Title: Calculation and design of separators

Rev. Date Description Prepared Checked Approved

0 10/03/2020 Issued for Information AT JD

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Table of contents

Introduction 3

1 Way of working 4
1.1 Sales enquiries 4
1.2 Projects 4

2 Calculations for horizontal separators 5

2.1 Introduction 5
2.2 Inlet devices and nozzle sizing 6
2.2.1 Inlet Devices 6
2.2.2 Nozzle Sizing 8
2.3 Outlet devices 10
2.3.1 K-values 12
2.4 Liquid levels, weirs and boots 13
2.4.2 weirs 14
2.4.3 Boot 14
2.5 L/L separation and plate packs 14
2.5.1 3-weir system 14
2.6 Wave motion and baffles 15
2.6.1 Defining Pitch angle and Roll angle 15
2.6.2 Baffle pitch and Baffle roll 15
2.7 Sand removal 17
2.8 Other internals 17
2.9 Conclusion - how to size a horizontal separator 17
12. Vessel Spacings 19
13.Vane type gas-outlet device 19
14. Defining Weir Location and height in 3-phase separator 21
15. Defining Levels for 3-Phase separator 22
16. Plate pack selection and sizing 24

Reference documents 29

[ Add chapter for revamps, JDi / ATi ]

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Introduction
[ FNL to update ]

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1 Way of working

1.1 Sales enquiries

[ to be updated by ATi once an enquiry is received ]

[Add questionnaire / flow diagram of internals selection]

1.2 Projects
[ to be updated by ATi at some point ]

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2 Calculations for horizontal separators

2.1 Introduction
Process calculations for horizontal separators are primarily done using the so-called HS sheet,
which can be found on Framesnet. This sheet is a combination of a large number of separate
sheets, developed over the years at FST. Calculations in this sheet are a combination of:

- Rules of physics (e.g. Stokes, Bernoulli) and test results

- Operational rules-of-thumb based on field experience and design standards such as the
Shell design & engineering practice (DEP, reference #1).
- Mechanical design rules for installation made in conjunction with Revicon

This chapter aims to provide an overview of these rules and how they interact.

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2.2 Inlet devices and nozzle sizing

2.2.1 Inlet Devices

In general the main function of an inlet device is to reduce the energy/velocity of the feed fluids, to
distribute the feed evenly over the vessel, and bulk separation of gas and liquid phases.

You can select which inlet device you want to use in the HS-sheet. Devices you can select are
shown in the sketch below and will be discussed in some detail.

Figure 2.1 - Sketch of inlet devices.

1. Deflector Plate

A deflector plate (also called impingement plate or diverter plate) is a simple plate welded in the
vessel at the nozzle inlet. The inlet fluid hits this plate, thus breaking momentum. This is a basic inlet
device that can be used for low momentum. A vessel with deflector plate will likely not be interesting
for Frames since we have little added value. Exceptions could be client requirement or flare knock-
out drums.

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 2. Half open Pipe

The second level of complexity is the half-open pipe. This is a simple horizontal pipe, attached to the
inlet nozzle and with an opening on the bottom. The length of this opening should be about half the
total length of the pipe.

3. FAVID (Frames Advanced Vane type Inlet Device)

This is the most common inlet device, present in the majority of Frames designs. The feed is
distributed in between the vanes. The momentum of the liquid is broken by being smashed against
the vanes, thus helping with primary bulk separation, while the gas is distributed horizontally and
evenly across the vessel. The FAVID has a higher efficiency than the deflector plate and the half-
open pipe, allowing for higher gas velocities/momentums and thus smaller feed nozzles.

Figure 2.2 - FAVIDs. From left to right: 1) top view, 2) side view inside vessel with elbow and and
welded support strips, 3) view from feed inlet nozzle.

FAVIDs can be made for all nozzle sizes, from 6” to 48” or larger. The design of each vane
(curvature radius, length of straight sides) is standard.

4. FACID (Frames Advanced Cyclonic Inlet Device)

[ brief explanation of momentum ]

Inlet Devices Momentum (ρmV2m) Pa

Deflector plate 1000

Half Open Pipe 2100

FAVID 8000

FACID 25000 (or 15.08 m/s, whichever is worse)

For most separators, the inlet device will be a FAVID. For heavy momentum flows, the below criteria
apply.

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Apart from above selection criteria below are some additional guidelines which should be considered
while selecting inlet devices.

1. Gas volume fraction(GVF)

For three phase separators (G/L/L), the choice of feed inlet device should be based on GVF

Gas volume fraction(GVF) Recommended Inlet devices

GVF<0.15 Deflector Plate

0.15<GVF<0.7 FAVID
FACID (Liquid Momentum dominating flows)

0.7<GVF<0.92 FAVID
FACID (Liquid Momentum dominating flows)

0.92<GVF FAVID

2. Vessel orientation and diameter

For G/L separators, based on vessel orientation and vessel ID inlet Device should be selected as
below

2.2.2 Nozzle Sizing

Inlet nozzles are sized based on the inlet device momentum (see chapter above). Other nozzles
are sized based on:

Gas outlet nozzle:

● Momentum through Gas outlet nozzle should be ≤ 3750 Pa
● Piping from the gas outlet Nozzle should have the same diameter as the gas outlet
nozzle for the distance of 2 to 3 pipe dia. (2D-3D) downstream of the nozzle before any
bends, reducers or other components.

Liquid outlet nozzle:

● For three-phase separators, water outlet nozzle should be sized based on 1.0 m/s
velocity. Oil outlet nozzle can be sized based on 1.5 m/s.
● For two-phase separators (both horizontal and vertical) velocity in liquid outlet nozzle
should not exceed 1.5 m/s.
● Velocity up to 2.5 m/s is accepted for Revamps. Discuss with medior/senior if velocity is
above 2.0 m/s.

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 ● The dia of liquid outlet nozzle shall be at least 2” / DN50.
● Liquid outlet nozzle should be equipped with vortex breaker.
● Piping from the Liquid outlet Nozzle should have the same diameter as the liquid outlet
nozzle for the distance of 2-3 pipe dia. Downstream of the nozzle before any bends,
reducers, valves or other components.

For inlet nozzles, apart from inlet momentum, another important parameter is straight
length requirement, which should be checked for inlet nozzle piping.
● Horizontal Vessel
To achieve an optimal separation performance either of the below criteria should be
applied for feed inlet piping.
● There should be no bends, valves and reducers for 10 times the inner diameter
upstream of the inlet nozzle.
● A straight length of at least 5 times the inner diameter upstream of the inlet
nozzle should be applied.
● Bends perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the vessel and the valves must
be avoided within 5 times the nozzle inner diameter from the inlet nozzle

● Vertical Vessel
To achieve an optimal separation performance either of the below criteria should be
applied for feed inlet piping.

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 ● There should be no bends, valves and reducers for 10 times the inner diameter
upstream of the inlet nozzle.
● A straight length of at least 5 times the inner diameter upstream of the inlet
nozzle should be applied.
● Bends perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the vessel and the valves must
be avoided within 5 times the nozzle inner diameter from the inlet nozzle

Outlet Nozzle
●

2.3 Outlet devices

Main purpose of outlet device is to remove entrained liquid droplets from gas.
Gas liquid separation works on the principle of coalescence. Smaller droplets are captured and
coalesce into bigger droplets, which are then separated by gravity.
Balancing force will be acting on liquid particle settling out of gas stream is as follows.

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 Entrained liquid captures by four mechanism
● Diffusional Deposition is only effective in the separation of very finely dispersed aerosols
with droplets typically smaller than 1µm - that are small enough to be affected by
Brownian Motion.
● Direct Interception assumes that a droplet of a given diameter and negligible mass
follows the stream line around the ‘target’ wire or fiber and is separated as it touches the
target or collection fiber.
● Inertial Interception considers the droplet mass and predicts how momentum will make it
deviate from the gas stream.
● Gravitational Deposition works on the principle that large, slow moving droplets may
separate from a gas stream under gravity. This is restricted to large droplet sizes and
low superficial gas velocities – making separator dimensions both prohibitively large and
uneconomical.

Outlet devices are installed near gas outlet nozzle to insure that gas leaving the vessel is dry
gas with ~no entrained liquid in it.
Frames uses outlet devices as below:

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 1. Wiremesh
2. Vane pack
3. Combination of vanepack + Wiremesh
4. Agglormerator

Every gas outlet device has its own k( Gas load factor).
Gas flow and k value define which gas outlet devices to be selected to achieve required
separation.

Wiremesh
Wiremesh demister should have the specification and installation as below:
1. A free volume of at least 97%
2. A wire thickness in the range of 0.23-0.28 mm.
3. A specific surface area of at least 350m2/m3
4. A bulk density of at least 190 kg/m3
5. Wiremesh demister should have thickness 100 mm to 150mm excluding Grid.
6. Wiremesh demister is made up of knitted wire.
7. Wiremesh demister shall be placed between two grids having a free area of at least
97%.

Wiremesh

Vanepack

● Vanepack cannot be used at very high pressure, say above 50 bar pressure.At higher
axial cyclone/wiremesh should be preferred.
● At very low ST i.e below 10dyne/cm. Liquid and vapour phase can not be differentiated
due to very less difference density.
● As per lab data axial cyclone can not perform if ST is 7.5 dyne/cm.
● So care should be taken while proposing Tangential cyclone/vane pack for high pressure
application.

(derating might be in GPSA, ask Ganesh)

2.3.1 K-values
K values is also referred to as gas load factor or Souders-Brown velocity.This is superficial gas
velocity modified with gas density scaling factor which accounts to a large extent for the effect of
operating pressure.

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V = maximum superficial gas velocity (Qg/Ag)
ρ = density
K is a constant which is specific to the separation equipment and is a function of process
parameters such as
• Liquid loading
• Gas and liquid viscosity
• Gas pressure
• Surface tension

Different K values for Gas outlet device is as below:

Gas outlet device K values

Min. Max.

Wiremesh 0.07 0.107

Vanepack 0.09 0.280

In some cases K-values should be de-areated for

1. If liquid phase viscosity is too high
2. If Surface tension is too low compared to water
3. Liquid Density
4. Gas Pressure

2.4 Liquid levels, weirs and boots

2.4.1 Liquid Levels:
● Liquid holdup volumes, control times and design margins should be checked properly for
flow assurance and system dynamics (eg. Slug volume, Sloshing) which could result in
savings on separator volume, weight,space and cost.
● Density sensitivities shall be considered to ensure that correct levels are measured both
due to variations in pressure, temperature, and composition and incomplete separation.
● When multiple liquid phases are present, the level instruments response shall be
suitable for complete and incomplete liquid/liquid scenarios.
● The minimum hold-up time between LL and the corresponding lower nozzle of the level
shutdown instrument shall be 30s.the minimum distance shall be 0.1m.

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 ● The minimum hold-up time between L and LL shall be 30s.If the L is identified as critical
barrier in the HAZOP, then at least 10 min shall be provided for action from the control
room and at least 20 min for action from the field between the L and LL.
● The minimum hold-up time between L and H shall be 60s.The minimum distance shall
be 0.35m. The NL is typically midway between L and H. The minimum residence time
between NLint and vessel bottom, and between NLL amd NL int for a liquid phase in
separator is typically 3 minutes.
● The minimum hold-up time between H and HH shall be 30s.The minimum distance
between H and HH shall be 0.1m.
If the liquid has foaming tendency, the distance between H and HH shall increased by
0.25m.
● The minimum hold-up time between HH and corresponding upper nozzle of the level
shutdown instruments shall be 30s.The minimum distance shall be 0.1m.
● For L-L and for G-L-L separators, the cross-sectional area of the zones above and below
NL should be sufficiently large to limit the axial velocity in the light and heavy phase to
<0.015 m/s.
● For G-L-L separators with a boot, the boot shall be sized such that the velocity of the
heavy phase in the boot does not exceed the settling velocity of the smallest light phase
droplet to be separated. The vertical liquid velocity in the boot should not exceed 0.015
m/s.
● For G-L separation, the residence time of the liquid phase shall be sufficient to obtain
suitable degassing and defoaming of the liquid. If additional volume is required(for e.g.
Slugging) it shall be included as addition between NL and H.
● If the dispersion band width is specified, the distance between Lint and LLint, and the
distance between Hint and HHint shall be extended by half the band width each.

