Surface Processing

Gas-Liquid Separation
 Gas –Liquid Separators are
pressure vessels

Well fluid  Selection of separators:

 Composition of the inlet
stream
 Operating Pressure
 Operating Temperature

 Primary separation of liquids from gas

stream
 Remove small/fine liquid droplets Reservoir
entrained in gas stream
 Remove dissolved gas in the liquid
phase
 Discharge separated gas and liquid
without reinternment
Separator
Gas-Liquid Separation
Two Phase Separators

 Gravity segregation and centrifugation

Functional Sections:

 Inlet diverter: primary gross separation

of gas and liquid

 Gravity settling section: settlement of

liquid droplets (>100-140 µm) from gas
after primary separation

 Liquid collecting section: Collecting the

separated liquid and provide enough
retention time for liberation of entrained
gas
Accessories :
 Mist extractor: Separation of fine liquid Liquid level controller, liquid dump
droplet by coalescence from the outgoing valve, pressure control valve , safety
gas stream failed to separate by gravity relief valve, etc.
Gas-Liquid Separation
Three Phase Separators
 A three phase separator is designed to
remove gas from the liquid phase and
further free water from the total liquid
 The vessels contains a down-comer that
forces the gross liquid (separated by inlet
diverter) to the bottom of the vessel trough
a spreader where it is water washed
 Water wash facilitate coalescence of water
droplet entrained in oil phase and prevent
the water oil mixture from falling on the
gas-oil interface which could reduce
efficiency of the separation process Weir
 When they are designed to handle small
volumes of gas they are known as free
water knockout
 The size of a three phase separator
depends on gas capacity whereas, the size
of free water knockout depends largely on
the water cut
Gas-Liquid Separation
Separators Types Vertical
Horizontal

Spherical
Gas-Liquid Separation
Factors affecting the separator selection/design:

 Gas Liquid Ratio

 Gas and liquid flow rates (minimum, average, and peak),
 Operating and design pressures and temperatures,
 Surging or slugging tendencies of the feed streams,
 Physical properties of the fluids such as density and compressibility
factor,
 Designed degree of separation (e.g., removing 100% of particles greater
than 10 microns),
 Presence of impurities (paraffin, sand, scale, etc.),
 Foaming tendencies of the crude oil,
 Corrosive tendencies of the liquids or gas.
Gas-Liquid Separation
Comparison of different separator types

Can handle high GOR fluid Can handle large liquid slugs and Lowest fabrication and
stream provide better liquid surge control service coast

Reduce turbulence and foaming Liquid level control is not critical Easier to drain out

Lower fabrication cost Can handle more solid production Less floor space

Requires less piping and fittings Minimize tendency of liquid re-

vapourization

Easier to transport and Less floor space requirement

assemble

Lower service coat Easier to drain out

Gas-Liquid Separation
Comparison of different separator types

Limited surge space and critical Expensive fabrication Critical liquid level control
liquid level control

Difficult to drain and sand Larger than other for same Difficult three phase
cleanout capacity separation
Lager floor space requirement
Gas-Liquid Separation
Separation Principle: Gravity Settling
π
𝐹𝑑 = 𝐶𝑑 ρ𝑔 𝑣 2 𝑑𝑝2
At equilibrium 𝐹𝑑 =𝐹𝑔 8

4𝑔𝑑𝑝 ρ𝑙 − ρ𝑔 Velocity of the gas relative

𝑣=
3𝐶𝑑 ρ𝑔 to the droplet 𝑑𝑝

ρ𝑙 − ρ𝑔 4𝑔𝑑𝑝
𝑣=𝐾 𝐾= , separation coefficient
ρ𝑔 3𝐶𝑑

π 3
𝐹𝑔 = 𝑑 𝑔 ρ𝑙 − ρ𝑔
6 𝑝
Souders Brown Equation (1934)
Gas-Liquid Separation

Gas Capacity

Superficial gas velocity 𝑣𝑔 =allowable gas velocity at operating condition

ρ𝑙 , ρ𝑣 = density of liquid and vapour phase at
separator operating P,T
ρ𝑙 − ρ𝑔
𝑣𝑔 = 𝐾
ρ𝑔

𝑞𝑔 = 𝐴𝑣𝑔

π𝐷2 ρ𝑙 − ρ𝑔 𝐷 is the separator diameter (ft)

𝑞𝑔 = 𝐾 ft3/s
4 ρ𝑔 K is separation coefficient ft/s
Gas-Liquid Separation
Separator Design/ Selection
Gas Capacity

π𝐷2 ρ𝑙 − ρ𝑔
𝑞𝑔 = 𝐾
4 ρ𝑔

At standard condition
P = operating pressure in psi
2.4𝐷2 𝐾𝑃 ρ𝑙 − ρ 𝑔 T = operating temperature in oF
𝑞𝑔𝑠𝑐 = 𝑀𝑀𝑠𝑐𝑓𝑑
𝑧(𝑇 + 460) ρ𝑔 𝑧 = Compressibilty factor at P, T

Empirically determined K values (Craft et al., 1962; Sivalls, 1977)

Separator Type Range of K

Vertical 0.6 to 0.35

Horizontal 0.4 to 0.5

Spherical 0.4 to 0.5
Gas-Liquid Separation
Separator Design/ Selection
Liquid Capacity
𝑞𝐿 = liquid capacity (bbl/day)
1440𝑉𝐿 𝑉𝐿 = settling volume (bbl)
𝑞𝐿 =
𝑡 𝑡 = 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 (𝑚𝑖𝑛)

𝑉𝐿 (𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙) = 0.1399𝐷2 ℎ

𝐿
𝑉𝐿 (ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙) = 0.1399𝐷2
2

𝐷
𝑉𝐿 𝑠𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 = 0.466𝐷3
2
Gas-Liquid Separation
Separator Design/ Selection
Retention time and Gas Liquid Ratio (GLR)

𝑉𝐺 = 𝑉 − 𝑉𝐿 𝑉 = total volume of separator

𝑉𝐺 = 𝑉 − 𝑞𝐿 t 𝑡 = retention time

𝑉𝐺 = 𝑞𝑔 𝑡 = 𝐺𝐿𝑅. 𝑞𝐿 .t
Suggested retention (Sivals, 1977)
𝑉 − 𝑞𝐿 t = 𝐺𝐿𝑅. 𝑞𝐿 .t

𝑉
𝑡=
𝑞𝐿 𝐺𝐿𝑅 + 1
Gas-Liquid Separation
Separator Design/ Selection
Using Actual Separator
Performance Data/Fields
Test Data

Performance charts
(Sivalls 1977)
Gas-Liquid Separation
Separator Design/ Selection
Using Actual Separator
Performance Data/Fields
Test Data

Performance charts
(Sivalls 1977)
Gas-Liquid Separation
Separator Design/ Selection

Settling Volume Tables (Sivalls 1977)

Gas-Liquid Separation
Separator Design/ Selection
Oil pad thickness is determined as

0.00128 𝑡𝑜 Δγ𝑑𝑝2
ℎ𝑜 =
µ𝑜

𝒉𝒐
𝑫
𝐴𝑤 𝑞𝑤 𝑡𝑤
= 0.5

𝜷=
𝐴 𝑞𝑤 𝑡𝑤 + 𝑞𝑜 𝑡𝑜

𝐷
ℎ𝑜

𝑫/𝟐
𝐷=
β

ℎ𝑜 𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠; 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑤 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑖𝑛; γ is

specific gravity; 𝐷 𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠; 𝑑𝑝 in
micron
Gas-Liquid Separation
Separator Design/ Selection

Considering a no flow of oil over

the oil weir/bucket and water weir

Hydrostatic pressure at point

′
𝑃𝐴 = ρ𝑜 𝑔ℎ𝑜 + ρ𝑤 𝑔ℎ𝑤 = ρ𝑤 𝑔ℎ𝑤
′
ρ𝑜 ℎ𝑜 + ρ𝑤 ℎ𝑤 = ρ𝑤 ℎ𝑤
′ =ℎ + 𝑜ℎ ρ
ℎ𝑤 𝑤 𝑜
ρ 𝑤

Height of water weir below the oil weir

′
Δℎ = ℎ𝑜 + ℎ𝑤 − ℎ𝑤
ρ𝑜  A large inflow of oil will cause the top of the
Δℎ = ℎ𝑜 − ℎ
ρ𝑤 𝑜 oil pad to rise; the oil pad will thus get thicker
 the oil bucket must be deep enough so that oil
ρ𝑜 does not flow under it.
Δℎ = ℎ𝑜 1 −
ρ𝑤
Gas-Liquid Separation
Separator Design/ Selection

Q. Size a horizontal three phase separator for the following conditions:

Gas Flow Rate: 10.0 MMSCFD

Operating Pressure: 800 psig
Condensate Load: 800 bbl/day
Water Load: 500 bbl/day
Oil API gravity = 30o API
Water specific gravity = 1.07
Oil viscosity = 10 cp
Water droplet size 150 micron
Consider 5 min Retention time for oil water separation
Gas-Liquid Separation
Separator internals
Gas-Liquid Separation
Separator internals
Wave breakers:

 vertical baffles spanning the gas-liquid

interface and perpendicular to the flow
 Required in long horizontal vessels for
efficient liquid level control, proper
function of level safety switches and weir

Foam breaker :

 Inclines parallel plates or tubes

 Provides additional area surface area
which breaks up the foam and These
closely spaced, parallel plates or tubes
provide additional surface area and
collapse into liquid layer
Gas-Liquid Separation
Separator internals
Vortex breakers:

 Covered cylinder with radially directed

vertical plates
 liquid enters the bottom of the vortex
breaker, any circular motion is prevented
by the plates
 Vortex formation may result into gas re-
entrainment

Sand Jetting System :

 High-pressure fluid, usually

produced water, is pumped
through the jets to agitate the
solids and flush them down the
drains
 the solids settle to the bottom get
packed and hinders separator
operation
Gas-Liquid Separation
Stage Separation
 Involves two or more equilibrium
separation stages
 Two or more separators are
arranged in series
 Operating pressures are
gradually reduced
 The stock is the last stage of
separation generally kept at
standard condition
 Enhances liquid recovery and
result into stable stock tank
liquid
Two stage separation = 1 separator + 1 Stock Tank

Three stage separation = 2 separator + 1 Stock Tank

Well stream Recommended number of stages

Low GOR, low pressure Two

2-12 % increase in liquid
recovery between two stage to
Intermediate GOR, Intermediate P Three three stage (Sivalls 1977 )
High GOR, High P Four
Gas-Liquid Separation
Stage Separation

Equal pressure ratio method to determine pressure of intermediate stages

(Campbell 1976)

𝑃1
1/𝑛 𝑃1 = 𝑓𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒
Pressure ratio 𝑟=
𝑃𝑠 𝑃𝑠 = 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑘 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒

𝑃1 = 𝑃𝑠 𝑟 𝑛

𝑃2 = 𝑃𝑠 𝑟 𝑛−1  The first stage operating pressure is

generally determined by flowlines
pressure
𝑃𝑖 = 𝑃𝑠 𝑟 𝑛−𝑖+1
Crude Oil Treatment
Dehydration of Crude Oil

Non-dispersed Oil-water emulsions

Conditions for stable emulsion: 1. Asphaltic materials

 Two immiscible liquids 2. Resinous substances
 Energy of agitation 3. Oil-soluble organic acids
 Emulsifying agent 4. Finely dispersed solid materials

Factors govern emulsion stability:

1. Viscosity
2. Density contrast
3. Droplet size
4. Interfacial tension
5. Salinity of water
Crude Oil Treatment
Treatment Methods

Wet Gravity Dehydration Dehydrated

crude Settling treatment crude

Free water Heat Chemical Electricity

knockout

Heater De- Electrosta

Treater emulsifier tic treater
Free water

Emulsified water
Crude Oil Treatment
Treatment Methods
Steps in dehydration process:

Breaking the emulsion:

 Weakening and rupturing the stabilizing film surrounding the
dispersed water droplets
 Can be done by application of heat and chemical

Coalescence:
 Aggregation of separated water droplet to form larger drop
 Aggregation is a function of time
 Can be accelerated by application electricity, impigmentaion on
large solid surface and water washing

Gravity Settling
 Aggregated water droplets separate out of oil phase due to
gravity and settled at the bottom
Crude Oil Treatment
Heat requirement
Direct and Indirect Heating

Water Emulsion
Emulsion

Flue gas
Flue gas

Fire-tube Fire-tube

 Heat is transferred from the fire

 Emulsion feed into a vessel
tube to the emulsion via another
heated using a fire tube heater
medium such as water in a bath
 More efficient heat transfer
 Efficient for sandy crude because
 Fluid level should be maintained;
the separated sand accumulate on
otherwise results into self ignition
the fire tube could result into
of gas
overheating
Crude Oil Treatment
Heat requirement
Vertical Heater-Treater
Crude Oil Treatment
Heat requirement
Horizontal Heater-Treater
Crude Oil Treatment
Heat requirement
q = heat transfer rate (BTU/hr)
𝑞 = 𝑚𝑐Δ𝑇 m = mass flow rate (lb/hr)
Δ𝑇 = temperature increase oF
𝑐 = specific heat of the fluid BTU/lb/oF

lb/hr Q = volumetric flow rate (bbl/day)

