What Are Gas-Liquid Separators?

Pressure vessels using centrifugal force to separate fine droplets from gases

Wright-Austin receiver separator design

Wright-Austin gas/liquid separators are designed to separate entrained liquid droplets and particles from a gas stream before discharge to atmosphere or the next stage in the pipeline. They are sometimes called knock-out drums, flash tanks or demister drums. When properly sized they remove 99% of all liquids and solids greater than 10 microns.

Gas/liquid separators prevent corrosion, protect process equipment, reduce energy costs and increase system efficiency. Wright-Austin separators will not separate solids from liquids, liquids from liquids, or remove a vaporized liquid from a gas stream.

Infinite Turndown Capability

A key feature of the Wright-Austin design is infinite turndown — efficiency is maintained or increased at lower flow rates. At or near maximum capacity, centrifugal force is the primary separation mechanism. At lower flows, change in velocity and torturous path become more effective. This means you cannot oversize a separator.

Three Separation Principles

  1. Torturous path — There is no direct path for droplets to exit. Droplets >10 microns cannot turn with the gas, impact the internal geometry, and coalesce to a common drain. Re-entrainment is prevented by the patented Vortex Containment Plate (VCP).
  2. Change in velocity — The separator vessel volume is larger than the incoming pipeline, so velocity drops. Heavier droplets fall to the bottom and coalesce. The VCP prevents re-entrainment.
  3. Centrifugal force — Internal geometry (typically 304L stainless steel) creates centrifugal force that propels droplets >10 microns to the vessel wall, where they drain. Again, the VCP prevents re-entrainment.

Further Reading

Product Configurations

Wright-Austin separators are offered in several configurations for different pipeline pathways and can be custom fabricated. T-style separators are common for smaller pipelines and high entrainment. Some models have integral drain traps; for others we offer float style drain traps.

Typical Applications

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