Liquid Carryover
Failure to remove entrained liquids from a gas stream is among the most common causes behind an array of issues, from deficient processes and product losses to damages to the downstream equipment resulting in costly shutdowns—all of which can lead to higher operational costs and lost profits.
It’s no surprise that mist elimination, the process of removing free entrained liquid from the gas stream, is among the most commonly encountered process, regardless of the unit operations. And yet, despite devoted efforts, liquid carry over challenges are pervasive to refineries, petrochemical plants, gas plants, and similar facilities where mist elimination equipment fails to perform adequately.
Why do Mist Elimination Efforts Fail?
Mist eliminators are often treated as commodity items and are specified without consideration of all available technologies and sometimes ignoring advanced design approaches more capable of addressing the unique and changing characteristics of a given application.
Some of the main reasons for carryover are as below:
- High mist loading in the gas stream
- Choosing incorrect mist elimination device
- Not knowing where to install the mist eliminator resulting in gas mal-distribution
- Capacity range too high
- Incorrectly executed installations
- Other considerations
- Fouling
- High viscosity liquid
- Dislocated mist eliminator due to system pressure surge
Better Solutions. Better Results.
In order to achieve high-efficiency gas/liquid separation, one must analyze the entire vessel from inlet piping to outlet nozzle. Most designers only focus on the mist eliminator and overlook the other considerations and sections, which are below:
- Inlet piping
- Inlet section (Inlet Nozzle/Device)
- Potential of re-entertainment from liquid surface
- Gravity section
- Mist Elimination device selection
- Flow distribution
Plants that do not address entrained liquid may potentially be impacted by high operation costs, low reliability, and frequent shutdowns. To ensure plants run with higher reliability—and maximum returns—removing unwanted liquid from the gas stream is critical. AMACS can help!
With over 80+ years of experience in this industry, AMACS is one of the leading solution providers for phase separation and mass transfer internals. Call us today to discuss your mist eliminator needs!