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UNIVERSITY OF ;
/ KERBALA
. Three-phase Separator
,. Mr.Mohammed Abdulmunem
PREPARED
PETROLEUM ENGINEERING
: : BY
DEPARTMENT
Worod
. THIRD STAGE
1
Content
Content page
Three-phase Separator 3
-Abstract 3
-Introduction 4
Type of Diffusion Equations for Fluid Flow in Porous Rocks
Basic Operation of Three Phase Separators 4
-Vessel Orientation 5
COMPONENTS OF SEPRATOR 5
Basic Design Principles 6
Three phase separator design types 7
2
Three-phase Separator
Abstract
Three-phase separator is a basic component of petroleum production
system, which is used to separate reservoir fluid from oil, gas and water.
Then these separated flows are transported to the downstream for
processing.
3
INTRODUCTION
Separators are used in oil and petro-fields. Separators are a type of
pressure vessels and their main function is to separate the different
components from crude oil. Separators can be either two phase or three
phase.
Three phase separators are commonly used in the oil and gas industry
for the separation of oil, water and hydrocarbon gases from raw product
streams.
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All crude oils contain dissolved gases that will come out of solution once
oil is brought to the surface. The amount of gas in the oil is referred to as
the gas/oil ratio (or GOR).
Vessel Orientation
Depending on the GOR of the product stream, three phase separators
may be aligned horizontally or vertically.
Vertical separators are often used when the GOR is low and there is a
small volume of gas to be separated from the liquid constituents.
Horizontal vessels, on the other hand, are used to separate mixtures that
have a high GOR. Much of this is due to the fact that they have increased
surface area, which facilitates separation of gases from the oil.
In many raw crude oil streams, certain hydrocarbon gases cannot be
separated from solution in a primary separator.
In these instances, the gases are stripped in other unit processes
downstream.
COMPONENTS OF SEPRATOR
• INLET DEFLECTOR : It separates the gas stream from the bulk fluid
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B Basic Design Principles
Both horizontal and vertical three phase separators have three main
sections:
• A primary separation section – The primary separation section is
situated at the inlet to the vessel and is designed to separate the fluids
from any entrained gas.
• Secondary separation – The secondary separation section is designed
to facilitate the separation of the liquid constituents into light and heavy
phases according to their specific gravity.
Typically oil comprises the light phase and water the heavy phase.
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Three phase separator design types
A weir maintains the oil level while an interface controller maintains the
water level. The oil spills over the top of the weir, and then a level
controller which operates the oil dump valve controls its level.
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Vertical three phase separator
In a vertical three phase separator, flow enters the vessel through the
side. As in the horizontal separator, the inlet diverter separates the bulk
of the gas. A downcomer is used to transmit the liquid through the oil/gas
interface to keep from disturbing the oil skimming action.
A chimney equalizes gas pressure between the lower section and the gas
section. The spreader, or the downcomer outlet, is located at the
oil/water interface.
From this point, as the oil rises, any free water separates out from the
oil phase. The water droplets flow counter current to the oil.
Similarly, the water flows downward and the oil droplets trapped in the
water phase rise counter current to the water flow.
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three-phase separator has the following advantages
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Potential operating problems
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REFERENCES
1- https://www.hcpetroleum.hk/product-detail/three-phase-
separator?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIia_zj-
DH6gIVjdd3Ch0jygbrEAAYASABEgIsjPD_BwE
2-
2 https://www.honiron.com/basic-operation-three-phase-
separators/
3
3- https://www.forain.net/products/filtration-separations/three-
phase-separators
4-
4- http://www.oilfieldwiki.com/wiki/Three_phase_separator
5-
5- PDH Online Course ,ASME Section I and Section VIII
Fundamentals, PDHonline Course M398 (3 PDH),pp.13-24,2012
6-
6- Håvard Devold , Facilities and processesAn Introduction to Oil and
Gas Production Handbook, pp.4-16,2013
7-
7- Intergraph,PV Elite Quick Start Guide, pp.6-28,2013
8-
8- Saied Rahimi ,Three Phase Separator-Inlet Devices ,pp.2-8,2013
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