Three Phase Oil-Water-Gas Separators
The term separator in oil field terminology designates a pressure vessel
used for separating well fluids produced from oil and gas wells into
gaseous and liquid components.Separators work on the principle that the
three components have different densities, which allows them to stratify
when moving slowly with gas on top, water on bottom of the separator.When there is a large volume of gas to be separated from the
liquid (oil and water), the vessel is called a three- phase separator and
either the gas capacity requirements or the water-oil separation
constraints may govern the vessel design.Three-phase separators may be either horizontal or vertical pressure
vessels similar to the two-phase separators described above.Generally, water produced with the oil exists partly as free water and
partly as water-in-oil emulsion.The volume of gas depends largely on
the producing and separation conditions.However, three-phase separators will have additional control devices and may have
additional internal components.