156– Application of vane separation technology in the technical upgrade plan for the gas condensate separator used in the water washing process of light hydrocarbon gas-to-gasoline plants

This post was last edited by luoli519 on 2020-6-3 at 11:08. A few years ago, several companies in China built and operated MTG projects, which are facilities for producing gasoline from methanol as a raw material; some companies synthesized methanol from coal before using it to produce gasoline, while others started with natural gas to produce gasoline. In China, there are also enterprises that produce gasoline and diesel by mixing coal with residue oil. Regardless of the process route used, the non-condensable gases from the plant exhaust almost always need to be washed first, and then separated from the process condensate using a process gas condensate separator.

This post was last edited by luoli519 on 2020-6-3 at 11:09. It relates to the technical upgrade and modification of the gas condensate separator used in the water washing process for the non-condensable gases emitted from the equipment in a project that produces gasoline from light hydrocarbon gases. This original process gas condensate separator uses traditional wire mesh demister internals, resulting in unstable separation performance, large pressure drop fluctuations, and frequent liquid contamination in the exhaust gases. The owner decided to carry out a technical upgrade and renovation of it.

This post was last edited by luoli519 on 2020-6-3 at 11:10. The process flow of the original unit’s process gas-liquid separator is as follows: The non-condensable gas, cooled by a heat exchanger, enters the middle part of the process gas-liquid separator carrying liquid droplets and foam. After initial separation via a semi-open tube inlet assembly, the gas flows upward and is washed again by the washing liquid sprayed from the upper part of the separator. Subsequently, after being treated by a wire mesh demister at the top of the separator, the gas is discharged from it; this discharged gas often contains liquid particles.

The actual operating parameters of the process gas condensate separator are as follows:

As can be seen from the operating condition data shown in the figure above, the liquid-to-gas ratio of the process gas-liquid mixture exceeds 1/3; the kinetic energy and momentum values in this mixture are far above the upper limit set by the original semi-tubular inlet separation assembly. The mixed stream of process gas and condensate flows through the existing semi-tube inlet separation assembly, making it difficult to effectively carry out initial gas-liquid separation as well as to uniformly distribute the fluid’s kinetic energy and momentum.

The owners added that they also inject up to 15 tons of washing water per hour at the top of the separator to wash the process gas again. The existing semi-open tubular inlet separation assembly can no longer handle the mixture of process gas and liquid droplets entering at the inlet, and a large amount of washing liquid is injected into the upper part of the separator. Although this improves the efficiency of cleaning the process gas, it poses a severe challenge to the operating load of the components inside the wire mesh demister.

In response to the actual operational issues existing in the owner’s existing process gas condensate separator, Novew Energy Technology Company, after thorough communication with the owner and reaching an agreement, decided to upgrade the system by utilizing the company’s fan-blade inlet separation assembly to replace the existing semi-open tube inlet assembly, and by using the company’s fan-blade separation internal components (including pre-distribution coalescing modules and anti-siphon liquid dropping internal components) to replace the existing mesh demisting internal components. This was done while keeping the original separator housing intact, with no changes to its position or dimensions, as well as no alterations to the pipeline and instrumentation connections.

This post was last edited by luoli519 on 2023-9-26 at 16:10. Based on the actual operating data provided by the owner, Nuowei Energy Technology Company utilized its precise dynamic separation technology design platform to carry out technical upgrades; the details regarding the process gas condensate separator after these upgrades are as follows: 1. Inlet separation assembly: Fan-type separation assembly, model G50S-28/136. II. Pre-allocated coalescing module: feather-leaf type, model G50D136. III. Precision vane separation internal component set: vane separation type, model Novel G50-152-1200. IV. Anti-siphon liquid dropping module: G50LD4. V. Separation efficiency: 4N level of separation to remove liquid droplets and bubbles with a size of 4.84 microns and larger. VI. Total operating pressure drop: shall not exceed 0.4 psi under rated conditions.

This post was last edited by luoli519 on 2024-4-7 at 10:49. The figure below shows the technical upgrade and modification plan for the process gas-liquid separator, titled “Data Tables and Diagrams”, which was developed by Novae Energy Technology Company using the operating condition data provided by the client and through its NOVEL precise dynamic separation technology design platform. It is available for everyone’s discussion:

This post was last edited by luoli519 on 2024-4-7 at 10:49. The image below shows the feather separation assembly of Nuowei Company: