Gas-Liquid Multi-Stage Separation Technology for Subsea and Downhole Gas Upstream Processing
A lot of effort was devoted both from the academic community and field operators to the design of new types of multiphase separators that can be deployed in subsea or downhole processing. The operational range of these separators is limited by the gas-liquid flow rate and the geometrical characteristics of the system. In the present work an experimental study of the efficiency of vertical separators intended to gas-liquid separation is presented. A compact configuration of coaxial cylinders in which a multiphase flow is vertically flowing can achieve gas liquid separation by the use of a combination of gravity and centrifugal forces in a certain range of gas-liquid flow rates. The separator consists of two stages: in the first one most of the liquid is removed by gravity and the separated liquid is collected in the lower part of the system without any gas carry under. The second stage consists of a specially designed swirl tube which generates a high swirl region where remaining liquid droplets are separated by centrifugation and collected back in the liquid outlet. The stability limit of the separator was investigated regarding the geometry of the system and some physical parameters such as the effect of the presence of high concentrations of ions.