2.4.2 weirs
● The height of the front weir of the heavy-phase compartment shall exceed HHint by
0.1m.
● Wiers shall be at least 5 mm thick.
● Pg no 48 of shell DEP

2.4.3 Boot
The minimum boot dimensions should be as follows
● Length of 1 m(i.e the distance between the bottom of the vessel and the boot bottom
tangent line)
● Diameter of 0.4m
● The maximum diameter of the boot shall be 0.3D.
● The boot should be located as far from the inlet as possible, in order to minimise
disturbance of the settling process in the settling compartment.

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● The outlet of the light liquid phase shall protrude into the vessel.it should be located
downstream of the boot.
● The outlet of the light liquid phase shall be equipped with vortex breaker.
● Optimising level in when there is boot in vessel.
● Below window come for level optimization. If boot is present always start adjusting level
from weir height. Min weir height to be maintain just to make sure all the light
phase(water) should go in boot only, not with oil.

● Level residence time is adjusted in boot by adjusting level in sheet as shown

above by putting values in -250 mm likewise.So it means when boot is there level
starts from Bottom of vessel.

● Boot for water phase should be always left to weir and Boot for oil phase should always
be in right side of weir. In this weir height is only 100 mm and boot is left side of weir.
● Specify Boot ID same as customer datasheet. Cross check level residence time in boot
and adjust boot ID if required to match residence time required by customer.

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 ● Level setting should be adjusted manually in frontsheet based on length of boot as
below. In below case Boot ID is 1150 and length is 1500 mm.

● In some cases if residence time is not achieved by adjusting level setting in

sheet. Then try with increasing or decreasing overall length of vessel.
● Care should be taken while optimising vessel. If empty vessel Velocities for oil
and water layer are very high( above 0.03 m/s) then further optimization in terms
of vessel dimension could be difficult. Refer below screenshot for reference.

2.5 L/L separation and plate packs

2.5.1 3-weir system

2.6 Wave motion and baffles

After selecting yes to Wave motion in the HS sheet, the below window appears:

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2.6.1 Defining Pitch angle and Roll angle
❏ Pitch angle: Pitch angle is to accommodate change in liquid level with respect to pitching
motion acting on the vessel. Normally pitch angle is specified by customer. If not we
have to start with considering 3 degree pitch angle as initial.
❏ Roll angle: Roll angle is to accommodate change in liquid level with respect to Rolling
motion acting on the vessel.Normally Roll angle is specified by customer if not we have
to start with considering 10 degree roll angle as initial.

2.6.2 Baffle pitch and Baffle roll

By using Baffle-Pitch and Baffle-Roll (shown in the HS sheet if wave motion is present) the
amount of required baffles can be calculated.

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Baffle pitch:

Normally, separators are oriented in such a way that the smaller pitch motion is in the
longitudinal direction of the vessel. Therefore ‘pitch’ baffles are regular baffles (i.e. in the flow
direction). The purpose of these baffles is to stop the effects of resonance of the waves. The
resonance frequency is given here

❏ First check weir location. In the example above, T.L to T.L length of Horizontal vessel is
10,000 mm and weir location is at 8000 mm from left T.L. Baffles are typically only
needed in the separation compartment upstream the weir, in this case the first 8000 mm.
❏ Now, decide O/W: max length-comp. middle in such a way that O/W: frequency-
Comp middle should be more than 0.087 Hz.
❏ Selected O/W: max length-comp. middle = 2300 mm and accordingly number of
baffles selected. Total 3 numbers of baffles are required. Please refer below screenshots
for detail understanding.
❏ Depending on the severity of the wave motion, baffles can be 100 mm or more above
HHLL. Refer to the front sheet.
❏ Typically 1 calming baffle before plate pack and 1 calming baffle after plate pack is
recommended if there is no wave motion.
❏ 1st baffle to be installed downstream of feed inlet component to improve flow regime. As
after feed inlet only turbulence need to be eliminated. Normally 0.45D distance to be
kept between downstream of feed inlet device and 1st baffle.
❏ If wave motion is present, then it should be included in calming baffle and weir plate in
terms of height.

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2.7 Sand removal

2.8 Other internals

2.9 Conclusion - how to size a horizontal separator

Typical Steps to size 3 phase separator

1. First review thoroughly customer documents/datasheet. For process, most important

documents are process datasheet and any process design criteria.
2. Read all notes carefully.
❏ Check if customer has specified different cases to be handled in the same
vessel.
❏ Check governing case for vessel sizing.(thumb rule is to choose low gas density
case and high gas flow case also for level check with max liquid flow case). For
L/L separation, governing case is often the case with the smallest density
difference between oil and water.
❏ Check if the design margin is specified to add or already included in process
data. Note that design margin may be in a separate document (like Process
Design Criteria).
❏ Check slug is present or not, and between which levels (NLL-HLL or LLL-HLL) it
must be accomodated.
❏ Check type of service, clean or fouling. Fouling means no wiremesh and no 10
mm pitch plate pack (if possible).
❏ Check retention time requirement for level optimization.
❏ Check below physical properties for all three phases(i.e Gas, heavy liquid, light
liquid) available for sizing
● Flow rate
● Density (typically 650-900 kg/m3)
● Viscosity (0.5-20 cP for oil, 0.6-1.0 cP for water)
● Surface tension (if surface tension is very low say below 10 dyne/cm
K- value to be deaerated with consulting with senior.)
● Check for salinity (if density difference for light and heavy phase is very
less. Check with customer if salinity is considered or not typically 100,000
mg/l to be considered if not specified by customer same to be confirmed
with customer).

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 ● Check if customer has specified presence of Emulsion. Care should be
taken if emulsion is present because then Gravity separator can not
achieve separation. If it is asked by customer to remove emulsion, we
need to propose others separator to customer like electrostatic separator.
● Check if inquiry is New or Revamp.
● If it is Revamp inquiry. Confirm with customer if hot work is allowed or not
and talk to a mechanical engineer once you know which internals are
required.
3. Check vessel dimension (dia and T.L to T.L)
4. Check whether customer asked to optimize vessel or not.
5. Check all nozzle sizes and enter nozzle sizes properly in sheet. Check for Sch no also
as SCH. no effect nozzle ID and it mostly depend on operating separator. For ‘normal’
operating pressures (up to ~40 bar) typical will be Sch. std.
6. Based on feed inlet momentum, feed inlet device to be selected. Refer momentum
criteria mentioned for inlet device.refer section 2.2.1
7. For gas outlet nozzle and liquid outlet nozzle size refer sizing criteria as specified in
section 2.2.2
8. Check if enquiry is FPSO(Floating production storage and offloading vessel), check for
wave motion and impact of wave motion in sizing. Note that wave motion data are not
always in the process data sheet: you may need to refer to a separate wave motion
document. Transit wave motion is not applicable, ballast/full load is applicable.

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2.9.1. Vessel Spacings

❏ Gas Cap Height:

Gas cap height is height available between HHLL(Oil) to top of vessel head. In above
case max HHLL:2000 mm and Vessel ID is 3500mm. Therefore Gas Gap height=(3500-
2000)=1500 mm.

❏ Check Points:
❏ Gas gap area should be greater than Gas gap around V-type vane pack.

❏ If available space around gas outlet nozzle is less than gas outlet nozzle, then vane
pack angle and minimum vane spacing needs to be adjusted to accommodate gas outlet
nozzle. This is generally for V-type vane pack.

2.9.2.Vane type gas-outlet device

❏ Typically start with square vane pack layout and then try with v-type and cap-shape
respectively.
❏ Cap-shape is costly type available.

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 ❏ For square type max height to be maintained below 1420 mm accordingly vane width is
adjusted by keeping H/W ratio 1 to 1.5.
❏ In vertical vessels, arrangement of two vane pack one above the other can be done to
accommodate vane within 1420 mm height limit. Care should be taken while giving drain
nozze as drain for both vane will be required.
❏ For V-type, V-type angle is selected 60 degrees by default, but can be

❏ Gas gap req. Height inlet exc. Motion: It is the distance above HHLL required to
accomodate the FAVID/FACID.
❏ Gas gap req. Height inlet incl. Motion:
❏ It is the distance above HHLL required to accomodate the FAVID/FACID when
wave motion is present.(FACID_WMspacing+FACIDHeight+FACIDTubeID)

2.9.3. Defining Weir Location and height in 3-phase separator

❏ Weir location normally selected 1000 mm away from right T.L.

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❏ Weir location is always before light phase outlet nozzle.Typically 700 mm before light
phase outlet nozzle it typically depends on nozzle size. The heavy phase outlet nozzle
should be as close to the upstream side of the weir as possible.
❏ Weir location is always after Plate pack.Typically 700 mm after plate pack.

❏ If slug volume is present submerged weir is used. In Submerged weir : NLL above weir
height
❏ From the below image,we can see that weir height is at 1300 and NLL is at 1800 mm i.e
weir height is below NLL.This means this is submerged type weir.

❏ In Overflow weir we get high level in separation compartment and In Overflow weir: NL is
below weir height, i.e. it is measured in the oil compartment.
❏ From the below image,we can see that weir location is at 2000 and NLL is at 1800 mm
i.e weir height is above NLL.This means this is overflow type weir.

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 ❏ Bucket weir : This is used for oil skimming, i.e. when oil amount is very low. Typically 1
vol% oil in feed is present then bucket weir is used

2.9.4. Defining Levels for 3-Phase separator

❏ Normally 5 liquid levels are considered while designing i.e (LLLL, LLL, NLL, HLL, HHLL)
for both phases i.e for water layer and oil layer.
❏ Defining levels in 3-phase separator is the crucial part of sizing 3-phase separator.
❏ Retention time criteria required between the levels should be carefully checked in
datasheet.
❏ Typically 1 min retention time between the levels or 100 mm between the levels should
be maintained.
❏ Water level measurement nozzles and interface level measurement nozzle should be
kept before weir location.
❏ Normally elevation of Level measurement nozzle are punched 150 mm below LALL and
150 mm above HAHH. Check also as per Shell DEP if required.
❏ Slug volume specified by customer should be considered in levels specifications.
Normally consider slug between NLL to HLL (unless specified otherwise).
❏ Bov to LLLL min 300 mm. Normally based on minimum pump flow requirement. Another
reason is to fit a lower measurement nozzle between BoV and LLLL, and to prevent
sand to flow out at low liquid levels with your oil/water.

❏ LLIL min 300 mm is required due to provision of sand jetting and Liquid level installation.
❏ Refer below case, this is a typical example where additional weir height is considered
above plate pack. To accommodate level variation due to wave motion.
❏ Advantage of having weir above plate pack is that it ensures that when there is a rise in
liquid level due to wave motion. All increased level will be forced to follow the plate pack
path only. Increased liquid level will not bypass plate pack.Therefore always provide
weir plate above plate pack not calming baffle. Height of weir plate above plate pack
should be above HHLL.

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❏ In below example it is upto HHLL only because there is no wave motion only slug
volume has to consider.

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2.9.5. Plate pack selection and sizing
When 3 phases are present then plate pack is used as L-L separator device.It works on the
principle of Coalescing. Liquid droplets fall to the plate below. Droplets coalesce on the plate
and become bigger in size and settle faster.This reduces setting time required for phase to
separate.
❏ Detailed design 2. is to choose for plate pack lay out design.
❏ For L-L separator sizing. Plate pack sizing and layout design needs to be done in detail.
❏ For plate pack design, plate pack length,pitch, angle,plate thickness and critical Reynold
number need to be specified
❏ Plate pack length to be limited to max 2000 mm.Typically 1000 mm plate pack length is
considered.Plate Pack sides and Pack length to be adjusted in such a way so that single
Plate pack weight should not exceed above 25kg.
❏ Plate pack length vary from 300mm to 1000mm.
❏ Typical combination can be selected as below.single plate pack box is square in shape.
Pack Side X pack side XPack length
300x300x500, 300x300x750, 300x300x1000
250x250x750, 250x250x1000
350x350x500, 350x350x750, 350x350x1000.
❏ Number of columns of plate packs is determined by total length and length of each
individual plate pack. For example, if you have 1000 mm total length you need 2
columns of 300x300x500 mm plate packs. Note that the number of plate packs shown in
the HS-sheet is for one column only! In the above case you have to manually multiply
this number by 2 for the actual number in front sheet.
❏ Pitch: Pitch is the distance between plate. Typical distance to be considered is 10 to 40
mm.Pitch is adjusted w.r.t to separation guarantee. Generally 10 mm pitch is considered
very small and should be used for clean service only.
❏ Angle: This is the angle maintained between the plates. Typical angle to be considered
is 45 degree.Whereas it could be optimized between 30 to 60 degrees. Sulzer
experience from Manoj and Aprajita shows that 30 degrees is preferred for fouling
service.
❏ Plate thickness: Generally 0.6 mm plate thickness to be selected.
❏ Same layout to be maintained for oil and water phase to start with.
❏ If Guarantee parameter we are achieving above required limit suggested by customer
(for ex.if customer has specified WiO and OiW to be achieved 110 and 200 micron
respectively and we are achieving it say as 16 to 20 micron resp.Then we need to
optimize vessel size/liquid levels, after that plate pack layout by increasing pitch to 20 to
even more.)
❏ Critical Reynold number by default comes 850. Whereas As per Frames standard critical
Reynold number to be considered is 1200. This has to do with having a laminar flow
regime.
❏ Restriction:
Add row?: Check the layout sketch. If a lot of area below NLL is wasted (meaning not
covered by plate packs) you can choose to add a row on top. If you select ‘yes’ here and
then check the layout sketch you will notice an additional row.

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 Side spacing : Normally 50-100 mm to be considered for mechanical purposes. Please
consult with mechanical before changing this.
Bottom spacing : 300 mm
❏ Plate pack height is normally upto LLIL (water layer) -NLL (Oil layer)

2.9.6. Sand jetting system:

❏ Sand jetting system is required to remove sand which is coming with feed.Sand can be
removed by jetting or fluidization.
❏ Typically three types of sand jetting systems are available in our design
● Online Sand jetting system
● Offline sand jetting system
● Sand fluidization
❏ Sand jetting section length normally start from the end of FAVID to cover more area for
sand jetting because mostly sand collect after feed inlet nozzle only.
❏ Section length is normally 4000 mm, as this is the maximum based on installation
experience and pressure drop concerns.
❏ Number of spray nozzle can be calculated based on keeping 150 mm distance between
each spray nozzle.i.e if section length is 4000mm then number of spray nozzles required
are 4000/150= 27 numbers per bank. Since there are two banks, there will be a total of
54 spray nozzles.
❏ Each sand jetting spray nozzle has ~1 m3/hr flow. So total flow required for flushing is 54
m3/hr for a 4000 mm section.
❏ Section length deviates from the above mentioned 4000 mm only if the flow rate of 54
m3/hr. In that case section length will be reduced based on available flow rate.
❏ Sand slurry concentration is typically 45 wt%.
❏ The OSJ sheet can be used to estimate duration and frequency of sand jetting if sand
data is available. If no sand data is available, sand jetting is done 15 min every 2 weeks
as a first recommendation, to be confirmed in the field.
❏ Typical offline sand jetting system arrangement is drain pipe as shown below.
❏ Offline sand jetting
● Above the sand drains runs a sand pan/Gutter that prevents the clogging of the sand drain nozzles
prior to flushing and creates a flow due to the high velocity in the sand drain nozzles.
● Sand settles to the bottom of the gravity separator because of its high density and must be removed
to avoid build of a large layer that eventually will affect the separation performance.
● The solids/Sand particles are then discharged through sand drains located down the length of the
vessel.
● The Gutter has triangular cut outs down its length through which the fluidized sand will pass to
get to the sand drains.
● Spray nozzles to keep these triangular openings blockage free to ensure an optimal flushing
cycle/Sand drain cycle.

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 ❏ Online sand jetting

Step as done in Sizing sheet:

Always use the clean files from the Engineering drive as templates:

G:\Shared drives\PUB-ST-Engineering\EG-Templates & Forms\PC - PROCESS\CAL - Process

Calculations

Step 1: Put Enquiry/Project details

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17.Guarantee to Confirm:
❏ Before confirming guarantee to customer for L-L separation,read carefully guarantee
asked by customer and confirm it accordingly.

