Vertical Gas Liquid Centrifugal Separators

Moisture separators for vent pipes

L Style Gas Liquid Separator

Type L vertical gas liquid separators are used when the flow path involves traveling vertically upwards (for a downwards flow path refer to the horizontal type L). Our vertical centrifugal separators will remove entrained droplets and particles larger than 10 microns with 99% efficiency. The most common and inexpensive vertical gas liquid separator consists of a cylindrical pressure vessel having an inlet and outlet 180° apart (in-line) in addition to a drain port. The centrifugal baffle assembly is located at the inlet side of the separator.

As illustrated, the air, steam or gas enters the separator and flows around a slotted baffle which induces a vortex, exerting centrifugal force on entrained droplets and particles. Larger droplets are propelled and impinge into the baffle or vessel walls and due to gravity, coalesce to the low point of the vessel for drainage. Only droplets finer than 10 microns enter the low velocity section of the vortex where the exit pipe is located.

Automatic drainage without any loss of air, steam or gas can be accomplished with a float style drain trap.

The liquid removal capacity for the unit illustrated is equivalent to 10% of the separators maximum weight-flow capacity. The removal capacity doubles to 20% for designs having inlet and outlet nozzles tangential to each other due to the increased complexity of the torturous path the process gas must pass through to exit the gas liquid separator.

Another type of vertical separator is an exhaust head, which are not pressure vessels because they are installed at the end of a vent pipe to atmospheric pressure. Exhaust heads reduce the opacity of the vented gas, reducing carry-out and enabling reclamation of treated fluid.