Request technical information and application guidance
Why Liquid Contamination in Natural Gas Cannot Be Ignored
May, 20026
Liquid contamination continues to affect natural gas and fuel gas systems across many operating environments. Liquid amine carryover and hydrocarbons can reduce separation efficiency, foul compressors and contribute to unplanned maintenance. For proven approaches to managing these challenges, see SepraSol Plus liquid gas coalescers.
These issues often emerge gradually. Declining equipment performance, rising intervention rates or inconsistent combustion stability are typical indicators that liquid removal is no longer performing as intended.
What Design Factors Influence Reliable Liquid Gas Separation
Reliable liquid gas separation depends on effectively managing gas velocity, liquid loading, droplet growth and available settling space within the separator. When these factors are not properly balanced, fine liquid aerosols can remain entrained in the gas stream, increasing the risk of downstream fouling, instability and unplanned maintenance. From a technical standpoint, this performance is governed by coalescer sizing, which controls media velocity, annular velocity, pressure drop and settling distance to ensure droplets can coalesce, remain intact and disengage from the gas flow without re-entrainment.
When liquid gas coalescers are undersized or operated outside these limits, excessive velocities and insufficient settling distance can lead to liquid carryover, resulting in downstream equipment fouling, higher maintenance frequency, unplanned outages and increased operating expense. Even the most advanced coalescer media will only perform as well as it is sized, therefore ensuring that coalescer sizing is performed taking into account all relevant factors is critical for successful operation.
Impact of Vessel Orientation on Liquid Gas Coalescer Sizing
Vessel orientation influences how liquid gas coalescers are sized and applied. Vertical and horizontal coalescers can achieve the same level of separation performance when correctly sized, however they require different sizing approaches and design considerations.
Three principal differences are typically considered between vertical and horizontal orientations: differences in annular velocity calculations and limits; the use of a settling zone in horizontal orientations; and the potential for liquid drainage behaviour across multiple elements.
In vertical coalescers, annular velocity is calculated uniformly around the cartridge outer diameter and controlled to allow coalesced droplets to disengage and drain downward under gravity within the same vertical envelope. In horizontal coalescers, annular velocity varies with elevation and increases toward the top of the element bundle, which can require more conservative velocity limits to maintain stable droplet behaviour.
Horizontal coalescer designs may include a downstream settling zone, sized to provide sufficient droplet residence time for gravity separation before the outlet nozzle. In multi-element horizontal arrangements, coalesced liquid draining from upper elements can contact lower cartridges, which may influence drainage behaviour under certain conditions.
How These Design Principles Are Applied in Practice
The design and sizing considerations discussed above are applied in SepraSol Plus liquid gas coalescer, which is validated for both vertical and horizontal vessel orientations in demanding gas applications.
View technical details and application guidance for SepraSol Plus liquid gas coalescers.