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 ❏ Refer droplet size to guarantee.docx for reference.
❏ Generally Frames Guarantee as below
2 Volume% for WiO
1000 ppm/0.1% for OiW
❏ Margin in terms of Droplet size to be considered based on “Refer droplet size to
guarantee.docx’’

18. Pre-order document to be prepared for pre-order stage enquiry:

❏ After completing sizing of internals, Front sheet with all necessary assumptions and
notes to be shared to Sales.
❏ Necessary margin to be consider while costing that should be clearly communicated with
sales person.
❏ Technical commercial proposal.
❏ Process summary sheet (hydraulic design sheet) if required by customer.
❏ After sizing the internals as per Frames standard, if any modification is needed in vessel
dimension in order to install internals that should be communicated with customers.
❏ List of internals required should be clearly discussed with the sales person.
❏ Process Shortlist internal sheet to be prepared by both Mechanical and Process
person.Which need to be shared with internals vendor for manufacturing.

19. Post-order document to be prepared for Post oder enquiry:

❏ General attachment internals drawing to be prepared and shared with customer for all
sized vessel (mechanical, with input from process).
❏ IOM (Installation, operation & Maintenance) manual to be prepared for post order
enquiry (projects, to be checked by process)
❏ Process design calculation summary document to be prepared for post order enquiry.
❏ Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) procedure for each vessel to be prepared for post
order enquiry. This document must be code 1 approved before starting the CFD study.
❏ CFD study, by third party (like Speed, Tri-diagonal, Hein de Vries) or by CFD specialist
in-house (currently Wouter Schoonenberg).

20. Documents to be shared with inter-department for post order enquiry:

❏ FAVID calculation sheet to be shared with Mechanical department.

❏ For calming baffle data required should be shared by mentioned sheet “P-PC-CAL-NFA-
Default-rO”
❏ Normally NFA (start with 40%) and hole diameter (start with 40 mm), calming baffle
height( and vessel ID, and if required the pitch between holes, to be informed to
Mechanical to start design of calming baffle.
❏ For sand jetting: length of sections, number of sections, size, quantity and location of
jetting water nozzle and (later) sand drain nozzle. [ To be prepared in FNL ]

21. Post-order document required which needs to be shared with Fabricator:

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 ❏ This needs to be discussed with FNL, What philosophy we follow with Revicon.
❏ Same philosophy can be applied here in FIN and required data to be asked to Revicon.

22. Process check points for Internals/separator vessel drawing

❏ Check feed location in GA drawing
❏ Check light liquid O/L, Heavy liquid O/L, gas outlet location.
❏ Check all Nozzle details in nozzle table.
❏ Check Weir Location
❏ Check weir height
❏ Check vane pack dimensions (DDI)
❏ Check vane pack location
❏ Check gas cap available for Vane Pack installation point of view and gas outlet size
(DDI)
❏ Check dip leg elevation
❏ Check level nozzle location and elevations
❏ Check calming baffle elevation and location
❏ Check plate pack elevation (Platepack weir if applicable)
❏ Check plate pack bottom elevation
❏ Check Plate pack dimension (GAI+DDI), Plate pack no of count (DDI)
❏ Check all mentioned notes in GA drawing.
❏ Check vessel dimension
❏ Check Sand jetting system section length, Sand jetting system location, drain pipe
elevation, sand jetting nozzle sizes and locations

Above mentioned points are basic points which needs to be checked in GA drawing.
Apart from this other details if any specified or mentioned to be also checked as per
experience and previous order reference. This includes any non-process points you see.

Steps to size Vertical separator/ Scrubber:

Reference documents
1. Shell DEP 31.22.05.12-Gen. (February 2018). Design and Engineering Practice for
gas/liquid, liquid/liquid and gas/liquid/liquid separators - type selection and design rules.
Retrievable from Framesnet (Departments -> Engineering)
2. FAVID memo
3. SAES-A-010 (Aramco process design standard)
4. GPSA
5. API 521 / API 12J
6. NORSOK
etc..

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