γ = 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦
𝑞 = 14.59γ𝑄𝑐Δ𝑇 BTU/hr
𝑤 = 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑢𝑡
𝑞 = 𝑞𝑜 + 𝑞𝑤 + 𝑞𝑙

For oil 𝑞𝑜 = 14.59γ𝑜𝑄𝑜𝑐𝑜Δ𝑇

For water 𝑞𝑤 = 14.59γ𝑤𝑤𝑄𝑜𝑐𝑤Δ𝑇

Heat loss 𝑞𝑙 = 𝑙𝑞
Crude Oil Treatment
Treater sizing
 The settling water encounters the flow of oil in the oil
upward direction
 The settling velocity of water must overcome the oil
velocity
water
𝑉𝑡 = 𝑉𝑜

𝑞𝑜 = 𝑜𝑖𝑙 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑏𝑏𝑙/𝑑𝑎𝑦

1.78 × 10−6 Δγ𝑑𝑝2
𝑉𝑡 = 𝐷 = 𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 (𝑖𝑛)
µ𝑜
𝐿 = 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 (𝑓𝑡)

For horizontal vessel 𝑉𝑡 , 𝑉𝑜 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑡/𝑠

1𝑏𝑏𝑙/𝑑𝑎𝑦 = 6.49 × 10−5 𝑓𝑡 3 /𝑠
7.79 × 10−4 𝑞𝑜
𝑉𝑜 = For vertical vessel
𝐷𝐿
1/2
438𝑞𝑜 µ 𝑞𝑜 µ
𝐷𝐿 = 𝐷 = 81.8
Δγ𝑑𝑝2 Δγ𝑑𝑝2
Crude Oil Treatment
Treater sizing

𝑎𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑉𝐿

𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒, 𝑡 = 𝑜𝑖𝑙 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑄

Assuming 75% available cross-sectional area

π𝐷2 𝐿
𝑉𝐿 = 0.75
4 × 144
1𝑏𝑏𝑙/𝑑𝑎𝑦 = 389.4 × 10−5 𝑓𝑡 3 /𝑚𝑖𝑛

𝑞𝑜 = 𝑜𝑖𝑙 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑏𝑏𝑙/𝑑𝑎𝑦

1.05 𝐷2 𝐿 𝐷 = 𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 (𝑖𝑛)
𝑡=
𝑞𝑜 𝐿 = 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 (𝑓𝑡)

𝑡𝑞𝑜
𝐷2 𝐿 =
1.05
Crude Oil Treatment
Treater sizing
For horizontal treater

Based on settling velocity

Based on retention time

Crude Oil Treatment
Treater sizing
For vertical treater
Crude Oil Treatment
Electrostatic Treater
 Water molecules being
polar (dipole ) can
respond to an external
eclectic filed
 Dipole interaction results
into coalescence
Crude Oil Treatment
Chemical Treatment

 A demulsified contains:
o Solvents
o Surface active ingredient
o Flocculants

Factors effect efficiency

 Temperature
 pH
 Type of crude oil
 Brine composition
 Droplet size and distribution

Displacement changes
 Interfacial viscosity
 Film viscoelasticity
 Particle wetting
Crude Oil Treatment
Crude Oil Treatment
Desalting

 Salt content in crude oil occurs in

remnant water
 Generally required requires removal at
refinery as well as before entering 𝑊𝑅 = % 𝐵𝑆&𝑊
pipeline and tanker typically when
exceeds 20 PTB 𝑆𝑅 = 𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑝𝑚
 Reported as BS&W also
 Primarily chlorides of sodium, calcium
and magnesium Problems due to dissolved salt:
 deposit chlorides on the heat
examples transfer equipment of the
distillation units
 chlorides will decompose under
high temperature, forming
corrosive hydrochloric acid
Crude Oil Treatment
Water wash
 Fresh water, or water with lower  The usual mixing device is simply a
salinity than the remnant water, mixes throttling valve or multiple-orifice-plate
with the remnant water, thus diluting mixers (MOMs)
its salt concentration

Two stage desalting system

Oil
emulsion
Crude Oil Treatment
Amount of water required

 Generally 5-10% by volume

Resulting salinity after mixing 𝑆𝐵 can

𝑊𝐷 = % 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑑 be found as

𝑊𝑅 = % 𝐵𝑆&𝑊

𝑆𝑅 = 𝑅𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑝𝑚

𝑆𝐷 = 𝐷𝑖𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑝𝑚

𝐸 = 𝑀𝑖𝑥𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 (%)