Experimental investigation of the effect of slenderness ratio and retention time on the separation performance of a two-phase horizontal separator

This study investigates the effect of the slenderness ratio (L/D) on the performance of a three-phase separator for constant retention times in the oil phase. The research combines experimental measurements with statistical analysis. To determine the controlling parameters of separation efficiency. The experiments varied 4 independent variables: slenderness ratios (2:1, 4:1, and 5:1); total mass flow rates (2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 GPM); oil layer thickness (9 18 27 and 36 mm) and composition. In addition, the oil flow rate, as part of the total flow, was varied to allow the oil retention time to be held constant. Taguchi and full factorial statistical analysis methods were used to analyse the results. The performance was seen to increase with increasing slenderness ratio for constant retention time. This implies that the slenderness ratio has a positive effect on separation. However, this is not a simple relationship. The main independent variables that affect separation were identified as total flow and aspect ratio, but the interaction of flow rate and slenderness ratio can cancel each other out. The interaction of the oil layer and slenderness ratio is normally insignificant but becomes controlling when the aspect ratio and flow effect cancel each other out. The performance decreases as the oil layer thickness increases and the aspect ratio decreases. This indicates that separators with shorter and wider configurations are less efficient than those with longer and slimmer designs.