of a continuously operated electrocoalescer. The study was carried out in a 6 L capacity custom-built laboratory-scale electrocoalescer of a design similar to that of industrial electrocoalescers. The apparatus comprised a horizontal axis cylindrical vessel, two horizontal-plane electrode grids mounted one above the other, and a single horizontal pipe with multiple orifices along its length, acting as a feed distributor. The flow characteristics of this bigrid electrocoalescer were studied in terms of residence time distribution (RTD) curves by conducting tracer experiments and by carrying out particle tracking simulations using commercial softwares COMSOL as well as ANSYS-FLUENT. Alternative physical flow models comprising combinations of stirred tanks and tubular elements were proposed and analytical expressions were derived to best fit the experimental and simulation data. The findings were compared with results obtained by carrying out electric dehydration of a model water-in-oil emulsion using the same experimental setup. We demonstrate that the vertical position of the emulsion distributor with respect to the two-electrode grids and the particular direction in which the emulsion ejects into the vessel by virtue of the orientation of the orifices, significantly affect the dehydration performance. For lowwater cut emulsions, it was found beneficial to keep the distributor between the two electrodes. On the other hand, for high-water cut emulsion, it was better to place the distributor between the lower electrode and the emulsion−water interface at the bottom. The work demonstrates how the presence of a complex interplay between RTD and water droplet chaining tendency dictates the optimal position of the feed distributor and the best possible orientation of the orifice on the same, for achieving effective dehydration of water-in-oil emulsi...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interplay of Residence Time Distribution and Electric Chaining Tendency due to Distributor Design Determine Electrocoalescer Performance

Kothmire,

Naik,

Thaokar

2024

Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

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“…8,9 A typical vertical oil-gas separator applied in the compressor system in the gas injection process is illustrated in Figure 1. The bottom part is the primary separation part, large oil droplets (usually >140 μm) are separated in this area, 10 and the remaining small oil droplets flow up with the gas and are further separated through the filter. 11 If the separation efficiency of the primary separation part is insufficient, the filter will be overloaded, causing the exhaust gas to carry the oil droplets, so the primary separation part is very important for the performance of the whole separator.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance Investigation and Optimization of the Primary Separation Part of the Oil-Gas Separator

Wang

Hu²,

Xu³

et al. 2023

Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

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Oil-gas separators are significant in the safe and reliable operation of the natural gas storage system. The separation efficiency of the conventional primary separation part of the oil-gas separator was not high enough, causing the insufficient performance of the whole separator. Three modification schemes were proposed to optimize the primary separation part of the oil-gas separator, including adding a curved baffle at the entrance, forming a centrifugal separation through the tangential inlet, and forming a cyclone structure by adding an inner cylinder. The separation performance was obtained through the Eulerian–Lagrangian approach numerically. For each scheme, a variety of parameter combinations were designed by the orthogonal array and the structure with the highest separation efficiency was reasonably selected. The separation efficiency of the centrifugal structure was higher than that of the collision structure on the whole. To evaluate the feasibility of the practical application, the three structural schemes were compared coupled with the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) based on the separation efficiency, the pressure loss, the uniformity of filter inlet velocity, and the modification cost. The results showed that the scheme of adding a curved baffle with reasonable structural parameters at the entrance had better comprehensive performance, which could be used as the optimal scheme in improving the oil-gas separator applied in natural gas storage.

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“…The separator's liquid level is controlled by these controls to guarantee effective separation and stop liquid from leaking into the gas outlet [15]. Factors including flow rates, fluid characteristics, separator shape, and operating parameters affect the separator's efficiency [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental Validation of the Numerical Model for Oil–Gas Separation

Tomescu,

Mălăel,

Conțiu

et al. 2023

Inventions

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The oil and gas sector is important to the global economy because it covers the exploration, production, processing, transportation, and distribution of oil and natural gas resources. Despite constant innovation and development of technologies to improve efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and optimize operations in the gas and oil industry over the last few decades, there is still room to increase the efficiency of the industry’s equipment in order to reduce its carbon footprint. The separation of gas from oil is a critical stage in the technological production chain, and it is carried out using high-performance multi-phase separators to limit greenhouse gas emissions and have a low impact on the environment. In this study, an improved gas–oil separator configuration was established utilizing CFD techniques. Two separator geometry characteristics were studied. Both cases have the same number of subdomains, two porous media, and four fluid zones, but with a difference in the pitch of the cyclone from the inlet subdomain. The streamlines in a cross-plan of the separator and the distribution of the oil volume fraction from the intake to the outlet were two of the numerical results that were shown as numeric outcomes. The validation of these results was performed using an experimental testing campaign that had the purpose of determining the amount of lubricating oil that is discharged together with the compressed gas at the separator outlet.

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Numerical Analysis of a Two-Phase Flow (Oil and Gas) in a Horizontal Separator used in Petroleum Projects

Cited by 7 publications

References 33 publications

Interplay of Residence Time Distribution and Electric Chaining Tendency due to Distributor Design Determine Electrocoalescer Performance

Interplay of Residence Time Distribution and Electric Chaining Tendency due to Distributor Design Determine Electrocoalescer Performance

Performance Investigation and Optimization of the Primary Separation Part of the Oil-Gas Separator

Experimental Validation of the Numerical Model for Oil–Gas Separation

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