Research On Design And Verification Of Separator In Shale Gas Testing Process

Three-phase Separator is one of the most important equipment in the process of shale gas production,especially in the initial test stage,separation of return fluid and gas-liquid metering,etc.All need to be completed by a three-phase separator,efficient and stable three-phase separator is an important device for controlling the level of methane emissions during the shale gas test.At present,the domestic separators in the shale gas development and testing stage have many problems such as poor adaptability,low separation efficiency,and large equipment size,and the optimization of the separation equipment structure needs to be studied.Optimizing the structure of the separator can effectively reduce the emission of methane during shale gas extraction,which is of great significance for improving global temperature rise and energy saving and emission reduction.This study analyzes the production and discharge characteristics and field data of the return sewage in the process of shale gas development.On this basis,the design of the main body size of the three-phase separator suitable for the testing stage of the main shale gas production area.Fluent software is used to simulate the fluid flow inside the separator,and the separators with different design parameters and internal components are simulated.By analyzing the simulation results,the optimal internal component structure is selected.The results of the study show that even for the mixed flow of shale gas development with a wide range of flow rates,if the automatic control of the liquid level is optimized,the separator structure can still be reasonably optimized.The internal components of the separator are selected through simulation calculations,which can effectively reduce the impact on the internal flow field when the inlet velocity is large.The best separation effect of baffle-type inlet member with an angle of about 45°;In the case of a large outlet flow rate or a complicated situation,adding a vortex preventer before the outlet of the separator can effectively prevent the generation of vortex;It is better to coalesce the plate members at a horizontal tilt of approximately 60°,and also analyze the effect of the internal components of the separator on the fluid,and select a reasonable distance between the components.