CFD: Glycol Contactor Scrubber - single phase
Condensate carryover from the scrubber section of the Glycol Contactor was causing foaming of the glycol and consequently poor contactor drying performance
Internals comprised a Half Open Pipe inlet device and a vane mist eliminator below the chimney tray
Internals comprised a Half Open Pipe inlet device and a vane mist eliminator below the chimney tray
Liquid re-entrainment from the liquid level can have a noticeable negative impact on the performance of separation vessels and is commonly overlooked. For instance it can lead to increased liquid loading to the vessel mist elimination devices that then increases liquid carryover to downstream equipment. As was the case here it can lead to an increased amount of hydrocarbon finding its way to the Glycol Regeneration system. For this phenomena use is made of the Kelvin Helmholtz relationship. This is described in the following equation:
Ug,cr = Critical Gas Velocity (m/s)
ρl = Liquid density (kg/m³)
ρg = Liquid density (kg/m³)
σ = Interfacial surface tension (N/m)
g = Gravitational Acceleration (9.81 m/s²)
If the actual gas velocity on the liquid surface exceeds the Critical Gas Velocity by a factor of 3 to 4 then noticeable re-entrainment is a possibility. For this case the calculation of this is provided below:
Ug,cr = Critical Gas Velocity (m/s)
ρl = Liquid density (kg/m³)
ρg = Liquid density (kg/m³)
σ = Interfacial surface tension (N/m)
g = Gravitational Acceleration (9.81 m/s²)
If the actual gas velocity on the liquid surface exceeds the Critical Gas Velocity by a factor of 3 to 4 then noticeable re-entrainment is a possibility. For this case the calculation of this is provided below: