Two Phase (Gas - Oil) Vertical separator: As per API 12J

INPUT PARAMETERS
Qg 25 mmscfd Gas rate SCHEMATIC
Qo 3000 bbl/d Oil rate
γ 0.70 Gas specific gravity

Yellow boxes are input boxes.

o
ρ'o 40 API Oil density
γo 0.83 Oil specific gravity
P 814.5 psia Operating pressure
o
T' 80 F Operating temperature
o
T 540 R Operating temperature
MW 20.3 lb/lbmole Molecular weight
t 1 minutes Retention time (Refer Table 2)
Z 0.84 Gas compressibility
µg 0.013 cP Gas viscosity
H 10 ft Shell height (assume)
K 0.30 ft/s Refer Table 1
NLL 30% Normal liquid level (assume)

CALCULATIONS EQUATIONS TABLES

Step 1: Determine gas and oil properties
ρg 3.4 lb/ft3 Gas operating density Table 1
Typical K factor
ρo 51.5 lb/ft3 Oil operating density Height, ft
range
5 0.12 to 0.24
Step 2: 10 0.18 to 0.35
Va 1.13 ft/s
Qg,a 4.55 ft3/s Actual volume flow of gas Table 2
Retention time,
Ag,min 4.03 ft2 Minimum gas flow area Oil Gravities
minutes (Typical)
Dmin 27 in Minimum ID of separator Above 35 oAPI 1
20 to 30 oAPI 1 to 2
o
Dselected 30 in Next larger and appropriate size 10 to 20 API 2 to 4
H 10 ft Shell height
H/D 4.0 unitless Refer Note 4

Step 3:

V 2.6 bbl Liquid volume (excluding bottom head)

Liquid capacity of separator should be

W 3777 bpd
more than 3000 bpd (input value)

NOTES
1. The maximum allowable superficial velocity calculated from the above factors is for separators normally having a wire mesh mist extractor. This
rate should allow all liquid droplets larger than 10 microns to settle out of gas.
2. Additional resource for K factor from GPSA Engineering Data Book:
Pressure, barg K factor, m/s Adjustment of K factor for pressure
0 0.11 Pressure, psig % of Design value
7 0.11 Atm. 100
21 0.10 150 90
42 0.09 300 85
63 0.08 600 80
105 0.07 1150 75

GPSA Notes:
1. K = 0.107 at a gauge pressure of 7 bar. Subtract 0.003 for every 7 bar above a gauge pressure of 7 bar.
2. For glycol or amine solutions, multiply above K values by 0.6 - 0.8.
3. Typically use one-half of the above K values for approximate sizing of vertical separators without mesh pads.
4. For compressor suction scrubbers and expander inlet separators, multiply K by 0.7 - 0.8.
3. Additional resource for retention times from gas Conditioning and Processing, Volume 2.
Natural gas-oil 1 to 3 minutes
Lean oil surge tanks 10 to 15 minutes
Fractionation feed surge tanks 8 to 15 minutes
Refrigerant surge tanks 4 to 7 minutes
Refrigerant econonomizers 2 to 3 minutes
4. As per GPSA, typical vertical H/D ratios are normally in the 2 to 4 range.
 Two Phase (Gas - Oil) Horizontal Separator: As per API 12J
INPUT PARAMETERS SCHEMATIC
Qg 25 mmscfd Gas rate
Qo 3000 bbl/d Oil rate

Yellow boxes are input boxes.

γ 0.70 Gas specific gravity
o
ρ'o 40 API Oil density
γo 0.83 Oil specific gravity
P 814.5 psia Operating pressure
o
T' 80 F Operating temperature
o
T 540 R Operating temperature
MW 20.3 lb/lbmole Molecular weight
t 1 minutes Retention time (Refer Table 2)
Z 0.84 Gas compressibility
µg 0.012 cP Gas viscosity
K 0.5 ft/s Refer Table 1
NLL 30% Normal liquid level (assume)
L 10 ft Shell Length (assume)

CALCULATIONS EQUATIONS TABLES

Step 1: Determine gas and oil properties
ρg 3.4 lb/ft3 Gas operating density Table 1
Typical K factor
ρo 51.5 lb/ft3 Oil operating density Length, ft
range, ft/s
10 0.4 to 0.5
Step 2: Other Lengths 0.4 to 0.5 x (L/10)0.56
Va 1.881 ft/s
Qg,a 4.55 ft3/s Actual volume flow of gas Table 2
Retention time,
Ag,min 2.42 ft2 Minimum gas flow area Oil Gravities
minutes (Typical)
Dmin 4 in Assume Above 35 oAPI 1
2
Ag,min 2.42 ft 20 to 30 oAPI 1 to 2
Error 0.00 10 to 20 oAPI 2 to 4
Dselected 30 in Next larger and appropriate size
L 10 ft Shell length
L/D 4.0 unitless Refer Note 4

Step 3:

V 3 bbl Liquid volume (excluding bottom head)

Liquid capacity of separator should be

W 3644 bpd
more than 3000 bpd (input value)

NOTES
1. The maximum allowable superficial velocity calculated from the above factors is for separators normally having a wire mesh mist extractor. This
rate should allow all liquid droplets larger than 10 microns to settle out of gas.
2. Additional resource for K factor from GPSA Engineering Data Book:
Pressure, barg K factor, m/s Adjustment of K factor for pressure
0 0.11 Pressure, psig % of Design value
7 0.11 Atm. 100
21 0.10 150 90
42 0.09 300 85
63 0.08 600 80
105 0.07 1150 75

GPSA Notes:
1. K = 0.107 at a gauge pressure of 7 bar. Subtract 0.003 for every 7 bar above a gauge pressure of 7 bar.
2. For glycol or amine solutions, multiply above K values by 0.6 - 0.8.
3. For compressor suction scrubbers and expander inlet separators, multiply K by 0.7 - 0.8.
3. Additional resource for retention times from gas Conditioning and Processing, Volume2.
Natural gas-oil 1 to 3 minutes
Lean oil surge tanks 10 to 15 minutes
Fractionation feed surge tanks 8 to 15 minutes
Refrigerant surge tanks 4 to 7 minutes
Refrigerant econonomizers 2 to 3 minutes
4. As per GPSA, typical horizontal L/D ratios are normally in the 2.5 to 5 range.
 Three Phase (Gas - Oil - Water) Horizontal Separator: As per API 12J
INPUT PARAMETERS
Qg 8 mmscfd Gas rate SCHEMATIC
Qo 8000 bbl/d Oil rate
Qw 3000 bbl/d Water rate
γ 0.70 Gas specific gravity

Yellow boxes are input boxes.

o
ρ'o 40 API Oil density
γo 0.83 Oil specific gravity
P 250 psia Operating pressure
o
T' 60 F Operating temperature
o
T 520 R Operating temperature
MW 20.3 lb/lbmole Molecular weight
H 18 ft Shell height (assume)
to 5 minutes Oil retention time (Refer Table 2)
tw 5 minutes Water retention time (Refer Table 2)
Z 0.84 Gas compressibility
µg 0.013 cP Gas viscosity
K 0.35 ft/s Refer Table 1
NLL 50% Normal liquid level (assume)

CALCULATIONS EQUATIONS TABLES

Step 1: Determine gas and oil properties
ρg 1.1 lb/ft3 Gas operating density Table 1
Typical K factor
ρo 51.5 lb/ft3 Oil operating density Height, ft
range, ft/s
5 0.12 to 0.24
Step 2: 10 0.18 to 0.35
Va 2.4 ft/s
Qg,a 4.58 ft3/s Actual volume flow of gas Table 2
Retention time,
Ag,min 1.92 ft2 Minimum gas flow area Oil Gravities
minutes (Typical)
Dmin 19 in Assume Above 35 oAPI 3 to 5
Next larger (than Dmin) and appropriate
Dselected 96 in Below 35 oAPI
size
o
H 18 ft Shell height 100+ F 5 to 10
H/D 2.3 unitless Refer Note 4 80+ oF 10 to 20
60+ oF 20 to 30
Step 3:

V 81 bbl Liquid volume (excluding bottom head)

Liquid capacity of separator should be

W 11602 bpd
more than 11000 bpd (input value)

NOTES
1. The maximum allowable superficial velocity calculated from the above factors is for separators normally having a wire mesh mist extractor. This
rate should allow all liquid droplets larger than 10 microns to settle out of gas.
2. Additional resource for K factor from GPSA Engineering Data Book:
Pressure, barg K factor, m/s Adjustment of K factor for pressure
0 0.11 Pressure, psig % of Design value
7 0.11 Atm. 100
21 0.10 150 90
42 0.09 300 85
63 0.08 600 80
105 0.07 1150 75

