The rotational particle separator (RPS) is a novel and patented technique, initially intended for separating solid and/or liquid particles of 0.1 micro m and larger from gases. The core component is the rotating filter element, which consists of a multitude of axially oriented channels, which rotate as a whole around a common axis. Particles or droplets flowing in the fluid in a laminar motion are centrifuged to the outer walls of each individual channel while the purified fluid leaves at the exit. The paper presents a natural gas - liquid separator. A particular feature of this design is that the filter element is freely mounted in hearings and rotates, without the need of a motor, by introducing a swirl in the fluid flowing towards the filter element. The design is particularly suited for operation under high pressures as the rotating' filter element is fully contained within- a cylindrical pipe. The shaft does not pin through the external wall, so no sealing is required. A characteristic parameter describing the separation performance of the separator is the cut-off diameter dp,100 % of the filter element. This cut-off diameter can be calculated by the way shown in this paper. The cut-off diameter depends on the flow rate as well as on the angular speed. The relation between these two quantities is already calculated. With this relation the cut-off diameter can be calculated and the result is given. It can be seen that for flow rates smaller than the design flow rate the separation performance deteriorates. For the flow rates beneath 70 m3 h-1 the filter element does not rotate and thus no particles are separated.
Gas-liquid separation with the rotational particle separator
Gas-Flüssigkeit-Trennung mit einem rotierenden Partikelseparator
2003
7 Seiten, 4 Bilder, 11 Quellen
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Englisch