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On Upward Swirling Liquid Film in Gas-liquid Pipe Compact Separator

Received: 24 July 2019     Accepted: 13 August 2019     Published: 29 August 2019
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Abstract

This paper presents experimental findings on upward swirling liquid film for both single-phase and two-phase gas-liquid flow in a vertical gas-liquid cyclonic separator. The upward swirling liquid film is one dynamic phenomenon that occurs in pipe cyclonic separator. The upward swirling of the liquid film in the upper part of the cyclonic separator is the primary source of liquid entrainment into the gas core. Liquid entrainment from the separator wall into the gas core is the main cause of liquid carryover. Liquid carryover is the major disadvantage of the gas-liquid pipe cyclonic separator. Various researchers in the past have identified the effect of this phenomenon on the performance of gas-liquid pipe cyclonic separator, but not many efforts have been made to study the phenomenon in detail. In this work, the upward swirling liquid film height was measured using a meter rule, while the thickness of the swirling liquid film was estimated using the void fraction that was measured with electrical resistance tomography (ERT). The experimental results show that the height attained by the upward swirling liquid film is a function of the film thickness and inlet gas velocity. The results also showed that the horizontal inlet pipe produces the highest liquid film height when compared with the inclined inlet pipe. By keeping the liquid flow rate constant and increasing gas flow rate, a maximum liquid film height was observed, afterwards, the liquid film height decreases within increasing gas flow rate.

Published in Petroleum Science and Engineering (Volume 3, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.pse.20190302.12
Page(s) 39-45
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2019. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Compact Separator, Swirling Liquid Film, Liquid Carryover, Separator Performance, Film Thickness, Gas Superficial Velocity

References
[1] S. S. Kolla, R. S. Mohan, and O. Shoham, “Mechanistic Modeling of Liquid Carry-Over for 3-Phase Flow in GLCC© Compact Separators,” no. 51555. p. V001T06A017, 2018.
[2] S. Kanshio, H. Yeung, and L. Lao, “Study of phase distribution in pipe cyclonic compact separator using wire mesh sensor,” Flow Meas. Instrum., vol. 53, 2017.
[3] R. Hreiz, R. Lainé, J. Wu, C. Lemaitre, C. Gentric, and D. Fünfschilling, “On the effect of the nozzle design on the performances of gas–liquid cylindrical cyclone separators,” Int. J. Multiph. Flow, vol. 58, pp. 15–26, Jan. 2014.
[4] A. Pollak, “The separation of liquid from vapor, using cyclones...” 1941.
[5] L. E. Polyakov, “Cyclone separators for gas-liquid mixtures,” Chem. Pet. Eng., vol. 4, no. 6, pp. 460–462, 1968.
[6] T. Yue et al., “Experimental and numerical study of Upper Swirling Liquid Film (USLF) among Gas-Liquid Cylindrical Cyclones (GLCC),” Chem. Eng. J., vol. 358, pp. 806–820, 2019.
[7] R. Molina, S. Wang, L. E. Gomez, R. S. Mohan, O. Shoham, and G. Kouba, “Wet Gas Separation in Gas-Liquid Cylindrical Cyclone Separator,” J. Energy Resour. Technol., vol. 130, no. 4, p. 042701, 2008.
[8] S. Kanshio, “Multiphase flow in pipe cyclonic separator,” Cranfield University, 2015.
[9] F. M. Erdal and S. A. Shirazi, “Effect of the Inlet Geometry on the Flow in a Cylindrical Cyclone Separator,” J. Energy Resour. Technol., vol. 128, no. 1, p. 62, 2006.
[10] I. Uvwo, “Expanding the Operational Envelope of Compact Cylindrical Cyclone Gas / Liquid Separators Using a Variable Inlet-Slot Configuration Expanding the Operational Envelope of Compact Cylindrical Cyclone Gas / Liquid Separators Using a Variable Inlet-Slot Confi,” no. December, 2004.
[11] R. Hreiz, R. Lainé, J. Wu, C. Lemaitre, C. Gentric, and D. Fünfschilling, “On the effect of the nozzle design on the performances of gas-liquid cylindrical cyclone separators,” Int. J. Multiph. Flow, vol. 58, pp. 15–26, Jan. 2014.
[12] N. Barbuceanu, S. Scott, A. Texas, and S. Scott, “SPE 71555 Novel Inlet Design Expense Range of Operability for Compact Separator, ” Spe 71555, 2001.
[13] S. Movafaghian, J. a Jaua-marturet, R. S. Mohan, and O. Shoham, “The effects of geometry, fluid properties and pressure on the hydrodynamics of gas-liquid cylindrical cyclone separators,” vol. 26, pp. 999–1018, 2000.
[14] Y. Zhao, H. Yeung, E. E. Zorgani, A. E. Archibong, and L. Lao, “High viscosity effects on characteristics of oil and gas two-phase flow in horizontal pipes,” Chem. Eng. Sci., vol. 95, pp. 343–352, May 2013.
[15] A. Archibong-Eso, W. Yan, Y. Baba, S. Kanshio, and H. Yeung, Viscous Liquid-Gas Flow in Horizontal Pipelines: Experiments and Multiphase Flow Simulator Assessment, no. 3. BHR Group, 2015, pp. 283–296.
[16] R. Kaji and B. J. Azzopardi, “The effect of pipe diameter on the structure of gas/liquid flow in vertical pipes,” Int. J. Multiph. Flow, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 303–313, Apr. 2010.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Sunday Kanshio. (2019). On Upward Swirling Liquid Film in Gas-liquid Pipe Compact Separator. Petroleum Science and Engineering, 3(2), 39-45. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pse.20190302.12

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    ACS Style

    Sunday Kanshio. On Upward Swirling Liquid Film in Gas-liquid Pipe Compact Separator. Pet. Sci. Eng. 2019, 3(2), 39-45. doi: 10.11648/j.pse.20190302.12

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    AMA Style

    Sunday Kanshio. On Upward Swirling Liquid Film in Gas-liquid Pipe Compact Separator. Pet Sci Eng. 2019;3(2):39-45. doi: 10.11648/j.pse.20190302.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.pse.20190302.12,
      author = {Sunday Kanshio},
      title = {On Upward Swirling Liquid Film in Gas-liquid Pipe Compact Separator},
      journal = {Petroleum Science and Engineering},
      volume = {3},
      number = {2},
      pages = {39-45},
      doi = {10.11648/j.pse.20190302.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pse.20190302.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.pse.20190302.12},
      abstract = {This paper presents experimental findings on upward swirling liquid film for both single-phase and two-phase gas-liquid flow in a vertical gas-liquid cyclonic separator. The upward swirling liquid film is one dynamic phenomenon that occurs in pipe cyclonic separator. The upward swirling of the liquid film in the upper part of the cyclonic separator is the primary source of liquid entrainment into the gas core. Liquid entrainment from the separator wall into the gas core is the main cause of liquid carryover. Liquid carryover is the major disadvantage of the gas-liquid pipe cyclonic separator. Various researchers in the past have identified the effect of this phenomenon on the performance of gas-liquid pipe cyclonic separator, but not many efforts have been made to study the phenomenon in detail. In this work, the upward swirling liquid film height was measured using a meter rule, while the thickness of the swirling liquid film was estimated using the void fraction that was measured with electrical resistance tomography (ERT). The experimental results show that the height attained by the upward swirling liquid film is a function of the film thickness and inlet gas velocity. The results also showed that the horizontal inlet pipe produces the highest liquid film height when compared with the inclined inlet pipe. By keeping the liquid flow rate constant and increasing gas flow rate, a maximum liquid film height was observed, afterwards, the liquid film height decreases within increasing gas flow rate.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - On Upward Swirling Liquid Film in Gas-liquid Pipe Compact Separator
    AU  - Sunday Kanshio
    Y1  - 2019/08/29
    PY  - 2019
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pse.20190302.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.pse.20190302.12
    T2  - Petroleum Science and Engineering
    JF  - Petroleum Science and Engineering
    JO  - Petroleum Science and Engineering
    SP  - 39
    EP  - 45
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2640-4516
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pse.20190302.12
    AB  - This paper presents experimental findings on upward swirling liquid film for both single-phase and two-phase gas-liquid flow in a vertical gas-liquid cyclonic separator. The upward swirling liquid film is one dynamic phenomenon that occurs in pipe cyclonic separator. The upward swirling of the liquid film in the upper part of the cyclonic separator is the primary source of liquid entrainment into the gas core. Liquid entrainment from the separator wall into the gas core is the main cause of liquid carryover. Liquid carryover is the major disadvantage of the gas-liquid pipe cyclonic separator. Various researchers in the past have identified the effect of this phenomenon on the performance of gas-liquid pipe cyclonic separator, but not many efforts have been made to study the phenomenon in detail. In this work, the upward swirling liquid film height was measured using a meter rule, while the thickness of the swirling liquid film was estimated using the void fraction that was measured with electrical resistance tomography (ERT). The experimental results show that the height attained by the upward swirling liquid film is a function of the film thickness and inlet gas velocity. The results also showed that the horizontal inlet pipe produces the highest liquid film height when compared with the inclined inlet pipe. By keeping the liquid flow rate constant and increasing gas flow rate, a maximum liquid film height was observed, afterwards, the liquid film height decreases within increasing gas flow rate.
    VL  - 3
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Petroleum and Gas Engineering, Baze University, Abuja, Nigeria

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