Session: 11-08-02: Multiphase Flows and Applications II

Paper Number: 166782

A New Configuration of Gas/Liquid Separator 

 

Background:
Gas-liquid separation is a critical process in various industrial sectors, including oil and gas, petrochemical, energy, food processing, and pharmaceuticals. Effective separation of gas and liquid phases is essential for improving product quality, ensuring operational safety, and complying with increasingly stringent environmental regulations. In particular, the oil and gas industry relies heavily on efficient separation technologies to optimize hydrocarbon recovery while minimizing energy consumption and emissions. Cyclonic gas-liquid separators, which use centrifugal forces generated by swirling flows, are widely used for their compact design and high separation efficiency. However, there is a continuous need for innovative designs to further enhance separation performance, reduce operational costs, and minimize environmental impacts.

Objectives:
The main objective of this research was to analyse and optimize the parameters influencing the efficiency of a new gas-liquid phase separator. The study focused on the phase-collection part of the separator. In fact, the swirl generator contributes to the separation by causing the liquid to be ejected towards the separator walls while the gas agglomerates in the core region. The challenging task is how to collect these separated phases efficiently. In the present study a new configuration is proposed and tested to understand the separation mechanisms within the new swirling flow separator. This allows to identify key parameters affecting the separation efficiency and develop optimization strategies accordingly.

Methods:
The methodology adopted includes a series of numerical tests on different mesh configurations to determine the optimum resolution and ensure computational accuracy. The k-ω SST turbulence model was used to capture the intricate flow structures, including turbulence zones and phase transitions. The Eulerian-Eulerian multiphase model was used to account for the interaction between the gas and water phases. The swirling flow was generated by, numerically, imposing the swirl at the inlet of the computational domain. A range of geometric configurations and operating conditions were simulated to assess their impact on separation efficiency. Key parameters such as outlet diameter, phase volume fractions, and separator length were systematically varied to identify optimal design configurations.

Results:
Simulations have shown that reducing the diameter of the gas outlet significantly improves separation efficiency. In addition, optimal management of the volume fraction of phases had a significant influence on the separation process, favouring a better distribution of phases inside the separator. For an inlet gas fraction equal to 0.05, a diameter of the internal collecting cylinder, equal to 7 mm, yielded a gas separation efficiency of 94%. The means that some water could be entrained with the gas while the water outlet remained clean from any gas traces for all the diameters tested. This could be enhanced to 98 % by reducing the intermediate-pipe diameter to 25 mm. A further increase of the inflow gas fraction, improved the separation efficiency with some perfect cases.

Conclusions:
This study demonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed innovative gas-liquid separator. The results provide a robust foundation for future experimental validation and industrial deployment. Key recommendations for further optimization include refining the inlet/outlet geometry, incorporating additional concentric cylinders to enhance the separation efficiency, and controlling outlet pressures via valve adjustments. The research aligns with ongoing efforts to enhance separation technology, improve process efficiency, and meet increasingly stringent environmental standard

Presenting Author: Md Islam Khalifa University of Science & Technology

Presenting Author Biography: Dr. Md. Islam is currently an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Khalifa University of Science and Technology. He received his MSc and PhD from University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa Japan. Before his current appointment, he worked as a post-doctoral fellow/ Assistant/Associate Professor at the Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi. He also worked as a Lecturer and Assistant Professor at the Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology, a premier national engineering university in Bangladesh. He has 24 years of university teaching experience and taught different undergraduate and graduate courses.

His main research interest is focused in the area of energy and heat transfer enhancement, extended surfaces, heat exchangers, heat pipes, vortex generators, flow induced vibrations(FIV), satellite cooling , fouling of heat exchangers in the oil and gas industry, solar powered Stirling engine generator, solar desalination, solar hybrid airconditioning systems, atmospheric water generation etc. During his academic career, Dr. Islam contributed in a book chapter and published more than 150 research papers in Journals and International conferences, including Applied Energy, Applied Thermal Engineering, International journal of Heat and Mass transfer, International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, International journal of Mechanical sciences, Renewable Energy, Physics of Fluids, International Journal of Thermal Sciences. Dr. Islam is the recipient of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) R&D Wisdom Book Award (2012), Japan Govt. Scholarship (Monbukagakusho) Award (2002) and Heiwa Nakajima Foundation (HNF) Tokyo, Japan Scholarship Award (2005). He was the organizing committee member of the Second International ENERGY 2030 Conference, Abu Dhabi, and chaired sessions of ASME-SHTC 2024, GT India ASME 2019 Gas Turbine India Conference, Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics (HEFAT) International Conference (2016, 2017), ASME-ICOPE-2013, Wuhan, China.

Dr. Islam is the current member of ASME, ASHRAE and IEB. Dr. Islam is the Associate Editor of "ASME Journal of Thermal Science and Engineering Applications".

Authors:

Nabil Kharoua Ecole Nationale Polytechnique de Constantine, Algeria
Derbal Chaima Ecole Nationale Polytechnique de Constantine, Algeria
Djenina Ahlem Ecole Nationale Polytechnique de Constantine, Algeria
Md Islam Khalifa University of Science & Technology