GPSA Notes:
1. K = 0.107 at a gauge pressure of 7 bar. Subtract 0.003 for every 7 bar above a gauge pressure of 7 bar.
2. For glycol or amine solutions, multiply above K values by 0.6 - 0.8
3. Typically use one-half of the above K values for approximate sizing of vertical separators without mesh pads
4. For compressor suction scrubbers and expander inlet separators, multiply K by 0.7 - 0.8
3. Additional resource for retention times from gas Conditioning and Processing, Volume2.
Natural gas-oil 1 to 3 minutes
Lean oil surge tanks 10 to 15 minutes
Fractionation feed surge tanks 8 to 15 minutes
Refrigerant surge tanks 4 to 7 minutes
Refrigerant econonomizers 2 to 3 minutes
4. As per GPSA, typical horizontal H/D ratios are normally in the 2 to 4 range.
 Three Phase (Gas - Oil) Horizontal Separator: As per API 12J
INPUT PARAMETERS SCHEMATIC
Qg 8 mmscfd Gas rate
Qo 8000 bbl/d Oil rate
Qw 3000 bbl/d Water rate

Yellow boxes are input boxes.

γ 0.70 Gas specific gravity
o
ρ'o 40 API Oil density
γo 0.83 Oil specific gravity
P 250 psia Operating pressure
o
T' 60 F Operating temperature
o
T 520 R Operating temperature
MW 20.3 lb/lbmole Molecular weight
L 18 ft Shell Length (assume)
to 5 minutes Oil retention time (Refer Table 2)
tw 5 minutes Water retention time (Refer Table 2)
Z 0.84 Gas compressibility
µg 0.013 cP Gas viscosity
K 0.35 ft/s Refer Table 1
NLL 50% Normal liquid level (assume)

CALCULATIONS EQUATIONS TABLES

Step 1: Determine gas and oil properties
ρg 1.1 lb/ft3 Gas operating density Table 1
Typical K factor
ρo 51.5 lb/ft3 Oil operating density Length, ft
range, ft/s
10 0.4 to 0.5
Step 2: Other Lengths 0.4 to 0.5 x (L/10)0.56
Va 2.388 ft/s
Qg,a 4.58 ft3/s Actual volume flow of gas Table 2
Retention time,
Ag,min 1.92 ft2 Minimum gas flow area Oil Gravities
minutes (Typical)
Dmin 2.4 in Assume Above 35 oAPI 3 to 5
Ag,min 1.92 ft2 Below 35 oAPI
o
Error 0.00 100+ F 5 to 10
Next larger (than Dmin) and appropriate
Dselected 78 in 80+ oF 10 to 20
size
o
L 18 ft Shell length 60+ F 20 to 30
L/D 2.8 unitless Refer Note 4

Step 3:

V 77 bbl Liquid volume (excluding bottom head)

Liquid capacity of separator should be

W 11036 bpd
more than 11000 bpd (input value)

NOTES
1. The maximum allowable superficial velocity calculated from the above factors is for separators normally having a wire mesh mist extractor. This
rate should allow all liquid droplets larger than 10 microns to settle out of gas.
2. Additional resource for K factor from GPSA Engineering Data Book:
Pressure, barg K factor, m/s Adjustment of K factor for pressure
0 0.11 Pressure, psig % of Design value
7 0.11 Atm. 100
21 0.10 150 90
42 0.09 300 85
63 0.08 600 80
105 0.07 1150 75

GPSA Notes:
1. K = 0.107 at a gauge pressure of 7 bar. Subtract 0.003 for every 7 bar above a gauge pressure of 7 bar.
2. For glycol or amine solutions, multiply above K values by 0.6 - 0.8
3. For compressor suction scrubbers and expander inlet separators, multiply K by 0.7 - 0.8
3. Additional resource for retention times from gas Conditioning and Processing, Volume2.
Natural gas-oil 1 to 3 minutes
Lean oil surge tanks 10 to 15 minutes
Fractionation feed surge tanks 8 to 15 minutes
Refrigerant surge tanks 4 to 7 minutes
Refrigerant econonomizers 2 to 3 minutes
4. As per GPSA, typical horizontal L/D ratios are normally in the 2.5 to 5 range.