Separation units find application in all stages of the hydrocarbon production and transformation process, such as gas oil separation, crude oil processing and treatment, gas treatment and gas compression, as well as in refineries and generally in any unit that handles liquid hydrocarbons fluid streams.
Two basic different arrangements are considered in oil & gas processing:
Gas Separation, Coalescing and Filtration: the focus is on gas stream and separation is performed by equipment designed to separate the different phases entrained in gas stream. Many different configurations can be realized such as Separators and KO Drums which are normally in vertical arrangement, Coalescing Filters for liquid fines removal and Gas Filters for removal of entrained solids. Separation of liquids is improved by use of Vanes, Meshes, Demisters, Cyclone devices or Coalescing Cartridges and other internals.
Crude Oil and Condensate Phase Separation: the separation of associated gas and formation water is a basic step of each condensate and crude oil production and treatment. In this case, the focus is on separation of liquid hydrocarbon phase and therefore on separators which are normally the three-phase horizontal type with different applications such as Production Separators, Slug Catchers, Water Separators and Water Coalescing. Separators can be fitted with dedicated vane type or coalescing pad internals to improve separation efficiency and decrease the size as is typically done for Production Separators.