Patent Application
20140251140
This invention relates generally to systems, apparatuses, and methods for separating gas from liquid. More specifically, the invention relates to improvements in gas-liquid cylindrical cyclone (“GLCC”) separators used in the oil-and-gas industry.
As shown in
Additional information on the performance of prior art GLCC separators can be found in the following two references, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference: Eduardo J. Pereyra, Modeling of integrated compact multiphase separation system (CMSS) (Dissertation, Univ. Tulsa 2011) and B. Aminnejad, Modeling of a 1-inch diameter air-water cylindrical hydrocyclone (Dissertation, Daihousie Univ. 2004).
Reducing the amount of gas carry-under has benefits, including improving the separation efficiency of the GLCC separator and the performance of downstream processing equipment such as electrostatic crude dehydration equipment.
An improvement to a GLCC separator has means for reducing gas carry-under to a liquid outlet of the separator. The reducing means is arranged within an interior space of the separator and below an inclined inlet of the separator to affect the tangential flow of the incoming liquid-and-gas mixture stream into the interior space.
In one embodiment, the reducing means is a vortex locator, preferably in the form of a horizontal plate, arranged coaxial with the separator vessel and located at a vortex formation point within the interior space. In another embodiment, the reducing means is a plurality of vertical baffles located at a lower end of the separator and extending radially inward from the wall of the separator. In still another embodiment, the plate and vertical baffles are used in combination with one another.
Objects of this invention include providing means within an interior space of a GLCC separator that (1) affects the formation of a vortex in the incoming, tangentially flowing liquid-and-gas mixture stream; (2) reduces the amount of gas carry-under to the liquid outlet; (3) improves the separation efficiency of the GLCC separator; and (4) enhances the performance of downstream processing equipment.
A gas-liquid cylindrical cyclone (“GLCC”) separator made according to this invention reduces gas carry-under by including a vortex locator, a baffle arrangement, or both a vortex locator and a baffle arrangement within the interior space of the GLCC separator 10.
Referring first to
The vortex locator 30, preferably in the form of a plate 31, is arranged coaxial with the vessel 11, horizontally within the interior space of the vessel 11, and below the gas-liquid inlet 13 but above the liquid outlet 15 at the point at which a vortex will form within the interior space of the vessel 11. The diameter of the plate 31 is preferably in a range of about 0.25 to 0.86 of the diameter of vessel 11. The plate 31 is held in place by a series of support arms 33 which are welded to the plate 31 and the wall 23 of the vessel 11.
The vortex formation point is a function of multiple factors, including but not limited to the incline of the gas-liquid inlet 13, the size of the vessel 11, the volume of the liquid-and-gas mixture stream exiting the inlet 13 into the interior of the vessel 11, the viscosity of that mixture stream, and the relative proportion of gas and liquid in the mixture stream. This point can be calculated or determined empirically through routine experimentation.
Referring to
Referring to
The vortex locator 30, preferably in the form of a plate 31, is arranged coaxial with the vessel 11, horizontally within the interior space of the vessel 11, and below the gas-liquid inlet 13 but above the liquid outlet 15 at the point at which a vortex will form within the interior space of the vessel 11. The diameter of the plate 31 is preferably in a range of about 0.25 to 0.86 of the diameter of vessel 11. The plate 31 is held in place by a series of support arms 33 which are welded to the plate 31 and the wall 23 of the vessel 11.
The baffle arrangement is located at the lower end 17 of the vessel 11 and is preferably a series of vertical baffles 41 that protrude radially inward but are separated from the wall 23 of the vessel 11. The number of vertical baffles 41 depends, in part, on the vessel diameter. The baffle arrangement 40 is located below the vortex locator 30.
An advantage of the present invention is that it controls the formation of a vortex in the tangential or cyclonic flow of the incoming liquid-and-gas mixture stream. Another advantage of the present invention is that it eliminates or reduces the swirling flow of the liquid-and-gas mixture stream, thereby preventing gas being carried into the liquid outlet of the GLCC separator. Other advantages of the present invention include improving the separation efficiency of the GLCC separator and enhancing the performance of downstream treatment processes. Further, while the embodiments have been described for GLCC separators in the oil-and-gas industry, they are equally applicable to other cyclonic-type separators and to other industries where separation of a mixed gas-and-liquid stream into its individual components is necessary or beneficial.
While preferred embodiments of a system and process for reducing gas carry-under for cyclonic-type separators have been described in detail, a person of ordinary skill in the art understands that certain changes can be made in the arrangement of process steps and type of components used in the system and process without departing from the scope of the following claims.
The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/773,362 filed on Mar. 6, 2013, which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61773362 | Mar 2013 | US |
