107- Discussion on the design of the vapor-liquid separator at the inlet of the CO2 compression unit in Indonesia’s synthetic ammonia and urea project using feather leaf separators
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This post was last edited by luoli519 on 2023-9-27 at 13:03. In ammonia synthesis and urea production plants, the CO2 compression units are typically arranged with 4–5 stages of compression; as a result, they constitute key operating equipment in such plants and require special protection. For the vapor-liquid separators at the inlet of each compression stage in CO2 compression units, advanced separators such as vane separators are often used – separators that offer high efficiency, excellent operational flexibility, long-term operational stability and a long service life, as well as extremely low operating and maintenance costs. Please discuss based on the operating conditions and experience of the vapor-liquid separator at the CO2 compressor inlet in your respective installations.
Here, I would like to discuss with you an example in which our team provided design technical support for the vapor-liquid separator in the inlet section of the CO2 compression unit for an ammonia and urea production project on Sumatra Island in Indonesia.
This project is an EPC project carried out through a partnership between a Chinese engineering company and a foreign engineering company. The project is located at the Palembang site on Sumatra Island, Indonesia. The CO2 compression unit involved in the urea production facility of this project consists of 4 compression stages, with the inlet pressure of the fourth compression stage approaching 8 MPaG, making gas-liquid separation challenging. The process package suppliers, engineering companies, and the owner have explicitly specified the use of vaned high-efficiency gas-liquid separators in the technical specifications for the vapor-liquid separators at the inlet of each compression stage of the compressor unit.
This post was last edited by luoli519 on 2019-12-20 09:05. The figure below shows the requirements for the vapor-liquid separator as specified in the technical specifications for the compression inlet vapor-liquid separator of the 4th compression stage of this project:
The last edit to this post was made by luoli519 on 2023-9-27 at 13:03. The vertical assembly of liquid-liquid separation components located inside the vapor-liquid separator, in front of the vapor outlet, is the vaned separation component assembly.
This post was last edited by luoli519 on 2023-9-27 at 13:04. The technical specifications for the vapor-liquid separators at the inlet of stage 1, stage 2, and stage 3 of the CO2 compression unit in this project are essentially the same: all require the use of vane-type separators arranged vertically, with an operational flexibility limit of 110%, an operating pressure drop not exceeding 5 kPa, and a separation efficiency of 2N level, enabling the removal of liquid droplets and mist larger than 10 microns.
The inlet pressures at the 4 compression stages of this CO2 compression unit are 0.052 MPaG, 0.4 MPaG, 2.1 MPaG, and 7.95 MPaG respectively; the corresponding gas densities are 2.46 kg/m^3, 7.46646 kg/m^3, 35.75546 kg/m^3, and 141.3646 kg/m^3, while the liquid density remains essentially constant. As a result, the difference between the gas phase density and the droplet/vapor foam density in the vapor-liquid separators at the inlet of each compression stage decreases sharply in the 4th stage, leading to a rapid increase in the difficulty of vapor-liquid separation. The inlet vapor-liquid separator in paragraph 4 faces the greatest operational challenges, and a quantitative and efficient vapor-liquid separator is required to handle such conditions.
This post was last edited by luoli519 on 2023-9-27 at 13:04. The results regarding the vapor-liquid separator at the inlet of the 4th stage of the CO2 compressor unit for the aforementioned project, which were obtained using NOVEL’s specialized dynamics-based vapor-liquid separation calculation and configuration design platform, are summarized as follows: 1. Separator type: Vaned separator； 2. Inlet separation assembly: G50B radiation-stable finned inlet separation assembly ； 3. Precision separation internals set: G50 type vane separation internals set ； 4. Calculation and configuration design platform: A dedicated dynamic gas-liquid separation calculation and configuration design system platform for NOVEL ； 5. Separator size: ID30"*TL/TL85“ ； 6. Operating pressure drop: 0.41psi ； 7. Quantitative separation efficiency: 99.99%*9.85micron ； 8. Operating flexibility: 10%-135%.
The performance of the inlet vane separator in the fourth stage of the CO2 compressor unit under the aforementioned operating conditions, as determined using NOVEL’s specialized dynamic gas-liquid separation calculation and configuration design system platform, meets and even exceeds the requirements specified in the technical specifications. This post was last edited by luoli519 on 2023-9-27 at 13:04.
We also submitted important technical documents such as the hydraulic calculation sheets for dynamic gas-liquid separation, operation efficiency charts, and operation pressure drop charts to the process package supplier and the owner, and all were approved technically in one go.
This post was last edited by luoli519 on 2024-4-3 at 11:07. The image below shows the internal structure of the G50 type vane-separating component: